1976 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

The 1976 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 57th season the franchise was in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 11–3, instead regressing by one win.[1] This was the first time in three seasons the team did not qualify for the playoffs. The Cardinals finished tied with the Washington Redskins for 2nd place in the NFC East, but they lost the tiebreaker due to Washington winning both matchups during the season.

1976 St. Louis Cardinals season
OwnerBill Bidwill
Head coachDon Coryell
Results
Record10–4
Division place3rd NFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersC Tom Banks
G Conrad Dobler
T Dan Dierdorf
QB Jim Hart
WR Mel Gray
CB Roger Wehrli
K Jim Bakken

Ultimately, the Cardinals became the only NFC team to win ten games without making the playoffs under a 14-game schedule.

Notably, they took on the San Diego Chargers in a preseason game in the first NFL game to take place in Japan.

Offseason edit

NFL Draft edit

Round Pick Player Position School/Club Team

Roster edit

St. Louis Cardinals roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Practice squad

rookies in italics

Schedule edit

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 12 at Seattle Seahawks W 30–24 1–0 Kingdome 58,441
2 September 19 Green Bay Packers W 29–0 2–0 Busch Memorial Stadium 48,842
3 September 26 at San Diego Chargers L 24–43 2–1 San Diego Stadium 40,212
4 October 3 New York Giants W 27–21 3–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 48,039
5 October 10 Philadelphia Eagles W 33–14 4–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 44,933
6 October 17 Dallas Cowboys W 21–17 5–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,317
7 October 25 at Washington Redskins L 10–20 5–2 RFK Stadium 48,325
8 October 31 San Francisco 49ers W 23–20 6–2 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,365
9 November 7 at Philadelphia Eagles W 17–14 7–2 Veterans Stadium 65,505
10 November 14 at Los Angeles Rams W 30–28 8–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 64,698
11 November 21 Washington Redskins L 10–16 8–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 49,833
12 November 25 at Dallas Cowboys L 14–19 8–4 Texas Stadium 62,498
13 December 4 Baltimore Colts W 24–17 9–4 Busch Memorial Stadium 48,282
14 December 12 at New York Giants W 17–14 10–4 Giants Stadium 60,553
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings edit

NFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Dallas Cowboys(2) 11 3 0 .786 6–2 9–3 296 194 L1
Washington Redskins(4) 10 4 0 .714 6–2 9–3 291 217 W4
St. Louis Cardinals 10 4 0 .714 5–3 9–3 309 267 W2
Philadelphia Eagles 4 10 0 .286 2–6 4–8 165 286 W1
New York Giants 3 11 0 .214 1–7 3–9 170 250 L1

References edit