The 1977 Oakland Raiders season was the team's 18th season overall, and 8th season since joining the NFL . The Raiders entered the season as the defending Super Bowl champions . The team could not improve on their 13-1 record from last year and finished 11-3, which was only good enough for second place in the AFC West next to the Denver Broncos , who won twelve games (the two split victories over each other in the regular season).
The Raiders playing the Broncos in the 1977-78 AFC Championship Game .
The Raiders reached the AFC Championship Game for the fifth consecutive season, and their sixth in eight years. They lost the AFC Championship, however, to the division rival Denver Broncos .[1] This marked the seventh time in ten seasons that the Raiders' season ended one game short of the Super Bowl . They did not return to the AFC Championship for the next two seasons.
The 1977 Raiders set a professional football record with 681 rushing attempts.[2] Fullback Mark van Eeghen 324 times for 1273 yards, and running back Clarence Davis ran 194 times for 787 yards.[3]
Offseason
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1977 Oakland Raiders roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists
Practice squad
Rookies in italics
Source:
Regular season
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Schedule
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Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Record
Venue
Attendance
1
September 18
San Diego Chargers
W 24–0
1–0
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
51,022
2
September 25
at Pittsburgh Steelers
W 16–7
2–0
Three Rivers Stadium
50,398
3
at Kansas City Chiefs
W 37–28
3–0
Arrowhead Stadium
60,684
4
October 9
at Cleveland Browns
W 26–10
4–0
Cleveland Municipal Stadium
80,236
5
October 16
Denver Broncos
L 7–30
4–1
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
53,616
6
October 23
at New York Jets
W 28–27
5–1
Shea Stadium
56,734
7
October 30
at Denver Broncos
W 24–14
6–1
Mile High Stadium
75,007
8
November 6
Seattle Seahawks
W 44–7
7–1
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
50,929
9
November 13
Houston Oilers
W 34–29
8–1
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
53,667
10
November 20
at San Diego Chargers
L 7–12
8–2
San Diego Stadium
50,887
11
Buffalo Bills
W 34–13
9–2
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
51,558
12
December 4
at Los Angeles Rams
L 14–20
9–3
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
67,075
13
December 11
Minnesota Vikings
W 35–13
10–3
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
52,771
14
December 18
Kansas City Chiefs
W 21–20
11–3
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
50,304
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
Chargers
Raiders
1
Raiders
Cliff Branch 7-yard touchdown reception from Ken Stabler, Errol Mann kick good
0
7
2
Raiders
20-yard field goal by Errol Mann
0
10
2
Raiders
Dave Casper 1-yard touchdown reception from Ken Stabler, Errol Mann kick good
0
17
3
Raiders
Pete Banaszak 2-yard touchdown run, Errol Mann kick good
0
24
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
0
24
1
2 3 4 Total
• Raiders
0
9 0 7
16
Steelers
0
0 0 7
7
[4]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Raiders
7
6 21 3
37
Chiefs
0
21 0 7
28
Scoring summary 1 OAK Fred Biletnikoff 21 yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann ) kickRaiders 7–0
2 OAK Errol Mann 42 yard field goal Raiders 10–0
2 KC Walter White 48 yard pass from Mike Livingston (Jan Stenerud kick)Raiders 10–7
2 KC Walter White 1 yard pass from Mike Livingston (Jan Stenerud kick) Chiefs 14–10
2 KC Henry Marshall 41 yard pass from Mike Livingston (Jan Stenerud kick)Chiefs 21–10
2 OAK Errol Mann 34 yard field goal Chiefs 21–13
3 OAK Pete Banaszak 1 yard run (Errol Mann kick)Chiefs 21–20
3 OAK Clarence Davis 37 yard run (Errol Mann kick)Raiders 27–21
3 OAK Clarence Davis 2 yard run (Errol Mann kick) Raiders 34–21
4 KC Lawrence Williams 13 yard run (Jan Stenerud kick)Raiders 34–28
4 OAK Errol Mann 22 yard field goal Raiders 37–28
[5]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Raiders
14
0 0 14
28
Jets
13
14 0 0
27
[6]
1
2 3 4 Total
Bills
3
7 3 0
13
• Raiders
13
7 14 0
34
Scoring summary 1 OAK Cliff Branch 28 yard pass from Ken Stabler (kick failed)Raiders 6–0
1 BUF Carson Long 33 yard field goal Raiders 6–3
1 OAK Fred Biletnikoff 44 yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick)Raiders 13–3
2 BUF John Kimbrough 29 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Carson Long kick)Raiders 13–10
2 OAK Pete Banaszak 1 yard run (Errol Mann kick)Raiders 20–10
3 BUF Carson Long 40 yard field goal Raiders 20–13
3 OAK Cliff Branch 12 yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick) Raiders 27–13
3 OAK Pete Banaszak 1 yard run (Errol Mann kick) Raiders 34–13
[7]
Oakland capitalizing on Minnesota mistakes, scored three times in the first 8 minutes and kept their hopes for a playoff berth alive. "We Got Stomped", Vikings coach Bud Grant said after his team had lost a total of five fumbles and had three passes intercepted. Ken Stabler threw three touchdown passes one to Carl Garrett for 2 yards, and two others to Cliff Branch from 32 and 10 yards. Mark Van Eeghan who rushed for 112 yards on 28 yards got the Raiders day going with a 2-yard touchdown run. While Willie Hall of Super Bowl XI fame scored a fumble recovery touchdown off a Tommy Kramer blunder.
Standings
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Playoffs
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Statistics
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Player
Comp
Att
Yards
TD
INT
Ken Stabler
169
294
2176
20
20
[14]
Player
Att
Yards
TD
Ken Stabler
3
−3
–
[14]
Receiving
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Player
Rec
Yards
TD
Dave Casper
48
584
6
Cliff Branch
33
540
6
Fred Biletnikoff
33
446
5
[14]
References
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^ a b Jenkins, Dan (January 9, 1978). "Wholly Moses for Denver" . Sports Illustrated . p. 14.
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1978 to 2011, in the regular season, sorted by descending Rushing Att
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 Oakland Raiders
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved 2014-Mar-10.
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Reid, Ron (January 2, 1978). "The Ghost to the Post" . Sports Illustrated . p. 12.
^ Livingston, Pat (December 25, 1977). "Oakland stops Baltimore, 37-31" . Pittsburgh Press . p. D1.
^ "Suddenly, the Raiders win a 37-31 decision" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). wire service reports. December 25, 1977. p. 3C.
^ "Broncos turn a dream into Super reality" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). wire service reports. January 2, 1978. p. 1B.
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Howitt, Bruce (January 2, 1978). "Denver and Dallas in Super shoot-out" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). Associated Press. p. 1B.
^ a b c Pro-Football-Reference.com
External links
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