1975 Buffalo Bills season
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The 1975 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 6th season in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
, and the 16th overall.


Season summary

The Bills led the league in points scored, with 420 (30.0 per game). This amount is the most points scored by any team in a 14-game season after the merger, and the most points scored by any team in the 1970s. The Bills were the only team in NFL history to average at least 30 points per game and miss the playoffs, until being joined by the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...
in 2004. Buffalo won their first four games by an average of 17 points. They were 5–2 at the halfway point of the season, and one game behind the 6–1
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
in the AFC East. Buffalo then lost four of their final seven games, ultimately falling two games short of the division title. Bills' running back O. J. Simpson rushed for 1817 yards on the season, and set a then-record with 23 touchdowns scored for the season. Fullback
Jim Braxton James "Bubby" Robert Braxton (May 23, 1949 – July 28, 1986) was a professional American football fullback in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins. Collegiate career Jim Braxton started playing college football at West Virginia ...
had 823 yards rushing. Buffalo's ground game dominated the league, with a total of 2974 rushing yards, over 300 yards more than the second best rushing total. The 1975 Bills have the distinction of giving up the most total passing yards (3,080) in a 14-game schedule during the merger era. However, the Bills' 45 takeaways on defense led the league in 1975. Defensive back Robert James and
safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...
Doug Jones were lost to the season with knee injuries.


Offseason


NFL Draft

Buffalo's defense gave up the fourth-most yards in the NFL in 1974, and so the Bills' first two picks in the 1975 draft were a pair of Nebraska linebackers –
Tom Ruud Thomas Robert Ruud (born July 26, 1953, in Olivia, Minnesota) is a former professional football player, a linebacker for the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL. At 6'3" 223 lb, he played college football for the Nebraska Cornhus ...
and Bob Nelson—both of whom played for Buffalo for three seasons. N.C. State running back Roland Hooks played in every Bills game from 1976–1981. He is best known for his "Hail Mary" reception against
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
in Week Twelve of the 1981 season, a catch which was instrumental in putting Buffalo into the postseason that year.


Personnel


Staff/Coaches


Final roster


Regular season


Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.


Season summary


Week 1 vs Jets


Week 2 at Steelers


Week 3 vs Broncos

Pro-Football-Reference.com
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Week 4 at Colts


Week 5 vs Giants


Week 6 vs Dolphins


Week 7 at Jets


Week 8 vs Colts


Week 9 at Bengals

''MNF''


Week 10 vs Patriots


Week 11 at Cardinals

Thursday game


Week 12 at Dolphins


Week 13 at Patriots


Week 14 vs Vikings

''Saturday game'' *Snow


Standings


Awards and honors


All-Pros

First Team * Joe DeLamielleure, Guard * O. J. Simpson, Running back Second Team * Reggie McKenzie, Guard


See also

* Electric Company


References


Bills on Pro Football Reference

Bills on jt-sw.com

Bills Stats on jt-sw.com
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