1976 New York Jets season
Encyclopedia
The 1976
New York Jets
season was the 17th season for the team and the seventh in the National Football League
. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 3–11 record from 1975 under new head coach Lou Holtz
. The Jets again finished with a record of 3–11, which combined with the departure of Holtz before the end of the season, prompted John Facenda
to say about the Jets during the NFL Films
highlight film for that season "Perhaps the best thing to say about the 1976 New York Jets season is that it's over". This also marked the final season for Joe Namath
with the Jets.
1976 NFL season
The 1976 NFL season was the 57th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 28 teams with the addition of the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers...
New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
season was the 17th season for the team and the seventh in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 3–11 record from 1975 under new head coach Lou Holtz
Lou Holtz
Louis Leo "Lou" Holtz is a retired American football coach, and active sportscaster, author, and motivational speaker in the United States...
. The Jets again finished with a record of 3–11, which combined with the departure of Holtz before the end of the season, prompted John Facenda
John Facenda
John Thomas Ralph Augustine James Facenda was an American broadcaster and sports announcer. He was a fixture on Philadelphia radio and television for decades, and achieved national fame as a narrator for NFL Films and Football Follies...
to say about the Jets during the NFL Films
NFL Films
NFL Films is a Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based company devoted to producing commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries on the National Football League, as well as other unrelated major events and awards shows...
highlight film for that season "Perhaps the best thing to say about the 1976 New York Jets season is that it's over". This also marked the final season for Joe Namath
Joe Namath
Joseph William "Joe" Namath , nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Alabama under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the...
with the Jets.
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Game site | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1976-09-12 | Cleveland Browns Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 38–17 | Cleveland Stadium Cleveland Stadium Cleveland Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in Cleveland, Ohio. In its final years, the stadium seated 74,438, for baseball and 81,000, for football. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and football... |
|
| 2 | 1976-09-19 | Denver Broncos Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 46–3 | Mile High Stadium Mile High Stadium Mile High Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, that stood in Denver, Colorado, from 1948 until 2001.It hosted the Denver Broncos, of the AFL and the NFL, from 1960-2000, the Colorado Rockies, of the National League, of the MLB, from 1993-1994, the Colorado Rapids, of MLS, from 1996-2001, the... |
|
| 3 | 1976-09-26 | Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 16–0 | Miami Orange Bowl Miami Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl, formerly Burdine Stadium, was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, west of downtown in Little Havana. Considered a landmark, it was the home stadium for the Miami Hurricanes college football team... |
|
| 4 | 1976-10-03 | San Francisco 49ers San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and... |
L 17–6 | Candlestick Park | |
| 5 | 1976-10-10 | Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 17–14 | Shea Stadium Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008... |
|
| 6 | 1976-10-18 | New England Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National... |
L 41–7 | Schafer Stadium Foxboro Stadium Foxboro Stadium was an outdoor stadium, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts... |
|
| 7 | 1976-10-24 | Baltimore Colts Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League .... |
L 20–0 | Shea Stadium Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008... |
|
| 8 | 1976-10-31 | Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 19–14 | Rich Stadium Ralph Wilson Stadium Ralph Wilson Stadium is a football stadium, located in the town of Orchard Park, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. It is the home for the Buffalo Bills, of the NFL... |
|
| 9 | 1976-11-07 | Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 27–7 | Shea Stadium Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008... |
|
| 10 | 1976-11-14 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West... |
W 34–0 | Shea Stadium Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008... |
|
| 11 | 1976-11-21 | New England Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National... |
L 38–24 | Shea Stadium Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008... |
|
| 12 | 1976-11-28 | Baltimore Colts Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League .... |
L 33–16 | Memorial Stadium Memorial Stadium (Baltimore) Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an over-sized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue , 36th Street , and Ednor Road... |
|
| 13 | 1976-12-05 | Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,... |
L 37–16 | Shea Stadium Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008... |
|
| 14 | 1976-12-12 | Cincinnati Bengals Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL... |
L 42–3 | Shea Stadium Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008... |
|
Standings
| AFC East AFC East The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. There are four members: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots , and New York Jets... |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| New England Patriots 1976 New England Patriots season The 1976 New England Patriots season was the seventh season for the team in the National Football League and 17th season overall. After a nine-year stretch in which they posted just one .500 season amid eight losing years, the Patriots turned around their fortunes, going 11–3 and rushing for 2,957... |
11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 376 | 236 | W-6 |
| Baltimore Colts 1976 Baltimore Colts season The 1976 Baltimore Colts season was the 24th season for the team in the National Football League. The Baltimore Colts finished the National Football League's 1976 season with a record of 11 wins and 3 losses, and finished tied for first in the AFC East division with the New England Patriots... |
11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 417 | 246 | W-1 |
| Miami Dolphins 1976 Miami Dolphins season The 1976 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 11th as a member of the National Football League. The Dolphins failed to improve on their previous season's output of 10–4, winning only six games. One of these wins came over their new in-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – who proceeded to lose... |
6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 263 | 264 | L-1 |
| New York Jets | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 169 | 383 | L-4 |
| Buffalo Bills 1976 Buffalo Bills season The 1976 Buffalo Bills season was the 17th season for the club and its 7th in the National Football League.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Standings:-Awards and honors:... |
2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 245 | 363 | L-10 |
In Popular Culture
- The television series, Barney MillerBarney MillerBarney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker...
, referenced the game between the Buccaneers playing at the Jets, in the 3rd season episode "The Recluse", in which Yemana had tickets to the Jets/Tampa Bay game. When asked "Why?", his response, "They were on sale". The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished 0–14 the same season.