The 1978 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 9th season in the National Football League, and the 19th overall. The Bills were coming off a season in which they only won three games, making 1978 a slight improvement.
Quick Facts Buffalo Bills season, Owner ...
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Head coach Chuck Knox began his first season with the team, having coached the Los Angeles Rams for the previous five seasons.[note 1] It was also Buffalo's first season after the departure of star running back O. J. Simpson, who was traded to San Francisco for five draft picks in the offseason.
The Bills offense acquired a pair of weapons for quarterback Joe Ferguson: wide receiver Frank Lewis, who had spent the previous 7 seasons in Pittsburgh, and rookie running back Terry Miller, who ended the season with over 1,000 yards.[note 2]
The 1978 Bills' run defense allowed an NFL record 3,228 rushing yards; the 677 rushing attempts the Bills faced in 1978 is also an NFL record.[1] Oddly, the Bills were first in the league in yards allowed on pass defense, giving up only 1,960 yards through the air.[2]
Buffalo's week eight victory over the Cincinnati Bengals produced the second 5-0 final score in modern NFL history (since 1933); the other was a 1970 NFC divisional playoff between the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions.
Draft
More information Round, Pick ...
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Staff/coaches
1978 Buffalo Bills staff |
Front office
Coaching staff
Offensive coaches
- Offensive coordinator / offensive line – Ray Proschaska
- Running backs coach – Elijah Pitts
- Wide receivers coach – Jack Donaldson
Defensive/special teams coaches
- Defensive coordinator / linebackers coach - Tom Caitlin
- Defensive line – Willie Zapalac
- Defensive backs – Jim Wagstaff
- Special teams – Steve Moore & Elijah Pitts
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Roster
1978 Buffalo Bills roster
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Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
Practice squad
Rookies in italics
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Schedule
More information Week, Date ...
Week |
Date |
Opponent |
Result |
Record |
Venue |
Attendance |
1 |
September 3 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
L 17–28 |
0–1 |
Rich Stadium |
64,147 |
2 |
September 10 |
New York Jets |
L 20–21 |
0–2 |
Rich Stadium |
40,985 |
3 |
September 17 |
at Miami Dolphins |
L 24–31 |
0–3 |
Miami Orange Bowl |
48,373 |
4 |
September 24 |
Baltimore Colts |
W 24–17 |
1–3 |
Rich Stadium |
55,270 |
5 |
October 1 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
W 28–13 |
2–3 |
Rich Stadium |
47,310 |
6 |
October 8 |
at New York Jets |
L 14–45 |
2–4 |
Shea Stadium |
44,545 |
7 |
October 15 |
at Houston Oilers |
L 10–17 |
2–5 |
Astrodome |
47,727 |
8 |
October 22 |
Cincinnati Bengals |
W 5–0 |
3–5 |
Rich Stadium |
47,754 |
9 |
October 29 |
at Cleveland Browns |
L 20–41 |
3–6 |
Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
51,409 |
10 |
November 5 |
New England Patriots |
L 10–14 |
3–7 |
Rich Stadium |
44,897 |
11 |
November 12 |
Miami Dolphins |
L 24–25 |
3—8 |
Rich Stadium |
48,623 |
12 |
November 19 |
at Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
L 10–31 |
3–9 |
Tampa Stadium |
61,383 |
13 |
November 26 |
New York Giants |
W 41–17 |
4–9 |
Rich Stadium |
28,496 |
14 |
December 3 |
at Kansas City Chiefs |
L 10–14 |
4–10 |
Arrowhead Stadium |
25,781 |
15 |
December 10 |
at New England Patriots |
L 24–26 |
4–11 |
Schaefer Stadium |
59,598 |
16 |
December 17 |
at Baltimore Colts |
W 21–14 |
5–11 |
Memorial Stadium |
25,415 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |
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Season summary
Week 1
More information Total ...
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1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
• Steelers |
0 |
14 | 0 | 14 |
28 |
Bills |
0 |
0 | 0 | 17 |
17 |
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Week 4
More information Total, Scoring summary ...
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1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Colts |
0 |
14 | 3 | 0 |
17 |
• Bills |
14 |
10 | 0 | 0 |
24 |
- Date: September 24
- Location: Rich Stadium
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 56 °F or 13.3 °C; wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)
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Scoring summary |
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| Q1 | | BUF | Gant 19 yard pass from Ferguson (Dempsey kick) | BUF 7–0 |
| Q1 | | BUF | Lewis 28 yard pass from Ferguson (Dempsey kick) | BUF 14–0 |
| Q2 | | BAL | Leaks 17 yard pass from Troup (Linhart kick) | BUF 14–7 |
| Q2 | | BAL | McCall 5 yard blocked punt return (Linhart kick) | Tie 14–14 |
| Q2 | | BUF | Brown 102 yard kickoff return (Dempsey kick) | BUF 21–14 |
| Q2 | | BUF | Dempsey 21 yard field goal | BUF 24–14 |
| Q3 | | BAL | Linhart 21 yard field goal | BUF 24–17 |
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[4]
Week 5
More information Quarter, Total ...
Quarter |
1 |
2 |
3 | 4 | Total |
Chiefs |
6 |
0 |
0 | 7 | 13 |
Bills |
0 |
21 |
7 | 0 | 28 |
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More information Game information ...
Game information |
First quarter
- KC – Jan Stenerud 42-yard field goal. Chiefs 3–0.
- KC – Jan Stenerud 27-yard field goal. Chiefs 6–0.
Second quarter
Third quarter
- BUF – Curtis Brown 22-yard run (Tom Dempsey kick). Bills 28–6.
Fourth quarter
- KC – Ted McKnight 41-yard run (Jan Stenerud kick). Bills 28–13.
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- Top passers
- Top rushers
- Top receivers
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Week 10
More information Total ...
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1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
• Patriots |
0 |
7 | 7 | 0 |
14 |
Bills |
3 |
0 | 0 | 7 |
10 |
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[5]
Week 13 vs. Giants
More information Quarter, Total ...
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More information Game information ...
Game information |
First quarter
Second quarter
- NYG – Joe Danelo 27-yard field goal. Giants 10–7.
Third quarter
- NYG – Doug Kotar 19-yard pass from Joe Pisarcik (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 17–7.
- BUF – Roland Hooks 1-yard run (Tom Dempsey kick). Giants 17–14.
Fourth quarter
- BUF – Curtis Brown 1-yard run (Tom Dempsey kick). Bills 21–17.
- BUF – Lou Piccone 9-yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Tom Dempsey kick). Bills 28–17.
- BUF – Terry Miller 39-yard run (Tom Dempsey kick). Bills 35–17.
- BUF – Terry Miller 13-yard run (kick failed). Bills 41–17.
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- Top passers
- Top rushers
- Top receivers
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Week 14 at Chiefs
More information Quarter, Total ...
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More information Game information ...
Game information |
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
- BUF – Tom Dempsey 22-yard field goal. Bills 10–7.
- KC – Walter White 3-yard pass from Mike Livingston (Jan Stenerud kick). Chiefs 14–10.
Fourth quarter
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- Top passers
- Top rushers
- Top receivers
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Standings
More information AFC East standings, W ...
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Passing
Note: Comp = Completions; ATT = Attempts; TD = Touchdowns; INT = Interceptions
More information Player, Games ...
Player |
Games |
Completions |
Attempts |
Yards |
TD |
INT |
Rating |
Joe Ferguson | 16 | 175 | 330 | 2136 | 16 | 15 | 70.5 |
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Special teams
Note: FGA = Field Goals Attempted; FGM = Field Goals Made; FG% = Field goal percentage; XPA = Extra Points Attempted; XPM = Extra Points Made; XP% = Extra Points Percentage
More information Player, Games ...
Player |
Games |
FGA |
FGM |
FG % |
XPA |
XPM |
XP % |
Tom Dempsey | 16 | 13 | 10 | 76.9% | 38 | 36 | 94.7% |
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Miller's 1,060 yards would be the only 1,000-yard total of his three year career in Buffalo.