# 1976 Philadelphia Eagles season

The 1976 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's 44th in the National Football League (NFL). The Eagles were led by first-year head coach Dick Vermeil. The Eagles matched their 4–10 record from the previous season and failed to reach the playoffs for the 16th consecutive season. It was also the 10th straight season for Philadelphia in which they did not end the season with an above .500 record.

## Invincible

The season was featured in the 2006 film Invincible. The film was about wide receiver and special teamer Vince Papale, portrayed by Mark Wahlberg, who was signed after receiving an invite to training camp after his success with the fledgling World Football League (WFL) team, the Philadelphia Bell. The film also feature the hiring of Dick Vermeil, portrayed by Greg Kinnear, and his first training camp with the team. The movie also showed multiple preseason games, as well as the Eagles' road game against the Dallas Cowboys and their first victory of the season over the New York Giants. In 1976, the gung-ho new coach of football's hapless Philadelphia Eagles, Dick Vermeil, held open tryouts. Papale's fumble recovery for a touchdown against the Giants did actually happen, however the touchdown was nullified as it was ruled a muffed punt, which can't be advanced. As is typical with movies based on a true story however, several other events depicted in the movie, never happened.

## Offseason

After coaching 12th ranked UCLA to a win over the number 1 overall ranked Ohio State in the 1976 Rose Bowl 23–10, Vermeil was offered Eagles head coaching job. Due to trades, he did not get a first-round selection in his first draft.

### NFL Draft

The Philadelphia Eagles would pick 9th in the 17 rounds. The Eagles didn't have a selection in rounds 1, 2, 3, and 12 due to trades.
1976 Philadelphia Eagles Draft :
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 4 | 111 | Mike Smith | DE | Florida | |
| 5 | 135 | Greg Johnson | DT | Florida State | |
| 6 | 165 | Kirk Johnson | T | Howard Payne | |
| 7 | 191 | Carl Hairston | DE | Maryland-Eastern Shore | |
| 8 | 216 | Richard LaFargue | C | Arkansas | |
| 9 | 247 | Mike Hogan | RB | Tennessee-Chattanooga | Pick Acquired from Chicago Bears |
| 9 | 248 | Richard Osborne | TE | Texas A&M | |
| 10 | 273 | Herb Lusk | RB | Long Beach State | |
| 11 | 300 | Mike Gilbert | DT | San Diego State | |
| 13 | 353 | Terry Tautolo | LB | UCLA | Pick Acquired from New York Jets |
| 13 | 358 | Steve Ebbecke | DB | Villanova | |
| 14 | 385 | Melvin Shy | DB | Tennessee State | |
| 15 | 412 | Brett White | Punter | UCLA | |
| 16 | 439 | Steve Campassi | RB | Kentucky | |
| 17 | 470 | Anthony Terry | DB | California-Davis | |

## Regular season
### Schedule

A game against the St. Louis Cardinals on October 10 was originally scheduled to be played at Veterans Stadium, but was relocated to St. Louis due to a Philadelphia Phillies game for the MLB National League Championship that ended up being played at Veterans Stadium on the same day. The game on November 7 that was originally scheduled to be played in St. Louis was moved to Philadelphia.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 12 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 7–27 | 0–1 | Texas Stadium | 54,052 |
| 2 | September 19 | New York Giants | W 20–7 | 1–1 | Veterans Stadium | 66,005 |
| 3 | September 27 | Washington Redskins | L 17–20 (OT) | 1–2 | Veterans Stadium | 66,005 |
| 4 | October 3 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 14–13 | 2–2 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 45,535 |
| 5 | October 10 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 14–33 | 2–3 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 44,933 |
| 6 | October 17 | at Green Bay Packers | L 13–28 | 2–4 | Lambeau Field | 55,398 |
| 7 | October 24 | Minnesota Vikings | L 12–31 | 2–5 | Veterans Stadium | 56,233 |
| 8 | October 31 | at New York Giants | W 10–0 | 3–5 | Giants Stadium | 68,690 |
| 9 | November 7 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 14–17 | 3–6 | Veterans Stadium | 65,505 |
| 10 | November 14 | at Cleveland Browns | L 3–24 | 3–7 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 62,120 |
| 11 | November 21 | Oakland Raiders | L 7–26 | 3–8 | Veterans Stadium | 65,990 |
| 12 | November 28 | at Washington Redskins | L 0–24 | 3–9 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | 54,292 |
| 13 | December 5 | Dallas Cowboys | L 7–26 | 3–10 | Veterans Stadium | 55,072 |
| 14 | December 12 | Seattle Seahawks | W 27–10 | 4–10 | Veterans Stadium | 37,949 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

## Standings

NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | 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 |