# 1975 Buffalo Bills season

The 1975 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's sixth season in the NFL, and its 16th overall. The Bills failed to improve on their 9–5 record from last year and finished 8–6. They enjoyed their third consecutive winning season, but they still failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1973.

## 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 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 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 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 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 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 in Week Twelve of the 1981 season, a catch which was instrumental in putting Buffalo into the postseason that year.
1975 Buffalo Bills draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 19 | Tom Ruud | Linebacker | Nebraska |
| 2 | 42 | Bob Nelson | Linebacker | Nebraska |
| 2 | 50 | Glenn Loft | Defensive back | Drake |
| 4 | 102 | Tom Donchez | Running back | Penn State |
| 5 | 115 | John McCrumbly | Linebacker | Texas A&M |
| 7 | 166 | Gil Chapman | Running back | Michigan |
| 7 | 174 | Reggie Cherry | Running back | Houston |
| 7 | 175 | Harry Banks | Defensive back | Michigan |
| 8 | 201 | John Hill | Defensive tackle | Duke |
| 10 | 253 | Roland Hooks | Running back | NC State |
| 11 | 279 | Tom Drake | Defensive back | Michigan |
| 12 | 305 | Mark Johnson | Defensive end | Missouri |
| 13 | 331 | Mark Dienhart | Offensive tackle | St. Thomas (MN) |
| 14 | 357 | Robert Evans | Wide receiver | Morris Brown |
| 15 | 383 | Chris Kupec | Quarterback | North Carolina |
| 16 | 408 | Tom Fine | Tight end | Notre Dame |
| 17 | 435 | Jeff Turcotte | Defensive end | Colorado |
| Made roster ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 21 | New York Jets | W 42–14 | 1–0 | Rich Stadium | 77,837 |
| 2 | September 28 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 30–21 | 2–0 | Three Rivers Stadium | 49,348 |
| 3 | October 5 | Denver Broncos | W 38–14 | 3–0 | Rich Stadium | 79,864 |
| 4 | October 12 | at Baltimore Colts | W 38–31 | 4–0 | Memorial Stadium | 43,907 |
| 5 | October 20 | New York Giants | L 14–17 | 4–1 | Rich Stadium | 79,428 |
| 6 | October 26 | Miami Dolphins | L 30–35 | 4–2 | Rich Stadium | 79,141 |
| 7 | November 2 | at New York Jets | W 24–23 | 5–2 | Shea Stadium | 58,343 |
| 8 | November 9 | Baltimore Colts | L 35–42 | 5–3 | Rich Stadium | 77,320 |
| 9 | November 17 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 24–33 | 5–4 | Riverfront Stadium | 56,666 |
| 10 | November 23 | New England Patriots | W 45–31 | 6–4 | Rich Stadium | 65,655 |
| 11 | November 27 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 32–14 | 7–4 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 41,899 |
| 12 | December 7 | at Miami Dolphins | L 21–31 | 7–5 | Miami Orange Bowl | 78,701 |
| 13 | December 14 | at New England Patriots | W 34–14 | 8–5 | Schaefer Stadium | 58,393 |
| 14 | December 20 | Minnesota Vikings | L 13–35 | 8–6 | Rich Stadium | 54,993 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Season summary
#### Week 1 vs Jets

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jets | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Bills | 14 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
* Date: September 21
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C), wind 13 mph (21 km/h)
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
First quarter
Bills – O. J. Simpson 2 yard run (John Leypoldt kick) – Bills 7–0
Bills – Jim Braxton 3 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (John Leypoldt kick) – Bills 14–0
Jets – Rich Caster 28 yard pass from Joe Namath (Pat Leahy kick) – Bills 14–7
Second quarter
Bills – O. J. Simpson 5 yard run (John Leypoldt kick) – Bills 21–7
Jets – Eddie Bell 12 yard pass from Joe Namath (Pat Leahy kick) – Bills 21–14
Third quarter
Bills – Paul Seymour 2 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (John Leypoldt kick) – Bills 28–14
Bills – Joe Ferguson 1 yard run (John Leypoldt kick) – Bills 35–14
Fourth quarter
Bills – Pat Toomay 44 yard interception return (John Leypoldt kick) – Bills 42–14
Jets
Joe Namath 14/36, 173 Yds, 2 TD, 4 INT
John Riggins 10 Rush, 61 Yds
Rich Caster 6 Rec, 103 Yds, TD
Bills
Joe Ferguson 7/13, 67 Yds, 2 TD
O. J. Simpson 32 Rush, 173 Yds, 3 TD
Bob Chandler 3 Rec, 34 Yds :

#### Week 2 at Steelers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bills (1-0) | 0 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 30 |
| Steelers (1-0) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 21 |

#### Week 3 vs Broncos

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Broncos | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • Bills | 10 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 38 |

#### Week 4 at Colts

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bills (3-0) | 10 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 38 |
| Colts (1-2) | 14 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 31 |

#### Week 5 vs Giants

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Giants | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 17 |
| Bills | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

#### Week 6 vs Dolphins

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Dolphins (4-1) | 0 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
| Bills (4-1) | 13 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 30 |

#### Week 7 at Jets

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bills (4-2) | 7 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 24 |
| Jets (2-4) | 3 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 23 |

#### Week 8 vs Colts

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colts (3-4) | 0 | 21 | 0 | 21 | 42 |
| Bills (5–2) | 7 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 35 |

#### Week 9 at Bengals

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bills (5-3) | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Bengals (7-1) | 6 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 33 |
MNF

#### Week 10 vs Patriots

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Patriots (3-6) | 7 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
| Bills (5-4) | 14 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 45 |

#### Week 11 at Cardinals

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bills (6-4) | 6 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 32 |
| Cardinals (8-2) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
Thursday game

#### Week 12 at Dolphins

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bills (7-4) | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 21 |
| Dolphins (8-3) | 7 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 31 |

#### Week 13 at Patriots

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bills (7-5) | 6 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 34 |
| Patriots (3-9) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

#### Week 14 vs Vikings

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings (11-2) | 14 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 35 |
| Bills (8-5) | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
Saturday game
* Snow

### Standings

AFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Baltimore Colts$^{(3)}$ | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 6–2 | 8–3 | 395 | 269 | W9 |
| Miami Dolphins | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 6–2 | 7–4 | 357 | 222 | W1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 5–3 | 7–4 | 420 | 355 | L1 |
| New York Jets | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 2–6 | 3–8 | 258 | 433 | L2 |
| New England Patriots | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 1–7 | 2–9 | 258 | 358 | L6 |

## Awards and honors
### All-Pros

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