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19th season in franchise history
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.
Head coach Chuck Knox began his first season with the team, having coached the Los Angeles Rams for the previous five seasons.[ note 1] 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] [ 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 .
[ 3]
1978 Buffalo Bills staff
Front office
Coaching staff
Offensive coaches
Defensive/special teams coaches
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.
1
2 3 4 Total
• Steelers
0
14 0 14
28
Bills
0
0 0 17
17
1
2 3 4 Total
Colts
0
14 3 0
17
• Bills
14
10 0 0
24
Date: September 24Location: Rich StadiumGame 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)Referee: Cal Lepore Scoring summary 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
[ 4]
Week Five: Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Chiefs
6
0
0 7 13
Bills 0
21
7 0 28
at Rich Stadium , Orchard Park, New York
Date : October 1Game time : 1:00 p.m. EDT/12:00 p.m. CSTGame weather : 60 °F (16 °C)Game attendance : 47,310Referee : Gordon McCarter TV : NBCBox score
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.
Top passers Top rushers Top receivers
1
2 3 4 Total
• Patriots
0
7 7 0
14
Bills
3
0 0 7
10
[ 5]
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.
Top passers Top rushers Top receivers
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
Top passers Top rushers Top receivers
Note: Comp = Completions; ATT = Attempts; TD = Touchdowns; INT = Interceptions
Player
Games
Completions
Attempts
Yards
TD
INT
Rating
Joe Ferguson 16
175
330
2136
16
15
70.5
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
Player
Games
FGA
FGM
FG %
XPA
XPM
XP %
Tom Dempsey 16
13
10
76.9%
38
36
94.7%
^ Knox would coach the Bills for five seasons – through the 1982 season – before leaving for Seattle .
^ Miller's 1,060 yards would be the only 1,000-yard total of his three year career in Buffalo.
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Division championships (15) Conference championships (4) League championships (2) Wall of Fame Media Owners Current league affiliations Former league affiliation
