After having appeared in the three previous
AFC Championship Games – and having lost all three—the 1976 Raiders finally won the conference championship,[1] and went on to win their first
Super Bowl.
After posting a 13–1 regular season record and winning their sixth
AFC West championship in seven seasons, and their fifth consecutive one, the Raiders won against both the
New England Patriots and
Pittsburgh Steelers to achieve the team's second Super Bowl berth. Then, on January 9, 1977, at the
Rose Bowl, the Raiders won
Super Bowl XI by rolling over the
Minnesota Vikings 32–14. With this victory, the Raiders achieved a 16–1 (.941) overall record. They were the best team in the NFL in 1976.
In 2012, the 1976 Oakland Raiders were named the greatest team of all time by NFL.com's "Bracketology"; a 15-day, six-round fan vote tournament that featured the 64 greatest teams from the
Super Bowl era. Oakland beat the
2000 Baltimore Ravens in the final round by a .8% margin.[2] The NFL on its 100th anniversary named the 1976 Raiders #8 on the 100 greatest teams of all time.[3][4]
The Road to their first World Championship began on opening day, as they hosted the two-time reigning world champion
Pittsburgh Steelers. Oakland trailed 28–14 with just over five minutes to play, yet orchestrated what many to this day refer to as their Comeback Classic of
1976. They won 31–28 on a 21-yard
Fred Steinfort field goal with 18 seconds left.
What followed was a mammoth five-game road trip, featuring wins over each of the Raiders' three divisional foes. It also included Oakland's lone loss on the year, a 48–17 shocker at
New England. However, this would just be a preview of things to come between the Raiders and the Patriots.
Oakland's first six wins were by a total of 28 points. Coupled with the loss, the Raiders actually were outscored 151–148 despite a 6–1 record. But they became virtually unbeatable after the defeat. Upon returning home, they cruised to big victories, like a 49–16 stomping of the expansion
Tampa Bay Buccaneers and had nail biters like the 28–27 victory against a competitive
Chicago Bear team at Soldier Field. They closed out the season with a 24–0 shutout of the
San Diego Chargers in Oakland, and ended allowing only 16 points total to division foes Denver, Kansas City and San Diego at home (Tampa Bay was also in the AFC West, finishing 0–14).
The Raiders ended the 1976 season with 64.3% of their passes completed;
Ken Stabler completed 66.7% of his passes. Fullback
Mark van Eeghen passed the 1,000-yard mark at 1,012 yards. Tight end
Dave Casper led the team in receptions with 53, while side receiver
Cliff Branch led in reception yards (1,111), touchdowns (12), and yards per reception for receivers who caught more than one pass (24.2).
Oakland escaped Chicago with a victory after a 31-yard field goal attempt by
Bob Thomas with 15 seconds left got caught in a gust of wind and hit the upright.