1976 San Diego Chargers season

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1976 San Diego Chargers season
Owner
Eugene V. Klein
General managerJohnny Sanders
Head coachTommy Prothro
Home fieldSan Diego Stadium
Results
Record6–8
Division place3rd AFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
1
AP All-ProsNone
Veteran wide receiver Charlie Joiner gained the first Pro Bowl nomination of his career after joining the Chargers from Cincinnati.

The 1976 San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's seventh season in the National Football League (NFL), and its 17th overall. The Chargers improved on their 2–12 record from 1975 and finished 6–8, but missed the playoffs for the 11th straight season. The Chargers started off the season by winning their first 3 games, but they struggled through the rest of the season by losing 8 of their last 11 games, which included 4 shutout losses, two of which were to division rival Denver.

Future Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh spent this season as the Chargers' offensive coordinator, before moving on to Stanford University at the end of the year. Despite the shutouts, he oversaw a general improvement in the offense, as their yards per game improved from second-worst to 11th-best in the NFL. The Chargers began to pass more often, with quarterback Dan Fouts setting new career highs in every major passing category. He was aided by the acquisition of veteran wide receiver Charlie Joiner, who joined the team in a trade for defensive lineman Coy Bacon. Joiner was one of only three players league-wide to have over 1,000 receiving yards in 1976.

With Bacon having departed, the Chargers brought in Leroy Jones to join 2nd-year players Louie Kelcher, Gary "Big Hands" Johnson and Fred Dean on the defensive line. This would become a strong unit in the years ahead, known as the Bruise Brothers. In 1976, however, the Chargers defense ranked only 22nd in the league, with their pass defense ranked 27th out of 28 teams.

Offseason

Departures & arrivals

San Diego were involved in a significant trade in April, sending defensive end

sacks in 1975, he was a critic of the Chargers organization who had frequently asked to be traded.[3] Joiner had spent three and a half seasons in Houston before playing with the Bengals for the same length of time - his 1975 season had been the most productive of his career to that point in terms of catches (37) and yards (726).[4] He had an immediate impact, with four consecutive 100-yard games early in the season,[5] and a final total of 1,056 yards, third best in the league.[6] Joiner was voted to the Pro Bowl; quarterback Dan Fouts described him as the best receiver he had played with, praising his intelligence.[7] It was also the start of a long and successful spell in San Diego, covering 11 seasons and including three Pro Bowl nominations and a 1st-Team All-Pro nomination. Joiner eventually retired with the NFL career records for receptions and receiving yards,[8] and was later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[9]

Other changes to the offense included the departure of two offensive line starters.

Guard Ira Gordon had started every game the past two seasons, but joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the expansion draft.[10] Tackle Terry Owens had started over 100 games for the Chargers since being drafted by them in 1966,[11] though he had missed half the previous season with a back injury.[12] A trade to the Saints fell through because Owens had been placed on injured reserve the previous season; he was waived and claimed by the Raiders instead. Like Bacon, Owens parted with the Chargers on bad terms, describing them as a 'dog' team.[13][14] At running back, the Chargers added two-time Super Bowl winner Mercury Morris,[15] though he retired after only one season in San Diego.[16]

To replace the departing Bacon, the Chargers brought in a new defensive end.

Edmonton, before being signed by the Los Angeles Rams on 6 May.[17] On 6 September, Jones was traded to San Diego for an undisclosed draft pick.[18] Jones went on to start 90 games and post 45 sacks during an eight-year career in San Diego,[19] playing on the defensive line unit that would become known as the Bruise Brothers.[20] The Chargers also brought in defensive tackle Charles DeJurnett from the Southern California Sun of the World Football League.[21] Though primarily a backup, he had 21+1⁄2 sacks during his five years in San Diego.[22] On special teams, long-serving punter Dennis Partee lost his job to former Cowboy Mitch Hoopes.[23] Partee had missed only a single game in eight years with the Chargers, but he had struggled with a back injury in 1975, and his average yards per kick had declined.[24] Hoopes himself was cut and replaced with Jeff West during the season.[25]

San Diego also gained a new offensive coordinator in Bill Walsh, who had built a reputation as a strong coach of the passing game during eight seasons in Cincinnati.[26] Walsh, who would go on to earn a place in the Hall of Fame through his work in San Francisco,[27] stayed with the Chargers for less than a year,[28] but was instrumental in quarterback Fouts' development during that period.[29]

NFL draft

Main article: 1976 NFL draft

The Chargers had the 4th overall pick in the draft, and used it on

Chargers 50th Anniversary Team.[33][34]

In the 5th round, the Chargers acquired another long-time starter in linebacker Woodrow Lowe. Lowe started every game in his rookie season, and proved durable throughout an 11-season career spent entirely in San Diego, appearing in 164 of a possible 165 games, and starting 151, while compiling 26 sacks, 21 interceptions and four defensive touchdowns.[35] Like Macek, he was later named in the 50th Anniversary team.[34] Two further selections at linebacker would eventually break into the first team: Bob Horn was mainly a backup through his first two seasons, but started every game from 1978 to 1980, eventually playing for six years in San Diego;[36] Ray Preston's 29 starts with the team all came in 1979 and 1980, but he appeared in nearly 100 further games throughout a nine-year career, all with the Chargers.[37] The trio played together in every game during the 1979 season, a year when the Chargers went 12–4 with the league's second-ranked defense.[38]

1976 San Diego Chargers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 4 Joe Washington *  Running back Oklahoma
2 31 Don Macek  Center Boston college
3 64 Larry Dorsey  Wide receiver Tennessee State
4 94 Bob Horn  Linebacker Oregon State
4 113 Ron Singleton  Tackle Grambling State
4 115 Artie Owens  Wide receiver West Virginia
5 131 Woodrow Lowe  Linebacker Alabama
6 178 Calvin Lane  Defensive back Fresno State
8 212 Tony DiRienzo  Kicker Oklahoma
9 251 Glynn Harrison  Running back Georgia
10 268 Jeff Perlinger  Defensive end Michigan
11 295 Ray Preston  Linebacker Syracuse
12 322 Ron Lee  Defensive back Oregon
12 337 Herman Harris  Defensive back Mississippi Valley State
13 351 John Lee  Defensive end Nebraska
14 378 Ed Jones  Guard Cincinnati
15 407 Jack Hoffman  Defensive tackle Indiana
16 434 Jack Harrison  Guard California
17 463 Clarence Sanders  Linebacker Cincinnati
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[39]

Personnel

Staff

1975 San Diego Chargers staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

[40][41][42]



Roster

1976 San Diego Chargers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • 88
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 65
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 15
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 27
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 22
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 24
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)

[43][18][44][45][46][47]

Rookies in italics

[48][49]

Preseason

The Chargers scored three rushing touchdowns in their preseason opener against the Eagles. Don Woods scored the first two after an interception and a fumble recovery by Mike Williams, and Washington, the Chargers' 1st-round pick, had the third.[50] Against the Patriots, Woods again scored twice and Washington once, before Chris Fletcher sealed the win with an interception return touchdown on the game's final play.[51] The victory was marred when Washington sustained a knee injury while making a cut.[52] While head coach Tommy Prothro initially reported the injury not to be too serious, Washington eventually needed surgery and missed the entire season.[47]

In their next game San Diego met the Cardinals in Japan; it was the first time an

Dwight MacDonald scoring their lone touchdown on a pass from Fouts.[53] Their following game was the NFL's first in Hawaii. Fouts was rested, with backup Neal Jeffrey playing the whole game. Rickey Young scored a touchdown, and Sergio Albert kicked three field goals, the last for a 16–14 lead with 59 seconds to play, but San Francisco came back with a winning field goal as time expired.[54]

The Chargers lost their fifth game in Seattle, giving the expansion Seahawks their first win as an NFL franchise. Fouts and MacDonald combined for another touchdown, and Bo Matthews put broke a 10–10 tie with a 9-yard run in the final quarter. However, kicker John Delaney missed the extra point, eventually allowing Seattle to win the game with a touchdown and successful conversion with 13 seconds to play.[55] For their preseason finale, the Chargers returned to San Diego and evened their record at 3–3 by beating the Giants. Charlie Joiner caught touchdown passes from both Fouts and Jeffrey as the Chargers overcame a 13–0 1st quarter deficit, winning 14–13 after New York's kicker missed a late field goal attempt.[56]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 July 31 Philadelphia Eagles W 20–7 1–0 San Diego Stadium 23,862
2 August 6 vs. New England Patriots W 26–17 2–0 Owen Field, Norman, Oklahoma 23,800
3 August 16 vs. St. Louis Cardinals L 10–20 2–1 Korakuen Stadium, Tokyo, Japan 38,000
4 August 21 vs. San Francisco 49ers L 16–17 2–2
Honolulu, Hawaii
 36,364
5 August 29 at Seattle Seahawks L 16–17 2–3 Kingdome 59,092
6 September 4 New York Giants W 14–13 3–3 San Diego Stadium 28,797

[57]

Regular season

Overview

Bill Walsh oversaw a considerable improvement during his single season as offensive coordinator.

San Diego took only three weeks to improve upon their

shutouts and finishing 6–8.[59] Despite the shutouts, the offense improved considerably under Walsh, going from the 25th- to the 11th-ranked team for total yardage.[60][59]

The passing game became much more productive, with ten more touchdowns and over 800 more yards than the previous year. Fouts played in every game and started all bar one. He comfortably set new career highs for attempts (359), completions (208), yards (2,535) and touchdowns (14),

Offensive Rookie of the Year, added 450 yards as he returned from a serious knee injury.[66]

The Charger defense ranked 22nd in the league, showing a vulnerability to the pass.[59] Opposing teams passed for 2,628 yards; only the Dolphins gave up more.[67] San Diego did manage 20 interceptions, with Don Goode (6) and Mike Williams (4) accounting for half of them. Louie Kelcher unofficially[a] led the Chargers in sacks with 6+1⁄2, but the team had only 23 in total, fifth-lowest in the NFL; Bacon, who the Chargers had traded to Cincinnati in the offseason, had a league-leading 21+1⁄2 by himself.[67][69]

On special teams, Mike Fuller averaged 13.2 yards per punt return, fourth-best in the league. The team did not fair as well on kickoff returns: Fuller and Artie Owens split the returns, but neither averaged in the league's top 20.[70] The Chargers cut kicker Ray Wersching after acquiring Toni Fritsch from the Dallas Cowboys before the start of the season, then recalled Wersching when Fritsch was injured after five games.[71] Both kickers converted 50% of their field goals, well below the league leaders, who converted over 78%.[72] They also changed punters mid-season, with Hoopes cut after a pair of errors.[73] His replacement, West, produced more yards per punt (40.7 to 38.8).[59]

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 12 at Kansas City Chiefs W 30–16 1–0 Arrowhead Stadium 53,133 Recap
2 September 19 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 23–0 2–0 Tampa Stadium 39,558 Recap
3 September 26 St. Louis Cardinals W 43–24 3–0 San Diego Stadium 40,212 Recap
4 October 3 at Denver Broncos L 0–26 3–1 Mile High Stadium 63,369 Recap
5 October 10 Oakland Raiders L 17–27 3–2 San Diego Stadium 50,523 Recap
6 October 17 Houston Oilers W 30–27 4–2 San Diego Stadium 31,565 Recap
7 October 24 at Cleveland Browns L 17–21 4–3
Cleveland Municipal Stadium
 60,018 Recap
8 October 31 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 0–23 4–4 Three Rivers Stadium 45,484 Recap
9 November 7 Baltimore Colts L 21–37 4–5 San Diego Stadium 42,827 Recap
10 November 14 Denver Broncos L 0–17 4–6 San Diego Stadium 32,017 Recap
11 November 21 at Buffalo Bills W 34–13 5–6
Rich Stadium
 36,539 Recap
12 November 28 Kansas City Chiefs L 20–23 5–7 San Diego Stadium 29,272 Recap
13 December 5 San Francisco 49ers W 13–7 (OT) 6–7 San Diego Stadium 33,539 Recap
14 December 12 at Oakland Raiders L 0–24 6–8
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
 50,102 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

All game reports use the Pro Football Researchers' gamebook archive as a source.[74] Television details sourced via 506sports archive.[75]

Week 1: at Kansas City Chiefs

Week One: San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 6 7 14330
Chiefs 6 10 0016

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: September 12
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m.
    CDT
  • Game weather: 74 °F (23.3 °C), relative humidity 41%, wind 15 mph
  • Game attendance: 53,133
  • Referee: Bob Frederic
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jack Buck and Len Dawson
  • Box score
Game information

Seventeen unanswered points in the second half were enough for San Diego to begin their season with a win.

extra point attempt blocked, and Hoopes later had a punt blocked after struggling to field a low snap. That led to a Kansas City touchdown, though the score remained tied at 6–6 after Lowe produced an extra point block of his own. Don Goode later set up a field goal try with an interception, but Fritsch was the victim of yet another blocked kick. The Chiefs went ahead with a successful field goal, but San Diego responded with a 67-yard touchdown drive, Morris breaking off a 30-yard run to the 3, from where Fouts found Joiner for his first Charger touchdown on the following play. Kansas City came straight back with a quick touchdown drive, and led 16–13 at halftime.[77]

San Diego opened up the second half with a 74-yard touchdown drive. Joiner had catches of 16 and 18 yards, Woods had runs of 18 and 14 yards, and Sam Scarber ran in the go-ahead score from the 2. Lowe then ended a Kansas City threat when he recovered a fumble in his own territory. After an exchange of punts, the Chargers put together a 12-play, 86-yard drive, converting three 3rd downs, the last of which was Garrison's 22-yard touchdown catch on 3rd and 10. An interception by Tom Graham set up a Fritsch field goal soon afterwards, and another Goode interception helped ensure the lead stood up.[77]

All four San Diego touchdown drives covered at least 67 yards. The Chargers produced 467 yards of offense, more than they'd managed in any game during the 1975 season.[60] Garrison's touchdown came on his 404th and final reception as a Charger.[78]

Week 2: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week Two: San Diego Chargers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 3 3 01723
Buccaneers 0 0 000

at

Tampa Bay, Florida

Game information

San Diego ground out a defensive win in a game with no touchdowns in the first 57 minutes.

three-and-out on each of their first four possessions, while San Diego took the lead through a 48-yard Fritsch field goal. Tampa Bay missed a field goal try in the 2nd quarter, and Fritsch soon converted from the same distance again, though he missed shorter kicks on the Chargers' next two possessions, keeping the halftime score at 6–0.[80]

On the opening possession of the 3rd quarter, Fritch ended a third consecutive drive with a failed field goal, this one being blocked. Fritsch did convert a 22-yard attempt in the final quarter, pushing the advantage up to 9–0. The Buccaneers threatened to respond when Parnell Dickinson, the third quarterback they'd used throughout the game, broke away on a 46-yard run, but the drive ended with another missed field goal. On the following drive, Young put the game away when he went around right end for a 46-yard touchdown run with 2:55 to play. Tom Hayes added another touchdown only 18 seconds later when he intercepted Dickinson and was untouched on a 37-yard return.[80]

The Buccaneers' starting quarterback, Steve Spurrier, finished with 3 completions from 10 passes for 13 yards. Neither of his replacements completed a pass, with Larry Lawrence intercepted on two of his five passes, and Dickinson on one of his three attempts. With John Lee and Gary Johnson posting a sack each for a loss of 17 yards, Tampa Bay finished with -4 passing yards. In total offensive yardage, San Diego had a 326–125 advantage, while picking up 16 first downs to the Buccaneers' 5. Garrison separated his shoulder while trying to catch an off-target Fouts pass, and missed the rest of the season.[79]

Week 3: vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Week Three: St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 10 0 7724
Chargers 6 27 3743

at

San Diego, California

Game information

Four unanswered 2nd quarter touchdowns helped maintain the Chargers' unbeaten start.[81] On the game's first play from scrimmage, Joiner took a short pass for a 59-yard gain, with Doug Wilkerson making a key block. Woods overpowered multiple tacklers on the following play, a 13-yard touchdown run. Two scoring drives by the Cardinals put them 10–6 ahead, before San Diego drove to a 3rd and 1 at the St. Louis 3 as time expired in the opening quarter. Young ran the ball in on the following play, Rick Middleton recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and Fouts immediately hit Joiner for a 30-yard touchdown, giving the Chargers two scores in the opening 17 seconds of the 2nd quarter. Graham set up two further Charger scores with a fumble recovery and an interception; both times, Fouts combined with MacDonald on touchdown passes, covering 44 and 18 yards. Trailing 33–10 at the break, the Cardinals responded with a touchdown on the opening possession of the second half, but the Chargers responded with a field goal drive, and later put the game away with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Fouts to tight end Pat Curran.[82]

Fouts completed 15 of 18 passes for 259 yards, with 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. This gave him a

perfect passer rating of 158.3; as of 2022, it remains the only such rating in Chargers history.[83] Joiner caught 5 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown. The Chargers had all five of the game's takeaways, with four fumble recoveries and an interception. It was San Diego's first 3–0 start since 1968.[81]

Week 4: at Denver Broncos

Week Four: San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 0 000
Broncos 0 10 61026

at

Denver, Colorado

Game information