Aug 2, 2014; Canton, OH, USA; Mike Haynes (L) and Fred Biletnikoff (R) at the 2014 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement at Fawcett Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Both original members of the American Football League, the Raiders and Patriots have met 33 times in regular season and postseason play, with the Pats holding the edge in the all-time series, 17-15-1. The two teams in their current form could not be more different. Since the fateful meeting in the 2001 Divisional Playoffs, the two franchises have gone in entirely different directions, as we in the Raider Nation know all too well. The Pats won their first ever Super Bowl title that year and have won two more Super Bowls and four more AFC Championships since, and are a perennial favorite to win their division and compete for another Super Bowl championship. The Raiders, since that awful game and awful call, have only had one winning season and one playoff appearance since: the 2002 run that resulted in a Super Bowl loss. The Patriots are led by a quarterback many regard as being one of the two or three greatest ever to play the position, and a head coach many regard as being the best living football mind. The Raiders are led by a rookie quarterback preparing for his third regular-season NFL start, and a third-year head coach many regard as the leading candidate to be the first coach fired in the 2014 season.
But it was not always like this. On December 18, 1976 the Oakland Raiders faced off with the New England Patriots, also in the Divisional round of the AFC playoffs. One of those teams would advance all the way to their first Super Bowl title, led by a head coach that some still regard as one of the greatest in the history of the game. That team wouldn’t be the Patriots.
Background
The Raiders and Patriots came into the game almost evenly matched in their history, with the Patriots leading the all-time series 10-9-1. After meeting 17 times during their AFL years, the two teams had seldom seen each other since the AFL-NFL merger. The Pats, who had changed their name from the Boston Patriots to the New England Patriots, had not finished better than 3rd place in the AFC East since the merger, while the Raiders had not finished lower than 2nd place in either the AFC West or the AFL Western since 1964. Coming into the 1976 playoffs, the Raiders, under legendary head coach John Madden, had won their fifth consecutive division title, steamrolling the league with a 13-1 regular season record. Their only loss: 1 48-17 thumping at the hands of the New England Patriots in Foxboro in Week 4. The Pats, in their fourth season under head coach Chuck Fairbanks, had come off a 3-11 disaster of a 1975 season and gotten off to a 5-3 start in 1976 before winning six straight to close the season with an 11-3 record and their first playoff appearance since 1963.
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The Raiders 1976 season is unarguably the best season in franchise history. The roster was filled with all-time greats and Hall of Famers or players who should be in the Hall. Ken “the Snake” Stabler led an offense that featured offensive linemen Gene Upshaw and Art Shell, wide receivers Cliff Branch and Fred Biletnikoff, and tight end Dave “the Ghost” Casper. The villainous “criminal element” of the Raider defense featured hard-hitting defensive backs George “Dr. Death” Atkinson and Jack “The Assassin” Tatum, along with legendary cornerback “Old Man” Willie Brown. The front seven featured linebackers Ted Hendricks and Phil Villapiano and linemen Otis Sistrunk and John “The Tooz” Matuszack. Oakland’s punter was future Hall-of-Famer Ray Guy. While the defense finished 12th in the league in scoring defense, the offense had finished 4th in the NFL in scoring, and 2nd in total yards gained. Stabler had led the league by completing 66.7% of his passes and throwing for 26 touchdowns. Cliff Branch had picked up over 1,100 yards on only 46 receptions, averaging over 24 yards per reception and leading the league with 12 touchdown receptions. Dave Casper had contributed another 10 TD’s. It was a team for the ages.
The 1976 Patriots were one of the most talented teams ever assembled on paper at that time, featuring a number of future hall of famers and three All-Pro selections, including Rookie of the Year cornerback Mike Haynes.The offense was led by second-year quarterback Steve Grogan and featured TE Russ Francis and powerful running back Sam “Bam” Cunningham. While Grogan was not a particularly impressive passer – he threw for less than 2,000 yards, completed less than 50% of his passes, and had thrown 20 picks to 18 TD’s – the Patriot offense had finished 2nd in the NFL in scoring and 2nd in the NFL in rushing yards, rushing for nearly 3,000 yards and 24 TD’s as a team, 12 of which had come from Grogan, who averaged 6.6 yards per carry on 60 carries that year. No Patriots back had rushed for more than 1,000 yards, but three had rushed for 699 yards or more. The team averaged 5 rushing yards per carry behind a dominant offensive line anchored by future Hall of Fame guard John Hannah. New England also had running backs who were dual threats: running backs Andy Johnson and Sam Cunningham were the team’s two leading receivers, with 29 and 27 receptions respectively, but the offense’s #1 weapon was a dominating offensive line that had surrendered only 18 sacks all season. On defense, the team had finished 11th in scoring defense and yards allowed, but had led the NFL in takeaways with 50, including eight interceptions by Mike Haynes. Haynes was also a dangerous return threat, having returned 2 punts for touchdowns in 1976.
Cincy on the Prowl
The two teams came into the Divisional Round of the 1976 playoffs (at that time, the first round) hot: the Raiders had won ten straight since losing in Foxboro, and the Patriots had won six straight. The Raiders were looking to avenge their blowout loss from earlier in the year, while the Patriots were hoping to dominate the Raiders again. Oakland, having the best record in the league, had the home field advantage, and the game was set for Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
The Game
The game started slowly, with both teams exchanging punts despite a solid punt return by the Raiders’ Neal Colzie having put them in good field position on their opening drive. A Ray Guy punt pinned the Patriots at their own 14 yard line, but the Pats promptly marched down the field in 10 plays and scored on an Andy Johnson run from a yard out, taking the early lead 7-0. On the ensuing Raiders possession, Stabler hit Biletnikoff and Branch for big gains (22 and 17 yards), putting them in range for Errol Mann to hit a 40 yard field goal to close the gap to 7-3. The two teams would trade punts again until a Skip Thomas interception deep in Raider territory launched an 8-play, 76 yard scoring drive capped by a Stabler to Biletnikoff 31 yard TD strike, putting the Raiders ahead 10-7 going into halftime.
After a Raider punt on their first possession of the 2nd half, Steve Grogan led the Patriots back down the field on a 9-play, 80-yard scoring drive capped by a 26-yard TD strike to Russ Francis, putting the Pats back ahead 14-10. After a Raider three-and-out, the Pats got the ball back at their own 45, and drove 55 yards in 10 plays, scoring again on a 2-yard run by Jess Phillips. As the third quarter came to an end, the Raiders had the ball, trailing 21-10 with the best season in franchise history on the line.
The Raiders responded. Starting at their own 30 with time winding down in the 3rd, Stabler led the team on an 11-play drive in which he completed all five of his pass attempts, including a key 17-yard completion to Biletnikoff. The drive resulted in a 1-yard TD run by Mark van Eeghen with about 11 minutes remaining in the game to close the gap to 21-17. Then, in true Raider fashion, the game started to get controversial.
FanSided
Like most games involving the Raiders of the 1970’s, this game was filled with penalties. The two teams would ultimately combine for 21 penalties and 176 penalty yards, with 11 of those penalties and 93 of those yards against the Raiders. But it was the Patriots who would feel slighted by the officiating of referee Ben Dreith and his crew. Already annoyed by three holding penalties against Bill Lenkaitis – who had not been flagged for holding the entire regular season – the Patriots began to distrust this crew after they failed to flag George Atkinson for what they perceived as an unnecessary cheap shot against Russ Francis earlier in the game. Late in the fourth, their mistrust would turn to outrage.
After exchanging punts, the Patriots got the ball back at the Raiders 48 yard line and began to move into scoring position as the clock reached the five minute mark. Sam Cunningham headed out of bounds on a 2nd down run near the first down marker, but in the ensuing scrum, was spotted short of the first down marker. Future Hall of Famer John Hannah would protest that the sideline official had moved the marker, forcing the Pats into a 3rd and 1. On the subsequent 3rd and 1 play, Steve Grogan attempted to draw the Raiders offsides with a long count, but the Raider defense responded by yelling fake snap counts of their own, and drew three Patriots into a false start. Now with six yards to go, Grogan attempted a pass to Russ Francis, who was covered by Phil Villapiano. The two were tangled up and Francis was unable to get his arms up to make the catch, prompting him to protest for a holding flag on Villapiano, to no avail. On 4th and 6 from the 38, the Patriots attempted a 50-yard field goal that sailed low, giving the Raiders the ball back at the 38 with 4:12 to go, down by four points.
Stabler moved the ball quickly into Patriot territory, getting the Raiders offense down to the Patriot 21 yard line in seven plays with about 90 seconds left to play before he was sacked by the Patriots’ Mel Lunsford. Attempting to convert a 3rd and 18 play, Stabler was smacked by Patriots defensive tackle Ray “Sugar Bear” Hamilton while attempting a deep pass that was incomplete. Dreith threw a flag on Hamilton for roughing the passer, giving the Raiders a first down and moving the ball to the New England 13 yard line. Hamilton and the Patriots sideline protested wildly as play continued, causing Hamilton to pick up an unsportsmanlike conduct call that would give the Raiders another 1st down down near the goal line. After a run by Pete Banaszak was stuffed at the goalline with 14 seconds to go, Stabler lined the offense up with the clock winding down and called his own number, rolling left and plunging into the end zone for a 1-yard run with less than ten seconds remaining, putting the Raiders ahead 24-21. The win would be sealed by a Monte Johnson interception of a Steve Grogan pass with seven seconds remaining.
Aftermath
For the Patriots, the aftermath was all about the officiating. The Patriots made official complaints about referee Ben Dreith to the league office, and would hold a grudge against Dreith and the Raiders for decades. Dreith would not be assigned to another Patriots game until 1987, and the roughing penalty against Hamilton would go down as one of the most controversial officiating calls in NFL history. Replays of the hit clearly show that Hamilton was not late, but Dreith had made the call because he believed Hamilton had struck Stabler in the helmet, which replays show was not the case. Since there was no instant replay in 1976, the call stood, and the Patriots believe that the play cost them the game.
The Raiders would go on to finally defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship the following week by a score of 24-7 to reach their second Super Bowl, and would ultimately defeat the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI, 32-14. Madden would continue to coach for two more seasons before handing the reins over to Tom Flores, who would coach the Raiders to two Super Bowl wins in the 1980’s. By the time the Raiders returned to the Super Bowl in 1980, much of the 1976 team had gone, save for Cliff Branch, Art Shell, Gene Upshaw and Ted Hendricks and a few others. While the franchise went on to win Super Bowls and post great records and play in a number of playoff games, the 1976 team is remembered as the best team in Raider history.
NFL Spin Zone
The Patriots would return to the playoffs in 1978, losing again in the Divisional round to the Houston Oilers, and then would not return until their Super Bowl run in 1985, which ended in a 46-10 blowout loss to the Chicago Bears. John Hannah, who would become the first Patriot in the Hall of Fame, anchored the offensive line again that year. Russ Francis, who had caught 4 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown in the game, would eventually end up winning a Super Bowl ring with Joe Montana and the 49ers in 1984. Sam Cunningham, who had carried the ball 20 times in the loss to the Raiders, would rush for over 1,000 yards in 1977 and would spend the rest of his career in New England, retiring after the 1982 season. Steve Grogan would have his best season in 1979, but from then on would struggle to remain healthy and would eventually lose his starting job to Tony Eason. He would lead the Pats to six straight wins after Eason’s benching in 1985 before breaking his leg, and would return again two throw two interceptions in the Super Bowl loss. He retired after the 1990 season as the Patriots’ all-time leading passer. Cornerback Mike Haynes would go on to spend seven season in New England before coming to the Raiders in 1983 and joining Lester Hayes in one of the all-time great cornerback tandems in league history. Ray “Sugar Bear” Hamilton would end his playing career with the Patriots after the 1981 season and would go on to have a long coaching career, including a two-year stint with the Raiders on Art Shell’s staff. He most recently was the defensive line coach of the Atlanta Falcons.
The Patriots would meet the Raiders in the postseason again in 1986, exploiting three Marc Wilson interceptions and a muffed punt to take a 27-20 win at the Los Angeles Coliseum. But most Patriot fans did not feel properly “vindicated” for what they refer to as the “Ben Dreith Game” until the 2001 playoffs and the infamous Tuck Rule call that gave them a victory and set them up for their first Super Bowl victory. The Patriots, considered one of the league’s elite teams year in and year out since then, have beaten the Raiders in three straight meetings, and are heavily favored to win their fourth straight. Since getting favorable calls from officials is something the Raiders cannot rely on in 2014, let us all hope that Derek Carr can recapture some of Ken Stabler’s old magic and lead us to an improbable win against the NFL’s Goliath.