1977 NFL season

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The 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Seattle Seahawks were placed in the AFC West while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slotted in the NFC Central.

Instead of a traditional Thanksgiving Day game hosted by the Dallas Cowboys, the league scheduled a Miami Dolphins at St. Louis Cardinals contest. This would be the second season since 1966 that the Cowboys did not play on that holiday. The Cardinals also hosted a Thanksgiving Day game instead of Dallas, a contest against the Buffalo Bills, in 1975.

The season ended with Super Bowl XII when the Cowboys defeated the Denver Broncos.

Contents 1 Major rule changes 2 Final standings 2.1 Tiebreakers 3 Playoffs 3.1 AFC 3.2 NFC 3.3 Super Bowl 4 References

[edit] Major rule changes

• The head slap is outlawed. This change is referred to as the "Deacon Jones Rule"; The Rams defensive end frequently used this technique.
• Any shoe worn by a player with an artificial limb must have a kicking surface that conforms to that of a normal kicking shoe. Named the "Tom Dempsey Rule" after the placekicker who wore a modified shoe on his deformed kicking foot that had a flattened and enlarged toe area. This shoe had somewhat the appearance of a hammer, and thus gave him an advantage over other kickers.
• Defenders are only permitted to make contact with receivers once.
• Defenders are not allowed to make contact with an opponent above the shoulders with the palms of their hands, except to ward him off the line.
• Offensive linemen are not allowed to thrust their hands to a defender's neck, face, or head.
• Wide receivers are not allowed to clip defenders.

[edit] Final standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

Qualified for playoffs

[edit] Tiebreakers

• Baltimore finished ahead of Miami in the AFC EAST based on better conference record (9-3 to Dolphins' 8-4).
• Buffalo finished ahead of N.Y. Jets in the AFC East based on better strength of schedule (.582 to Jets' .536).
• Cincinnati finished ahead of Houston in the AFC Central based on better division record (6-3 to Oilers' 5-4).
• Minnesota finished ahead of Chicago in the NFC Central based on fewer losses by common opponents (11 losses to 14 losses by the Bears' opponents).
• Chicago won the NFC Wild Card over Washington based on better net points in conference games (48 to Redskins' 4).
• Philadelphia finished ahead of N.Y. Giants in the NFC East based on head-to-head sweep (2-0).

[edit] Playoffs

Main article: NFL playoffs, 1977-78

Home team in capitals

[edit] AFC

• Divisional playoffs: DENVER 34, Pittsburgh 21; Oakland 37, BALTIMORE 31 (OT)
• AFC Championship: DENVER 20, Oakland 17 at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado, January 1, 1978

[edit] NFC

• Divisional playoffs: DALLAS 37, Chicago 7; Minnesota 14, LOS ANGELES 7
• NFC Championship: DALLAS 23, Minnesota 6 at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas, January 1, 1978

[edit] Super Bowl

• Super Bowl XII: Dallas (NFC) 27, Denver (AFC) 10, at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 15, 1978

[edit] References

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1971-1980 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
• 1977 season in details
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)