The 1976 season was the Seattle Seahawks' 1st in the National Football League (NFL), This season was also the team's only one in the NFC until the league realigned divisions before the 2002 season, at which point the Seahawks were once again placed in the NFC West. The Seahawks obtained a future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee from the Houston Oilers, who had drafted receiver Steve Largent in the 4th round in 1976. Largent would go on to be a first-ballot Hall-of-Fame wide receiver, playing in seven Pro Bowls, recorded over 13,000 receiving yards and score 100 touchdowns in a 14-year career with the Seahawks.
However, before the Seahawks even played their first game, tragedy struck, as the team's owner Lloyd W. Nordstrom died from a heart attack while vacationing in Mexico on January 20. Nordstrom had been instrumental in landing an NFL team in the Pacific Northwest, and hiring the front office, but he never had a chance to see his team take the field. The estate of Mr. Nordstrom would oversee the team (with Lloyd's son Elmer being chairman), with co-owner Herman Sarkowsky serving as the team's first chief operating officer.
The Seahawks, coached by Jack Patera, played their first preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers on August 1, and their first regular season game came on September 12 at the sold-out Kingdome. The Seahawks played a solid game, but had their desperation final pass intercepted in the endzone in a 30–24 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Seahawks would go on to lose their first five games, before beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, their brothers in expansion, 13–10 in Tampa on October 17. Three weeks later, the Seahawks would earn their first (and only for that season) home victory by beating the Atlanta Falcons 30–13 behind the 124-yard effort of running back Sherman Smith. These two wins would be the only ones for the season, as the first-year team compiled a record of 2–12, making them the worst team in the NFC, although this was nevertheless better than their expansion cousins the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who went 0–14 in the AFC.
Draft
Personnel
Staff
Final roster Neft, Cohen, and Korch. pg. 610 Starters in bold.
Schedule
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site Recap 1 August 1 San Francisco 49ers L 20–27 0–1 Kingdome Recap 2 Chicago Bears L 16–27 0–2 Joe Albi Stadium Recap 3 Los Angeles Rams L 13–16 0–3 Kingdome Recap 4 at Denver Broncos L 7–52 0–4 Mile High Stadium Recap 5 August 29 San Diego Chargers W 17–16 1–4 Kingdome Recap 6 at Oakland Raiders L 28–45 1–5 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap
Source: Seahawks Media Guides1976 Seahawks Media Guide, accessed February 14, 2015.1977 Seahawks Media Guide, accessed February 14, 2015.
Regular season In its first year, Seattle played all of the teams in the NFC, plus fellow expansion team Tampa Bay, as a member of the NFC West.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site Recap 1 September 12 St. Louis Cardinals L 24–30 0–1 Kingdome Recap 2 September 19 at Washington Redskins L 7–31 0–2 RFK Stadium Recap 3 September 26 San Francisco 49ers L 21–37 0–3 Kingdome Recap 4 October 3 Dallas Cowboys L 13–28 0–4 Kingdome Recap 5 October 10 at Green Bay Packers L 20–27 0–5 Milwaukee County Stadium Recap 6 October 17 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 13–10 1–5 Tampa Stadium Recap 7 October 24 Detroit Lions L 14–41 1–6 Kingdome Recap 8 October 31 at Los Angeles Rams L 6–45 1–7 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap 9 November 7 Atlanta Falcons W 30–13 2–7 Kingdome Recap 10 November 14 at Minnesota Vikings L 21–27 2–8 Metropolitan Stadium Recap 11 November 21 New Orleans Saints L 27–51 2–9 Kingdome Recap 12 November 28 at New York Giants L 16–28 2–10 Giants Stadium Recap 13 December 5 Chicago Bears L 7–34 2–11 Kingdome Recap 14 December 12 at Philadelphia Eagles L 10–27 2–12 Veterans Stadium Recap
Bold indicates division opponents. Source: 1976 NFL season results1976 NFL season results, NFL.com, accessed February 14, 2015.
Standings
Game summaries
Preseason
Week P1: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Week P2: vs. Chicago Bears
Week P3: vs. Los Angeles Rams
Week P4: at Denver Broncos
Week P5: vs. San Diego Chargers
Week P6: at Oakland Raiders
Regular season
Week 1: vs. St. Louis Cardinals
The Seahawks played their first game in team history on September 12, 1976, hosting the St. Louis Cardinals at the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington. The Cardinals took a 3–0 lead after Jim Bakken kicked a 28-yard field goal, however, the Seahawks fought back and Don Bitterlich kicked a 27-yard field goal to earn the first points in team history, and to tie the game at 3–3. St. Louis took a 10–3 lead in the second quarter, as Ike Harris caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Jim Hart. The Cardinals then kicked another field goal to take a 13–3 lead into halftime. St. Louis stayed hot in the third quarter, as Pat Tilley caught a 27-yard pass for a touchdown, followed by another field goal by Jim Bakken, as St. Louis took a commanding 23–3 lead. The Seahawks cut into the lead late in the third quarter, as Sam McCullum scored the first touchdown in team history, completing a 15-yard pass from Jim Zorn, as Seattle narrowed the Cardinals lead to 23–10. In the fourth quarter, Cardinals running back Jim Otis scored a one-yard touchdown, as St. Louis took a 30–10 lead. The Seahawks made a late charge in the fourth quarter, as McCullum scored his second touchdown of the game, completing a 72-yard pass from Zorn, to make the score 30–17. Later in the quarter, Zorn had an eight-yard rushing touchdown, as the Seahawks cut the Cardinals lead down to six, 30–24, however, it would be too late, as the Cardinals hung on for the victory.
With the loss, the Seahawks began the season 0–1–0.
Week 2: at Washington Redskins
The Seahawks played their first ever road game in week two, as they traveled across the country to Washington, D.C. to face the Washington Redskins. Washington opened the season with a 19–17 win over the New York Giants in the first week of the season. The Redskins opened the scoring in the first quarter, as Mike Thomas rushed for five yards into the Seahawks' end zone to give Washington a 7–0 lead. In the second quarter, Redskins kicker Mark Moseley kicked a 37-yard field goal to make the score 10–0. Jean Fugett then completed a 12-yard pass from Billy Kilmer to give the Redskins a 17–0 lead heading into halftime. In the third quarter, Mike Thomas earned his second touchdown of the game, as he caught a 10-yard pass from Kilmer to increase the Redskins lead to 24–0. The Seahawks got on the board in the fourth quarter, as Don Testerman rushed one yard into the end zone to cut Washington's lead to 24–7, however, the Redskins Frank Grant caught a five-yard pass from Kilmer, as Washington won the game easily by a 31–7 score.
Seattle fell to 0–2–0 with the loss.
Week 3: vs. San Francisco 49ers
The Seahawks returned home for the third week of the season, as they faced the San Francisco 49ers, who had a 1–1–0 record during their first two games. The 49ers took control of the game early, as in the first quarter, kicker Steve Mike-Mayer had a 45-yard field goal to give San Francisco a 3–0 lead. The Niners then took a 10–0 lead when Ralph McGill ran back a 50-yard punt return. Gene Washington completed a 38-yard pass from quarterback Jim Plunkett to give the 49ers a 17–0 lead in the first quarter. The Seahawks Hugh McKinnis had a one-yard rush into the 49ers' end zone to cut San Francisco's lead to 17–7 at the end of the quarter. The 49ers took a 24–7 lead when Washington caught his second touchdown completion of the game in the second quarter, followed by a 52-yard touchdown completion by Willie McGee as San Francisco had a 31–7 lead going into halftime. In the third quarter, McKinnis rushed for his second touchdown of the game to cut the 49ers lead to 31–14. In the fourth quarter, Seattle continued to come back, as Steve Largent caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Jim Zorn to make the score 31–21. The 49ers Steve Mike-Mayer then kicked two late field goals in the game, as San Francisco won 37–21.
The loss dropped the Seahawks to 0–3–0.
Week 4: vs. Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys came into the Kingdome for the Seahawks fourth game of the season. Dallas had a record of 3–0 to begin the year. The Seahawks took the lead in the game for the first time in team history in the first quarter when Don Testerman caught a seven-yard touchdown completion from Jim Zorn to give Seattle a 7–0 lead on the undefeated Cowboys. In the second quarter, the Seahawks continued to stun the Cowboys, as Jim Zorn threw his second touchdown completion, this time a four-yard pass to Steve Largent, however, the extra point convert failed, as Seattle took a 13–0 lead. The Cowboys began to comeback, as Drew Pearson caught an eight-yard pass from Roger Staubach for a touchdown to cut the Seahawks lead to 13–7. Dallas then took a 14–13 lead into halftime, as Charley Young caught a 25-yard pass by Staubach for a touchdown at the end of the quarter. The Cowboys scored another touchdown in the third quarter, as Robert Newhouse rushed for 24 yards into the Seahawks' end zone. Dallas put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, scoring their fourth touchdown in a row when Doug Dennison had a one-yard run, as the Cowboys won the game 28–13.
With the loss, the Seahawks record dropped to 0–4–0.
Week 5: at Green Bay Packers
After two home games in a row, the Seahawks were back on the road for the fifth week of the season, as they visited the Green Bay Packers at County Stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Packers entered the game with a 1–3–0 record. Green Bay opened the scoring in the first quarter, when Barty Smith rushed for a yard into the Seahawks' end zone to give the Packers a 7–0 lead. The Seahawks responded with a big second quarter, as Steve Raible ran back a 26-yard blocked punt return for a touchdown to even the score at 7–7. The Seahawks took a 10–7 lead as John Leypoldt kicked a 48-yard field goal. Leypoldt kicked a second field goal, a 44-yard kick, to give Seattle a 13–7 lead into halftime. In the third quarter, the Seahawks took a 20–7 lead when Ralph Nelson ran for a one-yard touchdown. The Packers cut the lead to 20–14 when Steve Odom caught a 66-yard pass from Lynn Dickey to close out the third quarter. In the fourth, the Packers took a 21–20 lead when Barty Smith ran for a six-yard touchdown. Green Bay scored another touchdown, this time a six-yard rush by Willard Harrell, however, the extra point failed, as the Packers took the lead 27–20, and hung on to win the game.
With the loss, the Seahawks dropped to 0–5–0.
Week 6: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Seahawks remained on the road for the sixth week of the season, traveling to Tampa, Florida to face their expansion cousins, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buccaneers entered the game with a 0–5–0 record. Tampa Bay opened the scoring in the first quarter, when kicker Dave Green connected for a 38-yard field goal to give the Buccaneers a 3–0 lead. In the second quarter, the Seahawks took the lead when Sam McCullum caught a 15-yard pass from Jim Zorn to give the Seahawks a 7–3 lead. Before the quarter was over, Seahawks kicker John Leypoldt had two field goals, to give Seattle a 13–3 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, the Buccaneers cut the Seahawks lead down to three when Morris Owens caught a one-yard pass from Louis Carter to make it 13–10 for the Seahawks. In the fourth quarter, the Seahawks held off the Buccaneers, as Seattle held on for the win, the first in team history.
With the win, the Seahawks improved their record to 1–5–0.
Week 7: vs. Detroit Lions