1976 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

The 1976 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 57th season the franchise was in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 11–3, instead regressing by one win. This was the first time in three seasons the team did not qualify for the playoffs. The Cardinals finished tied with the Washington Redskins for 2nd place in the NFC East, but they lost the tiebreaker due to Washington winning both matchups during the season.

1976 St. Louis Cardinals season
Owner	Bill Bidwill
Head coach	Don Coryell
Results
Record	10–4
Division place	3rd NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	C Tom Banks G Conrad Dobler T Dan Dierdorf QB Jim Hart WR Mel Gray CB Roger Wehrli K Jim Bakken

Ultimately, the Cardinals became the only NFC team to win ten games without making the playoffs under a 14-game schedule.

Notably, they took on the San Diego Chargers in a preseason game in the first NFL game to take place in Japan.

Offseason

1976 Expansion Draft

Main article: 1976 NFL expansion draft

St. Louis Cardinals selected during the Expansion Draft

Round	Overall	Name	Position	Expansion Team
0	0	Dwayne Crump	Cornerback	Seattle Seahawks
0	0	Gary Keithley	Quarterback	Seattle Seahawks
0	0	Council Rudolph	Defensive end	Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Draft

Main article: 1976 NFL Draft

1976 St. Louis Cardinals draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	22	Mike Dawson	Defensive tackle	Arizona
3	65	Brad Oates	Offensive tackle	BYU
4	114	Pat Tilley *	Wide receiver	Louisiana Tech
5	141	Wayne Morris	Running back	SMU
7	203	Phil Rogers	Running back	Virginia Tech
8	233	Randall Burks	Wide receiver	Southeastern Oklahoma State
10	285	Randy Walker	Linebacker	Bethune–Cookman
11	315	Marty Akins	Defensive back	Texas
13	369	Greg Brewton	Defensive tackle	Michigan State
14	399	Raymond Crosier	Defensive end	Abilene Christian
15	420	Lee Nelson	Safety	Florida State
16	453	Cecil Beaird	Wide receiver	Fisk
17	483	Dan Myers	Defensive back	Georgia Tech
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

St. Louis Cardinals roster
Quarterbacks 10 Bill Donckers 17 Jim Hart 15 Sam Wyche Running backs 34 Steve Jones 32 Jerry Latin 21 Terry Metcalf 24 Wayne Morris FB 27 Eddie Moss 35 Jim Otis FB Wide receivers 85 Mel Gray 84 Ike Harris 30 Gary Hammond 83 Pat Tilley Tight ends 88 J. V. Cain 81 Jackie Smith		Offensive linemen 61 Hank Allison G 54 Tom Banks C 51 Tom Brahaney C 72 Dan Dierdorf T 66 Conrad Dobler G 60 Roger Finnie T 65 Brad Oates T 62 Keith Wortman T 64 Bob Young G Defensive linemen 79 Bob Bell DE 70 Leo Brooks DT 76 Charlie Davis DT 73 Mike Dawson DT 71 Steve Okoniewski DT 78 Ron Yankowski DE 63 John Zook DE		Linebackers 57 Mark Arneson 58 Al Beauchamp 59 Carl Gersbach 56 Tim Kearney 52 Mike McGraw 53 Steve Neils 55 Ray White Defensive backs 26 Dwayne Crump CB 41 Clarence Duren FS 38 Lee Nelson FS 36 Ken Reaves SS 43 Norm Thompson CB 22 Roger Wehrli CB Special teams 25 Jim Bakken K 87 Terry Joyce		Reserve lists 50 Greg Hartle LB (IR) 74 Walt Patulski DE (IR) Practice squad rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 12	at Seattle Seahawks	W 30–24	1–0	Kingdome	58,441
2	September 19	Green Bay Packers	W 29–0	2–0	Busch Memorial Stadium	48,842
3	September 26	at San Diego Chargers	L 24–43	2–1	San Diego Stadium	40,212
4	October 3	New York Giants	W 27–21	3–1	Busch Memorial Stadium	48,039
5	October 10	Philadelphia Eagles	W 33–14	4–1	Busch Memorial Stadium	44,933
6	October 17	Dallas Cowboys	W 21–17	5–1	Busch Memorial Stadium	50,317
7	October 25	at Washington Redskins	L 10–20	5–2	RFK Stadium	48,325
8	October 31	San Francisco 49ers	W 23–20	6–2	Busch Memorial Stadium	50,365
9	November 7	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 17–14	7–2	Veterans Stadium	65,505
10	November 14	at Los Angeles Rams	W 30–28	8–2	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	64,698
11	November 21	Washington Redskins	L 10–16	8–3	Busch Memorial Stadium	49,833
12	November 25	at Dallas Cowboys	L 14–19	8–4	Texas Stadium	62,498
13	December 4	Baltimore Colts	W 24–17	9–4	Busch Memorial Stadium	48,282
14	December 12	at New York Giants	W 17–14	10–4	Giants Stadium	60,553
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: @ Seattle Seahawks

Week One: St. Louis Cardinals @ Seattle Seahawks – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	3	10	10	7	30
Seahawks	3	0	7	14	24

at Kingdome, Seattle, Washington

• Date: September 12
• Game time: 1:09 pm local
• Game weather: indoors
• Game attendance: 58,441
• Referee: Tom Bell
• TV announcers (CBS): Jim Thacker and Alex Hawkins
• Gamebook

Game information

First quarter STL – Jim Bakken 28-yard field goal, 6:22 (STL 3–0) SEA – Don Bitterlich 27-yard field goal, 1:15 (Tied 3–3) Second quarter STL – Ike Harris 12-yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick), 13:05 (STL 10–3) STL – Jim Bakken 22-yard field goal, 0:21 (STL 13–3) Third quarter STL – Pat Tilley 27-yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick), 12:51 (STL 20–3) STL – Jim Bakken 26-yard field goal, 5:47 (STL 23–3) SEA – Sam McCullum 15-yard pass from Jim Zorn 3:52 (Don Bitterlich kick), (STL 23–10) Fourth quarter STL – Jim Otis 1-yard run (Jim Bakken kick), 14:10 (STL 30–10) SEA – Sam McCullum 72-yard pass from Jim Zorn 13:50 (Don Bitterlich kick), (STL 30–17) SEA – Jim Zorn 8-yard run (Don Bitterlich kick), 5:09 (STL 30–24) Top passers STL – Jim Hart: 15/23, 180 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT SEA – Jim Zorn: 17/37, 292 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT Top rushers STL – Jim Otis: 27 car, 140 yds, 1 TD SEA – Andy Bolton: 12 car, 37 yds Top receivers STL – Steve Jones: 3 rec, 59 yds SEA – Sam McCullum: 4 rec, 112 yds, 2 TD Team – pass – rush – total – to STL – 175 – 281 – 456 – 2 SEA – 279 – 73 – 352 – 3

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Cowboys(2)	11	3	0	.786	6–2	9–3	296	194	L1
Washington Redskins(4)	10	4	0	.714	6–2	9–3	291	217	W4
St. Louis Cardinals	10	4	0	.714	5–3	9–3	309	267	W2
Philadelphia Eagles	4	10	0	.286	2–6	4–8	165	286	W1
New York Giants	3	11	0	.214	1–7	3–9	170	250	L1