1977 Buccaneers: The Untold Story of the Worst Offense in NFL History

You probably know how bad the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were offensively in 1977; there's a reason that they're called the worst offense in NFL history. But you probably don't know this story from week 4 in their game against the Washington Redskins, where after the game, Tampa Bay and Washington got into a feud because Washington straight up told Tampa how bad their offense was
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#nfl #buccaneers #bucs #tampabay #tampa #tampabaybuccaneers #tampabaybucs #football #sports #highlights #nflhighlights #nflfootball #americanfootball #1977

[@kevinramsey417]

The Bucs in those first years are a topic that I find surprisingly fascinating.

[@Buttington_Headerson]

We were the worst team ever by far

[@marcusmcgraw3519]

Did you know they accidentally drafted a player in the early 80s

[@astrosjer822]

Fascinating that in 1979 they were one of the best teams in the NFL

[@WVUer21]

"How do you feel about your team's execution?" -- reporter "I'm all for it." -- HC John McKay

[@CTubeMan]

Fun Fact: The Seahawks scored 140 points in 1992, fewer than 9 points per game. Yet their defense was so good Cortez Kennedy was named Defensive Player of the Year.

[@animemaster4861]

If I remember correctly all time they're noted as the worst offense and they were top three in defense. And yeah Cortez Kennedy was defensive player. They have the distinction of being the most imbalanced team all time.

[@rngfootball759]

92 Seahawks bad luck would continue as they lost out on a chance on drafting Drew Bledsoe.

[@ryanjacobson2508]

The NFL around 1995 started really re-writing the rules to favor the passing game because the early 90's was such a down era for offense.

[@michaelvandeginste3497]

​@@rngfootball759yeah they actually burned themselves by defeating the Patriots in week two of the 1992 season. Irony can be cruel.

[@miccal99]

​@@rngfootball759 Yeah, they chose poorly.

[@edogthebigdog]

I personally love researching absolutely terrible offenses. Even though this team is the worst statistically, I believe that accounting for era, the 2006 Raiders are even worse. They had Randy Moss on their team one year before he set the touchdown reception record. They scored only 12 touchdowns on offense in an offensive-friendly era. And committed 46 turnovers.

[@CTubeMan]

Randy Moss quit on the Raiders that year.

[@matthewdaley746]

Raiders absolutely historically, inept.

[@matthewdaley746]

​@CTubeMan At various stages of his career, Randy Moss quit on every team he played for, which explains why he finished his career with fewer receptions than Andre Johnson, he had Jerry Rice's skills, unfortunately, he had JaMarcus Russell's work ethic.

[@JWex-jy7sk]

I just always think of their QB room when reminded of that team Andrew Walter and Aaron Brooks, 3 TD’s each. Marques Tuiasosopo, 1 passing TD THAT WAS IT! 7 passing TD’s and 24 INT’s out of their QB’s the whole season. Al Davis brought back Art Shell after over a decade out of the game thinking he was the answer to fixing the team after a 4-12 season

[@matthewdaley746]

​​​@@JWex-jy7skAaron Brooks unlucky, relationship.

[@Jason_Maier]

Another horrendous offense: The Colts of 1991 scored a total of 143 points, fewer than 9 PPG. 11 out of 16 games, they scored in single digit numbers (they were shutout twice). What makes this one really egregious is that Redskins kicker Chip Lohmiller scored 149 points (31 FG + 56 XP) on his own! The Colts that year obviously ranked dead last/near last in most offensive categories. They had a grand total of 14 touchdowns (3 rushing + 10 receiving + 1 kickoff return)

[@eddiekulp1241]

Then they beat my Saints for first win in 1977 , im still getting over that

[@Rockhound6165]

You. They beat my Cardinals a week later extending our woes for that season starting with the 55-14 drubbing by the Dolphins on Thanksgiving.

[@stuartdollar9912]

The week after they beat the Saints, they beat the St. Louis Cardinals. In both cases, the losing team fired their head coach.

[@James-fj6yo]

I remember watching that game being a Dolphins fan I think Bob Griese had five touchdowns​@@Rockhound6165

[@James-fj6yo]

Hank Stran lost his job after that game. What a way to go out smh

[@JWD1992]

What is it with the Buccaneers so often having elite defenses and utterly confused offenses? Amazing how they won a playoff game two years later.

[@Wildcat_Media]

Years ago (before Cleveland and Detroit ever had their winless seasons), I was watching an NFL game with my dad. I can’t remember who was playing, but it was the last undefeated team. And wouldn’t you know it, that team lost. At the end of the game, the announcer said something about popping champagne in Miami. I must have been quite young, because I didn’t understand the reference. So I asked my dad about it and he explained about the 1972 Dolphins’ perfect season. Then I asked him if there was ever a team who didn’t win at all, and if they did anything after the last team finally won their first game. Dad’s response “They probably drink a beer in Tampa.” And since then, I think of the poor Tampa fans drowning their sorrows when the memories of those early Bucs teams come up.

[@luisreyes1963]

I'll bet any kid would gladly trade all the '77 Buccaneers cards for that very stale gum that came with the pack. 😂

[@neneshubby]

In fairness to the Bucs 1977 was the final year of thr 70-77 dead ball era. Scoring fell to a 35 year low at 17.2 per game. It was so bad that after the season the NFL instituted new rules to help the offenses, allowing Offensive Linemen to extend their arms while blocking and the 5 yard no contact rule for receivers.

[@TomG1555]

What's more interesting to me is what happened the following season: in '78, Tampa Bay drafted QB Doug Williams and FB Johnny Davis and added TE Jimmie Giles via trade, as well as hired Joe Gibbs (yes, *that* Joe Gibbs) as their offensive coordinator, so the Bucs had good if young talent at QB, RB, FB, and TE and a HoF offensive braintrust constructing game plans around them...and still finished 25th out of 28th in points and dead last in the league in yards (again).

[@matthewdaley746]

Not, nearly, as interesting as how that combination of, coach, and, QB, would later win a SB, people, (correctly), consider him one of the greatest coaches ever, however, it's very easy to forget that, Rocket Screen, was still a sore spot, and, with the Giants ascending, JKC, very, likely, caves to public pressure, and, fires him, were it not for, "The, Drop."

[@msarzo]

He took umbrage at Bumbridge 😂

[@gfromt-town1105]

🤣

[@tompiper1480]

Great video

[@aaronholcomb237]

The best passer rating for the Buccaneers that season was punter Dave Green who had a 118.8 rating on just 2 passes.

[@Rockhound6165]

By the time they won their first game that season the Bucs had scored a total of 53 points, 23 of which were in 1 game. They were shutout 6 times including 4 times in 5 weeks and they scored 7 or less points, not counting the shutouts, 4 times. They didn't score an offensive touchdown until the 2nd quarter of week 5. And they were still able to beat my Cardinals and the Air Coryell offense. It was the last game Don Coryell coached in St. Louis.

[@LiveFromThePorcelainPalace]

Love your channel man! Kinda sad that your baseball channel didn't take off.. but I get it, it happens.. and you put out more than enough football content to satisfy! Thanks for doing what you do!

[@OfficialJaguarGator9]

Thanks! The baseball channel is coming back; just have to figure out with time constraints how to get it going

[@LiveFromThePorcelainPalace]

@@OfficialJaguarGator9 Great news! I can point you at some pretty interesting stories about the late 1800's and early 1900's baseball.. but i get it. You do plenty of work for us with the football channel. Do baseball stuff if you find time.

[@LiveFromThePorcelainPalace]

@@OfficialJaguarGator9 One good baseball story that's not from the early days... and you can find clips of the guy.. Marvin Eugene Throneberry.. the man BORN to play on the 40 win 120 loss 1962 New York Mets.. also known as Marvelous Marv! Great minor league hitter.. inept fielder at first base and while one of the better power hitters on the 1962 Mets, not a very good hitter. "He looks like Mickey Mantle at the plate until he starts to swing!"

[@philipnye4]

Even in the Bucs first win over the Saints, we only had one offensive touchdown. We one 33-14, but what blew it open in the second half was three pick sixes.

[@astrosjer822]

That is the game the late 70’s-early 80’s great Bucs defense started to come of age.

[@denisceballos9745]

From the looks of it, not only was the 1977 Bucs offense weak and ineffectual, they gifted a lot of points to their opponents. There were a lot of pick sixes in those clips, a lot of fumbles, a lot of sacks deep in their own end.

[@aaronholcomb237]

The worst part of that is they had as many pick sixes as they had touchdown passes.

[@denisceballos9745]

@@aaronholcomb237 😆 Amazingly bad! Magnificently bad.

[@Fender178]

Washington is NOT wrong. Tampa was putrid on offense and McKay was running a college offense that he ran at USC and its NOT working at all at the NFL level. Apparently Brundidge knows a lot more about NFL football than John McKay did in 1977. Um No John you are the one who is ridiculous you criticized your own offense saying it sucked and was the reason why you lost and then you say that the players on Washington don't know anything about the job they being paid to do. It took to the 1979 season for the Buccaneers to make it to the playoffs.

[@mgb4692]

Sure they weren't wrong, but there's a reason you don't do that. Cause what the hell did you do then? All the sudden you win Super Bowls in strike years and people don't think you did anything. And god forbid you lose to that trash, then what are you?

[@matthewdaley746]

Rams unbeatable opponent, historically.

[@matthewdaley746]

​​​@@mgb46921991 historically unbeatable, however.

[@joshuashamai2876]

The 1977 Packers weren’t much better. They scored 134 all year.

[@daleschmieg9050]

In the traditional "black and blue" defensive oriented division, the 1977 Bucs actually allowed the fewest points of the five teams in their division.

[@markbrian7179]

They drafted Ricky Bell and signed Anthony Davis as a free agent and did worse than the previous season.

[@astrosjer822]

Ricky Bell was hurt a lot that first season

[@astrosjer822]

Problem besides no QB was John McKay running a college offense in the NFL

[@neneshubby]

Look up the 2006 Raiders. 10.5 ppg, only 7 touchdown passes all season. They hired Art Shell, who’d been out of coaching for 6 years and he turned around and hired Tom Walsh as offensive coordinator who’d been out of coaching for 7 years and had been running a bed and breakfast. So your 2 most important coaching positions are filled by a couple of guys who’d spent a combined 13 years out of the NFL. Even I could see that was going to be a disaster.

[@donfinstad1685]

I'm no expert. But. Pre-snap, I saw a lot of terrible 3-point stances. I saw a lot of terrible footwork by the quarterbacks. Coaching was terrible from top to bottom.

[@theragingdolphinsmaniac4696]

Wasn’t Lee Roy Selmon on that team?

[@OfficialJaguarGator9]

Yep!

[@marcus813]

Thank goodness I wasn't born until a few years later because the offense would've driven me crazy. That offense might be the worst in the NFL's modern era. If not for the defense, which many people overlook, the Bucs would've been smacked down more often back then. That defense wasn't the problem at all. John McKay was way too stubborn.

[@briannearey8902]

The funniest thing was McKay's son trying to play WR he was so tiny he was lucky he wasn't killed out there

[@Fireyninjadog]

The offense after 12 games: 53 total points, which is less than 4.5 points per game. They got shut out SIX times. That's half of the games they played in before those 2 wins

[@rngfootball759]

1977 was NFL's version of 1968 in MLB (the year of the pitcher) The grits blitz defense also played in the 1977 season.

[@matthewdaley746]

Unfortunately, offense, absolutely, nonexistent.

[@ronsmac]

I’d really like to know why scoring was down league wide in 1977 from 1976. Only 4 teams score 300 plus pts after 9 did it in 1976.

[@markko17]

And then there was the season opener for the 1966 Denver Broncos. Playing the Houston Oilers, they lost 45-7 and got 0 first downs. Their one touchdown came on an 88 yard kick return by Goldie Sellers. The Broncos quarterbacks, John McCormick and Mickey Slaughter (one of my all time favorite names) went 2-20 and -7 net passing yards.

[@johncate9541]

The '85 Bears wouldn't have made the playoffs if they had the '77 Bucs' offense. As for McKay saying Bill Brundige didn't know anything about football, at that point, Brundige had a vastly better understanding of the pro game than McKay did. What McKay did at USC wouldn't work in the pros. I can't believe Anthony Davis and Ricky Bell didn't tell him that themselves.

[@dumisatonyjohnson8145]

Honourable mention 1981 Baltimore Colts (two years before they went to Indianapolis )

[@ryanlindley6476]

YES, OVER 100 SEASONS PLAYED, ON PAPER BUT YOU HAVE TO SUBTRACT THE RUGBY YEARS. YOU CAN ONLY COUNT THE ERA OF THE BALL BEING HIKED TO THE QB AND THE FORWARD PASS BEING COMMON.

[@dollartwentychickentendies]

where's the line there? 1960s?

[@jasonfischer8946]

WHAT?

[@stuartdollar9912]

The NFL, and it's predecessor organization, the APFA, was formed in 1919, 105 seasons, so far. No Rugby rules at any time.

[@nicholaswalsh4462]

Uh...so...what the hell would McKay call a bad team?

[@stephenholloway6893]

Probably any other bad team then his.

[@danielbowden6330]

Missed a chance to do the 2 nickels joke.

[@matthewdaley746]

A great idea, unquestionably.

[@danielbowden6330]

@@matthewdaley746 Thanks!

[@matthewdaley746]

​​​@@danielbowden6330Reboot horrendous idea, absolutely.

[@stephenholloway6893]

So the lesson here is even if you have a decent to good defense if your offense is bad, you're going to lose games and even gets shut out at times. Also it's ok if you criticize the offense but if anyone says you're to blame for it, just pretend that you know more about football then an veteran who has played it for years. Sounds like the coach was in denial about why the offense was terrible that year.

[@goodsport65]

How the heck could Tampa Bay have been so good defensively but HORRIBLE offensively that year? I'm still shaking my head.

[@matthewdaley746]

The same reason they could be, so, terrible historically, but, still won two SBs, while, the Vikings are really great historically, but, still never won, when sports aren't weird, they're downright cruel.

[@Mateogreat]

Bad owner

[@matthewdaley746]

​​​​@@MateogreatLack of consistency, hurt.

[@noxcure]

*Patriots 2023 has entered the chat*

[@mrmoose6619]

The Grits Blitz Falcons can explain...

[@michaelvandeginste3497]

Which one do you think is worse?: being part of an offense that is under pressure to score every time they have the ball in order to win or being part of a defense that is under pressure to give up nothing ever in order to win.

[@mpf4114]

Had John McCay said this today in the “Hot Take Culture” he would have been roasted

[@James-fj6yo]

I've lived in Tampa Florida since 1964 but was raised a Miami Dolphins fan and stayed true to the Dolphins even when the bucs came to tampa. I had some good times making fun of the bucs and their fans😂😂😂😂😅

[@moorebounce]

Yeah the NFL then over corrected with the Jags and Panthers which ended up screwing the Browns years later.

[@00ghostcobra]

0-26 Hot Damn😂😂😂

[@eromitlabhitw]

Randy Hedberg is the worst quarterback in the modern era... and he was the week 1 starter. And the week 2 starter. And the starter in this game against Washington.

[@aaronholcomb237]

I think Hedberg was in over his head. He played college football at Minot State which was NAIA (possibly division 2) at the time.

[@RoyPage1970]

The 76 offense was worse than the 77

[@barbaracaroll]

I submit the 1972 Eagles for the worst offense in NFL history

[@James-fj6yo]

We couldn't pass we couldn't run we couldn't block we couldn't tackle but other than that we played a good game Coach John McKay Tampa Bay buccaneers head coach lol.

[@andreamay437]

No, he didn’t! (At least he said “Buc”)

[@rushbroussard5399]

Jg9 Is Not Wrong The 1977 Tampa Bay Buccaneers They Were Bad That Is Saying That Archie Manning Career In New Orleans Was Bad The 1977 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Were Worst.

[@pendragon2012]

Yet this team finally broke the winless streak. McKay was a terrible coach.

[@marcusmcgraw3519]

Do not be fooled by the 2 wins at the end of the year by the Bucs. This team was clearly a little worse than the team prior, just like the 2016 Browns that went 1-15 were worse than the 2017 Browns that went 0-16

[@edogthebigdog]

Oh no, they were a LOT better. while the offense still struggled horrendously, the defense at least kept it close in most games.

[@marcusmcgraw3519]

@@edogthebigdog the offense was still somehow worse though. Yea the defense improved, but they didn’t even cross 100 points scored until the final game of the season. 103 across 14 games is even worse; despite the Bucs not scoring until game 3 of their expansion season, they still finished well ahead of the 77 Bucs in terms of offense (which doesn’t say much)

[@augustuscaesar9995]

Both of the coaches of teams that lost to the Bucs in 1977, Hank Stram (Saints) and Don Coryell (Cardinals), were fired after the losses

[@marcusmcgraw3519]

@@augustuscaesar9995 and that tells me what I need to know