For this season only, the Seahawks played in the NFC West while the Buccaneers played in the AFC West. The Seahawks would return to the NFC West with the realignment prior to the 2002 season, on the other hand, the Buccaneers did not return to the AFC in 2002. The Buccaneers became the first NFL team to finish a season 0–14. The Buccaneers lost their first 26 games as they also lost their first 12 games in 1977.
Due to expansion, the NFL needed a new crew to help handle the weekly workload of 14 games. The most notable new official was Jerry Markbreit, hired as a line judge on the crew of referee Tommy Bell. Bell retired after working the 1976 AFC championship game, and Markbreit was promoted to referee for 1977, where he later became the first (and as of 2021, only) man to serve as the referee for four Super Bowls (XVII, XXI, XXVI and XXIX).
A play clock is placed at each end of the stadium, visible to both players and fans to note the official time between the ready-for-play signal and the snap of the ball.[1]
If the defensive team commits a foul during a failed extra point attempt, the try is replayed and the offensive team has the option to either have the distance penalty assessed on the next try or the ensuing kickoff.
If the defensive team commits a foul during a successful extra point attempt, the penalty will be assessed on the ensuing kickoff.
Players cannot grasp the facemask of an opponent. The penalty for an incidental grasp of the facemask is 5 yards (this penalty was repealed in 2008). The penalty for twisting, turning, or pulling the facemask is 15 yards. A player risks immediate disqualification if the foul is judged to be vicious and/or flagrant.
A defender is prohibited from running or diving into, or throwing his body against or on a ballcarrier who falls or slips to the ground untouched and makes no attempt to advance, before or after the ball is dead. This is sometimes called as the "Ben Davidson Rule" after the Raiders defender who almost seriously injured quarterback Len Dawson after the Chiefs passer fell to the ground and made no attempt to advance during a 1970 game.
The official coin toss was moved to three minutes before kickoff. From 1947 through 1975, the official coin toss was held thirty minutes prior to kickoff,[1] and a simulated coin toss was held at midfield three minutes prior to kickoff to inform the fans and media of the outcome of the toss.
Division races
The two expansion clubs, Tampa Bay and Seattle, were "swing" teams that did not participate in regular conference play. Every other NFL team played a home-and-away series against the other members in its division, two or three interconference games, and the remainder of their 14-game schedule against other conference teams. As a member of the AFC in 1976, Tampa Bay played the other 13 members of the conference, while Seattle did the same in the NFC. The 14th game, played in Week Six, was Seattle's 13–10 win at Tampa.
Starting in 1970, and until 2002, there were three divisions (East, Central and West) in each conference. The winners of each division, and a fourth "wild card" team based on the best non-division winner, qualified for the playoffs. The tiebreaker rules were changed to start with head-to-head competition, followed by division records, records versus common opponents, and records in conference play.
New York Jets: Lou Holtz was named as head coach of the Jets. Charley Winner was fired nine games into the 1975 season after only posting two wins. Offensive coordinator Ken Shipp served as interim for the last five games.
Detroit Lions: Rick Forzano left after the team lost three of its first four games. Coordinator of personnel and scouting Tommy Hudspeth took over for the last 10 games.
New York Jets: Lou Holtz resigned prior to the last game of the season, returning to college as coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks. Mike Holovak served as interim for the team's final game, as the team finished at 3–11.
After 6 years of using the Poly-Turf artificial turf surface, the Miami Dolphins' stadium, the Orange Bowl reverted to using natural grass; which would be used for the rest of the stadium's existence.
The Dallas Cowboys replaced the blue stripe on right side of their helmets with a red stripe to honor the United States' Bicentennial for this season only.
The New Orleans Saints began wearing black pants with their white jerseys, and facemasks changed from gray to black.
The New York Giants replaced the striped uppercase "NY" helmet logo worn during the previous season only with an italicized and underlined "GIANTS".
The inaugural Seattle Seahawks uniforms featured silver helmets and pants; blue jerseys with white numbers, and white and green sleeve stripes; and white jerseys with blue numbers, and blue and green sleeve stripes. The new helmet logo featured an osprey's head based on Kwakwakaʼwakw art masks.
The inaugural Tampa Bay Buccaneers uniforms featured white helmets and pants, red trim, white jerseys with orange numbers, and orange jerseys with white numbers (which got the nickname "Creamsicle" uniforms). The nicknamed "Bucco Bruce" helmet logo featured a mustached pirate donning a plumed slouch hat and clutching a dagger in his teeth.
