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1977 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

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1977 St. Louis Cardinals season
OwnerBill Bidwill
Head coachDon Coryell
Home fieldBusch Memorial Stadium
Results
Record7–7
Division place3rd NFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersC Tom Banks
G Conrad Dobler
T Dan Dierdorf
QB Jim Hart
RB Terry Metcalf
WR Mel Gray
CB Roger Wehrli

The 1977 St. Louis Cardinals season was the franchise’s 56th year with the National Football League and the 18th season in St. Louis. This was the final season in St Louis for head coach Don Coryell who began coaching the San Diego Chargers the following year. The Cardinals hosted the Miami Dolphins on Thanksgiving, replacing the Dallas Cowboys.

Coryell's final game with the Cardinals was an embarrassing 17–7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won for the first time at Tampa Stadium following 13 consecutive home defeats. It was the Bucs' second consecutive victory following an NFL-record 26-game losing streak; Tampa Bay won 33–14 at New Orleans the previous week.

Offseason

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NFL Draft

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Main article: 1977 NFL Draft
1977 St. Louis Cardinals draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 19 Steve Pisarkiewicz  Quarterback Missouri
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

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1977 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Jeff Blanc Running back BYU
David Burke Running back Kearney State
Wayne Carmody Defensive back Southern Illinois
Rob Fitzgerald Defensive back Missouri
Gil Foushee Wide receiver Duke
David Headstream Linebacker SMU
Doug Jackson Punter South Dakota State

Personnel

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Staff

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1977 St. Louis Cardinals staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches




Roster

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1977 St. Louis Cardinals roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Regular season

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On November 24, 1977, Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese would throw for six touchdown passes in a Thanksgiving Day match versus the Cardinals.[1] The Dolphins would set a franchise record for most points scored in one game with 55.[2] Of note, the Dolphins would score eight touchdowns and accumulate 34 first downs. This would end the experiment of the Cardinals playing on Thanksgiving, and the following season the Dallas Cowboys would go back in that holiday slot.

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 18 at Denver Broncos L 0–7 0–1 Mile High Stadium 75,002
2 September 25 Chicago Bears W 16–13 1–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 49,878
3 October 2 at Washington Redskins L 14–24 1–2 RFK Stadium 55,031
4 October 9 Dallas Cowboys L 24–30 1–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,129
5 October 16 at Philadelphia Eagles W 21–17 2–3 Veterans Stadium 60,535
6 October 23 New Orleans Saints W 49–31 3–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 48,417
7 October 31 New York Giants W 28–0 4–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,323
8 November 6 at Minnesota Vikings W 27–7 5–3 Metropolitan Stadium 47,066
9 November 14 at Dallas Cowboys W 24–17 6–3 Texas Stadium 64,038
10 November 20 Philadelphia Eagles W 21–16 7–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 48,768
11 November 24 Miami Dolphins L 14–55 7–4 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,269
12 December 4 at New York Giants L 7–27 7–5 Giants Stadium 71,826
13 December 10 Washington Redskins L 20–26 7–6 Busch Memorial Stadium 36,067
14 December 18 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 7–17 7–7 Tampa Stadium 56,922
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 5

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Jim Hart, questionable all week with an injury, passed 38 yards to Ike Harris for a TD. Terry Metcalf and Jerry Latin both scored on runs of 10 and two yards to lift the Cardinals to a much-needed win over the Eagles.

Week 6

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Mel Gray caught passes from quarterback Jim Hart and running back Terry Metcalf for touchdowns and Wayne Morris scored four times on short distance runs in St. Louis Wide-open victory and now are back in the running for a playoff spot. Bobby Scott passed for two touchdowns for the Saints, who wiped out a 21-0 lead, then fell back again. The Saints total 440 yards on offense while the victorious Cardinals gained 494 yards.

Week 8

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"I think we we're fortunate to catch them a little flat and we were at the top of our game" Don Coryell said after his Cardinals beat the front running Central Division leaders Vikings. The Cardinals rolled up 316 yards on the ground and Jim Hart completed 10 of 14 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns. The short scoring passes to Wayne Morris and Terry Metcalf came in the first half. The two running backs each scored twice as the Cardinals piled up a 27-0 lead before Minnesota scored late in the third quarter with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Fran Tarkenton to Sammy White. Vikings coach Bud Grant said "The Cardinals offense is outstanding. We didn't think we could stop them but we did think we could outscore them. Had we scored a couple times when we were down there, it might have been a different game."

Standings

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NFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Dallas Cowboys(1) 12 2 0 .857 7–1 11–1 345 212 W4
Washington Redskins 9 5 0 .643 4–4 8–4 196 189 W3
St. Louis Cardinals 7 7 0 .500 4–4 7–5 272 287 L4
Philadelphia Eagles 5 9 0 .357 2–6 4–8 220 207 W2
New York Giants 5 9 0 .357 3–5 5–7 181 265 L2

References

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  1. ^ 100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.44
  2. ^ 100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.176
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