Age: 31 (Dec. 25)
9th
season in pro football & with Raiders (counting 1968 and ‘69 seasons, as
detailed in Prelude)
College: Alabama
Height: 6’3” Weight: 215
Prelude:
Following an
outstanding college career, the left-handed Stabler was chosen by the Raiders
in the second round of the 1968 NFL/AFL draft. He was farmed out for a brief
apprenticeship in the Continental Football League in ’68 and spent 1969 on
injured reserve before he saw his first regular season NFL action as the
third-string QB in 1970. Knee injuries robbed Stabler of his mobility, but “The
Snake” was an accurate passer who took over as starting QB in 1973 and led the
league in completion percentage (62.7) while earning selection to the Pro Bowl.
He followed that up with a MVP and consensus All-Pro season in 1974 in which he
led the NFL with 26 TD passes and a TD percentage of 8.4 as the Raiders
advanced to the AFC Championship game for the second straight year. They made
it three straight in ’75, although Stabler had a lesser year as he struggled
with another knee injury and tossed 24 interceptions.
1976 Season Summary
Appeared in 12
of 14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 291 [13, tied with Greg Landry]
Most attempts,
game – 38 vs. Pittsburgh 9/12
Completions –
194 [7]
Most
completions, game – 22 at Kansas City 9/20
Yards – 2737 [4]
Most yards,
game – 342 vs. Pittsburgh 9/12
Completion
percentage – 66.7 [1]
Yards per
attempt – 9.4 [1]
TD passes – 27 [1]
Most TD passes,
game – 4 vs. Cincinnati 12/6
Interceptions
– 17 [4]
Most
interceptions, game – 4 vs. Pittsburgh 9/12, vs. Kansas City 11/14
Passer rating
– 103.4 [1]
300-yard
passing games – 2
200-yard
passing games – 9
Rushing
Attempts – 7
Yards – -2
Yards per attempt
– -0.3
TDs – 1
Scoring
TDs – 1
Points - 6
Postseason: 3
G
Pass attempts
– 67
Most
attempts, game - 32 vs. New England, AFC Divisional playoff
Pass
completions – 41
Most
completions, game - 19 vs. New England, AFC Divisional playoff
Passing
yardage – 501
Most yards,
game - 233 vs. New England, AFC Divisional playoff
TD passes – 4
Most TD
passes, game - 2 vs. Pittsburgh, AFC Championship
Interceptions
– 0
Rushing
attempts – 1
Most rushing
attempts, game - 1 vs. New England, AFC Divisional playoff
Rushing yards
– 1
Most rushing
yards, game - 1 vs. New England, AFC Divisional playoff
Average gain
rushing – 1.0
Rushing TDs –
1
Awards & Honors:
NFL Player of
the Year: Bert Bell Award
AFC Player of
the Year: Sporting News
1st
team All-NFL: Pro Football Weekly
2nd
team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, NEA
1st
team All-AFC: Pro Football Weekly, Sporting News
2nd
team All-AFC: UPI
Pro Bowl
Raiders went 13-1
to finish first in the AFC West with the conference’s best record while leading
the NFL in touchdown passes (33). Won AFC Divisional playoff over New England
Patriots (24-21), AFC Championship over Pittsburgh Steelers (24-7), and Super
Bowl over Minnesota Vikings (32-14).
Aftermath:
Stabler was
again a Pro Bowl selection in 1977 and threw for a career-high 3615 yards in
1979. Traded to the Houston Oilers for QB Dan Pastorini with the expectation
that he would get the Oilers into the Super Bowl, he instead endured two
disappointing seasons before moving on to New Orleans for the last three years
of his career. Overall, Stabler threw for 27,938 yards and, prone to taking
chances, gave up 222 interceptions as opposed to 194 TDs. However, he was named
to the Pro Bowl four times, his regular season record was 96-49-1, and he was
7-5 in postseason play.
--
MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or
Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or
USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football
Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press
International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league
itself).
[Updated 2/5/14]
[Updated 2/5/14]
