1976 AFC Championship Game

This was the fourth consecutive AFC Championship Game contested by the Raiders, and their eighth title game in the Super Bowl era.[lower-alpha 2] Oakland won the AFC West with a 13-1 regular season record and defeated the AFC East runner-up New England Patriots 24–21 at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum in the Divisional Round to advance to the AFC Championship game.

This was the fourth AFC Championship Game contested by the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Steelers in five years, and fourth title game overall. Pittsburgh won the AFC Central with a 10-4 regular season record and defeated the AFC East Champion Baltimore Colts 40–14 at Memorial Stadium in the Divisional Round to reach the AFC title game.

This was the fifth playoff meeting in as many seasons between these teams and their fifth meeting overall. Prior to the Steelers' two title game wins, the teams had split a pair of Divisional Round matchups with Pittsburgh winning in 1972 and Oakland winning in 1973. The Raiders defeated the Steelers 31–28 at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum in the 1976 season opener.

After playing the previous title game at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, the Raiders regained the right to host the AFC Championship Game as they had the best record in the conference.[lower-alpha 3]

Due to the intense criticism the NFL endured for playing on Christmas Day during the 1971 Divisional Round, the league moved the entire 1976 season schedule up one week to avoid any perceived need to play again on Christmas. As a result, the 1976 conference title games were played on Sunday, December 26 as opposed to the Sunday, January 2 date the 1971 title games were played on.

Pittsburgh had defeated the Raiders in the AFC championship game in each of the last two seasons. But with Steelers running backs Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier out of the game with injuries, this time the Raiders easily shut down Pittsburgh's offense.

Late in the first quarter, Bobby Walden's rushed punt went just 19 yards and gave Oakland the ball at the Steelers 38, setting up Errol Mann's 39-yard field goal. Then in the second quarter, Raiders linebacker Willie Hall intercepted a pass from Terry Bradshaw and returned it 25 yards to the Steelers 1-yard line. Three plays later, Clarence Davis' 1-yard touchdown run gave them a 10–0 lead. Although the game would end up as a defensive struggle with both teams combining for 14 punts (7 each) and only 457 yards (237 for Pittsburgh, 220 for Oakland), Hall's interception would be the only turnover of the day for either team.

The Steelers responded with Bradshaw's completions to Lynn Swann for gains of 18 and 30 yards leading to Reggie Harrison's 3-yard rushing touchdown. Oakland responded with a methodical 14-play, 69-yard scoring drive. With 19 seconds left in the first half, the Raiders faced first down at the Pittsburgh 4-yard line following a 16-yard burst by Clarence Davis. Oakland lined up three tight ends as if they were to run the ball, but quarterback Ken Stabler threw a play action pass to Warren Bankston for a touchdown to give the Raiders a 17–7 lead at halftime. Oakland controlled the entire second half, including a 12-play, 63-yard drive that featured a 28-yard completion from Stabler to receiver Cliff Branch. Stabler finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Pete Banaszak that put the game out of reach at 24–7.[2]

• First quarter
  • OAK – field goal Mann 39 OAK 3–0
• Second quarter
  • OAK – Davis 1 run (Mann kick) OAK 10–0
  • PIT – Harrison 3 run (Mansfield kick) OAK 10–7
  • OAK – Bankston 4 pass from Stabler (Mann kick) OAK 17–7
• Third quarter
  • OAK – Banaszak 5 pass from Stabler (Mann kick) OAK 24–7
• Fourth quarter
  • no scoring

The AFC champion Raiders made their second Super Bowl appearance. Oakland defeated the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football Conference 32–14 in Super Bowl XI to win their first Super Bowl.

The Raiders would return to the title game once again the following year, but would lose to their division rival Denver Broncos (who had eliminated the Steelers in the 1977 Divisional Round). Pittsburgh would return the year after that en route to another two consecutive Super Bowl championships.

This was the last of three consecutive matchups title game matchups and five consecutive postseason meetings between Pittsburgh and Oakland. Since 1976, the teams have only met in the postseason once - a 38–10 victory for the then-Los Angeles Raiders in the 1983 Divisional Round at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Also since 1976, the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers have been the only other two teams to meet in three consecutive title games, doing so in the 1992, 1993 and 1994 NFC Championship Games - as of 2021, these are the only two NFC teams to have met in more than two title games (they also met in three title games prior to the 1990's, for six total), while three pairings of AFC teams have played three non-consecutive AFC title games each to tie the Raiders and Steelers.[lower-alpha 4]

This was the last AFC title game in Oakland[lower-alpha 5] until 2000, although in the meantime the Raiders also hosted the 1983 title game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum after their aforementioned victory over Pittsburgh.

This was also the last AFC Championship Game played in the same calendar year as the preceding regular season. The NFL returned to its previously-established scheduling arrangement the following season, under which the conference title games would have again been played in December the year after that, however 1978 was also the year the NFL regular season schedule was extended to sixteen games and the wild card round was introduced in the playoffs. This caused the conference championship games to be moved to what had previously been the bye week prior to the Super Bowl, thus ensuring the title games would always be played in the new year.

• 1976 NFC Championship Game
• AFC Championship Game
• 1976-77 NFL playoffs
• 1976 NFL season
• American Football Conference
• National Football League