-KICKOFF COVERAGE’S: HISTORY OF THE 32 IN 32-
-NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS-
1976
PATRIOTS GO 11-3 & EARN WILD CARD BERTH,LOSE TO THE RAIDERS IN THE WILD CARD ROUND BY A CONTROVERSIAL CALL THAT GAVE MOMENTUM BACK TO THE RAIDERS:
Following the 1975 season, Plunkett was traded to the San Francisco 49ers, and eventually would win two Super Bowls with the Oakland Raiders.
The draft picks acquired in the Plunkett trade were used to select defensive backs Mike Haynes and Tim Fox and set the stage for the team’s first winning seasons in the NFL. Second-year player Steve Grogan – who had played much of the 1975 season with Plunkett injured – became New England’s top quarterback in 1976. The Patriots finished 11-3, their best record in team history to that point, and advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 1963.
Their opponent in the first round would be the Oakland Raiders, whose only regular season loss had come at the hands of New England, 48-17. By late in the game, the Patriots were leading the Raiders, 21–17. On a critical 3rd-down play late in the 4th quarter, Patriots defensive tackle Ray “Sugar Bear” Hamilton appeared to get a critical sack on Oakland quarterbackKen Stabler, which would have forced the Raiders into a 4th-down situation and the possible end to their season. However, referee Ben Dreith called a roughing the passer penalty on Hamilton, nullifying the sack and giving the Raiders an automatic 1st down deep in New England territory. Replays would show that there was no illegal contact – a point that Stabler himself would all but concede in interviews years later. The call would ultimately prove fatal to the Patriots, as Stabler would score on a short touchdown run with less than a minute left, and the Raiders held on for a 24–21 win. Partially because of the controversy, the league never assigned Dreith to officiate Patriots games again.