1977 Green Bay Packers season

The 1977 Green Bay Packers season was their 59th season overall and their 57th season in the National Football League. The team finished with a 4–10 record under coach Bart Starr, earning them a fourth-place finish in the NFC Central division. The Packers suffered injuries and continued to be among the worst teams in the NFL, posting a 4–10 record. During the season, quarterbacks Lynn Dickey and David Whitehurst combined to throw 21 interceptions while just connecting on six touchdown passes. They only scored 134 points, second worst in the league to the 2–12 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (103).

1977 Green Bay Packers season
Head coach	Bart Starr
Home stadium	Lambeau Field Milwaukee County Stadium
Results
Record	4–10
Division place	4th NFC Central
Playoffs	Did not qualify
← 1976 Packers seasons 1978 →

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1977 NFL draft

1977 Green Bay Packers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	9	Mike Butler	Defensive end	Kansas
1	28	Ezra Johnson *	Defensive end	Morris Brown
2	39	Greg Koch	Offensive tackle	Arkansas
3	74	Rick Scribner	Guard	Idaho State
5	122	Nate Simpson	Running back	Tennessee State
6	149	Tim Moresco	Safety	Syracuse
7	172	Derrel Gofourth	Center	Oklahoma State
7	176	Rell Tipton	Guard	Baylor
8	206	David Whitehurst	Quarterback	Furman
9	233	Joel Mullins	Offensive tackle	Arkansas State
10	260	Jim Culbreath	Running back	Oklahoma
11	290	Terry Randolph	Cornerback	American International
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

1977 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Rick Moore	Defensive back	North Carolina Central
Randy Rose	Wide receiver	Wisconsin

Roster

1977 Green Bay Packers roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 12 Brian Dowling 17 David Whitehurst Running backs (RB) 31 Jim Culbreath 40 Willard Harrell 34 Terdell Middleton 48 Nate Simpson 33 Barty Smith 26 Eric Torkelson Wide receivers (WR) 82 Keith Hartwig 84 Steve Odom 89 Ollie Smith 43 Aundra Thompson Tight ends (TE) 88 Bert Askson 81 Rich McGeorge

Offensive linemen (OL) 57 Derrel Gofourth C 62 Dennis Havig G 72 Dick Himes T 71 Melvin Jackson G 60 Steve Knutson G 68 Greg Koch T 79 Mark Koncar T 67 Bob Kowalkowski G 54 Larry McCarren C Defensive linemen (DL) 70 Bob Barber DE 77 Mike Butler DE 90 Ezra Johnson DE 61 Herb McMath DT 75 Dave Pureifory DT 74 Dave Roller DT 83 Clarence Williams DT

Linebackers (LB) 53 Fred Carr OLB 50 Jim Carter MLB 51 Jim Gueno OLB 58 Don Hansen MLB 56 Blane Smith OLB 59 Tom Toner OLB Defensive backs (DB) 28 Willie Buchanon CB 24 Johnnie Gray FS 46 Steve Luke SS 29 Mike McCoy CB 37 Tim Moresco FS 23 Terry Randolph CB 21 Steve Wagner SS Special teams (ST) 11 David Beverly P 13 Chester Marcol K

Reserve 10 Lynn Dickey QB (IR) 64 Rick Scribner T (IR) 73 Gerald Skinner T (IR) -- Rell Tipton G (IR) 18 Randy Vataha WR (IR) 52 Gary Weaver LB (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 18	at New Orleans Saints	W 24–20	1–0	Louisiana Superdome	56,250
2	September 25	Houston Oilers	L 10–16	1–1	Lambeau Field	55,071
3	October 2	at Minnesota Vikings	L 7–19	1–2	Metropolitan Stadium	47,143
4	October 9	Cincinnati Bengals	L 7–17	1–3	Milwaukee County Stadium	53,653
5	October 16	at Detroit Lions	L 6–10	1–4	Pontiac Silverdome	78,452
6	October 23	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 13–0	2–4	Tampa Stadium	47,635
7	October 30	Chicago Bears	L 0–26	2–5	Lambeau Field	56,002
8	November 6	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 10–20	2–6	Arrowhead Stadium	62,687
9	November 13	Los Angeles Rams	L 6–24	2–7	Milwaukee County Stadium	52,948
10	November 21	at Washington Redskins	L 9–10	2–8	RFK Stadium	51,498
11	November 27	Minnesota Vikings	L 6–13	2–9	Lambeau Field	56,267
12	December 4	Detroit Lions	W 10–9	3–9	Lambeau Field	56,267
13	December 11	at Chicago Bears	L 10–21	3–10	Soldier Field	33,557
14	December 18	San Francisco 49ers	W 16–14	4–10	Milwaukee County Stadium	44,902

Monday (November 21)

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1: at New Orleans Saints

• Television network: CBS
• Announcers: Tim Ryan, Nick Buoniconti

Williard Harrell's 75-yard punt return and Lynn Dickey's 15-yard touchdown pass to Ken Payne helped Green Bay to a 24-0 that turned out to be the difference in their opener win. New Orleans' Chuck Muncie had touchdown runs of two and three yards and Archie Manning threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to Henry Childs in a futile rally. Saints coach Hank Stram said "I guess you can say we slept through the first half. You just can't play 30 minutes and expect to win."

Week 3: at Minnesota Vikings

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	7	0	0	0	7
Vikings	7	6	0	6	19

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers GB – Lynn Dickey – 8/20, 143 yards, 1 TD MIN – Fran Tarkenton – 19/27, 184 yards, 1 TD Top rushers GB – Eric Torkelson – 8 rushes, 34 yards MIN – Chuck Foreman – 19 rushes, 53 yards, 1 TD Top receivers GB – Steve Odom – 1 receptions, 95 yards, 1 TD MIN – Sammy White – 5 receptions, 73 yards, 1 TD

Week 3: Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings

at Metropolitan Stadium, Minnesota

• Date: October 2, 1977
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
• Game weather: Overcast, 47 °F (8 °C)
• TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Johnny Unitas

Week 7: vs Chicago Bears

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	13	3	0	10	26
Packers	0	0	0	0	0

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers CHI – Bob Avellini – 4/9, 54 yards, TD, INT GB – Lynn Dickey – 10/25, 96 yards, INT Top rushers CHI – Walter Payton – 23 rushes, 205 yards, 2 TDs GB – Barty Smith – 15 rushes, 54 yards Top receivers CHI – Greg Latta – 3 receptions, 49 yards GB – Ollie Smith – 3 receptions, 57 yards

Week 7: Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Date: October 30, 1977
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
• Game weather: Overcast, 45 °F (7 °C)
• TV announcers (CBS): Gary Bender and Johnny Morris

Week 8: at Kansas City Chiefs

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	0	0	3	7	10
Chiefs	10	0	0	10	20

Game information

First quarter KC – Jan Stenerud 27-yard field goal, 9:16. Chiefs 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 61 yards, 5:44. KC – Henry Marshall 3-yard pass from Mike Livingston (Jan Stenerud kick), 6:23. Chiefs 10–0. Drive: 4 plays, 39 yards, 1:19. Second quarter No scoring plays. Third quarter GB – Chester Marcol 31-yard field goal, 9:11. Chiefs 10–3. Drive: 11 plays, 49 yards, 5:49. Fourth quarter KC – Ed Podolak 1-yard run (Jan Stenerud kick), 14:53. Chiefs 17–3. Drive: 7 plays, 43 yards, 2:48. GB – Terdell Middleton 85-yard kickoff return (Chester Marcol kick), 14:25. Chiefs 17–10. KC – Jan Stenerud 22-yard field goal, 4:47. Chiefs 20–10. Drive: 11 plays, 56 yards, 5:05. Top passers GB – Lynn Dickey – 15/28, 139 yards KC – Mike Livingston – 11/21, 143 yards, TD Top rushers GB – Terdell Middleton – 14 rushes, 49 yards KC – Ed Podolak – 18 rushes, 98 yards, TD Top receivers GB – Steve Odom – 6 receptions, 80 yards KC – Ed Podolak – 4 receptions, 51 yards

Week 8: Green Bay Packers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

• Date: November 6
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
• Game weather: Overcast, 58 °F (14 °C)
• Game attendance: 62,687
• Referee: Bob Frederic
• TV announcers (CBS): Lindsey Nelson and Paul Hornung
• Box score

Week 11: vs Minnesota Vikings

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	0	13	0	0	13
Packers	6	0	0	0	6

Game information

First quarter GB – David Whitehurst 3-yard run (kick failed). Packers 6–0. Second quarter MIN – Sammy White 40-yard pass from Bob Lee (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 7–6. MIN – Fred Cox 21-yard field goal. Vikings 10–6. MIN – Fred Cox 31-yard field goal. Vikings 13–6. Third quarter No scoring plays. Fourth quarter No scoring plays. Top passers MIN – Bob Lee – 5/8, 68 yards, TD GB – David Whitehurst – 6/23, 75 yards, 2 INT Top rushers MIN – Chuck Foreman – 26 rushes, 101 yards GB – Eric Torkelson – 13 rushes, 53 yards Top receivers MIN – Sammy White – 1 reception, 40 yards, TD GB – Bert Askson – 1 reception, 34 yards

Week 11: Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers – Game summary

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Date: Sunday, November 27
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 10 °F (−12 °C)
• Referee: Don Wedge
• TV announcers (CBS): Gary Bender and Johnny Unitas
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Standings

NFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings(3)	9	5	0	.643	6–1	8–4	231	227	W1
Chicago Bears(4)	9	5	0	.643	6–1	8–4	255	253	W6
Detroit Lions	6	8	0	.429	2–5	4–8	183	252	L1
Green Bay Packers	4	10	0	.286	2–5	4–7	134	219	W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2	12	0	.143	0–4	2–11	103	223	W2

References

• Sportsencyclopedia.com