It began with the hiring of new head coach Marv Levy, formerly of the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes.
Running back Ed Podolak, who was the club's all-time leading rusher at the time, retired in the offseason on June 15.
"It was a situation where we took over a team that had the worst defensive record in the history of the National Football League," Levy explained.
[1] Levy's squad ran the ball a staggering 69 times in a 24–23 Opening Day win at Cincinnati on September 3, the most rushing attempts in an NFL contest since 1948.
[1] Despite the squad's Opening Day success, the club lost 10 of its next 11 games, including a pair of overtime decisions.
However, the team showed signs of improvement with the defense recording a 23–0 shutout against San Diego on November 26 as the club concluded its first 16-game schedule with a 4–12 mark.