1979 New England Patriots season

Season of National Football League team the New England Patriots November 2013 March 2026 New England Patriots 1979 9–7 2nd AFC East Ron Erhardt Bucko Kilroy Billy Sullivan Schaefer Stadium Did not qualify G John HannahCB Mike HaynesWR Stanley Morgan G John Hannah (1st team) CB Mike Haynes (2nd team) Image:AFC-1979-1980-Uniform-NE.PNG Patriots seasons The 1979 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 10th season in the National Football League and 20th overall. The Patriots ended the season with a record of nine wins and seven losses and finished second in the AFC East Division. Ron Erhardt was named the new coach. In their season opener, the Patriots faced the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night as Darryl Stingley returned to Schaffer Stadium. Patriots' fans gave the paralyzed star a long sustained standing ovation. However, the emotion did not carry over as the Pats lost 16–13 in overtime. The Pats would find themselves at 8–4, as the team featured a more wide-open offense under quarterback Steve Grogan. However, a three-game losing streak ended their playoff chances, as the team settled for a disappointing 9–7 season. Offseason NFL draft 1979 NFL draft 1979 New England Patriots 1 25 Rick Sanford Cornerback South Carolina yes no 2 52 Bob Golic Defensive tackle Notre Dame yes yes 4 106 Eddie Hare Punter Tulsa yes no 5 135 John Zamberlin Linebacker Pacific Lutheran yes no 7 177 Judson Flint Safety Memphis no no 8 216 Randy Love Running back Houston no no 9 245 John Spagnola Tight end Yale no no Undrafted free agents + 1979 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeRon BrownDefensive backBrownMark BubenDefensive tackleTuftsKevin CunninghamCenterIowa StateDennis DentWide receiverUMassRob ForbesRunning backDrakeBob HurleyGuardHoly CrossTom MarhefkaLinebackerRhode IslandMike McLaughlinCenterUMassTom McLaughlinPunterIowa Personnel Staff 1979 New England Patriots President – Billy Sullivan Vice president – Chuck Sullivan General manager – Bucko Kilroy Assistant general manager – Patrick Sullivan Director of pro scouting – Bill McPeak Director of college scouting – Mike Holovak Personnel assistant – Tom Boisture Personnel assistant – Mike McCarthy Coaches administrative aide – Rick Buffington Head coach – Ron Erhardt Assistant head coach/defensive coordinator/linebackers – Hank Bullough Offensive coordinator/offensive line – Jim Ringo Quarterbacks – John Polonchek Offensive backs – Tom Yewcic Receivers – Raymond Berry Defensive line – Fritz Shurmur Defensive backs – Billy Kinard Special teams – Gino Cappelletti New England Patriots 1979 Media Guide https://archive.org/details/patriots-1979-media-guide-new-england-b/page/2/mode/2up 3 February 2025 Roster 1979 New England Patriots 12 Matt Cavanaugh 14 Steve Grogan 17 Tom Owen American football 44 Don Calhoun 35 Allan Clark y 23 Horace Ivory 30 Mosi Tatupu 29 Harold Jackson American football 86 Stanley Morgan 88 Carlos Pennywell 83 Don Westbrook 82 Al Chandler 81 Russ Francis 80 Don Hasselbeck 61 Sam Adams Sr. G 58 Pete Brock American football T/C 75 Bob Cryder G 73 John Hannah American football G 74 Shelby Jordan T 67 Bill Lenkaitis C 77 Garry Puetz T 85 Julius Adams DE 64 Richard Bishop gridiron football DE 63 Mark Buben y NT 71 Ray Hamilton defensive tackle NT 72 Mel Lunsford DE 78 Tony McGee defensive lineman DE 55 Ray Costict ILB 51 Bob Golic y ILB 59 Mike Hawkins linebacker OLB 50 Sam Hunt American football ILB 52 Steve King American football OLB 53 Bill Matthews American football ILB 57 Steve Nelson American football ILB 56 Rod Shoate OLB 54 John Zamberlin y ILB 26 Raymond Clayborn CB 22 Dick Conn FS 48 Tim Fox American football FS 40 Mike Haynes cornerback CB 34 Prentice McCray SS 25 Rick Sanford y SS 21 Mark Washington cornerback CB 8 Eddie Hare y P 1 John Smith placekicker K 27 Doug Beaudoin S IR 21 Sidney Brown American football CB IR 39 Sam Cunningham RB IR 68 Terry Falcon G IR 24 Judson Flint y FS IR 32 Andy Johnson American football RB IR 62 Dwight Wheeler T IR Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 3, 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–16 (OT) 0–1 Schaefer Stadium 60,978 2 September 9 New York Jets W 56–3 1–1 Schaefer Stadium 53,113 3 September 16 at Cincinnati Bengals W 20–14 2–1 Riverfront Stadium 41,805 4 September 23 San Diego Chargers W 27–21 3–1 Schaefer Stadium 60,916 5 October 1, 1979 at Green Bay Packers L 14–27 3–2 Lambeau Field 52,842 6 October 7 Detroit Lions W 24–17 4–2 Schaefer Stadium 60,629 7 October 14 at Chicago Bears W 27–7 5–2 Soldier Field 54,128 8 October 21 Miami Dolphins W 28–13 6–2 Schaefer Stadium 61,096 9 October 28 at Baltimore Colts L 26–31 6–3 Memorial Stadium 41,029 10 November 4 at Buffalo Bills W 26–6 7–3 Rich Stadium 67,935 11 November 11 at Denver Broncos L 10–45 7–4 Mile High Stadium 74,379 12 November 18 Baltimore Colts W 50–21 8–4 Schaefer Stadium 60,879 13 November 25 Buffalo Bills L 13–16 (OT) 8–5 Schaefer Stadium 60,991 14 November 29, 1979 at Miami Dolphins L 24–39 8–6 Miami Orange Bowl 69,174 15 December 9 at New York Jets L 26–27 8–7 Shea Stadium 45,131 16 December 16 Minnesota Vikings W 27–23 9–7 Schaefer Stadium 54,719 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings Season summary Week 1 vs Steelers September 2021 Week 2 vs Jets September 2021 Week 3 at Bengals September 2021 Week 4 vs Chargers New England Patriots 1979 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Four: San Diego Chargers (3–0) at New England Patriots (2–1) September 23 1:00 p.m. EST Chargers 0 14 0 7 Patriots 17 3 0 7 Schaefer Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts 60,916 55 F C NBC Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen Box Score First quarter NE – Sam Cunningham 1-yard run (John Smith kick). Patriots 7–0. NE – Don Calhoun 10-yard run (John Smith kick). Patriots 14–0. NE – John Smith 31-yard field goal. Patriots 17–0. Second quarter NE – John Smith 31-yard field goal. Patriots 20–0. SD – John Jefferson 19-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick). Patriots 20–7. SD – Clarence Williams (Rolf Benirschke kick). Patriots 20–14. Third quarter No scoring Fourth quarter NE – Russ Francis 5-yard pass from Steve Grogan (John Smith kick). Patriots 27–14. SD – Clarence Williams 1-yard run (Rolf Benirschke kick). Patriots 27–21. Top passers SD – Dan Fouts – 20/34, 200 yards, TD, 2 INT NE – Steve Grogan – 13/23, 157 yards, TD, 2 INT Top rushers SD – Clarence Williams – 13 rushes, 34 yards, 2 TD NE – Sam Cunningham – 22 rushes, 75 yards, TD Top receivers SD – John Jefferson – 4 receptions, 59 yards, TD NE – Russ Francis – 4 receptions, 85 yards, TD right San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots, NFL Films highlights Week 5 at Packers September 2021 Week 6 vs Lions September 2021 Week 7 at Bears September 2021 Week 8 vs Dolphins September 2021 Week 9 at Colts September 2021 Week 10 at Bills September 2021 Week 11 at Broncos September 2021 Week 12 vs Colts September 2021 Week 13 vs Bills September 2021 Week 14 at Dolphins September 2021 Week 15 at Jets September 2021 Week 16 vs Vikings September 2021 See also New England Patriots seasons References New England Patriots Category:New England Patriots seasons New England Patriots Category:Sports competitions in Foxborough, Massachusetts Category:Long stubs with short prose