1977 New England Patriots season

Season of National Football League team the New England Patriots November 2013 March 2026 New England Patriots 1977 9–5 3rd AFC East Chuck Fairbanks Chuck Fairbanks Billy Sullivan Schaefer Stadium Did not qualify TE Russ FrancisCB Mike Haynes G John Hannah (2nd team) CB Mike Haynes (2nd team) Patriots seasons The 1977 New England Patriots season was the franchise's eighth season in the National Football League and 18th overall. The Patriots struggled to a 5–4 record and trailed the Baltimore Colts by three games and the Miami Dolphins by two games after losing 17–5 to the Dolphins. Beginning November 20th, the Patriots won four straight allowing no more than 10 points. While they won the rematch with Miami, a Baltimore win on December 11th would have actually helped them in their quest to win the division crown, but Detroit won 13–10 on a late blocked punt, and New England then needed help with a Buffalo win over Miami. That did not happen as the Dolphins rolled to a 31–14 win to eliminate the Patriots, who ended the season with a record of 9–5 and finished third in the AFC East Division, after a 30–24 loss in the final game to the Colts. Draft 1977 NFL draft 1977 New England Patriots 1 16 Raymond Clayborn Defensive back Texas yes yes 1 25 Stanley Morgan Wide receiver Tennessee yes yes 2 44 Horace Ivory Running back Oklahoma yes 2 52 Don Hasselbeck Tight end Colorado yes 3 82 Sidney Brown Defensive back Oklahoma Played with the Patriots in 1978 4 109 Gerald Skinner Tackle Arkansas 7 192 Ken Smith Wide receiver Arkansas–Pine Bluff 8 219 Brad Benson Tackle Penn State yes 9 249 Jerry Vogele Linebacker Michigan 10 276 John Rasmussen Tackle Wisconsin 10 279 Giles Alexander Defensive end Tulsa 11 303 Ray Costict Linebacker Mississippi State yes 12 333 Dave Preston Running back Bowling Green no nohttps://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nwe/1977_draft.htm 1977 New England Patriots Draftees Pro Football Reference January 17, 2022 Staff 1977 New England Patriots President – Billy Sullivan Executive vice president – Chuck Sullivan Assistant general manager – Jim Valek Director of player personnel – Bucko Kilroy Coaches administrative aide – Ernie Adams Personnel assistant – Tom Boisture Personnel assistant – Mike Holovak Personnel assistant – Marv Sunderland Personnel assistant – Tony Razzano General manager/head coach – Chuck Fairbanks Assistant head coach/defensive coordinator/line – Hank Bullough Offensive coordinator/running backs – Ron Erhardt Quarterbacks – John Polonchek Receivers – Ray Perkins Offensive line – Leon McLaughlin Linebackers – Charlie Sumner Defensive backs – Dick Walker Special teams – Tom YewcicPatriots 1977 Media Guide https://archive.org/details/patriots-1977-media-guide-new-england-b/mode/2up 3 February 2025 Roster 1977 New England Patriots 14 Steve Grogan 17 Tom Owen American football 44 Don Calhoun 39 Sam Cunningham 38 Ike Forte 23 Horace Ivory y 35 Jess Phillips American football 82 Steve Burks 86 Stanley Morgan y 84 Darryl Stingley 83 Don Westbrook 87 Al Chandler 81 Russ Francis 80 Don Hasselbeck y 61 Sam Adams Sr. G 58 Pete Brock American football G/C 70 Leon Gray T 73 John Hannah American football G 74 Shelby Jordan T 67 Bill Lenkaitis C 66 Bob McKay T 77 Tom Neville offensive tackle T 63 Fred Sturt G 85 Julius Adams DE 64 Richard Bishop gridiron football NT 65 Greg Boyd American football DE 71 Ray Hamilton defensive tackle NT 72 Mel Lunsford DE 78 Tony McGee defensive lineman DE 59 Pete Barnes OLB 55 Ray Costict y ILB 50 Sam Hunt American football ILB 52 Steve King American football OLB 57 Steve Nelson American football ILB 56 Rod Shoate OLB 54 Steve Zabel OLB 27 Doug Beaudoin SS 26 Raymond Clayborn y CB 22 Dick Conn FS 48 Tim Fox American football FS 40 Mike Haynes cornerback CB 24 Bob Howard American football CB 34 Prentice McCray SS  2 Mike Patrick American football P  1 John Smith placekicker K 21 Sidney Brown American football y CB IR 62 Steve Corbett G (Ret.) 7px 76 Pete Cusick NT IR 32 Andy Johnson American football RB IR 53 Jim Romaniszyn LB IR 51 Jerry Vogele y LB IR Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Game Recap 1 September 18 Kansas City Chiefs W 21–17 1–0 Schaefer Stadium 58,185 Recap 2 September 26 at Cleveland Browns L 27–30 (OT) 1–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 76,418 Recap 3 October 2 at New York Jets L 27–30 1–2 Shea Stadium 38,227 Recap 4 October 9 Seattle Seahawks W 31–0 2–2 Schaefer Stadium 45,927 Recap 5 October 16 at San Diego Chargers W 24–20 3–2 San Diego Stadium 50,327 Recap 6 October 23 Baltimore Colts W 17–3 4–2 Schaefer Stadium 60,958 Recap 7 October 30 New York Jets W 24–13 5–2 Schaefer Stadium 61,042 Recap 8 November 6 Buffalo Bills L 14–24 5–3 Schaefer Stadium 60,263 Recap 9 November 13 at Miami Dolphins L 5–17 5–4 Miami Orange Bowl 67,502 Recap 10 November 20 at Buffalo Bills W 20–7 6–4 Rich Stadium 27,598 Recap 11 November 27 Philadelphia Eagles W 14–6 7–4 Schaefer Stadium 57,893 Recap 12 December 4 at Atlanta Falcons W 16–10 8–4 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 57,911 Recap 13 December 11 Miami Dolphins W 14–10 9–4 Schaefer Stadium 61,064 Recap 14 December 18 at Baltimore Colts L 24–30 9–5 Memorial Stadium 42,250 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1: vs Kansas City Chiefs New England Patriots 1977 2; text-align:center autocollapse Week 1: Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots – Game summary September 18 1:00 p.m. EDT Chiefs 14 0 0 3 Patriots 7 7 7 0 Schaefer Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts 58,185 Hazy, warm, 76 F C Fred Silva NBC Charlie Jones and Len Dawson Box score First quarter KC – MacArthur Lane 1-yard run (Jan Stenerud kick), 7:54. Chiefs 7–0. Drive: 7 plays, 19 yards, 3:34. KC – Tony Reed 10-yard run (Jan Stenerud kick), 4:15. Chiefs 14–0. Drive: 3 plays, 65 yards, 1:28. NE – Darryl Stingley 34-yard run (John Smith kick), 0:52. Chiefs 14–7. Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 3:23. Second quarter NE – Darryl Stingley 21-yard pass from Steve Grogan (John Smith kick), 1:08. Tied 14–14. Drive: 4 plays, 42 yards, 0:38. Third quarter NE – Jess Phillips 11-yard run (John Smith kick), 2:02. Patriots 21–14. Drive: 7 plays, 59 yards, 3:38. Fourth quarter KC – Jan Stenerud 22-yard field goal, 10:23. Patriots 21–17. Drive: 13 plays, 76 yards, 6:39. Top passers KC – Mike Livingston – 13/26, 219 yards NE – Steve Grogan – 10/16, 155 yards, TD, 2 INT Top rushers KC – Tony Reed – 19 rushes, 88 yards, TD NE – Sam Cunningham – 23 rushes, 105 yards Top receivers KC – Henry Marshall – 3 receptions, 76 yards NE – Sam Cunningham – 3 receptions, 48 yards Week 11 Television: CBS Announcers: Don Criqui, Nick Buoniconti Steve Grogan passed for two touchdowns in the first half, and the New England defense sacked Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski eight times as the Patriots keep their faint playoff hopes alive with their win in front of a regional TV audience. Grogan hit Stanley Morgan on a scoring shot 64 yards in the first period, and then drilled a 16-yard pass to Darryl Stingley for another touchdown in the first half. The Eagles averted a shutout as Jaworski broke out of trouble and passed 12 yards to Charles Smith for a touchdown with just 52 seconds left to play. Standings 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