1974 New England Patriots season

Season of National Football League team the New England Patriots November 2013 March 2026 New England Patriots 1974 7–7 T-3rd AFC East Chuck Fairbanks Chuck Fairbanks Billy Sullivan Schaefer Stadium Did not qualify None None Patriots seasons The 1974 New England Patriots season was the franchise's fifth season in the National Football League and 15th overall. The Patriots ended the season with a record of seven wins and seven losses and finished tied for third in the AFC East Division. The Pats stunned the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins in Week 1 at Schaefer Stadium. The Pats went on to win their first five games on their way to a 6–1 start. However, they struggled in the second half of the season, winning only one game and finishing with a 7–7 record. Offseason NFL draft 1974 NFL draft 1974 New England Patriots 2 30 Steve Corbett Guard Boston College no 2 34 Steve Nelson Linebacker North Dakota State yes 5 112 Andy Johnson Running back Georgia yes 5 124 Charles Battle Defensive end Grambling no 6 141 Chuck Ramsey Kicker Wake Forest no 7 178 Maury Damkroger Linebacker Nebraska yes 9 209 Ed McCartney Linebacker 1973 Northeastern State Redmen Northeastern State (OK) no 11 268 Archie Gibson Running back Utah State no 12 296 Eddie Foster Tackle Oklahoma no 13 321 Phil Bennett Running back Boston College no 14 346 Cecil Bowens Running back Kentucky no 15 374 Sam Hunt Linebacker 1973 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks Stephen F. Austin yes 16 399 Lucious Selmon Defensive tackle Oklahoma no 17 424 Gary Hudson Defensive back Boston College no no Staff 1974 New England Patriots President – Robert L. Marr Executive vice president – George Sargent Assistant general manager – Peter Hadhazy Director of player personnel – Bucko Kilroy Personnel executive assistant – J. I. Albrecht Administrative assistant to the head coach – Phil Bengtson General manager/head coach – Chuck Fairbanks Assistant head coach/defensive line – Hank Bullough Quarterbacks – Bill Nelsen Running backs – Ron Erhardt Receivers – Ray Perkins Offensive Line – Red Miller Linebackers – Charlie Sumner Defensive backs – Larrye Weaver Special teams – Jim Valek Roster 1974 New England Patriots 15 Neil Graff 16 Jim Plunkett 11 Dick Shiner 38 Noe Gonzalez y no 42 Mack Herron 30 Ed Jenkins American football 32 Andy Johnson American football y 36 John Tarver 23 Joe Wilson American football 82 Eddie Hinton American football 88 Al Marshall American football y no 81 Joe Sweet 18 Randy Vataha 80 Bob Adams American football 61 Sam Adams Sr. G 68 Bill DuLac y G 58 Doug Dumler C 64 Allen Gallaher T 70 Leon Gray T 73 John Hannah American football G 67 Bill Lenkaitis C 56 Jon Morris C 77 Tom Neville offensive tackle T 85 Julius Adams DE 71 Ray Hamilton defensive tackle NT 74 Craig Hanneman DE 72 Mel Lunsford DE 78 Tony McGee defensive lineman DE 65 Donnell Smith DE 59 Rodrigo Barnes ILB 51 Kent Carter gridiron football OLB 54 Gail Clark OLB 55 Will Foster American football ILB 50 Sam Hunt American football y ILB 52 Steve King American football OLB 53 John Tanner gridiron football, born 1945 OLB 57 Steve Nelson American football y ILB 90 George Webster American football OLB 27 Ron Bolton American football CB 22 Sandy Durko SS 34 Prentice McCray y FS 40 Dave McCurry y FS 45 Jack Mildren SS 41 Ken Pope y CB 25 Deac Sanders CB 10 David Chapple P  1 John Smith placekicker y K 31 Josh Ashton RB IR 62 Steve Corbett y G IR 39 Sam Cunningham RB IR 51 Maury Damkroger y LB IR 59 Bob Geddes LB IR 63 Shelby Jordan T IR 47 Jim Massey American football CB IR 24 Bob McCall no RB IR 75 Arthur Moore American football NT IR 33 Reggie Rucker WR IR 87 Steve Schubert y WR IR 84 Darryl Stingley WR IR -- Ernie Webster no G IR 86 Bob Windsor TE IR Regular season The Patriots posted their first non-losing season since 1966, finishing 7–7. They erupted to a 5–0 start before losing seven of their last nine games due to injuries and rising strength of opponents as the season went on. A league-wide player strike during training camp and preseason allowed a large number of new players to make the squad, as coach Chuck Fairbanks was installing a new offensive system. Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Game Recap 1 September 15 Miami Dolphins W 34–24 1–0 Schaefer Stadium 55,006 Recap 2 September 22 at New York Giants W 28–20 2–0 Yale Bowl 44,082 Recap 3 September 29 Los Angeles Rams W 20–14 3–0 Schaefer Stadium 61,279 Recap 4 October 6 Baltimore Colts W 42–3 4–0 Schaefer Stadium 59,502 Recap 5 October 13 at New York Jets W 24–0 5–0 Shea Stadium 57,825 Recap 6 October 20 at Buffalo Bills L 28–30 5–1 Rich Stadium 78,935 Recap 7 October 27 at Minnesota Vikings W 17–14 6–1 Metropolitan Stadium 48,177 Recap 8 November 3 Buffalo Bills L 28–29 6–2 Schaefer Stadium 61,279 Recap 9 November 10 Cleveland Browns L 14–21 6–3 Schaefer Stadium 61,279 Recap 10 November 17 New York Jets L 16–21 6–4 Schaefer Stadium 57,115 Recap 11 November 24 at Baltimore Colts W 27–17 7–4 Memorial Stadium 34,782 Recap 12 December 1 at Oakland Raiders L 26–41 7–5 Oakland Coliseum 50,120 Recap 13 December 8 Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–21 7–6 Schaefer Stadium 52,107 Recap 14 December 15 at Miami Dolphins L 27–34 7–7 Miami Orange Bowl 56,920 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings Notable games September 15 vs. Miami Dolphins: The Patriots ended a four-game losing streak to Miami, erupting to a 31–10 third quarter lead and cruising home 34–24. Mack Herron opened the season for the Patriots with a fourteen-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter, while Jim Plunkett had a touchdown throw to Reggie Rucker and a five-yard rushing score to go with Sam Cunningham's 13-yard rushing score. September 22 vs. New York Giants at Yale: The Patriots traveled to New Haven, Connecticut to face the Giants. Norm Snead of the Giants opened the scoring with a 21-yard touchdown to Ron Johnson; the Patriots answered with a 12-yarder from Jim Plunkett to Mack Herron, both scores coming in the first quarter. In the second Joe Dawkins of the Giants punched the ball in from one yard out, and the Patriots tied the game as Plunkett found Randy Vataha from 38 yards out. New England then took over as Sam Cunningham caught a 14-yard Plunkett pass and Herron later ran in a four-yard score. Johnson caught another touchdown from Snead in the fourth quarter but the PAT was stopped and the Patriots ended the game 28–20 winners. October 20 at Buffalo Bills: The Bills ended the Patriots' five-game winning streak 30–28. O. J. Simpson had one rushing touchdown and a catch from Joe Ferguson, who also completed touchdown throws to Paul Seymour. Sam Cunningham had three rushing scores and Jim Plunkett fired a 12-yard touchdown bullet to Reggie Rucker with nine seconds left. The Bills recovered the ensuing onside kick to preserve the win. October 27 at Minnesota Vikings: With both teams entering the game at 5–1, turnovers plagued the day at Metropolitan Stadium. Jim Plunkett was picked off twice and the Patriots fumbled twice, while Fran Tarkenton had three picks. The Patriots also had nine penalties eating up 122 yards as the Vikings erased an early 10–0 New England lead and led 14–10 in the final minute; Tarkenton ran in a late touchdown, then threw the ball into the face of Ron Bolton after he tripped on a camera cable and mistakenly believed Bolton tripped him; a brief brawl ensued and both Bolton and Tarkenton were ejected.This Week In The NFL 1974: Patriots at Vikings But Jim Plunkett drove the Pats down field and fired a ten-yard game-winning touchdown to Bob Windsor on the final play; Windsor had to break numerous tackles to reach the endzone and was injured for the season as a result. November 3 vs. Buffalo Bills: The Patriots and Bills squared off in another hard-fought affair as Joe Ferguson threw for 247 yards and a touchdown to Ahmad Rashad while O. J. Simpson was held in check until late in the first half with a touchdown. Jim Plunkett threw two touchdowns to Mack Herron and Sam Cunningham rushed in another score for a 21–19 Patriots half time lead, but the Bills struck first in the third quarter when Dave Washington picked off Plunkett and ran back 72 yards for the score. Another Mack Herron score and John Leypoldt's third field goal of the day left the score 29–28 in the final minute when the Patriots drove down field for a field goal, but the kick was blocked by Jeff Yeates of the Bills, preserving the win. References New England Patriots Category:New England Patriots seasons New England Patriots Category:Sports competitions in Foxborough, Massachusetts