1979 New England Patriots season
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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 New England Patriots draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 25 | Rick Sanford | Cornerback | South Carolina | |
2 | 52 | Bob Golic * | Defensive tackle | Notre Dame | |
4 | 106 | Eddie Hare | Punter | Tulsa | |
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career |
Undrafted free agents
Player | Position | College |
---|---|---|
Ron Brown | Defensive back | Brown |
Mark Buben | Defensive tackle | Tufts |
Kevin Cunningham | Center | Iowa State |
Dennis Dent | Wide receiver | UMass |
Rob Forbes | Running back | Drake |
Bob Hurley | Guard | Holy Cross |
Mike McLaughlin | Center | UMass |
Tom McLaughlin | Punter | Iowa |
Personnel
Staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
|
Roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists
|
Regular season
Schedule
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 3 | 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 | 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 | 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
AFC East | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
Miami Dolphins(3) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–3 | 6–6 | 341 | 257 | L1 |
New England Patriots | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4–4 | 6–6 | 411 | 326 | W1 |
New York Jets | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4–4 | 5–7 | 337 | 383 | W3 |
Buffalo Bills | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–4 | 5–7 | 268 | 279 | L3 |
Baltimore Colts | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 3–5 | 4–10 | 271 | 351 | W1 |
Season summary
Week 1 vs Steelers
Week 2 vs Jets
Week 3 at Bengals
Week 4 vs Chargers
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chargers | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
Patriots | 17 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
at Schaefer Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
- Date: September 23
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C)
- Game attendance: 60,916
- TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
- Box Score
Game information | ||
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|
External videos | |
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Week 5 at Packers
Week 6 vs Lions
Week 7 at Bears
Week 8 vs Dolphins
Week 9 at Colts
Week 10 at Bills
Week 11 at Broncos
Week 12 vs Colts
Week 13 vs Bills
Week 14 at Dolphins
Week 15 at Jets
Week 16 vs Vikings
See also
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