1977 New England Patriots season

Season of National Football League team the New England Patriots

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The 1977 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 8th season in the National Football League and 18th overall. The Patriots ended the season with a record of nine wins and five losses, and finished third in the AFC East Division.

Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1977 New England Patriots draft
1	16	Raymond Clayborn *	Defensive back	Texas
1	25	Stanley Morgan *	Wide receiver	Tennessee
2	44	Horace Ivory	Running back	Oklahoma
2	52	Don Hasselbeck	Tight end	Colorado
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
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
12	333	Dave Preston	Running back	Bowling Green
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[1]

Staff

**1977 New England Patriots staff**
	Front office President – Billy Sullivan Executive vice president – Chuck Sullivan Assistant general manager – Jim Valek Director of player personnel – Bucko Kilroy Assistant personnel director – Mike Hickey Head coaches Head coach/general manager – Chuck Fairbanks Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/special assistant to the head coach – John Polonchek Offensive backfield – Ron Erhardt Receivers – Ray Perkins Offensive line – Leon McLaughlin Offensive assistant – Ernie Adams			Defensive coaches Defensive line – Hank Bullough Linebackers/secondary – Charlie Sumner Defensive backs – Dick Walker Special teams coaches Special teams/offensive backfield – Tom Yewcic

Roster

**1977 New England Patriots roster**

	Quarterbacks 14 Steve Grogan 17 Tom Owen Running backs 44 Don Calhoun 39 Sam Cunningham 23 Horace Ivory 32 Andy Johnson Wide receivers 82 Steve Burks 86 Stanley Morgan 84 Darryl Stingley 83 Don Westbrook Tight ends 87 Al Chandler 81 Russ Francis 80 Don Hasselbeck		Offensive linemen 61 Sam Adams Sr. G 58 Pete Brock C 70 Leon Gray T 73 John Hannah G 60 Bob Hyland G 74 Shelby Jordan T 67 Bill Lenkaitis C 77 Tom Neville T Defensive linemen 85 Julius Adams DE 64 Richard Bishop DE 65 Greg Boyd DE 71 Ray Hamilton DT 72 Mel Lunsford DE 78 Tony McGee DE		Linebackers 59 Pete Barnes 55 Ray Costict 50 Sam Hunt 52 Steve King 57 Steve Nelson 56 Rod Shoate 54 Steve Zabel Defensive backs 27 Doug Beaudoin SS 26 Raymond Clayborn CB 22 Dick Conn FS 48 Tim Fox FS 40 Mike Haynes CB 24 Bob Howard CB 34 Prentice McCray SS Special teams 2 Mike Patrick P 1 John Smith K		Reserve lists Vacant - None Practice squad Vacant - None Rookies in italics

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 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

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Baltimore Colts⁽²⁾	10	4	0	.714	6–2	9–3	295	221	W1
Miami Dolphins	10	4	0	.714	6–2	8–4	313	197	W1
New England Patriots	9	5	0	.643	4–4	7–5	278	217	L1
New York Jets	3	11	0	.214	2–6	2–10	191	300	L2
Buffalo Bills	3	11	0	.214	2–6	2–10	160	313	L1

v t e New England Patriots
Founded in 1960 Formerly the Boston Patriots (1960–1970) Based and headquartered in Foxborough, Massachusetts
Franchise	Franchise History Brady–Belichick era Hall of Fame Patriot Place Seasons Players Coaches First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Retired numbers Strategy Broadcasters
Stadiums	Nickerson Field Fenway Park Alumni Stadium Harvard Stadium Foxboro Stadium Gillette Stadium
Culture	Billy Sullivan Robert Kraft Jonathan Kraft Pat Patriot Cheerleaders "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" "Crazy Train" "Your Love" Patriot Reign Family Guy "Patriot Games" "3 Acts of God" "Gronkowsbees" "This Is Our House" "Stunning and Brave" "Turd Burglars" Tom vs Time Man in the Arena: Tom Brady 80 for Brady
Lore	Snowplow Game Lisa Olson St. Louis Stallions Tuck Rule Game 2006 playoff game vs. San Diego Chargers 16–0 Spygate 2007 game vs. New York Giants Helmet Catch Butt Fumble Deflategate Malcolm Butler's interception Colts Catastrophe 28–3 Philly Special Miami Miracle Brady's return Lunatic Lateral
Rivalries	Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Denver Broncos Indianapolis Colts Miami Dolphins New York Giants New York Jets Pittsburgh Steelers Brady–Manning rivalry
Division championships (22)	1963 1978 1986 1996 1997 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Conference championships (11)	1985 1996 2001 2003 2004 2007 2011 2014 2016 2017 2018
League championships (6)	2001 (XXXVI) 2003 (XXXVIII) 2004 (XXXIX) 2014 (XLIX) 2016 (LI) 2018 (LIII)
Retired numbers	20 40 56 57 73 78 79 89
Media	Broadcasters WBZ-FM WBZ-TV Radio network Gil Santos Gino Cappelletti Bob Socci Scott Zolak
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1970–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: East Division
Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1960–1969)

v t e New England Patriots seasons
Formerly the Boston Patriots (1960–1970)
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

1977 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Baltimore	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Buffalo	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Los Angeles
Miami	Houston	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	St. Louis	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay