1977 New England Patriots season

1977 New England Patriots season
Owner	Billy Sullivan
General manager	Chuck Fairbanks
Head coach	Chuck Fairbanks
Home field	Schaefer Stadium
Results
Record	9–5
Division place	3rd AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	TE Russ Francis CB Mike Haynes
AP All-Pros	G John Hannah (2nd team) CB Mike Haynes (2nd team)

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

Main article: 1977 NFL Draft

1977 New England Patriots draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
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

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 (QB) 14 Steve Grogan 17 Tom Owen Running backs (RB) 44 Don Calhoun 39 Sam Cunningham 23 Horace Ivory 32 Andy Johnson Wide receivers (WR) 82 Steve Burks 86 Stanley Morgan 84 Darryl Stingley 83 Don Westbrook Tight ends (TE) 87 Al Chandler 81 Russ Francis 80 Don Hasselbeck

Offensive linemen (OL) 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 (DL) 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 (LB) 59 Pete Barnes 55 Ray Costict 50 Sam Hunt 52 Steve King 57 Steve Nelson 56 Rod Shoate 54 Steve Zabel Defensive backs (DB) {{{defensive_back}}} Special teams 2 Mike Patrick P 1 John Smith K

Practice squad Vacant - None Reserve 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
	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

See also

• New England Patriots seasons