1978 New England Patriots season

Infobox NFL_season
team = New England Patriots
teamcolor = New England Patriots71thru92
year = 1978
record = 11-5
division_place = T-1st AFC East
coach = Chuck Fairbanks
Hank Bullough (co-interim)
Ron Erhardt (co-interim)
stadium = Schaeffer Stadium
playoffs = Lost Divisional Playoffs (Oilers) 31-14
pro bowlers = 5
uniform =

The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1978 season with a record of eleven wins and five losses, and finished tied for first in the AFC East division.

eason summary

Following a preseason hit in Oakland that paralyzed popular receiver Darryl Stingley for life, the Patriots staggered to a 1-2 start before upsetting the Oakland Raiders on the road. From there the Patriots stormed to win nine of their next 12 games, establishing an NFL record for rushing yards at 3,165. The Patriots clinched their first division title with a 26-24 win over the Buffalo Bills with one game remaining.

Game-by-game results

Notable Games

*August 12 @ Oakland Raiders (preseason):Tragedy blackened a 21-7 Patriots win over the Raiders when, late in the second quarter, Darryl Stingley jumped after a Steve Grogan throw and was crushed in the jaw by Jack Tatum of the Raiders. The hit paralyzed Stingley for life.

*September 18 vs. Baltimore Colts:Hosting the Colts on Monday Night Football at a rain-soaked Schaefer Stadium the Patriots were done in 34-27 on a one-man scoring rampage by the Colts' Joe Washington, who scored by throwing a 54-yard touchdown to Roger Carr, catching a 23-yard score from Bill Troup, and after a game-tying Sam Cunningham touchdown run in the fourth returned the ensuing kick 90 yards for the game-winning touchdown.

*September 24 @ Oakland Raiders:Returning to Oakland nearly six weeks after Darryl Stingley's near-fatal injury, the Patriots rallied from a 14-0 second-quarter gap by forcing three Ken Stabler interceptions and scoring 21 unanswered points by Russ Francis, Horace Ivory, and Sam Cunningham. The team visited Stingely in the Oakland-area hospital where he was still staying and his jovial banter with the team warmed their spirits enormously.

*October 29 vs. New York Jets:In a bizarre harbinger of Spygate, the Patriots exploded to eight touchdowns - Steve Grogan throws to Harold Jackson twice (David Posey missed the PAT on Jackson's second score), Stanley Morgan, and Russ Francis, and two rushing scores apiece by Horace Ivory and James McAlister - in a 55-21 slaughter of the Jets. Jets coach Walt Michaels suspected the Patriots were decifering his coaching staff's codes and that a rival team had tipped off the Pats to these codes - "This will never happen to us again," Michaels stewed afterward. "I know what they did, but by the time we figured it out, it was too late."

*November 12 vs. Houston Oilers:The Patriots' seven-game winning streak crashed to a halt as the Pats stormed to a 23-0 lead in the second quarter but surrendered four unaswered Houston touchdowns (marred by two missed PATs by Toni Fritsch) and a 26-23 Houston win.

*November 26 @ Baltimore Colts:The Patriots crushed the Colts 35-14, sacking Bill Troup eight times while snatching two Troup interceptions (Mike Haynes scored from Baltimore's 36 yard line with the first INT) for good measure. Harold Jackson, Andy Johnson, and Sam Cunningham rushed in touchdowns while Stanley Morgan caught a 75-yard touchdown strike from Steve Grogan.

*December 10 vs. Buffalo Bills:Needing a win to clinch the AFC East, the Patriots trailed for most of this game as Ronald Hooks and Terry Miller of the Bills scored on the ground and Frank Lewis caught a 21-yard touchdown from Joe Ferguson. The Patriots also suffered when linebackers Steve Zabel and Steve Nelson were injured. The Patriots rallied behind rushing scores by Sam Cunningham, Steve Grogan, and Horace Ivory and a safety when Tim Fox ran Bills punter Rusty Jackson out of the endzone; Bills coach Chuck Knox allowed a safety because he feared punting out of his endzone. [ Fox, Larry (1979) The New England Patriots: Triumph & Tragedy (New York: Atheneum), p. 283. ISBN 0-689-10992-X] In the game's final eight seconds the Bills led 24-23 but David Posey kicked the winning field goal from 21 yards out, clinching a 26-24 win.

*December 18 @ Miami Dolphins:The celebration of the AFC East title was wiped out when coach Chuck Fairbanks, who'd been negotiating a head coaching position with the University of Colorado all season, was suspended just before New England's regular-season wrapup in Miami on Monday Night Football. Coordinators Hank Bullough and Ron Erhardt took over as co-head coaches for the game. The suspension of Fairbanks and elevation of Bullough and Erhardt took the team, radioman Gil Santos, and the ABC Network's Howard Cosell by surprise. The Patriots never got untracked and were crushed 23-3 by the Dolphins; Steve Grogan injured his knee during the game. Despite the loss the Patriots won the division on tie-breakers over the 11-5 Dolphins and secured a playoff bye.

*AFC Divisional Playoff, December 31 vs. Houston Oilers:To the surprise of everyone, Chuck Fairbanks was reinstated as head coach for the playoffs, but by then he had lost the respect of the locker room, and in their very first home playoff game the Patriots were massacred by the Oilers 31-14 behind three Dan Pastorini touchdown throws and an Earl Campbell rushing score. Steve Grogan, unable to push off on his injured knee, threw two interceptions and was knocked out of the game; backup Tom Owen managed one touchdown (a 24-yard strike to Russ Francis) while Harold Jackson caught a 24-yard score from Andy Johnson. Following the game Fairbanks left for good amid long-running acrimony with Billy and Chuck Sullivan; a lawsuit was settled on April 2, 1979 that gave the Patriots $200,000 and made Fairbanks liable if he took another NFL job before 1983, the period when his previous contract was supposed to end. [Fox, Patriots Triumph & Tragedy, pp. 317-8.]

Roster

All of the following players appeared in at least one game for the 1978 New England Patriots.

References

ee also

*New England Patriots seasons

sequence
prev=1977 New England Patriots season
next=1979 New England Patriots season
list=1978 New England Patriots season