Roster
Quarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE)
| Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
| Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB)
| Reserve
|
| 1975 New England Patriots season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Billy Sullivan |
| General manager | Chuck Fairbanks |
| Head coach | Chuck Fairbanks |
| Home field | Schaefer Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 3–11 |
| Division place | T-4th AFC East |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | None |
| AP All-Pros | None |
The 1975 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 6th season in the National Football League and 16th overall. The Patriots ended the season with a record of three wins and eleven losses, and finished tied for fourth in the AFC East Division. The Patriots had put up their best season in nearly a decade in 1974, finishing the year with a 7–7 record and earning their first season with at least a .500 winning percentage since 1966. However, New England continued its forgetful period of the '70s, as they finished 3–11 and missed the playoffs for the 12th straight season. New England started terribly, losing its first 4 games, each by 7 or more points. After winning 3 of their next 4 games, the Patriots would lose their final 6 games to conclude the season. Although they tied the New York Jets for last place in the AFC East, they lost the tiebreaker by virtue of New York winning both matchups during the season.
| 1975 New England Patriots draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Russ Francis * | Tight end | Oregon | |
| 2 | 41 | Rod Shoate | Linebacker | Oklahoma | |
| 3 | 66 | Peter Cusick | Defensive tackle | Ohio State | |
| 4 | 86 | Allen Carter | Running back | USC | |
| 4 | 91 | Steve Burks | Wide receiver | Arkansas State | |
| 5 | 116 | Steve Grogan | Quarterback | Kansas State | |
| 5 | 117 | Steve Freeman | Defensive back | Mississippi State | |
| 7 | 172 | Lawrence Williams | Wide receiver | Texas Tech | |
| 11 | 272 | Rene Garrett | Defensive back | Idaho State | |
| 12 | 297 | Matt Kendon | Defensive tackle | Idaho State | |
| 12 | 306 | Condredge Holloway | Quarterback | Tennessee | |
| 13 | 328 | Joe Harvey | Defensive end | Northern Michigan | |
| 14 | 353 | Tom Gossom | Wide receiver | Auburn | |
| 15 | 378 | Don Clayton | Running back | Murray State | |
| 16 | 403 | Kerry Marbury | Running back | West Virginia | |
| 17 | 428 | Myke Horton | Tackle | UCLA | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
|
Quarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE)
| Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
| Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB)
| Reserve
|
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Game Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 21 | Houston Oilers | L 0–7 | 0–1 | Schaefer Stadium | 51,934 | Recap |
| 2 | September 28 | Miami Dolphins | L 14–22 | 0–2 | Schaefer Stadium | 60,602 | Recap |
| 3 | October 5 | at New York Jets | L 7–36 | 0–3 | Shea Stadium | 57,365 | Recap |
| 4 | October 12 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 10–27 | 0–4 | Riverfront Stadium | 51,220 | Recap |
| 5 | October 19 | Baltimore Colts | W 21–10 | 1–4 | Schaefer Stadium | 51,417 | Recap |
| 6 | October 26 | San Francisco 49ers | W 24–16 | 2–4 | Schaefer Stadium | 60,358 | Recap |
| 7 | November 2 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 17–24 | 2–5 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 45,907 | Recap |
| 8 | November 9 | at San Diego Chargers | W 33–19 | 3–5 | San Diego Stadium | 24,349 | Recap |
| 9 | November 16 | Dallas Cowboys | L 31–34 | 3–6 | Schaefer Stadium | 60,905 | Recap |
| 10 | November 23 | at Buffalo Bills | L 31–45 | 3–7 | Rich Stadium | 65,655 | Recap |
| 11 | December 1 | at Miami Dolphins | L 7–20 | 3–8 | Miami Orange Bowl | 61,963 | Recap |
| 12 | December 7 | New York Jets | L 28–30 | 3–9 | Schaefer Stadium | 53,989 | Recap |
| 13 | December 14 | Buffalo Bills | L 14–34 | 3–10 | Schaefer Stadium | 58,393 | Recap |
| 14 | December 21 | at Baltimore Colts | L 21–34 | 3–11 | Memorial Stadium | 48,678 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
| AFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Baltimore Colts (3) | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 6–2 | 8–3 | 395 | 269 | W9 |
| Miami Dolphins | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 6–2 | 7–4 | 357 | 222 | W1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 5–3 | 7–4 | 420 | 355 | L1 |
| New York Jets | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 2–6 | 3–8 | 258 | 433 | L2 |
| New England Patriots | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 1–7 | 2–9 | 258 | 358 | L6 |
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The Patriots play home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Boston. The franchise is owned by Robert Kraft, who purchased the team in 1994. As of 2023, the Patriots are tied for the third-most valuable sports team in the world and have sold out every home game since 1994.
William Stephen Belichick is an American sports analyst and football coach. Widely regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he holds numerous coaching records, including the record of most Super Bowl wins (six) as a head coach, all with the New England Patriots, along with two more during his time as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, for a record eight combined total Super Bowl victories as coach and coordinator. A renowned American football historian, Belichick is often referred to as a "student of the game" with a deep knowledge of the intricacies of each player position. During his tenure with the Patriots, Belichick was a central figure as the head coach and de facto general manager during the franchise's dynasty from 2001 to 2019.
The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. The game is played on the last Sunday in January by the two remaining playoff teams, following the AFC postseason's first two rounds. The AFC champion then advances to face the winner of the NFC Championship Game in the Super Bowl.
The 1988 NFL season was the 69th regular season of the National Football League. The Cardinals relocated from St. Louis, Missouri, to the Phoenix, Arizona, area becoming the Phoenix Cardinals but remained in the NFC East division. The playoff races came down to the regular season's final week, with the Seattle Seahawks winning the AFC West by one game, and the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers winning their respective divisions in a five-way tie, with the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants losing the NFC Wild Card berth to the Los Angeles Rams on tiebreakers.
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football franchise which competes in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team's headquarters, stadium and training facilities are all co-located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Dolphins' team was founded by attorney-politician Joe Robbie and actor-comedian Danny Thomas. The Dolphins began play in the American Football League (AFL) in 1966. South Florida had not had a professional football team since the days of the Miami Seahawks, who played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) East Division in 1946 before becoming the first incarnation of the Baltimore Colts.
The 1981 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 12th season in the National Football League and 22nd overall.
The 1985 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 16th season in the National Football League (NFL) and 26th overall. The Patriots had a record of eleven wins and five losses and finished third in the AFC East Division. They then became the first team in NFL history ever to advance to the Super Bowl by winning three playoff games on the road, defeating the New York Jets 26–14 in the AFC Wild Card Game, the Los Angeles Raiders 27–20 in the AFC Divisional Game and the Miami Dolphins 31–14 in the AFC Championship Game. The Patriots' win in Miami was their first victory at the Miami Orange Bowl since 1966. The win over the Dolphins in the game has gone down as one of the greatest upsets in NFL history, as the Dolphins were heavily favored.
The 1988 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 19th season in the National Football League, the 29th overall and the 5th under head coach Raymond Berry. With a record of nine wins and seven losses, they finished tied for second in the AFC East Division. It would take until 1994 for the Patriots to record another winning season. The Patriots improved on its 8–7 record from 1987, winning one more game due to one game being cancelled the previous season. Despite the winning record, the Patriots did not reach the postseason. They finished tied for 2nd in the AFC East with the arch rival Colts, but were relegated to 3rd place because the Colts had a better record against common opponents than the Patriots did.
The 1994 New England Patriots season was the team's 35th season, and 25th in the National Football League (NFL). It was the first under owner Robert Kraft, who purchased the team after preventing previous owner James Orthwein from moving the Patriots to St. Louis. The Patriots finished the season with a record of ten wins and six losses, and finished tied for first in the AFC's East division.
The 1997 New York Jets season was the franchise's 28th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 38th overall. Sparked by the arrival of head coach Bill Parcells, who replaced Rich Kotite, and was coming off a Super Bowl berth the previous season, they improved upon its league-worst and franchise-worst 1–15 record from 1996 finishing at 9–7, but narrowly missed the playoffs after losing their final game of the season. It was their first winning season since 1988 when they finished with an 8–7–1 record.
The 1994 New York Jets season was the 35th season for the team and the 25th in the National Football League. It began with the Jets trying to improve upon their 8–8 record from 1993 under new head coach Pete Carroll. The franchise’s largest home crowd at that time, 75,606, watched the Jets play the Miami Dolphins for a share of first place in the AFC East. The Jets led, 24–6, in the third quarter before Dan Marino led a furious comeback, capped by the “fake spike” touchdown pass to Mark Ingram, for the Dolphins’ 28–24 win. The Jets finished the season with a record of 6–10, losing six of their last seven games to end the season, and Carroll was fired. Following a Week 12 win at the Minnesota Vikings, the Jets would lose 33 of their next 37 games.
The Colts–Patriots rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots. As the Colts play in the AFC South and the Patriots are in the AFC East, the two teams do not play every year; instead, they play at least once every three years and at least once every six seasons at each team's home stadium due to the NFL's rotating division schedules during which their divisions are paired up, sometimes more often if the two teams finish in the same place in their respective divisions or meet in the playoffs.
The 1975 New York Jets season was the 16th season for the team and the sixth in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 7–7 record from 1974 under head coach Charley Winner. The Jets failed to do so, and finished with a record of 3–11, the worst in franchise history at the time. Winner was fired after nine games and replaced with assistant Ken Shipp, who finished the season winning once in five games.
The Jets–Patriots rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the New York Jets and the New England Patriots.
The 1970 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's first season in the National Football League, and eleventh overall. The team looked to improve on its 4–10 record from 1969 and make the playoffs for the first time since 1966. However, the Bills started out on the wrong foot, losing four of their first five games. After winning two consecutive road games against the Patriots and Jets and suffering a blowout loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Bills and Colts played to a 17–17 draw in week 9, Buffalo's first tie since 1968. The Bills would then lose five straight to end the season and finished 3–10–1, for fourth place in the AFC East. Their Week 5 game against the Miami Dolphins would start an era of futility during which the Bills would lose twenty consecutive games against the Dolphins. The Bills would not defeat the Dolphins at any point during the 1970s and next beat Miami in 1980. This would become known as "The Streak".
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The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It was the second incarnation of the Baltimore Colts, the first having played for three years in the All-America Football Conference and one in the National Football League (NFL). This Baltimore Colts played their home games at Memorial Stadium.
The Bills–Patriots rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots.
The Tom Brady–Bill Belichick era, also known as the Brady–Belichick era, the New England Patriots dynasty, or the Patriots dynasty, was a sports dynasty of the New England Patriots in the National Football League (NFL) that lasted from the 2000 to the 2019 season. The dynasty is named after quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick, who are regarded as among the greatest in their respective positions. Belichick and Brady are consistently credited with the Patriots' success and are considered responsible for one of the sport's longest and most dominant dynasties. They are also credited with helping to create and sustain the culture around the team, dubbed the "Patriot Way", where there is an emphasis on personal accountability, consistent improvement, and a focus on team success over personal gain.
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