| 1976 New England Patriots season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Billy Sullivan |
| General manager | Chuck Fairbanks |
| Head coach | Chuck Fairbanks |
| Home field | Schaefer Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–3 |
| Division place | 2nd AFC East |
| Playoff finish | Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Raiders) 21–24 |
| Pro Bowlers | TE Russ Francis T Leon Gray G John Hannah CB Mike Haynes |
| AP All-Pros | G John Hannah (1st team) TE Russ Francis (2nd team) CB Mike Haynes (2nd team) |
The 1976 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 7th season in the National Football League and 17th overall.
After a nine-year stretch in which they posted just one non-losing season amid eight losing years, the Patriots turned around their fortunes, going 11–3. It marked their first winning season as an NFL team (their last winning season came in 1966 when the team was still in the AFL). The team had gone just 3–11 the previous season, and was considered a "Cinderella team" in 1976. [1] Coach Chuck Fairbanks was named NFL Coach of the Year, and cornerback Mike Haynes was named NFL Rookie of the Year.
The 1976 Patriots rushed for a total of 2,957 yards (averaging five yards per carry) and scored 376 points, both second-best in the league. The 2,957 yards rushing were the fifth-highest total in NFL history at the time. [2] The team's 5.0 yards per carry was the best in the NFL and remains higher than all Super Bowl champions except the 1973 Miami Dolphins whose own run game was 5.0 yards per carry. The Patriots also led the league in takeaways at 50; the Patriots finished third in the league in turnover differential at plus-14.
The Patriots made only their second playoff appearance in their history and first since 1963, but lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders 24–21 in the first round of the playoffs. The Patriots held a 4-point lead in the 4th quarter. But a controversial roughing the passer penalty on Ray Hamilton on a Raiders drive late in the playoff game dimmed their hopes of defeating the Raiders again.
Earlier in the season, the Patriots handed the Raiders their only loss of the season with a final score of 48–17.
Despite the playoff loss, the team has been considered one of the most talented in Patriots history; [3] in 2004, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who was an assistant coach for the Detroit Lions in 1976, called this Patriots team "loaded", a "who's who team." [4] [5]
After the season, offensive line coach Red Miller was hired as head coach of the Denver Broncos. [6] [7] [8] In his first season, he led them to the AFC's best record (12–2), their first-ever postseason appearance, and the Super Bowl.
| 1976 New England Patriots draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Mike Haynes * † | Cornerback | Arizona State | |
| 1 | 12 | Pete Brock | Center | Colorado | |
| 1 | 21 | Tim Fox * | Safety | Ohio State | |
| 2 | 35 | Ike Forte | Running back | Arkansas | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
|
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 1 | New York Giants | W 13–7 (OT) | 1–0 | Schaefer Stadium | 30,032 |
| 2 | August 6 | vs. San Diego Chargers | L 17–26 | 1–1 | Oklahoma Memorial Stadium | 23,800 |
| 3 | August 15 | Green Bay Packers | L 14–16 | 1–2 | Schaefer Stadium | 30,552 |
| 4 | August 21 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 28–17 | 2–2 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 23,495 |
| 5 | August 29 | at Cleveland Browns | L 27–30 | 2–3 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 36,016 |
| 6 | September 5 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 20–7 | 3–3 | Schaefer Stadium | 32,254 |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Game Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 12 | Baltimore Colts | L 13–27 | 0–1 | Schaefer Stadium | 43,512 | Recap |
| 2 | September 19 | Miami Dolphins | W 30–14 | 1–1 | Schaefer Stadium | 46,053 | Recap |
| 3 | September 26 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 30–27 | 2–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | 47,379 | Recap |
| 4 | October 3 | Oakland Raiders | W 48–17 | 3–1 | Schaefer Stadium | 61,068 | Recap |
| 5 | October 10 | at Detroit Lions | L 10–30 | 3–2 | Pontiac Silverdome | 60,174 | Recap |
| 6 | October 18 | New York Jets | W 41–7 | 4–2 | Schaefer Stadium | 50,883 | Recap |
| 7 | October 24 | at Buffalo Bills | W 26–22 | 5–2 | Rich Stadium | 45,144 | Recap |
| 8 | October 31 | at Miami Dolphins | L 3–10 | 5–3 | Miami Orange Bowl | 52,863 | Recap |
| 9 | November 7 | Buffalo Bills | W 20–10 | 6–3 | Schaefer Stadium | 61,157 | Recap |
| 10 | November 14 | at Baltimore Colts | W 21–14 | 7–3 | Memorial Stadium | 58,226 | Recap |
| 11 | November 21 | at New York Jets | W 38–24 | 8–3 | Shea Stadium | 49,983 | Recap |
| 12 | November 28 | Denver Broncos | W 38–14 | 9–3 | Schaefer Stadium | 61,128 | Recap |
| 13 | December 5 | New Orleans Saints | W 27–6 | 10–3 | Schaefer Stadium | 53,592 | Recap |
| 14 | December 12 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 31–14 | 11–3 | Tampa Stadium | 41,517 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Game recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | December 18 | Oakland Raiders (1) | L 21–24 | 0–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 53,045 | Recap |
The Patriots fell 30–27 in a Monday Night preseason game; rookie cornerback Michael Haynes ran back a punt but began celebrating at the five-yard line and was hit and fumbled; Darryl Stingley grabbed the fumble and scored. Entering the season the Patriots had never scored on a punt return in any game. The loss was the third of the six-game preseason.
Four Steve Grogan interceptions and a fumble doomed the Patriots as the “Shake & Bake” Colts ran roughshod at Schaefer Stadium 27–13, this despite the sacking of Colts quarterback Bert Jones for 40 yards and 179 rushing yards by the Patriots.
The Pats rebounded with 278 rushing yards and four touchdowns (two rushing scores by Andy Johnson, a Grogan rushing score, and a four-yard toss to Russ Francis) in a 30–14 rout of Miami. Bob Griese had one touchdown throw and three interceptions.
Forcing six Steeler fumbles in heavy rain, the Patriots wiped out a 20–9 third-quarter gap as Steve Grogan threw to Russ Francis and Darryl Stingley and ran in a touchdown for 21 second-half points. Don Calhoun's fumble in the final four minutes led to a Bradshaw touchdown, and after forcing another punt with 1:29 to go Bradshaw nearly fumbled away the ball but converted two first downs requiring 25 or more yards. With three seconds to go Roy Gerela missed a field goal and the Patriots had an upset 30–27 win.
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raiders | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Patriots | 7 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 48 |
at Schaefer Stadium • Foxboro, Massachusetts
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
The Raiders suffered their only loss of the season in a 48–17 slaughter by the Patriots. Ken Stabler had a touchdown throw to Fred Biletnikoff but was sacked four times while Steve Grogan ran wild with three touchdown throws (to Darryl Stingley and Marlin Briscoe) and two rushing scores; Andy Johnson and Jess Phillips rushed in additional touchdowns. During the third quarter a Raiders touchdown was twice wiped out on penalties and the drive ended in a Stabler sack on third-and-26.
| Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Patriots never got on track as Grogan threw five picks and the Lions, led by running back Horace King and quarterback Greg Landry, stampeded the Patriots 30–10. One of the members of the Lions staff in this game was assistant special teams coach Bill Belichick, who introduced a two tight-end set on Detroit's offense that was rare for the NFL at the time.
The Patriots despite ten penalties exploded to 330 rushing yards (103 of them with a touchdown by Steve Grogan; Grogan said years later the score came after botching what was supposed to be a hand off to Sam Cunningham) as they annihilated the Jets 41–7. Alex Karras (whose grandnephew Ted would be drafted by the Patriots in 2016) was working the ABC Sports booth and read aloud Jets coach Lou Holtz's fight song for the team, a reworked version of the US Army's original march The Caissons Go Rolling Along.
The Patriots posted their first win over the Bills since 1971 as the two teams combined for nine turnovers, 125 yards in penalties, and 586 yards of offense in the 26-22 New England win. Sam Cunningham and O. J. Simpson combined for 229 rushing yards.
Despite 130 rushing yards from five Patriots backs New England fell at Miami 10–3; all scoring took place in the second quarter as Jim Mandich accounted for the game's only touchdown. The Patriots were also penalized eleven times for 80 yards.
Mike Haynes became the first Patriot to ever return a punt for a touchdown as he fielded a second-quarter punt at his 11 and stormed to the Buffalo endzone. The Patriots won 20–10 as Sam Cunningham rushed for 141 yards and a score while Joe Ferguson of the Bills threw four picks; the Bills also fumbled four times while the Patriots coughed up five turnovers (three fumbles and two INTs). O. J. Simpson threw a punch at Mel Lunsford and both players were ejected after the ensuing fight.
Battling for the division lead, the Colts and Patriots combined for 35 first-half points. In the first quarter Roger Carr caught a 22-yard pass from Bert Jones for the Colts while Al Chandler caught a two-yarder from Steve Grogan. Grogan ran in two second-quarter touchdowns and Don McCauley ran in a score for a 21–14 Patriots lead at the half. The two defenses then shut each other out, as Jones was picked off twice by Mike Haynes and sacked five times in total; Lydell Mitchell was limited to 52 rushing yards and the Patriots held on for the 21–14 win.
The Jets hosted the Patriots at Shea Stadium and raced to a 10–0 lead in the first quarter behind a Pat Leahy field goal and a Greg Buttle fumble-return score, but the Patriots behind Steve Grogan throws to Andy Johnson and Darryl Stingley took a 14–10 lead entering the second quarter. From there the game collapsed for the 3–7 Jets as Joe Namath threw six interceptions; Mike Haynes grabbed three and Tim Fox had one, while Prentice McCray ran in two (totalling 118 yards) for touchdowns. With Sam Cunningham injured Don Calhoun became the workhorse back for New England, rushing for 109 yards. Namath was benched in the fourth quarter and Richard Todd took over; he threw a touchdown to Clark Gaines but was later picked off by Bob Howard. Grogan threw for just 83 yards and three scores as the Patriots routed the Jets 38–24.
The Patriots amassed their highest rushing yardage of the year as Don Calhoun (177 yards), Andy Johnson, and Ike Forte ground up 332 yards on the ground. Mike Haynes also returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown as the Patriots sacked Denver's quarterbacks nine times, led 31–0 at the half, and cruised to a 38–14 final.
With Archie Manning out for the year the Saints wound up using two quarterbacks (including ex-Bear Bobby Douglass) but managed only 236 total yards vs. 220 rushing yards from the Patriots led by Don Calhoun's 113 yards. In winning 27-6 Steve Grogan completed only nine of 23 passes but two of them were touchdowns, one to Al Chandler, subbing for injured Russ Francis. The win was the 100th career victory in the franchise's history.
Steve Grogan had his worst passing day of the season with just 40 yards in the air and a pick amid just four completions in 14 attempts. Six Patriots backs led by Andy Johnson rushed for 260 yards and three touchdowns while Sam Hunt picked off Steve Spurrier and ran back 68-yard touchdown. The game ended Tampa's winless first ever season.
The 1976 AFC Divisional Playoffs. This would become the infamous "Ben Dreith Game" as officiating became a major controversy with numerous questionable penalties. Bill Lenkaitis had not been flagged for holding all season yet was flagged three times in this game. No penalty was called when George Atkinson of the Raiders hammered Russ Francis in the facemask and broke his nose; Steve Zabel popped Francis' nose back into place. There was also controversy over a Sam Cunningham run in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter where he went out of bounds; John Hannah claimed the sideline official moved the first down marker just before Cunningham went out of bounds, denying him a first down. [10] On the play following this Cunningham run, on 3rd and 1 at the Raiders 28-yard line, Steve Grogan changed the snap count to draw the Raiders offsides, but the Raiders were barking out dummy snap counts themselves [11] and Hannah, Leon Gray, and Pete Brock all jumped offsides ("I should have known better", Grogan said afterward). On the next play (3rd and 6) Grogan threw to Russ Francis but Francis could not raise his arms because of holding by the Raiders Phil Villapiano, holding so blatant that according to Francis, "(he left) bruise marks on my arm....when I saw Phil at the Pro Bowl that year, he came right out and told me he had done it." [12] The Patriots missed the ensuing field goal attempt and the Raiders took possession. In the final minute of the fourth quarter Raymond Hamilton of the Patriots was flagged for roughing the passer against Ken Stabler of the Raiders on a 3rd-and-18 play, even though replays showed no roughing; Dreith said the call was made because Hamilton had hit Stabler's helmet, but replays showed Stabler ducking away from Hamilton. Despite Patriot protests (Hamilton was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for his protests) the call stood. The Patriots stopped the Raiders on 3rd and 1 near the goal line but another personal foul penalty (this one on Prentice McCray) extended the Raiders drive, and on second and goal at the Patriot 1-yard line Stabler ran in the game-winning touchdown with ten seconds left in a 24–21 Raiders win. Patriot protests over Dreith's call were such that Dreith was not assigned to work any games involving the Patriots until 1980.
| AFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Baltimore Colts (2) | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 7–1 | 11–1 | 417 | 246 | W1 |
| New England Patriots (4) | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 6–2 | 10–2 | 376 | 236 | W6 |
| Miami Dolphins | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 5–3 | 6–6 | 263 | 264 | L1 |
| New York Jets | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 2–6 | 3–9 | 169 | 383 | L4 |
| Buffalo Bills | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 0–8 | 2–10 | 245 | 363 | L10 |
The National Football League playoffs for the 1998 season began on January 2, 1999. The postseason tournament concluded with the Denver Broncos defeating the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII, 34–19, on January 31, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida.
The National Football League playoffs for the 1985 season began on December 28, 1985. The postseason tournament concluded with the Chicago Bears defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX, 46–10, on January 26, 1986, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The National Football League playoffs for the 1982 season began on January 8, 1983. The postseason tournament concluded with the Washington Redskins defeating the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII, 27–17, on January 30, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
The National Football League playoffs for the 2005 season began on January 7, 2006. The postseason tournament concluded with the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL, 21–10, on February 5, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.
The National Football League playoffs for the 1976 season began on December 18, 1976. The postseason tournament concluded with the Oakland Raiders defeating the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI, 32–14, on January 9, 1977, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
The National Football League playoffs for the 1977 season began on December 24, 1977. The postseason tournament concluded with the Dallas Cowboys defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII, 27–10, on January 15, 1978, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The National Football League playoffs for the 1978 season began on December 24, 1978. The postseason tournament concluded with the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII, 35–31, on January 21, 1979, at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
The National Football League playoffs for the 2006 season began on January 6, 2007. The postseason tournament concluded with the Indianapolis Colts defeating the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI, 29–17, on February 4, at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
The 1978 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 9th season in the National Football League and 19th overall. They finished the season with a record of eleven wins and five losses, tied for first in the AFC East, and had the tiebreaker over the Miami Dolphins; it was the Patriots' second division title, and the first since 1963, the fourth year of the AFL. In the Divisional Playoffs the Patriots lost to the Houston Oilers 31–14.
The 1980 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 11th season in the National Football League and 21st overall. They completed the season with a record of ten wins and six losses and finished second in the AFC East Division. Running back Sam Cunningham held out all season, so the Patriots turned to rookie Vagas Ferguson to carry the bulk of the rushing game. Ferguson responded by breaking the team's rookie rushing record. The Patriots would sit at 6–1 near the midway point and were about to make the playoffs. However, the Pats collapsed and won just two of their next seven and finished with a 10–6 record that saw them fall just short of a wild-card berth.
The 1990 New England Patriots season was the team's 31st, and 21st in the National Football League (NFL). It was the first for head coach Rod Rust, who was looking to improve on the 5-11 mark from the year before that cost Raymond Berry, who had led the Patriots to the playoffs twice in his tenure, his job.
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 1996 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 27th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 37th overall. They finished with a record of eleven wins and five losses, and finished first in the AFC East division. After a disappointing 1995 season, Drew Bledsoe bounced back with 4,086 passing yards and threw 27 touchdown passes to 15 interceptions while Curtis Martin had another Pro Bowl season. The team would win the divisional and conference championship by double-digit margins, however, the team lost Super Bowl XXXI to the Green Bay Packers 35–21.
The 2001 season was the New England Patriots' 32nd in the National Football League (NFL) and their 42nd season overall. They finished with an 11–5 record and a division title before advancing to and winning Super Bowl XXXVI.
The 1986 New York Jets season was the 27th season for the team and the seventeenth in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 11–5 record from 1985 and return to the playoffs under head coach Joe Walton. The Jets finished the season with a record of 10–6, qualifying for the top Wild Card spot in the playoffs despite losing their last five games of the season. They defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 35–15 in the wild-card round, but lost to the Cleveland Browns in the divisional round. The loss to the Browns is infamous in Jets history. Leading 20–10 in the 4th quarter, the Jets collapsed when Mark Gastineau hammered Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar seconds after he released a pass; Gastineau was flagged for roughing the passer and the Browns rallied to force overtime and win 23–20 early in the game's second overtime.
The Jets–Patriots rivalry is a rivalry between the New York Jets and New England Patriots of the National Football League. The teams both play in the AFC East. They have been in the same division since the two teams' inception in 1960 in the American Football League, and have played each other at least twice a year since then.
The 2008 season was the New England Patriots' 39th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 49th overall. The Patriots were defending AFC champions. Despite finishing the regular season with an 11–5 record, the Patriots did not qualify for the playoffs—becoming the first 11-win team since the expansion to a 12-team playoff in 1990 to miss the playoffs, as well as only the second team since the NFL expanded to a 16-game regular season in 1978. They also were the first team since the 1935 Chicago Bears to go undefeated in the previous regular season and miss the playoffs the next season.
The 2003 Tennessee Titans season was the team's 44th season and their 34th in the National Football League. At 12–4 the Titans posted the 15th season with at least ten wins in the franchise's history dating to their Houston Oilers days. Quarterback Steve McNair threw for 3,215 yards and 24 touchdowns to just seven interceptions; he also rushed for 138 yards and four touchdowns, all despite missing two games to injury, and was named the NFL's co-MVP with Peyton Manning of the Titans' division arch-rival Indianapolis Colts. Eddie George rushed for 1,031 yards and five touchdowns while Derrick Mason had 1,303 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Justin McCareins had 586 punt/kick return yards and a return touchdown.
The National Football League playoffs for the 2009 season began on January 9, 2010. The postseason tournament concluded with the New Orleans Saints defeating the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV, 31–17, on February 7, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
The 2012 season was the New England Patriots' 43rd in the National Football League (NFL) and their 53rd overall. The Patriots did not improve upon their 13–3 record from 2011, finishing at 12–4, but did win the AFC East for the fourth season in a row, and a first-round bye as one of the top two seeds in the AFC for the third consecutive year. This season marked head coach Bill Belichick's 13th season as Patriots head coach, and the 11th season in which the Patriots played all of their home games at Gillette Stadium.
