1979 New England Patriots season

1979 New England Patriots season
Owner	Billy Sullivan
General manager	Bucko Kilroy
Head coach	Ron Erhardt
Home field	Schaefer Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	2nd AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	G John Hannah CB Mike Haynes WR Stanley Morgan
All-Pros	G John Hannah (1st team) CB Mike Haynes (2nd team)
Uniform
←  1978 Patriots seasons 1980  →

The 1979 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 10th season in the National Football League and 20th overall. The Patriots ended the season with a record of nine wins and seven losses and finished second in the AFC East Division. Ron Erhardt was named the new coach. In their season opener, the Patriots faced the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night as Darryl Stingley returned to Schaffer Stadium. Patriots' fans gave the paralyzed star a long sustained standing ovation. However, the emotion did not carry over as the Pats lost 16–13 in overtime.

The Pats would find themselves at 8–4, as the team featured a more wide-open offense under quarterback Steve Grogan. However, a three-game losing streak ended their playoff chances, as the team settled for a disappointing 9–7 season.

Offseason

NFL Draft

See also: 1979 NFL draft

1979 New England Patriots draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	25	Rick Sanford	Cornerback	South Carolina
2	52	Bob Golic  *	Defensive tackle	Notre Dame
4	106	Eddie Hare	Punter	Tulsa
Made roster    †    Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

1979 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Ron Brown	Defensive back	Brown
Mark Buben	Defensive tackle	Tufts
Kevin Cunningham	Center	Iowa State
Dennis Dent	Wide receiver	UMass
Rob Forbes	Running back	Drake
Bob Hurley	Guard	Holy Cross
Mike McLaughlin	Center	UMass
Tom McLaughlin	Punter	Iowa

Personnel

Staff

1979 New England Patriots staff

Front office President – Billy Sullivan Vice president – Chuck Sullivan General manager – Bucko Kilroy Assistant general manager – Patrick Sullivan Director of pro scouting – Bill McPeak Director of college scouting – Mike Holovak Personnel assistant – Tom Boisture Personnel assistant – Mike McCarthy Coaches administrative aide – Rick Buffington Head coaches Head coach – Ron Erhardt Assistant head coach/defensive coordinator/linebackers – Hank Bullough Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/offensive line – Jim Ringo Quarterbacks – John Polonchek Offensive backs – Tom Yewcic Receivers – Raymond Berry

Defensive coaches Defensive line – Fritz Shurmur Defensive backs – Billy Kinard Special teams coaches Special teams – Gino Cappelletti

^[1]

Roster

1979 New England Patriots roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 12 Matt Cavanaugh 14 Steve Grogan 17 Tom Owen Running backs (RB) 44 Don Calhoun 35 Allan Clark 39 Sam Cunningham 23 Horace Ivory 30 Mosi Tatupu Wide receivers (WR) 29 Harold Jackson 87 Ray Jarvis 86 Stanley Morgan 88 Carlos Pennywell 83 Don Westbrook Tight ends (TE) 81 Russ Francis 80 Don Hasselbeck

Offensive linemen (OL) 61 Sam Adams Sr. G 58 Pete Brock C 75 Bob Cryder T 73 John Hannah G 74 Shelby Jordan T 67 Bill Lenkaitis C 77 Garry Puetz G 62 Dwight Wheeler T Defensive linemen (DL) 85 Julius Adams DE 64 Richard Bishop DE 63 Mark Buben DT 71 Ray Hamilton DT 72 Mel Lunsford DE 78 Tony McGee DE

Linebackers (LB) 55 Ray Costict 59 Mike Hawkins 50 Sam Hunt 52 Steve King 53 Bill Matthews 57 Steve Nelson 56 Rod Shoate 54 John Zamberlin Defensive backs (DB) 27 Doug Beaudoin SS 26 Raymond Clayborn CB 48 Tim Fox FS 40 Mike Haynes CB 34 Prentice McCray SS 25 Rick Sanford 21 Mark Washington CB Special teams 8 Eddie Hare P 1 John Smith K

Reserve -- Sidney Brown CB (IR) -- Dick Coon S (IR) 68 Terry Falcon G (IR) 24 Judson Flint FS (IR) 32 Andy Johnson RB (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 3	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 13–16 (OT)	0–1	Schaefer Stadium	60,978
2	September 9	New York Jets	W 56–3	1–1	Schaefer Stadium	53,113
3	September 16	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 20–14	2–1	Riverfront Stadium	41,805
4	September 23	San Diego Chargers	W 27–21	3–1	Schaefer Stadium	60,916
5	October 1	at Green Bay Packers	L 14–27	3–2	Lambeau Field	52,842
6	October 7	Detroit Lions	W 24–17	4–2	Schaefer Stadium	60,629
7	October 14	at Chicago Bears	W 27–7	5–2	Soldier Field	54,128
8	October 21	Miami Dolphins	W 28–13	6–2	Schaefer Stadium	61,096
9	October 28	at Baltimore Colts	L 26–31	6–3	Memorial Stadium	41,029
10	November 4	at Buffalo Bills	W 26–6	7–3	Rich Stadium	67,935
11	November 11	at Denver Broncos	L 10–45	7–4	Mile High Stadium	74,379
12	November 18	Baltimore Colts	W 50–21	8–4	Schaefer Stadium	60,879
13	November 25	Buffalo Bills	L 13–16 (OT)	8–5	Schaefer Stadium	60,991
14	November 29	at Miami Dolphins	L 24–39	8–6	Miami Orange Bowl	69,174
15	December 9	at New York Jets	L 26–27	8–7	Shea Stadium	45,131
16	December 16	Minnesota Vikings	W 27–23	9–7	Schaefer Stadium	54,719
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Miami Dolphins (3)	10	6	0	.625	5–3	6–6	341	257	L1
New England Patriots	9	7	0	.563	4–4	6–6	411	326	W1
New York Jets	8	8	0	.500	4–4	5–7	337	383	W3
Buffalo Bills	7	9	0	.438	4–4	5–7	268	279	L3
Baltimore Colts	5	11	0	.313	3–5	4–10	271	351	W1

Season summary

Week 4 vs Chargers

Week Four: San Diego Chargers (3–0) at New England Patriots (2–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chargers	0	14	0	7	21
Patriots	17	3	0	7	27

at Schaefer Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

• Date: September 23
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C)
• Game attendance: 60,916
• TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter NE – Sam Cunningham 1-yard run (John Smith kick). Patriots 7–0. NE – Don Calhoun 10-yard run (John Smith kick). Patriots 14–0. NE – John Smith 31-yard field goal. Patriots 17–0. Second quarter NE – John Smith 31-yard field goal. Patriots 20–0. SD – John Jefferson 19-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick). Patriots 20–7. SD – Clarence Williams (Rolf Benirschke kick). Patriots 20–14. Third quarter No scoring Fourth quarter NE – Russ Francis 5-yard pass from Steve Grogan (John Smith kick). Patriots 27–14. SD – Clarence Williams 1-yard run (Rolf Benirschke kick). Patriots 27–21. Top passers SD – Dan Fouts – 20/34, 200 yards, TD, 2 INT NE – Steve Grogan – 13/23, 157 yards, TD, 2 INT Top rushers SD – Clarence Williams – 13 rushes, 34 yards, 2 TD NE – Sam Cunningham – 22 rushes, 75 yards, TD Top receivers SD – John Jefferson – 4 receptions, 59 yards, TD NE – Russ Francis – 4 receptions, 85 yards, TD

External videos
San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots, NFL Films highlights

See also

• New England Patriots seasons

References

1. New England Patriots 1979 Media Guide . Retrieved February 3, 2025.