1984 New England Patriots season

Last updated

1984 New England Patriots season
Owner Billy Sullivan
General manager Patrick Sullivan
Head coach Ron Meyer
Raymond Berry
Home field Sullivan Stadium
Results
Record9–7
Division place2nd AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers G John Hannah
T Brian Holloway
LB Steve Nelson
LB Andre Tippett
AP All-Pros G John Hannah (2nd team)
The Patriots hosting the Cardinals in December 1984. 1986 Jeno's Pizza - 08 - Roy Green.jpg
The Patriots hosting the Cardinals in December 1984.

The 1984 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 15th season in the National Football League and 25th overall. The Patriots finished the season with a record of nine wins and seven losses, and finished second in the AFC East Division.

Contents

Head coach Ron Meyer, who had coached the Patriots for the previous two seasons, was fired halfway through the season. Meyer had angered several of his players with public criticism. After a 44–24 loss to Miami in week 8, Meyer fired popular defensive coordinator Rod Rust; Meyer himself was fired by Patriots management shortly thereafter. [1]

The Patriots went outside the organization to hire Raymond Berry, who had been New England's receivers coach from 1978 to 1981 under coaches Chuck Fairbanks and Ron Erhardt. Berry had been working in the private sector in Medfield, Massachusetts, when the Patriots called him to replace Meyer. Berry's first order of business was to immediately rehire Rust.

Under Berry's leadership, the Patriots won four of their last eight games. Berry's importance to the team was reflected less in his initial win–loss record than in the respect he immediately earned in the locker room – "Raymond Berry earned more respect in one day than Ron Meyer earned in three years," according to running back Tony Collins. [2]

Offseason

NFL draft

1984 New England Patriots draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
11 Irving Fryar  *  Wide receiver Nebraska
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Staff

New England Patriots 1984 staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

Roster

New England Patriots 1984 roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 2at Buffalo Bills W 21–171–0 Rich Stadium 48,528
2September 9at Miami Dolphins L 7–281–1 Miami Orange Bowl 66,083
3September 16 Seattle Seahawks W 38–232–1 Sullivan Stadium 43,140
4September 23 Washington Redskins L 10–262–2Sullivan Stadium60,503
5September 30at New York Jets W 28–213–2 Giants Stadium 68,978
6October 7at Cleveland Browns W 17–164–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 53,036
7October 14 Cincinnati Bengals W 20–145–2Sullivan Stadium48,154
8October 21Miami DolphinsL 24–445–3Sullivan Stadium60,711
9October 28New York JetsW 30–206–3Sullivan Stadium60,513
10November 4at Denver Broncos L 19–266–4 Mile High Stadium 74,908
11November 11Buffalo BillsW 38–107–4Sullivan Stadium43,313
12November 18at Indianapolis Colts W 50–178–4 Hoosier Dome 60,009
13 November 22 at Dallas Cowboys L 17–208–5 Texas Stadium 55,341
14December 2 St. Louis Cardinals L 10–338–6Sullivan Stadium53,558
15December 9at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–278–7 Veterans Stadium 41,581
16December 16Indianapolis ColtsW 16–109–7Sullivan Stadium22,383
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1

Behind two Steve Grogan touchdown throws, the Patriots raced to a 21–0 lead. They withstood a second-half Bills comeback attempt, and won 21–17.

Week 2 (Sunday, September 9, 1984): at Miami Dolphins

[3]

Week 2: New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
Period1234Total
Patriots (1–1)07007
Dolphins (2–0)0714728

at Miami Orange Bowl • Miami, Florida

TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
NEPassing Steve Grogan 20/42, 217 YDS, 1 TD, 4 INTs
Rushing Tony Collins 20 CAR, 87 YDS
Receiving Derrick Ramsey 5 REC, 70 YDS
MIAPassing Dan Marino 17/28, 269 YDS, 3 TDs, 2 INTs
Rushing Tony Nathan 10 CAR, 36 YDS
Receiving Mark Clayton 5 REC, 75 YDS, 2 TDs
  • Point spread: Dolphins by 6
  • Over/Under: 43.0 (under)
  • Time of Game: 3 hours, 3 minutes


PatriotsGame StatisticsDolphins
18First downs17
28–127Rushes–yards30–74
217Passing yards269
20–42–4Passes17–28–2
2–12Sacked–yards0–0
205Net passing yards269
332Total yards343
74Return yards183
8–39.6Punts5–41.6
2–1Fumbles–lost0–0
6–53Penalties–yards6–46
30:46Time of Possession29:14

Grogan had a miserable day as he was intercepted four times; William Judson ran back one for a 60-yard touchdown. The Dolphins, led by two Dan Marino touchdown passes, won 28–7.

Week 3

The first home game of the season ended Grogan's season as he failed to complete any of his four passes and Kenny Easley ran back his interception for a 25-yard touchdown. The Seahawks scored three touchdowns marred by a missed PAT. Tony Eason replaced Grogan with six minutes left in the first half and in the final minute ran in a 25-yard touchdown. From there three Patriots backs rushed for 189 yards and three touchdowns and Eason tossed scores to Derrick Ramsey and Irving Fryar while Dave Krieg of the Seahawks was bullied into two interceptions. The Patriots came back to win 38–23. The 23-point comeback was the largest in Patriots franchise history, a team record held until 2013. [4]

Week 8 (Sunday, October 21, 1984): vs. Miami Dolphins

[5]

Week 8: Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
Period1234Total
Dolphins (8–0)313141444
Patriots (5–3)377724

at Sullivan Stadium • Foxborough, Massachusetts

TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
MIAPassing Dan Marino 24/39, 316 YDS, 4 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing Joe Carter 14 CAR, 92 YDS
Receiving Mark Clayton 7 REC, 99 YDS, 1 TD
NEPassing Tony Eason 19/29, 313 YDS, 3 TDs
Rushing Mosi Tatupu 20 CAR, 90 YDS
Receiving Derrick Ramsey 5 REC, 32 YDS, 1 TD
  • Point spread: Dolphins by 4
  • Over/Under: 42.0 (over)
  • Time of Game: 3 hours, 13 minutes
DolphinsGame StatisticsPatriots
33First downs18
37–236Rushes–yards27–102
316Passing yards313
24–39–1Passes19–29–0
0–0Sacked–yards1–7
316Net passing yards306
552Total yards408
75Return yards113
1–38.0Punts3–57.0
0–0Fumbles–lost1–1
6–36Penalties–yards6–36
31:59Time of Possession28:01

Week 9

New York Jets at New England Patriots
1234Total
Jets10100020
•Patriots06101430
Scoring summary
1Jets Pat Leahy 46-yard field goalJets 3–0
1JetsRocky Klever 7-yard pass from Ken O'Brien (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 10–0
2Patriots Tony Franklin 20-yard field goalJets 10–3
2JetsPat Leahy 18-yard field goalJets 13–3
2Jets Marion Barber 2-yard run (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 20–3
2PatriotsTony Franklin 27-yard field goalJets 20–6
3PatriotsTony Franklin 47-yard field goalJets 20–9
3Patriots Craig James 25-yard run (Tony Franklin kick)Jets 20–16
4Patriots Stephen Starring 5-yard pass from Tony Eason (Tony Franklin kick)Patriots 23–20
4Patriots Tony Collins 4-yard run (Tony Franklin kick)Patriots 30–20

Raymond Berry's first game as Patriots' head coach.

Standings

AFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Miami Dolphins (1)1420.8758–010–2513298W2
New England Patriots 970.5636–29–3362352W1
New York Jets 790.4383–57–7332364L1
Indianapolis Colts 4120.2502–64–8239414L5
Buffalo Bills 2140.1251–71–11250454L2

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References

  1. ↑ Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p. 486, Martin's Press, August 1994, ISBN   0-312-11073-1
  2. ↑ Quoted in Tales From The Patriots Sideline (Illinois:Sports Publishing LLC, 2006) by Michael Felger, p. 76
  3. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2022-Jul-09.
  4. ↑ "Watch Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots [11/24/2013] - NFL.com". www.nfl.com. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  5. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2022-Jul-09.
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