1979 New England Patriots season

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

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

New England Patriots 1979 staff
Front office President – Billy Sullivan Executive vice president – Chuck Sullivan General manager – Bucko Kilroy Assistant general manager – Patrick Sullivan Director of pro scouting – Bill McPeak Executive director of player personnel – Darryl Stingley Head coaches Head coach – Ron Erhardt Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/special assistant to the head coach – John Polonchek Offensive backfield – Tom Yewcic Receivers – Raymond Berry Offensive line – Jim Ringo			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Hank Bullough Defensive line – Fritz Shurmur Defensive backfield – Billy Kinard Special teams coaches Special teams – Gino Cappelletti

Roster

1979 New England Patriots roster

	Quarterbacks 12 Matt Cavanaugh 14 Steve Grogan 17 Tom Owen Running backs 44 Don Calhoun 35 Allan Clark 39 Sam Cunningham 23 Horace Ivory 30 Mosi Tatupu Wide receivers 29 Harold Jackson 87 Ray Jarvis 86 Stanley Morgan 88 Carlos Pennywell 83 Don Westbrook Tight ends 81 Russ Francis 80 Don Hasselbeck		Offensive linemen 61 Sam Adams Sr. G 58 Pete Brock C 75 Bob Cryder T 68 Terry Falcon G 73 John Hannah G 74 Shelby Jordan T 67 Bill Lenkaitis C 77 Garry Puetz G 62 Dwight Wheeler T Defensive linemen 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 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 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 lists -- Dick Coon S (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 24 Judson Flint FS (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 32 Andy Johnson RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad 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 1 vs Steelers

Week 2 vs Jets

Week 3 at Bengals

Week 4 vs Chargers

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

Week 5 at Packers

Week 6 vs Lions

Week 7 at Bears

Week 8 vs Dolphins

Week 9 at Colts

Week 10 at Bills

Week 11 at Broncos

Week 12 vs Colts

Week 13 vs Bills

Week 14 at Dolphins

Week 15 at Jets

Week 16 vs Vikings

See also

• New England Patriots seasons