1979 New England Patriots season
| 1979 New England Patriots season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | 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 |
| AP All-Pros | G John Hannah (1st team) CB Mike Haynes (2nd team) |
| Uniform | |
 | |
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
| 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
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
| |||||
Roster
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 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
![[icon]](/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (September 2021) |
Week 2 vs Jets
| This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (September 2021) |
Week 3 at Bengals
| This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (September 2021) |
Week 4 vs Chargers
Week Four: San Diego Chargers (3–0) at New England Patriots (2–1)
| Period | 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 | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots, NFL Films highlights |
Week 5 at Packers
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Week 6 vs Lions
| This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (September 2021) |
Week 7 at Bears
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Week 8 vs Dolphins
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Week 9 at Colts
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Week 10 at Bills
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Week 11 at Broncos
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Week 12 vs Colts
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Week 13 vs Bills
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Week 14 at Dolphins
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Week 15 at Jets
| This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (September 2021) |
Week 16 vs Vikings
| This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (September 2021) |
See also
- New England Patriots seasons
 | This article relating to an American football season is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
  | This article related to sports in Massachusetts is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |