The 1977 New England Patriots season was the franchise's eighth season in the National Football League and 18th overall. The Patriots struggled to a 5–4 record and trailed the Baltimore Colts by three games and the Miami Dolphins by two games after losing 17–5 to the Dolphins. Beginning November 20th, the Patriots won four straight allowing no more than 10 points. While they won the rematch with Miami, a Baltimore win on December 11th would have actually helped them in their quest to win the division crown, but Detroit won 13–10 on a late blocked punt, and New England then needed help with a Buffalo win over Miami. That did not happen as the Dolphins rolled to a 31–14 win to eliminate the Patriots, who ended the season with a record of 9–5 and finished third in the AFC East Division, after a 30–24 loss in the final game to the Colts.
Draft
Staff
Roster
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Game Recap 1 September 18 Kansas City Chiefs W 21–17 1–0 Schaefer Stadium 58,185 Recap 2 September 26 at Cleveland Browns L 27–30 1–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 76,418 Recap 3 October 2 at New York Jets L 27–30 1–2 Shea Stadium 38,227 Recap 4 October 9 Seattle Seahawks W 31–0 2–2 Schaefer Stadium 45,927 Recap 5 October 16 at San Diego Chargers W 24–20 3–2 San Diego Stadium 50,327 Recap 6 October 23 Baltimore Colts W 17–3 4–2 Schaefer Stadium 60,958 Recap 7 October 30 New York Jets W 24–13 5–2 Schaefer Stadium 61,042 Recap 8 November 6 Buffalo Bills L 14–24 5–3 Schaefer Stadium 60,263 Recap 9 November 13 at Miami Dolphins L 5–17 5–4 Miami Orange Bowl 67,502 Recap 10 November 20 at Buffalo Bills W 20–7 6–4 Rich Stadium 27,598 Recap 11 November 27 Philadelphia Eagles W 14–6 7–4 Schaefer Stadium 57,893 Recap 12 December 4 at Atlanta Falcons W 16–10 8–4 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 57,911 Recap 13 December 11 Miami Dolphins W 14–10 9–4 Schaefer Stadium 61,064 Recap 14 December 18 at Baltimore Colts L 24–30 9–5 Memorial Stadium 42,250 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: vs Kansas City Chiefs
Week 11 Television: CBS Announcers: Don Criqui, Nick Buoniconti Steve Grogan passed for two touchdowns in the first half, and the New England defense sacked Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski eight times as the Patriots keep their faint playoff hopes alive with their win in front of a regional TV audience. Grogan hit Stanley Morgan on a scoring shot 64 yards in the first period, and then drilled a 16-yard pass to Darryl Stingley for another touchdown in the first half. The Eagles averted a shutout as Jaworski broke out of trouble and passed 12 yards to Charles Smith for a touchdown with just 52 seconds left to play.
Standings
See also New England Patriots seasons
References