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1979 New England Patriots season

1979 New England Patriots season
Billy Sullivan
Bucko Kilroy
Ron Erhardt
Schaefer Stadium
9–7
2nd AFC East
Did not qualify
G John Hannah (1st team) CB Mike Haynes (2nd team)
G John HannahCB Mike HaynesWR Stanley Morgan

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.

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1979 New England Patriots draft
1	25	Rick Sanford	Cornerback	South Carolina
2	52	Bob Golic *	Defensive tackle	Notre Dame
4	106	Eddie Hare	Punter	Tulsa
5	135	John Zamberlin	Linebacker	Pacific Lutheran
7	177	Judson Flint	Safety	Memphis
8	216	Randy Love	Running back	Houston
9	245	John Spagnola	Tight end	Yale
.mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

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
Tom Marhefka	Linebacker	Rhode Island
Mike McLaughlin	Center	UMass
Tom McLaughlin	Punter	Iowa

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	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 |

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Quarterbacks (QB)
12 Matt Cavanaugh
14 Steve Grogan
17 Tom Owen
Running backs (RB)

44 Don Calhoun 35 Allan Clark 23 Horace Ivory 30 Mosi Tatupu Wide receivers (WR)

29 Harold Jackson 86 Stanley Morgan 88 Carlos Pennywell 83 Don Westbrook Tight ends (TE)

82 Al Chandler 81 Russ Francis 80 Don Hasselbeck | | Offensive linemen (OL) 61 Sam Adams G 58 Pete Brock 75 Bob Cryder G 73 John Hannah G 74 Shelby Jordan T 67 Bill Lenkaitis C 77 Garry Puetz T Defensive linemen (DL)

85 Julius Adams DE 64 Richard Bishop DE 63 Mark Buben NT 71 Ray Hamilton NT 72 Mel Lunsford DE 78 Tony McGee DE | | Linebackers (LB) 55 Ray Costict ILB 51 Bob Golic ILB 59 Mike Hawkins OLB 50 Sam Hunt ILB 52 Steve King OLB 53 Bill Matthews ILB 57 Steve Nelson ILB 56 Rod Shoate OLB 54 John Zamberlin ILB Defensive backs (DB)

26 Raymond Clayborn CB 22 Dick Conn FS 48 Tim Fox FS 40 Mike Haynes CB 34 Prentice McCray SS 25 Rick Sanford SS 21 Mark Washington CB Special teams (ST)

8 Eddie Hare P 1 John Smith K | | Reserve

27 Doug Beaudoin S (IR) 21 Sidney Brown CB (IR) 39 Sam Cunningham RB (IR) 68 Terry Falcon G (IR) 24 Judson Flint FS (IR) 32 Andy Johnson RB (IR) 62 Dwight Wheeler T (IR)

Rookies in italics |

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

AFC East
Miami Dolphins(3)	10	6	.625	5–3	6–6	341	257	L1
New England Patriots	9	7	.563	4–4	6–6	411	326	W1
New York Jets	8	8	.500	4–4	5–7	337	383	W3
Buffalo Bills	7	9	.438	4–4	5–7	268	279	L3
Baltimore Colts	5	11	.313	3–5	4–10	271	351	W1

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

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New England Patriots seasons

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