1976 New England Patriots (NFL) |
| 2nd place American Football Conference Eastern Division 11-3-0 .786 |
| Playoff Statistics |
| Head Coach: Chuck Fairbanks |
| Hank Bullough | Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line |
| Rollie Dotsch | Outside Linebackers |
| Ron Erhardt | Offensive Backs |
| Red Miller | Offensive Line |
| Ray Perkins | Receivers |
| John Polonchek | Quarterbacks |
| Charlie Sumner | Inside Linebackers |
| Larrye Weaver | Advisory Coach |
| Tom Yewcic | Special Teams |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Sun | 8/1/1976 | H | New York Giants | 13-7 | W | OT | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 30032 |
| Fri | 8/6/1976 | N | San Diego Chargers | 17-26 | L | Norman, OK | Owen Field | 23800 | |
| Sun | 8/15/1976 | H | Green Bay Packers | 14-16 | L | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 30552 | |
| Sat | 8/21/1976 | A | Atlanta Falcons | 28-17 | W | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 23495 | |
| Mon | 8/30/1976 | A | Cleveland Browns | 27-30 | L | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 36016 | |
| Sun | 9/5/1976 | H | Philadelphia Eagles | 20-7 | W | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 32254 | |
| Sun | 9/12/1976 | H | Baltimore Colts | 13-27 | L | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 39512 | |
| Sun | 9/19/1976 | H | Miami Dolphins | 30-14 | W | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 41879 | |
| Sun | 9/26/1976 | A | Pittsburgh Steelers | 30-27 | W | Pittsburgh, PA | Three Rivers Stadium | 47379 | |
| Sun | 10/3/1976 | H | Oakland Raiders | 48-17 | W | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 61068 | |
| Sun | 10/10/1976 | A | Detroit Lions | 10-30 | L | Pontiac, MI | Pontiac Silverdome | 59730 | |
| Mon | 10/18/1976 | H | New York Jets | 41-7 | W | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 50883 | |
| Sun | 10/24/1976 | A | Buffalo Bills | 26-22 | W | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 45144 | |
| Sun | 10/31/1976 | A | Miami Dolphins | 3-10 | L | Miami, FL | Orange Bowl | 52863 | |
| Sun | 11/7/1976 | H | Buffalo Bills | 20-10 | W | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 61157 | |
| Sun | 11/14/1976 | A | Baltimore Colts | 21-14 | W | Baltimore, MD | Memorial Stadium | 58226 | |
| Sun | 11/21/1976 | A | New York Jets | 38-24 | W | New York, NY | Shea Stadium | 49983 | |
| Sun | 11/28/1976 | H | Denver Broncos | 38-14 | W | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 61128 | |
| Sun | 12/5/1976 | H | New Orleans Saints | 27-6 | W | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 53592 | |
| Sun | 12/12/1976 | A | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 31-14 | W | Tampa, FL | Tampa Stadium | 39606 | |
| AFC Divisional Playoff | |||||||||
| Sat | 12/18/1976 | A | Oakland Raiders | 21-24 | L | Oakland, CA | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | 53045 | |
Exhibition game. Playoff game. A=Away game. H=Home game. N=Neutral site game. W=Win. L=Loss. T=Tie. OT=Overtime.
Click on Date to see boxscore.
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| 85 | Julius Adams | RDE | 6-3 | 262 | 28 | Texas Southern | 14 | 14 |
| 61 | Sam Adams | ROG | 6-3 | 260 | 28 | Prairie View A&M | 14 | 14 |
| 59 | Pete Barnes | ROLB | 6-2 | 243 | 31 | Southern University | 13 | 7 |
| 27 | Doug Beaudoin | S | 6-1 | 190 | 22 | Minnesota | 9 | 0 |
| 64 | Richard Bishop | NT | 6-1 | 265 | 26 | Marshalltown JC; Louisville | 14 | 0 |
| 21 | Joe Blahak | CB | 5-9 | 181 | 26 | Nebraska | 2 | 0 |
| 88 | Marlin Briscoe | WR | 5-10 | 178 | 31 | Nebraska-Omaha | 14 | 5 |
| 58 | Pete Brock | C | 6-5 | 270 | 22 | Colorado | 14 | 0 |
| 82 | Steve Burks | WR | 6-5 | 205 | 23 | Arkansas State | 8 | 1 |
| 44 | Don Calhoun | RB | 6-0 | 215 | 24 | Kansas State | 14 | 3 |
| 21 | Allen Carter | RB | 5-11 | 208 | 24 | Southern California | 1 | 0 |
| 87 | Al Chandler | TE | 6-2 | 233 | 26 | Oklahoma | 14 | 3 |
| 22 | Dick Conn | RSL-LS | 6-0 | 180 | 25 | Georgia | 13 | 1 |
| 39 | Sam Cunningham | RB | 6-3 | 230 | 26 | Southern California | 11 | 11 |
| 83 | Ricky Feacher | WR | 5-10 | 174 | 22 | Mississippi Valley State | 3 | 0 |
| 38 | Ike Forte | RB | 6-0 | 198 | 22 | Tyler JC; Arkansas | 10 | 1 |
| 48 | Tim Fox | RS | 5-11 | 188 | 23 | Ohio State | 13 | 13 |
| 81 | Russ Francis | TE | 6-6 | 242 | 23 | Oregon | 13 | 12 |
| 29 | Willie Germany | S | 6-0 | 193 | 27 | Morgan State | 10 | 0 |
| 70 | Leon Gray | LOT | 6-3 | 261 | 25 | Jackson State | 14 | 14 |
| 14 | Steve Grogan | QB | 6-4 | 210 | 23 | Kansas State | 14 | 14 |
| 71 | Ray Hamilton | NT | 6-1 | 244 | 25 | Oklahoma | 14 | 14 |
| 73 | John Hannah | LOG | 6-3 | 265 | 25 | Alabama | 14 | 14 |
| 40 | Mike Haynes | RCB | 6-2 | 194 | 23 | Arizona State | 14 | 14 |
| 24 | Bobby Howard | LCB | 6-1 | 184 | 32 | Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo); San Diego State | 14 | 14 |
| 50 | Sam Hunt | RILB-LILB | 6-1 | 248 | 25 | Stephen F. Austin State | 14 | 12 |
| 32 | Andy Johnson | HB | 6-0 | 204 | 24 | Georgia | 14 | 13 |
| 52 | Steve King | ROLB | 6-4 | 230 | 25 | Tulsa | 11 | 7 |
| 67 | Bill Lenkaitis | C | 6-3 | 260 | 30 | Penn State | 14 | 14 |
| 72 | Mel Lunsford | LDE-RDE | 6-3 | 256 | 26 | Central State (Ohio) | 14 | 2 |
| 34 | Prentice McCray | LS | 6-1 | 185 | 25 | Arizona State | 14 | 14 |
| 78 | Tony McGee | LDE | 6-3 | 249 | 27 | Wyoming; Bishop | 14 | 12 |
| 66 | Bob McKay | ROT | 6-5 | 265 | 29 | Texas | 14 | 13 |
| 75 | Art Moore | NT | 6-5 | 255 | 25 | Tulsa | 4 | 0 |
| 57 | Steve Nelson | LILB | 6-2 | 230 | 25 | Augsburg; North Dakota State | 10 | 10 |
| 77 | Tom Neville | ROT-LOT | 6-4 | 252 | 33 | Mississippi State | 14 | 14 |
| 17 | Tom Owen | QB | 6-1 | 194 | 24 | Wichita State | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | Mike Patrick | P | 6-0 | 209 | 24 | Mississippi State | 14 | 0 |
| 35 | Jess Phillips | RB | 6-1 | 208 | 29 | Michigan State | 13 | 0 |
| 53 | Jim Romaniszyn | LILB-RILB | 6-2 | 219 | 25 | Edinboro | 11 | 2 |
| 25 | John Sanders | S | 6-1 | 178 | 25 | South Dakota | 2 | 0 |
| 1 | John Smith | K | 6-0 | 172 | 27 | King Alfred's; Southampton (England) | 14 | 0 |
| 84 | Darryl Stingley | WR | 6-0 | 194 | 25 | Purdue | 13 | 13 |
| 63 | Fred Sturt | LOG-ROG | 6-4 | 250 | 25 | Bowling Green State | 14 | 0 |
| 51 | Donnie Thomas | LILB | 6-2 | 245 | 23 | Indiana | 3 | 1 |
| 60 | Dave Tipton | NT | 6-2 | 255 | 23 | Western Illinois | 8 | 0 |
| 18 | Randy Vataha | WR | 5-10 | 173 | 28 | Golden West JC; Stanford | 12 | 8 |
| 90 | George Webster | RILB--LOLB | 6-4 | 225 | 31 | Michigan State | 13 | 3 |
| 54 | Steve Zabel | LOLB | 6-4 | 228 | 28 | Oklahoma | 14 | 14 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 5 | Mike Haynes | DB | Arizona State |
| 1 | 12 | Pete Brock | C | Colorado |
| 1 | 21 | Tim Fox | DB | Ohio State |
| 2 | 35 | Ike Forte | RB | Arkansas |
| 6 | 170 | Greg Boyd | DE | San Diego State |
| 7 | 202 | Perry Brooks | DT | Southern University |
| 8 | 235 | Stu Betts | RB | Northern Michigan |
| 9 | 243 | Doug Beaudoin | DB | Minnesota |
| 10 | 270 | Ricky Feacher | WR | Mississippi Valley State |
| 11 | 298 | Donnie Thomas | LB | Indiana |
| 12 | 325 | Nathan Bell | DT | Tulane |
| 13 | 352 | Jimmy Jones | DB | Central Michigan |
| 14 | 382 | Dave Quehl | WR | Holy Cross |
| 15 | 409 | Bernard Coleman | WR | Bethune-Cookman |
| 16 | 436 | Cliff Brown | DT | Tuskegee |
| 17 | 465 | Todd Anderson | C | Stanford |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 54 | 133 | 97 | 92 | |
| Opponents Totals | 40 | 91 | 30 | 75 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 260 | 150 | 95 | 15 | 76/192 39.6% | / % | 102 | 914 | |
| Opponents Totals | 258 | 102 | 134 | 22 | 90/209 43.1% | / % | 83 | 715 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Smith | 0 | 42 | 46 | 91.3 | 15 | 25 | 60.0 | 0 | 87 |
| Steve Grogan | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 | ||
| Andy Johnson | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | ||
| Darryl Stingley | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Al Chandler | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Sam Cunningham | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Russ Francis | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Ike Forte | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Mike Haynes | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Prentice McCray | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Marlin Briscoe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Pete Brock | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Don Calhoun | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Sam Hunt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Jess Phillips | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Randy Vataha | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Steve Zabel | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| (Team) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 48 | 43 | 48 | 89.6 | 15 | 25 | 60.0 | 0 | 376 |
| Opponents Totals | 29 | 26 | 29 | 89.7 | 12 | 17 | 70.6 | 0 | 236 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Smith | 15 | 25 | 60.0 | 1 | 49 | 0/1 | 4/4 | 4/6 | 7/14 | 0/0 |
| Team Totals | 15 | 25 | 60.0 | 1 | 49 | 0/1 | 4/4 | 4/6 | 7/14 | 0/0 |
| Opponents Totals | 12 | 17 | 70.6 | 1/1 | 2/2 | 4/5 | 4/8 | 1/1 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Cunningham | 172 | 824 | 4.8 | 24 | 3 |
| Don Calhoun | 129 | 721 | 5.6 | 54 | 1 |
| Andy Johnson | 169 | 699 | 4.1 | 69t | 6 |
| Steve Grogan | 60 | 397 | 6.6 | 41t | 12 |
| Jess Phillips | 24 | 164 | 6.8 | 46 | 1 |
| Ike Forte | 25 | 100 | 4.0 | 26 | 1 |
| Darryl Stingley | 8 | 45 | 5.6 | 27 | 0 |
| Russ Francis | 2 | 12 | 6.0 | 8 | 0 |
| Steve Burks | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 |
| Mike Patrick | 1 | -16 | -16.0 | -16 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 591 | 2948 | 5.0 | 69t | 24 |
| Opponents Totals | 462 | 1847 | 4.0 | 46 | 12 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Grogan | 302 | 145 | 48.0 | 137 | 1903 | 6.3 | 13.1 | 58t | 18 | 6.0 | 20 | 6.6 | 18 | 155 | 1748 | 60.6 |
| Andy Johnson | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Tom Owen | 5 | 1 | 20.0 | 4 | 7 | 1.4 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 39.6 |
| Marlin Briscoe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | -9 | ||||||||
| Team Totals | 309 | 146 | 47.2 | 143 | 1910 | 6.2 | 13.1 | 58t | 18 | 5.8 | 20 | 6.5 | 19 | 164 | 1746 | 59.7 |
| Opponents Totals | 437 | 229 | 52.4 | 185 | 2604 | 6.0 | 11.4 | 55 | 16 | 3.7 | 23 | 5.3 | 47 | 429 | 2175 | 60.9 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andy Johnson | 29 | 343 | 11.8 | 53 | 4 |
| Sam Cunningham | 27 | 299 | 11.1 | 41 | 0 |
| Russ Francis | 26 | 367 | 14.1 | 48 | 3 |
| Darryl Stingley | 17 | 370 | 21.8 | 58t | 4 |
| Don Calhoun | 12 | 56 | 4.7 | 12 | 0 |
| Randy Vataha | 11 | 192 | 17.5 | 44 | 1 |
| Marlin Briscoe | 10 | 136 | 13.6 | 21 | 1 |
| Al Chandler | 5 | 49 | 9.8 | 29 | 3 |
| Ike Forte | 3 | 9 | 3.0 | 6t | 1 |
| Ricky Feacher | 2 | 38 | 19.0 | 21 | 0 |
| Steve Burks | 2 | 27 | 13.5 | 17 | 0 |
| Jess Phillips | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 18 | 0 |
| Pete Brock | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 6t | 1 |
| Team Totals | 146 | 1910 | 13.1 | 58t | 18 |
| Opponents Totals | 229 | 2604 | 11.4 | 55 | 16 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Haynes | 8 | 90 | 11.3 | 28 | 0 |
| Prentice McCray | 5 | 182 | 36.4 | 63t | 2 |
| Tim Fox | 3 | 67 | 22.3 | 29 | 0 |
| Bobby Howard | 3 | 28 | 9.3 | 15 | 0 |
| Sam Hunt | 2 | 106 | 53.0 | 68t | 1 |
| Steve Nelson | 2 | 32 | 16.0 | 34 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 23 | 505 | 22.0 | 68t | 3 |
| Opponents Totals | 20 | 380 | 19.0 | 76 | 0 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Patrick | 67 | 2688 | 40.1 | 52 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 288 | 2160 | 32.2 |
| Team Totals | 67 | 2688 | 40.1 | 52 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 288 | 2160 | 32.2 |
| Opponents Totals | 75 | 2909 | 38.8 | 57 | 8 | 7 | 628 | 2121 | 28.3 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Haynes | 45 | 0 | 608 | 13.5 | 89t | 2 |
| Doug Beaudoin | 2 | 0 | 18 | 9.0 | 11 | 0 |
| Darryl Stingley | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 48 | 0 | 628 | 13.1 | 89t | 2 |
| Opponents Totals | 37 | 7 | 288 | 7.8 | 32 | 0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jess Phillips | 14 | 397 | 28.4 | 71 | 0 | |
| Ricky Feacher | 10 | 240 | 24.0 | 46 | 0 | |
| Don Calhoun | 9 | 183 | 20.3 | 33 | 0 | |
| Doug Beaudoin | 6 | 134 | 22.3 | 44 | 0 | |
| Ike Forte | 3 | 62 | 20.7 | 29 | 0 | |
| Dick Conn | 2 | 29 | 14.5 | 26 | 0 | |
| Bob McKay | 1 | 23 | 23.0 | 23 | 0 | |
| Allen Carter | 1 | 19 | 19.0 | 19 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 46 | 1087 | 23.6 | 71 | 0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 71 | 1569 | 22.1 | 58 | 0 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Tony McGee | 9.5 | |
| Ray Hamilton | 6.5 | |
| Julius Adams | 5.0 | |
| Steve Zabel | 4.0 | |
| Mel Lunsford | 2.5 | |
| Steve King | 1.5 | |
| Steve Nelson | 1.0 | |
| Pete Barnes | 8.0 | |
| Dave Tipton | 2.0 | |
| Richard Bishop | 6.0 | |
| Team Totals | 47.0 | 429.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 19.0 | 164.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pete Barnes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Beaudoin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Richard Bishop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Pete Brock | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Calhoun | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Al Chandler | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Sam Cunningham | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ike Forte | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tim Fox | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 0 |
| Russ Francis | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Leon Gray | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Grogan | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | -18 | 1 | |
| Ray Hamilton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Haynes | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Sam Hunt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Andy Johnson | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mel Lunsford | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Prentice McCray | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Nelson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jess Phillips | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jim Romaniszyn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Darryl Stingley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dave Tipton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| George Webster | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Zabel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 28 | 18 | 10 | 27 | 37 | 0 | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 37 | 27 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 1 |
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