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1984 New England Patriots season

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1984 New England Patriots season
OwnerBilly Sullivan
General managerPatrick Sullivan
Head coachRon Meyer
Raymond Berry
Home fieldSullivan Stadium
Results
Record9–7
Division place2nd AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersG John Hannah
T Brian Holloway
LB Steve Nelson
LB Andre Tippett
AP All-ProsG John Hannah (2nd team)
The Patriots hosting the Cardinals in December 1984.

The 1984 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 15th season in the National Football League and 25th overall. The Patriots finished the season with a record of nine wins and seven losses, and finished second in the AFC East Division.

Head coach Ron Meyer, who had coached the Patriots for the previous two seasons, was fired halfway through the season. Meyer had angered several of his players with public criticism. After a 44–24 loss to Miami in week 8, Meyer fired popular defensive coordinator Rod Rust; Meyer himself was fired by Patriots management shortly thereafter.[1]

The Patriots went outside the organization to hire Raymond Berry, who had been New England's receivers coach from 1978 to 1981 under coaches Chuck Fairbanks and Ron Erhardt. Berry had been working in the private sector in Medfield, Massachusetts, when the Patriots called him to replace Meyer. Berry's first order of business was to immediately rehire Rust.

Under Berry's leadership, the Patriots won four of their last eight games. Berry's importance to the team was reflected less in his initial win–loss record than in the respect he immediately earned in the locker room – "Raymond Berry earned more respect in one day than Ron Meyer earned in three years," according to running back Tony Collins.[2]

Offseason

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NFL draft

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Main article: 1984 NFL Draft
1984 New England Patriots draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 1 Irving Fryar *  Wide receiver Nebraska
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Staff

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New England Patriots 1984 staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

Roster

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New England Patriots 1984 roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 2 at Buffalo Bills W 21–17 1–0 Rich Stadium 48,528
2 September 9 at Miami Dolphins L 7–28 1–1 Miami Orange Bowl 66,083
3 September 16 Seattle Seahawks W 38–23 2–1 Sullivan Stadium 43,140
4 September 23 Washington Redskins L 10–26 2–2 Sullivan Stadium 60,503
5 September 30 at New York Jets W 28–21 3–2 Giants Stadium 68,978
6 October 7 at Cleveland Browns W 17–16 4–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 53,036
7 October 14 Cincinnati Bengals W 20–14 5–2 Sullivan Stadium 48,154
8 October 21 Miami Dolphins L 24–44 5–3 Sullivan Stadium 60,711
9 October 28 New York Jets W 30–20 6–3 Sullivan Stadium 60,513
10 November 4 at Denver Broncos L 19–26 6–4 Mile High Stadium 74,908
11 November 11 Buffalo Bills W 38–10 7–4 Sullivan Stadium 43,313
12 November 18 at Indianapolis Colts W 50–17 8–4 Hoosier Dome 60,009
13 November 22 at Dallas Cowboys L 17–20 8–5 Texas Stadium 55,341
14 December 2 St. Louis Cardinals L 10–33 8–6 Sullivan Stadium 53,558
15 December 9 at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–27 8–7 Veterans Stadium 41,581
16 December 16 Indianapolis Colts W 16–10 9–7 Sullivan Stadium 22,383
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

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Week 1

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Behind two Steve Grogan touchdown throws, the Patriots raced to a 21–0 lead. They withstood a second-half Bills comeback attempt, and won 21–17.

Week 2 (Sunday, September 9, 1984): at Miami Dolphins

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[3]

Week 2: New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Patriots (1–1) 0 7 007
Dolphins (2–0) 0 7 14728

at Miami Orange Bowl • Miami, Florida

Team Category Player Statistics
NE Passing Steve Grogan 20/42, 217 YDS, 1 TD, 4 INTs
Rushing Tony Collins 20 CAR, 87 YDS
Receiving Derrick Ramsey 5 REC, 70 YDS
MIA Passing Dan Marino 17/28, 269 YDS, 3 TDs, 2 INTs
Rushing Tony Nathan 10 CAR, 36 YDS
Receiving Mark Clayton 5 REC, 75 YDS, 2 TDs
  • Point spread: Dolphins by 6
  • Over/Under: 43.0 (under)
  • Time of Game: 3 hours, 3 minutes


Patriots Game Statistics Dolphins
18 First downs 17
28–127 Rushes–yards 30–74
217 Passing yards 269
20–42–4 Passes 17–28–2
2–12 Sacked–yards 0–0
205 Net passing yards 269
332 Total yards 343
74 Return yards 183
8–39.6 Punts 5–41.6
2–1 Fumbles–lost 0–0
6–53 Penalties–yards 6–46
30:46 Time of Possession 29:14

Grogan had a miserable day as he was intercepted four times; William Judson ran back one for a 60-yard touchdown. The Dolphins, led by two Dan Marino touchdown passes, won 28–7.

Week 3

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The first home game of the season ended Grogan's season as he failed to complete any of his four passes and Kenny Easley ran back his interception for a 25-yard touchdown. The Seahawks scored three touchdowns marred by a missed PAT. Tony Eason replaced Grogan with six minutes left in the first half and in the final minute ran in a 25-yard touchdown. From there three Patriots backs rushed for 189 yards and three touchdowns and Eason tossed scores to Derrick Ramsey and Irving Fryar while Dave Krieg of the Seahawks was bullied into two interceptions. The Patriots came back to win 38–23. The 23-point comeback was the largest in Patriots franchise history, a team record held until 2013.[4]

Week 8 (Sunday, October 21, 1984): vs. Miami Dolphins

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[5]

Week 8: Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Dolphins (8–0) 3 13 141444
Patriots (5–3) 3 7 7724

at Sullivan Stadium • Foxborough, Massachusetts

Team Category Player Statistics
MIA Passing Dan Marino 24/39, 316 YDS, 4 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing Joe Carter 14 CAR, 92 YDS
Receiving Mark Clayton 7 REC, 99 YDS, 1 TD
NE Passing Tony Eason 19/29, 313 YDS, 3 TDs
Rushing Mosi Tatupu 20 CAR, 90 YDS
Receiving Derrick Ramsey 5 REC, 32 YDS, 1 TD
  • Point spread: Dolphins by 4
  • Over/Under: 42.0 (over)
  • Time of Game: 3 hours, 13 minutes
Dolphins Game Statistics Patriots
33 First downs 18
37–236 Rushes–yards 27–102
316 Passing yards 313
24–39–1 Passes 19–29–0
0–0 Sacked–yards 1–7
316 Net passing yards 306
552 Total yards 408
75 Return yards 113
1–38.0 Punts 3–57.0
0–0 Fumbles–lost 1–1
6–36 Penalties–yards 6–36
31:59 Time of Possession 28:01

Week 9

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New York Jets at New England Patriots
1 234Total
Jets 10 1000 20
• Patriots 0 61014 30
Scoring summary
1JetsPat Leahy 46-yard field goalJets 3–0
1JetsRocky Klever 7-yard pass from Ken O'Brien (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 10–0
2PatriotsTony Franklin 20-yard field goalJets 10–3
2JetsPat Leahy 18-yard field goalJets 13–3
2JetsMarion Barber 2-yard run (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 20–3
2PatriotsTony Franklin 27-yard field goalJets 20–6
3PatriotsTony Franklin 47-yard field goalJets 20–9
3PatriotsCraig James 25-yard run (Tony Franklin kick)Jets 20–16
4PatriotsStephen Starring 5-yard pass from Tony Eason (Tony Franklin kick)Patriots 23–20
4PatriotsTony Collins 4-yard run (Tony Franklin kick)Patriots 30–20

Raymond Berry's first game as Patriots' head coach.

Standings

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AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Miami Dolphins(1) 14 2 0 .875 8–0 10–2 513 298 W2
New England Patriots 9 7 0 .563 6–2 9–3 362 352 W1
New York Jets 7 9 0 .438 3–5 7–7 332 364 L1
Indianapolis Colts 4 12 0 .250 2–6 4–8 239 414 L5
Buffalo Bills 2 14 0 .125 1–7 1–11 250 454 L2

References

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  1. ^ Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p. 486, Martin's Press, August 1994, ISBN 0-312-11073-1
  2. ^ Quoted in Tales From The Patriots Sideline (Illinois:Sports Publishing LLC, 2006) by Michael Felger, p. 76
  3. ^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2022-Jul-09.
  4. ^ "Watch Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots [11/24/2013] - NFL.com". www.nfl.com. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  5. ^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2022-Jul-09.
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