| 1984 New England Patriots season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Billy Sullivan |
| General manager | Patrick Sullivan |
| Head coach | Ron Meyer Raymond Berry |
| Home field | Sullivan Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–7 |
| Division place | 2nd AFC East |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | GJohn Hannah TBrian Holloway LBSteve Nelson LBAndre Tippett |
| AP All-Pros | GJohn Hannah (2nd team) |
| |
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 1978to1981 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]
| New England Patriots 1984 staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
| |||||
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 2 | atBuffalo Bills | W 21–17 | 1–0 | Rich Stadium | 48,528 | |
| 2 | September 9 | atMiami 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 | atNew York Jets | W 28–21 | 3–2 | Giants Stadium | 68,978 | |
| 6 | October 7 | atCleveland 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 | atDenver 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 | atIndianapolis Colts | W 50–17 | 8–4 | Hoosier Dome | 60,009 | |
| 13 | November 22 | atDallas 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 | atPhiladelphia 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. | |||||||
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: New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patriots (1–1) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Dolphins (2–0) | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
atMiami 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 |
| Scoring summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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.
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: Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolphins (8–0) | 3 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 44 |
| Patriots (5–3) | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
atSullivan 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 |
| Scoring summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Raymond Berry's first game as Patriots' head coach.
| 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 |
|
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Franchise |
|
| Stadiums |
|
| Culture |
|
| Lore |
|
| Rivalries |
|
| Division championships (22) |
|
| Conference championships (11) |
|
| League championships (6) |
|
| Retired numbers |
|
| Media |
|
| Current league affiliations |
|
| Former league affiliation |
|
|
| |
|---|---|
Formerly the Boston Patriots (1960–1970) | |
| |
Bold indicates AFL ChampionshiporSuper Bowl victory |
