1978 New England Patriots season
| 1978 New England Patriots season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach |
Chuck Fairbanks (suspended by team Week 16, reinstated Divisional Playoffs) Hank Bullough (co-interim) Ron Erhardt (co-interim) |
| General manager | Chuck Fairbanks |
| Owner | Billy Sullivan |
| Home field | Schaefer Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–5 |
| Division place | 1st AFC East |
| Playoff finish | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Oilers) 31–14 |
| Pro Bowlers | FB Sam Cunningham TE Russ Francis T Leon Gray G John Hannah CB Mike Haynes |
| AP All-Pros | G John Hannah (1st team) T Leon Gray (1st team) TE Russ Francis (2nd team) CB Mike Haynes (2nd team) |
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| Scoring summary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OAK | Dave Casper 13-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick) | Raiders 7–0 | |
| 1 | OAK | Arthur Whittington 4-yard run (Errol Mann kick) | Raiders 14–0 | |
| 2 | NE | Russ Francis 25-yard pass from Steve Grogan (Nick Lowery kick) | Raiders 14–7 | |
| 3 | NE | Horace Ivory 16-yard run (Nick Lowery kick) | Tie 14–14 | |
| 4 | NE | Sam Cunningham 1-yard run (Nick Lowery kick) | Patriots 21–14 | |
The 1978 New England Patriots season was the team's 19th, and 9th in the National Football League. The Patriots finished the season with a record of eleven wins and five losses, and finished tied for first in the AFC East, winning their first division title in franchise history over Miami by a tiebreaker.
The 1978 Patriots set an NFL record for most rushing yards in a single season, with 3,165 yards on the ground. The Patriots had four different players who rushed for more than 500 yards: running back Sam "Bam" Cunningham, 768; running back Andy Johnson, 675; running back Horace Ivory, 693; and quarterback Steve Grogan, 539. The team also picked up an NFL-record 181 rushing first-downs.
Following a preseason hit in Oakland that paralyzed popular receiver Darryl Stingley for life, the Patriots staggered to a 1–2 start before upsetting the Oakland Raiders on the road. From there the Patriots stormed to win nine of their next 12 games, establishing an NFL record for rushing yards at 3,165. The Patriots clinched their first division title with a 26–24 win over the Buffalo Bills with one game remaining.
Tragedy blackened a 21–7 Patriots win over the Raiders when, late in the second quarter, Darryl Stingley jumped after a Steve Grogan throw and was crushed in the jaw by Jack Tatum of the Raiders. The hit paralyzed Stingley for life. The tragedy was also a turning point in Chuck Fairbanks' relationship with the Sullivan family; he was already upset over the previous season when the Sullivans overruled him over new contracts with John Hannah and Leon Gray, and with Stingley he'd worked out agreement on a contract extension before the team traveled to Oakland, but the Monday after the game Stingley's attorney telephoned Chuck Sullivan about the contract and Sullivan said, "We don't have a contract with Stingley." Fairbanks, according to Hannah, "was livid. He decided right then that he wouldn't stay with an organization that treated its folks like that."
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