# 1984 New England Patriots season

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.
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.

## Offseason
### 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 ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| 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
#### Week 1

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

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Patriots (1–1) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Dolphins (2–0) | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
at Miami Orange Bowl • Miami, Florida
* Date: September 9, 1984
* Game time: 1:02 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: 79 °F (26 °C); relative humidity 65%; wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
* Game attendance: 66,083
* Referee: Chuck Heberling
* TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph (play-by-play) and Bob Griese (color commentator)
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| NE | Passing | Steve Grogan | 20/42, 217 YDS, 1 TD, 4 INTs |
| NE | Rushing | Tony Collins | 20 CAR, 87 YDS |
| NE | Receiving | Derrick Ramsey | 5 REC, 70 YDS |
| MIA | Passing | Dan Marino | 17/28, 269 YDS, 3 TDs, 2 INTs |
| MIA | Rushing | Tony Nathan | 10 CAR, 36 YDS |
| MIA | Receiving | Mark Clayton | 5 REC, 75 YDS, 2 TDs |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | NE | MIA |
| 2 | 5:37 | 2 | 55 | 0:16 | Dolphins | Duper 35-yard touchdown reception from Jensen, von Schamann kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | 0:56 | 10 | 90 | 4:31 | Patriots | Dawson 5-yard touchdown reception from Grogan, Franklin kick good | 7 | 7 |
| 3 | 12:38 | 4 | 73 | 2:22 | Dolphins | Clayton 35-yard touchdown reception from Marino, von Schamann kick good | 7 | 14 |
| 3 | 11:02 | 2 | 16 | 0:43 | Dolphins | Clayton 15-yard touchdown reception from Marino, von Schamann kick good | 7 | 21 |
| 4 | 2:53 | — | — | — | Dolphins | Interception returned 60 yards for touchdown by Judson, von Schamann kick good | 7 | 28 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 7 | 28 |
* 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

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.

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

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Dolphins (8–0) | 3 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 44 |
| Patriots (5–3) | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
at Sullivan Stadium • Foxborough, Massachusetts
* Date: October 21, 1984
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C); relative humidity 53%; wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
* Game attendance: 60,711
* Referee: Jim Tunney
* TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones (play-by-play) and Bob Griese (color commentator)
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| MIA | Passing | Dan Marino | 24/39, 316 YDS, 4 TDs, 1 INT |
| MIA | Rushing | Joe Carter | 14 CAR, 92 YDS |
| MIA | Receiving | Mark Clayton | 7 REC, 99 YDS, 1 TD |
| NE | Passing | Tony Eason | 19/29, 313 YDS, 3 TDs |
| NE | Rushing | Mosi Tatupu | 20 CAR, 90 YDS |
| NE | Receiving | Derrick Ramsey | 5 REC, 32 YDS, 1 TD |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | MIA | NE |
| 1 | 8:33 | 13 | 74 | 3:55 | Dolphins | 28-yard field goal by von Schamann | 3 | 0 |
| 1 | 2:33 | 12 | 49 | 5:54 | Patriots | 48-yard field goal by Franklin | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | 14:32 | 7 | 65 | 2:51 | Dolphins | Johnson 1-yard touchdown run, von Schamann kick good | 10 | 3 |
| 2 | 1:55 | 8 | 66 | 4:03 | Patriots | Weathers 14-yard touchdown reception from Eason, Franklin kick good | 10 | 10 |
| 2 | 0:06 | 11 | 80 | 1:49 | Dolphins | Moore 19-yard touchdown reception from Marino, von Schamann kick no good | 16 | 10 |
| 3 | 6:40 | 13 | 80 | 8:20 | Dolphins | Johnson 5-yard touchdown reception from Marino, von Schamann kick good | 23 | 10 |
| 3 | 6:22 | 1 | 76 | 0:18 | Patriots | Morgan 76-yard touchdown reception from Eason, Franklin kick good | 23 | 17 |
| 3 | 2:31 | 7 | 75 | 2:51 | Dolphins | Clayton 15-yard touchdown reception from Marino, von Schamann kick good | 30 | 17 |
| 4 | 11:27 | 12 | 61 | 7:04 | Patriots | Ramsey 5-yard touchdown reception from Eason, Franklin kick good | 30 | 24 |
| 4 | 8:24 | 6 | 66 | 3:04 | Dolphins | Moore 15-yard touchdown reception from Marino, von Schamann kick good | 37 | 24 |
| 4 | 1:11 | 10 | 69 | 4:39 | Dolphins | Johnson 3-yard touchdown run, von Schamann kick good | 44 | 24 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 44 | 24 |
* 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

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jets | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| • Patriots | 0 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 30 |
Raymond Berry's first game as Patriots' head coach.

### Standings

AFC East :
| viewtalkedit | 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 |