# 1977 New England Patriots season

The 1977 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 8th season in the National Football League and 18th overall. The Patriots ended the season with a record of 9–5 and finished third in the AFC East Division. The team had a chance to win the division crown but lost 30–24 to the Baltimore Colts in week 14.

## Draft

1977 New England Patriots draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 16 | Raymond Clayborn * | Defensive back | Texas | |
| 1 | 25 | Stanley Morgan * | Wide receiver | Tennessee | |
| 2 | 44 | Horace Ivory | Running back | Oklahoma | |
| 2 | 52 | Don Hasselbeck | Tight end | Colorado | |
| 3 | 82 | Sidney Brown | Defensive back | Oklahoma | Played with the Patriots in 1978 |
| 4 | 109 | Gerald Skinner | Tackle | Arkansas | |
| 7 | 192 | Ken Smith | Wide receiver | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | |
| 8 | 219 | Brad Benson * | Tackle | Penn State | |
| 9 | 249 | Jerry Vogele | Linebacker | Michigan | |
| 10 | 276 | John Rasmussen | Tackle | Wisconsin | |
| 10 | 279 | Giles Alexander | Defensive end | Tulsa | |
| 11 | 303 | Ray Costict | Linebacker | Mississippi State | |
| 12 | 333 | Dave Preston | Running back | Bowling Green | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Game Recap |
| 1 | September 18 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 21–17 | 1–0 | Schaefer Stadium | 58,185 | Recap |
| 2 | September 26 | at Cleveland Browns | L 27–30 OT | 1–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 76,418 | Recap |
| 3 | October 2 | at New York Jets | L 27–30 | 1–2 | Shea Stadium | 38,227 | Recap |
| 4 | October 9 | Seattle Seahawks | W 31–0 | 2–2 | Schaefer Stadium | 45,927 | Recap |
| 5 | October 16 | at San Diego Chargers | W 24–20 | 3–2 | San Diego Stadium | 50,327 | Recap |
| 6 | October 23 | Baltimore Colts | W 17–3 | 4–2 | Schaefer Stadium | 60,958 | Recap |
| 7 | October 30 | New York Jets | W 24–13 | 5–2 | Schaefer Stadium | 61,042 | Recap |
| 8 | November 6 | Buffalo Bills | L 14–24 | 5–3 | Schaefer Stadium | 60,263 | Recap |
| 9 | November 13 | at Miami Dolphins | L 5–17 | 5–4 | Miami Orange Bowl | 67,502 | Recap |
| 10 | November 20 | at Buffalo Bills | W 20–7 | 6–4 | Rich Stadium | 27,598 | Recap |
| 11 | November 27 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 14–6 | 7–4 | Schaefer Stadium | 57,893 | Recap |
| 12 | December 4 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 16–10 | 8–4 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 57,911 | Recap |
| 13 | December 11 | Miami Dolphins | W 14–10 | 9–4 | Schaefer Stadium | 61,064 | Recap |
| 14 | December 18 | at Baltimore Colts | L 24–30 | 9–5 | Memorial Stadium | 42,250 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||

### Game summaries

* Week 11
* Television: CBS
* Announcers: Don Criqui, Nick Buoniconti
Steve Grogan passed for two touchdowns in the first half, and the New England defense sacked Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski eight times as the Patriots keep their faint playoff hopes alive with their win in front of a regional TV audience. Grogan hit Stanley Morgan on a scoring shot 64 yards in the first period, and then drilled a 16-yard pass to Darryl Stingley for another touchdown in the first half. The Eagles averted a shutout as Jaworski broke out of trouble and passed 12 yards to Charles Smith for a touchdown with just 52 seconds left to play.

### Standings

AFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Baltimore Colts$^{(2)}$ | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 295 | 221 | W1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 6–2 | 8–4 | 313 | 197 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 4–4 | 7–5 | 278 | 217 | L1 |
| New York Jets | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 2–6 | 2–10 | 191 | 300 | L2 |
| Buffalo Bills | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 2–6 | 2–10 | 160 | 313 | L1 |