1978 New England Patriots season 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 division . 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 . Regular season . 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 . Hosting the Colts on Monday Night Football at a rain - soaked Schaefer Stadium the Patriots were done in 34 – 27 on a one - man scoring rampage by the Colts ' Joe Washington , who scored by throwing a 54 - yard touchdown to Roger Carr , catching a 23 - yard score from Bill Troup , and after a game - tying Sam Cunningham touchdown run in the fourth returned the ensuing kick 90 yards for the game - winning touchdown . Returning to Oakland nearly six weeks after Darryl Stingley ' s near - fatal injury , the Patriots rallied from a 14 – 0 second - quarter gap by forcing three Ken Stabler interceptions and scoring 21 unanswered points by Russ Francis , Horace Ivory , and Sam Cunningham . The team visited Stingely in the Oakland - area hospital where he was still staying and his jovial banter with the team warmed their spirits enormously . In a bizarre harbinger of Spygate , the Patriots exploded for eight touchdowns – Steve Grogan threw to Harold Jackson twice ( David Posey missed the PAT on Jackson ' s second score ) , Stanley Morgan , and Russ Francis , and two rushing scores apiece by Horace Ivory and James McAlister – in a 55 – 21 slaughter of the Jets . Jets coach Walt Michaels suspected the Patriots were decifering his coaching staff ' s codes and that a rival team had tipped off the Pats to these codes – " This will never happen to us again , " Michaels stewed afterward . " I know what they did , but by the time we figured it out , it was too late . " The Patriots ' seven - game winning streak crashed to a halt as the Pats stormed to a 23 – 0 lead in the second quarter but surrendered four unaswered Houston touchdowns ( marred by two missed PATs by Toni Fritsch ) and a 26 – 23 Houston win . The Patriots crushed the Colts 35 – 14 , sacking Bill Troup eight times while snatching two Troup interceptions ( Mike Haynes scored from Baltimore ' s 36 yard line with the first INT ) for good measure . Harold Jackson , Andy Johnson , and Sam Cunningham rushed in touchdowns while Stanley Morgan caught a 75 - yard touchdown strike from Steve Grogan . Played in a snowstorm , the Patriots needed a win to clinch the AFC East . They trailed for most of this game as Ronald Hooks and Terry Miller of the Bills scored on the ground and Frank Lewis caught a 21 - yard touchdown from Joe Ferguson . The Patriots also suffered when linebackers Steve Zabel and Steve Nelson were injured . The Patriots rallied behind rushing scores by Sam Cunningham , Steve Grogan , and Horace Ivory and a safety when Tim Fox ran Bills punter Rusty Jackson out of the endzone ; Bills coach Chuck Knox allowed a safety because he feared punting out of his team ' s endzone . In the game ' s final eight seconds the Bills led 24 – 23 but David Posey kicked the winning field goal from 21 yards out , clinching a 26 – 24 win . The celebration of the AFC East title was wiped out when coach Chuck Fairbanks , who ' d been negotiating a head coaching position with the University of Colorado all season , was suspended just before New England ' s regular - season wrapup in Miami on Monday Night Football . Coordinators Hank Bullough and Ron Erhardt took over as co - head coaches for the game . The suspension of Fairbanks and elevation of Bullough and Erhardt took the team , radioman Gil Santos , and the ABC Network ' s Howard Cosell by surprise . The Patriots were crushed 23 – 3 by the Dolphins ; Steve Grogan injured his knee during the game . Despite the loss the Patriots won the division on tie - breakers over the 11 – 5 Dolphins and secured a playoff bye . To the surprise of everyone , Chuck Fairbanks was reinstated as head coach for the playoffs , but by then he had lost the respect of the locker room , and in their very first home playoff game the Patriots were massacred by the Oilers 31 – 14 behind three Dan Pastorini touchdown throws and an Earl Campbell rushing score . Steve Grogan , unable to push off on his injured knee , threw two interceptions and was knocked out of the game ; backup Tom Owen managed one touchdown ( a 24 - yard strike to Russ Francis ) while Harold Jackson caught a 24 - yard score from Andy Johnson . Following the game Fairbanks left for good amid long - running acrimony with Billy and Chuck Sullivan ; a lawsuit was settled on April 2 , 1979 that gave the Patriots $ 200 , 000 and made Fairbanks liable if he took another NFL job before 1983 , the period when his previous contract was supposed to end . Roster . All of the following players appeared in at least one game for the 1978 New England Patriots .