1978 New England Patriots Roster
National Football League (NFL)
Team Record: 11-5
Finishing 1st in the NFL's East Division of the American Football Conference
Lost Division Playoff
Coach: Hank Bullough (0-1)
Coach: Ron Erhardt (0-1)
Coach: Chuck Fairbanks (11-4)
Location: Foxborough, Massachusetts
1978 New England Patriots StatisticsTeam Record: 11-5
Finishing 1st in the NFL's East Division of the American Football Conference
Lost Division Playoff
Coach: Hank Bullough (0-1)
Coach: Ron Erhardt (0-1)
Coach: Chuck Fairbanks (11-4)
Location: Foxborough, Massachusetts
1978 New England Patriots Results
The New England Patriots of the National Football League ended the 1978 season with a record of 11 wins and 5 losses, finishing first in the NFL's East Division of the American Football Conference.
The Patriots piled up points with 358 points, while the defense yielded 286. Sam Cunningham rushed for a team-best 768 yards for New England, while Andy Johnson and Horace Ivory additionally aided the ground game.
Steve Grogan passed for 2,824 yards. Russ Francis caught 39 passes, while Stanley Morgan accumulated 820 receiving yards, while Harold Jackson and Sam Cunningham provided receiving help, too.
Mike Haynes picked off 6 errant tosses from the opposition.
Hank Bullough, Ron Erhardt and Chuck Fairbanks coached the team. The 1978 New England Patriots lost in the Division Playoff.
Click on column headings to sort.
| # | Player | Pos. | Birth Date | Height | Weight | College | Hometown | GP | GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | Julius Adams | DE | April 26, 1948 | 6'3" | 270 | Texas Southern | Macon, GA USA | 1 | 1 |
| 61 | Sam Adams | RG | September 20, 1948 | 6'3" | 256 | Prairie View | Jasper, TX USA | 16 | 16 |
| 27 | Doug Beaudoin | SS | May 15, 1954 | 6'1" | 193 | Minnesota | Dickinson, ND USA | 15 | 13 |
| 64 | Richard Bishop | RDE | March 23, 1950 | 6'1" | 275 | Louisville | Cleveland, OH USA | 16 | 15 |
| 65 | Greg Boyd | DE | September 15, 1952 | 6'6" | 274 | San Diego St. | Merced, CA USA | 10 | 0 |
| 58 | Pete Brock | C-T-G | July 14, 1954 | 6'5" | 267 | Colorado | Portland, OR USA | 15 | 0 |
| 21 | Sidney Brown | DB | January 27, 1956 | 6'0" | 186 | Oklahoma | New Orleans, LA USA | 16 | 0 |
| 44 | Don Calhoun | RB | April 29, 1952 | 6'0" | 206 | Kansas St. | Muskogee, OK USA | 14 | 2 |
| 82 | Al Chandler | TE | November 18, 1950 | 6'2" | 233 | Oklahoma | Oklahoma City, OK USA | 4 | 0 |
| 26 | Raymond Clayborn | KR | January 2, 1955 | 6'0" | 186 | Texas | Fort Worth, TX USA | 16 | 16 |
| 22 | Dick Conn | DB | January 9, 1951 | 6'0" | 185 | Georgia | Louisville, KY USA | 15 | 0 |
| 55 | Ray Costict | LB | March 19, 1955 | 6'0" | 217 | Mississippi St. | Moss Point, MS USA | 16 | 3 |
| 75 | Bob Cryder | T-G | September 7, 1956 | 6'4" | 275 | Alabama | East St. Louis, IL USA | 5 | 0 |
| 39 | Sam Cunningham | FB | August 15, 1950 | 6'3" | 226 | USC | Santa Barbara, CA USA | 16 | 14 |
| 68 | Terry Falcon | G-T | August 30, 1955 | 6'3" | 260 | Minot St. | Culbertson, MT USA | 8 | 0 |
| 48 | Tim Fox | FS | November 1, 1953 | 5'11" | 186 | Ohio St. | Canton, OH USA | 16 | 16 |
| 81 | Russ Francis | TE | April 3, 1953 | 6'6" | 240 | Oregon | Seattle, WA USA | 15 | 15 |
| 70 | Leon Gray | LT | November 15, 1951 | 6'3" | 256 | Jackson St. | Olive Branch, MS USA | 16 | 16 |
| 14 | Steve Grogan | QB | July 24, 1953 | 6'4" | 210 | Kansas St. | San Antonio, TX USA | 16 | 16 |
| 71 | Ray Hamilton | NT | January 20, 1951 | 6'1" | 244 | Oklahoma | Omaha, NE USA | 16 | 16 |
| 73 | John Hannah | LG | April 4, 1951 | 6'2" | 265 | Alabama | Canton, GA USA | 16 | 16 |
| 80 | Don Hasselbeck | TE | April 1, 1955 | 6'7" | 245 | Colorado | Cincinnati, OH USA | 16 | 4 |
| 59 | Mike Hawkins | LB | October 29, 1955 | 6'2" | 235 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | Bay City, TX USA | 12 | 0 |
| 40 | Mike Haynes | RCB | July 1, 1953 | 6'2" | 192 | Arizona St. | Denison, TX USA | 16 | 16 |
| 63 | Ernie Holmes | DT-NT | July 11, 1948 | 6'3" | 260 | Texas Southern | Jamestown, TX USA | 3 | 0 |
| 50 | Sam Hunt | RILB | August 6, 1951 | 6'1" | 248 | S.F. Austin | Longview, TX USA | 15 | 15 |
| 23 | Horace Ivory | RB | August 8, 1954 | 6'0" | 197 | Oklahoma | Fort Worth, TX USA | 15 | 3 |
| 29 | Harold Jackson | WR | January 6, 1946 | 5'10" | 175 | Jackson St. | Hattiesburg, MS USA | 16 | 13 |
| 32 | Andy Johnson | RB | October 18, 1952 | 6'0" | 204 | Georgia | Athens, GA USA | 15 | 13 |
| 74 | Shelby Jordan | RT | January 23, 1952 | 6'7" | 260 | Washington (MO) | St. Louis, MO USA | 16 | 16 |
| 52 | Steve King | LOLB | June 10, 1951 | 6'4" | 232 | Tulsa | McAlester, OK USA | 16 | 5 |
| 53 | Merv Krakau | LB | May 16, 1951 | 6'2" | 242 | Iowa St. | Jefferson, IA USA | 1 | 0 |
| 67 | Bill Lenkaitis | C | June 30, 1946 | 6'4" | 255 | Penn St. | Cleveland, OH USA | 16 | 16 |
| 7 | Nick Lowery | K | May 27, 1956 | 6'4" | 215 | Dartmouth | Munich, Germany | 2 | 0 |
| 72 | Mel Lunsford | LDE | June 13, 1950 | 6'3" | 256 | Central State (OH) | Cincinnati, OH USA | 16 | 15 |
| 37 | James McAlister | RB | September 5, 1951 | 6'1" | 205 | UCLA | Little Rock, AR USA | 16 | 0 |
| 34 | Prentice McCray | DB | March 1, 1951 | 6'1" | 188 | Arizona St. | Los Angeles, CA USA | 8 | 3 |
| 78 | Tony McGee | DE | January 18, 1949 | 6'4" | 250 | Wyoming | Battle Creek, MI USA | 16 | 1 |
| 66 | Bob McKay | T-G | December 27, 1947 | 6'5" | 260 | Texas | Seminole, TX USA | 12 | 0 |
| 86 | Stanley Morgan | PR | February 17, 1955 | 5'11" | 181 | Tennessee | Easley, SC USA | 16 | 16 |
| 57 | Steve Nelson | LILB | April 26, 1951 | 6'2" | 230 | Augsburg | Farmington, MN USA | 14 | 14 |
| 17 | Tom Owen | QB | September 1, 1952 | 6'1" | 195 | Wichita St. | Shreveport, LA USA | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | Mike Patrick | P | September 6, 1952 | 6'0" | 209 | Mississippi St. | Austin, TX USA | 1 | 0 |
| 88 | Carlos Pennywell | WR | March 18, 1956 | 6'2" | 180 | Grambling St. | Crowley, LA USA | 16 | 0 |
| 9 | David Posey | K | April 1, 1956 | 5'11" | 167 | Florida | Painesville, OH USA | 11 | 0 |
| 76 | Greg Schaum | DE | January 1, 1954 | 6'4" | 246 | Michigan St. | Baltimore, MD USA | 14 | 0 |
| 56 | Rod Shoate | ROLB | April 26, 1953 | 6'1" | 214 | Oklahoma | Spiro, OK USA | 15 | 15 |
| 1 | John Smith | K | December 30, 1949 | 6'0" | 186 | King Alfred's (England) | Leafield, England | 3 | 0 |
| 63 | Fred Sturt | G | January 6, 1951 | 6'4" | 255 | Bowling Green | Toledo, OH USA | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | Mosi Tatupu | RB | April 26, 1955 | 6'0" | 227 | USC | Pago Pago, American Samoa | 16 | 0 |
| 83 | Don Westbrook | WR | November 1, 1952 | 5'10" | 185 | Nebraska | Cheyenne, WY USA | 16 | 0 |
| 62 | Dwight Wheeler | T-C-G | January 13, 1955 | 6'3" | 269 | Tennessee St. | Memphis, TN USA | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | Jerrel Wilson | P | October 4, 1941 | 6'2" | 222 | Southern Miss | New Orleans, LA USA | 14 | 0 |
| 54 | Steve Zabel | LOLB | March 20, 1948 | 6'4" | 235 | Oklahoma | Minneapolis, MN USA | 11 | 11 |
