The 1984 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 15th season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

and 25th overall. The Patriots finished the season with a record of nine wins and seven losses, and finished second in the AFC

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

Division. Head coach

Ron Meyer Ronald Shaw Meyer (February 17, 1941 – December 5, 2017) was an American college and professional football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) from 1973 to 1975 and Southern Methodist Unive ...

, 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 Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

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 Raymond Emmett Berry Jr. (born February 27, 1933) is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a split end for the Baltimore Colts from 1955 to 1967, and after several assi ...

, who had been New England's receivers coach from

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

under coaches

Chuck Fairbanks Charles Leo Fairbanks (June 10, 1933 – April 2, 2013) was an American football coach who was a head coach at the high school, college and professional levels. He served as the head coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1967 to 1972 and at th ...

and

Ron Erhardt Ronald Peter Erhardt (February 27, 1931 – March 21, 2012) was an American football coach at both the collegiate and professional levels. From 1979 to 1981 he served as head coach of the National Football League (NFL)'s New England Patriots. E ...

. 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

Staff

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Season summary

Week 1

Behind two

Steve Grogan Steven James Grogan (born July 24, 1953) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for sixteen seasons with the New England Patriots. He played college football for the Kansas Stat ...

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 The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

Point spread Spread betting is any of various types of wagering on the outcome of an event where the pay-off is based on the accuracy of the wager, rather than a simple "win or lose" outcome, such as fixed-odds (or money-line) betting or parimutuel betting. ...

: Dolphins by 6 * Over/Under: 43.0 (under) * Time of Game: 3 hours, 3 minutes 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 Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. ( ; born September 15, 1961) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He played college f ...

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 Kenneth Mason Easley Jr. (born January 15, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons from 1981 to 1987. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and w ...

ran back his interception for a 25-yard touchdown. The Seahawks scored three touchdowns marred by a missed PAT.

Tony Eason Charles Carroll "Tony" Eason IV (born October 8, 1959) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He pl ...

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 Irving Dale Fryar Sr. (born September 28, 1962) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Fryar played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and wa ...

while

Dave Krieg David Michael Krieg ( ; born October 20, 1958) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He attended Milton College in his home state of Wisconsin and made the Seattle Seaha ...

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 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Week 8 (Sunday, October 21, 1984): vs.
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

The Football Database
Retrieved 2022-Jul-09. *

: Dolphins by 4 * Over/Under: 42.0 (over) * Time of Game: 3 hours, 13 minutes

Week 9

* Source:''
Pro-Football-Reference.com

's first game as Patriots' head coach.

Standings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1984 New England Patriots Season

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

New England Patriots seasons

Sports competitions in Foxborough, Massachusetts