1975 New England Patriots season

1975 New England Patriots season
1975 New England Patriots season
Owner	Billy Sullivan
Head coach	Chuck Fairbanks
General manager	Chuck Fairbanks
Home field	Schaefer Stadium
Results
Record	3–11
Division place	T-4th AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None
AP All-Pros	None
	← 1974; Patriots seasons; 1976 →;

The 1975 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 6th season in the National Football League and 16th overall. The Patriots ended the season with a record of three wins and eleven losses, and finished tied for fourth in the AFC East Division. The Patriots had put up their best season in nearly a decade in 1974, finishing the year with a 7-7 record and earning their first season with at least a .500 winning percentage since 1966. However, New England continued its forgetful period of the '70s, as they finished 3–11 and missed the playoffs for the 12th straight season. New England started terribly, losing its first 4 games, each by 7 or more points. After winning 3 of their next 4 games, the Patriots would lose their final 6 games to conclude the season. Although they tied the New York Jets for last place in the AFC East, they lost the tiebreaker by virtue of New York winning both matchups during the season.

Staff[]

**1975 New England Patriots staff**

	Front office President – Executive vice president – Assistant general manager – Peter Hadhazy Director of player personnel – Bucko Kilroy Assistant personnel director – J. I. Albrecht Head coaches Head coach/general manager – Chuck Fairbanks Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/special assistant to the head coach – Offensive backfield – Ron Erhardt Receivers – Ray Perkins Offensive line – Red Miller Offensive assistant – Ernie Adams			Defensive coaches Defensive line – Hank Bullough Outside linebackers – Rollie Dotsch Linebackers/secondary – Charlie Sumner Defensive backfield – Special teams coaches Special teams – Jim Valek

Roster[]

**1975 New England Patriots roster**

	Quarterbacks 15 Neil Graff 14 Steve Grogan 16 Jim Plunkett Running backs 33 Bobby Anderson 21 Allen Carter 39 Sam Cunningham 32 Andy Johnson 31 Leon McQuay Wide receivers 83 Melvin Baker 84 Darryl Stingley 18 Randy Vataha 17 Elmo Wright Tight ends 81 Russ Francis 86 Bob Windsor		Offensive linemen 61 Sam Adams Sr. G 62 Steve Corbett G 68 Bill DuLac G 58 Doug Dumler C 70 Leon Gray T 73 John Hannah G 63 Shelby Jordan T 67 Bill Lenkaitis C 77 Tom Neville T Defensive linemen 85 Julius Adams DE 76 DT 71 Ray Hamilton DT 74 Craig Hanneman DT 72 Mel Lunsford DE 78 Tony McGee DE 60 David Tipton DT 75 DT		Linebackers 51 Maury Damkroger 50 Sam Hunt 52 Steve King 57 Steve Nelson 55 Kevin Reilly 56 Rod Shoate 90 George Webster 54 Steve Zabel Defensive backs 27 Ron Bolton CB 22 Dick Conn 24 Bob Howard CB 29 Durwood Keeton 47 34 Prentice McCray SS 25 John Sanders FS Special teams 2 Mike Patrick P 1 John Smith K		Reserve lists {{{reserve_lists}}} Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Game Recap
1	September 21	Houston Oilers	L 0–7	0–1	Schaefer Stadium	51,934	Recap
2	September 28	Miami Dolphins	L 14–22	0–2	Schaefer Stadium	60,602	Recap
3	October 5	at New York Jets	L 7–36	0–3	Shea Stadium	57,365	Recap
4	October 12	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 10–27	0–4	Riverfront Stadium	51,220	Recap
5	October 19	Baltimore Colts	W 21–10	1–4	Schaefer Stadium	51,417	Recap
6	October 26	San Francisco 49ers	W 24–16	2–4	Schaefer Stadium	60,358	Recap
7	November 2	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 17–24	2–5	Busch Memorial Stadium	45,907	Recap
8	November 9	at San Diego Chargers	W 33–19	3–5	San Diego Stadium	24,349	Recap
9	November 16	Dallas Cowboys	L 31–34	3–6	Schaefer Stadium	60,905	Recap
10	November 23	at Buffalo Bills	L 31-45	3–7	Rich Stadium	65,655	Recap
11	December 1	at Miami Dolphins	L 7–20	3–8	Miami Orange Bowl	61,963	Recap
12	December 7	New York Jets	L 28–30	3–9	Schaefer Stadium	53,989	Recap
13	December 14	Buffalo Bills	L 14–34	3–10	Schaefer Stadium	58,393	Recap
14	December 21	at Baltimore Colts	L 21–34	3–11	Memorial Stadium	48,678	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings[]

AFC East
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Baltimore Colts⁽³⁾	10	4	0	.714	6–2	8–3	395	269	W9
Miami Dolphins	10	4	0	.714	6–2	7–4	357	222	W1
Buffalo Bills	8	6	0	.571	5–3	7–4	420	355	L1
New York Jets	3	11	0	.214	2–6	3–8	258	433	L2
New England Patriots	3	11	0	.214	1–7	2–9	258	358	L6

v t New England Patriots
Founded in 1960 Formerly the Boston Patriots (1960–1970) Based and headquartered in Foxborough, Massachusetts
Franchise	Franchise History Hall of Fame Patriot Place Seasons Players Coaches First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Strategy Broadcasters
Stadiums	Nickerson Field Fenway Park Alumni Stadium Harvard Stadium Foxboro Stadium Gillette Stadium
Culture	Billy Sullivan Robert Kraft Jonathan Kraft Pat Patriot Cheerleaders "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" "Crazy Train" "Your Love" Patriot Reign Family Guy "Patriot Games" "3 Acts of God" "Gronkowsbees" "This Is Our House" "Stunning and Brave" "Turd Burglars"
Lore	Snowplow Game St. Louis Stallions Brady–Belichick era Tuck Rule Game 2006 playoff game vs. San Diego Chargers 16–0 Spygate 2007 game vs. New York Giants Helmet Catch Butt Fumble Deflategate The Butler Pick Colts Catastrophe 28–3 Philly Special Miracle in Miami Brady's first game against the Patriots
Rivalries	Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Denver Broncos Indianapolis Colts Miami Dolphins New York Giants New York Jets Pittsburgh Steelers Brady–Manning rivalry
Division championships (22)	1963 1978 1986 1996 1997 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Conference championships (11)	1985 1996 2001 2003 2004 2007 2011 2014 2016 2017 2018
League championships (6)	2001 (XXXVI) 2003 (XXXVIII) 2004 (XXXIX) 2014 (XLIX) 2016 (LI) 2018 (LIII)
Retired numbers	20 40 56 57 73 78 79 89
Media	Broadcasters WBZ-FM Radio network Gil Santos Gino Cappelletti Bob Socci Scott Zolak
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1970–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: East Division
Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1960–1969)

v t New England Patriots seasons
Formerly the Boston Patriots (1960–1970)
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Bold indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance