| After the early success of the 1974 season, 1975 was suppossed to be the year the Patriots challenged for the division, but alas expectations would not be met. The NFLPA had gone on strike during training camp of 1974. The players agreed to comeback and work without a contract. Before the the final exhibition game, the Patriots took the lead and went on strike on 13 September and sat out their exhibition game. By the next Wednesday, the Redskins, Jets, Giants and Lions had also gone on strike. The NFL and NFLPA came to an agreement before the season started to start the games and at the end of the season, the Rozelle Rule, which limited player movement, was abolished and players earned new found freedom. Unfortunately for the Patriots, the strike in the last week of training camp had shaken up the young team and they would not recover in time for the season opener. The Patriots would lose 7-0 to the Oilers and proceed to lose their first four games and fall out of contention quickly. Jim Plunkett would injure his shoulder twice and be replaced by a young rookie quarterback from Kansas State named Steve Grogan. He would rally the Patriots' fans with his good play and close the Jim Plunkett era in New England. |
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| Passing Cmp Att Pct. Yards TDs INTs QBRtg Steve Grogan 139 274 50.7 1976 11 18 60.4 Jim Plunkett 36 92 39.1 571 3 7 39.7 Neil Graff 18 35 51.4 221 2 3 54.6 |
| Rushing Att. Yards AVG TDs Sam Cunningham 169 666 3.9 6 Andy Johnson 117 488 4.2 3 Don Calhoun 42 184 4.4 1 Steve Grogan 30 110 3.7 3 Allen Carter 22 95 4.3 0 Leon McQuay 33 47 1.4 0 Darryl Stingley 6 39 6.5 0 Jim Plunkett 4 7 1.8 1 Randy Vataha 1 4 4.0 0 Neil Graff 2 2 1.0 0 Bobby Anderson 1 1 1.0 0 |
| Receiving Rec Yards AVG TDs Randy Vataha 46 720 15.6 6 Russ Francis 35 636 18.1 4 Sam Cunningham 32 253 7.9 2 Andy Johnson 26 294 11.3 1 Darryll Stingley 21 378 18.0 2 Steve Burks 6 158 26.3 0 Bob Windsor 6 57 9.5 0 Don Calhoun 5 111 22.2 1 Elmo Wright 4 46 11.5 0 Leon McQuay 4 27 6.8 0 Allen Carter 2 39 19.5 0 |
| Kicking XP XPA FG FGA PTS John Smith 33 33 9 17 60 |
| Interceptions
Ron Bloton 5; Bob Howard 3, Steve Nelson 2, Deac Sabders 1; Kevin Reilly 1, George Webster 1 |
| AFC East W L T .Pct PF PA Colts 10 4 0 .714 395 269 Dolphins 10 4 0 .714 357 222 Bills 8 6 0 .571 420 355 Jets 3 11 0 .214 258 433 Patriots 3 11 0 .214 258 358 AFC Division Playoffs: Pittsburgh 28 Baltimore 10 Oakland 31 Cincinnati 28 AFC Championship Pittsburgh 16 Oakland 10 Superbowl VIII Pittsburgh 21 Dallas 17 |
| 1975 |
| Houston 0-7 0-1 Miami 14-22 0-2 @N.Y. Jets 7-36 0-3 @Cincinnati 10-27 0-4 Baltimore 21-10 1-4 San Francisco 24-16 2-4 @St. Louis 17-24 2-5 @San Diego 33-19 3-5 Dallas 31-34 3-6 @Buffalo 31-45 3-7 @Miami 7-20 3-8 N.Y. Jets 28-30 3-9 Buffalo 14-34 3-10 @Baltimore 21-34 3-11 |
| Roster QB - Neil Graff QB - Steve Grogan QB - Jim Plunkett HB - Don Calhoun HB - Andy Johnson HB - Leon McQuay HB/FB - Bobby Anderson FB - Allen Carter FB - Sam Cunningham WR - Steve Burks WR - Darryl Stingley WR - Randy Vataha WR - Elmo Wright TE - Russ Francis TE - Bob Windsor T - Leon Gray T - Shelby Jordan G - Sam Adams G - Steve Corbett G - Bill DuLac G - John Hannah C - Doug Dumler C - Bill Lenkaitis DE - Julius Adams DE - Craig Hanneman DE - Mel Lunsford DE - Tony McGee DE - Martin Imhoff NT - Pete Cusick NT - Ray Hamilton DT - Jerry Patton DT - Dave Tipton LB - Maury Damkroger LB - Bob Geddes LB - Sam Hunt LB - Steve King LB - Steve Nelson LB - Kevin Reilly LB - Rod Shoate LB - George Webster LB - Steve Zabel DB - Ron Bolton DB - Dick Conn DB - Bob Howard DB - Durwood Keeton DB - Jim Massey DB - Prentice McCray DB - Deac Snaders P - Mike Patrick K - John Smith Injury NT - Art Moore (Knee) T - Tom Neville (Broken Leg) HB - Joe Wilson (Ankle) WR - Al Marshall (Knee) FB - Leon Crosswhite (Foot) |
| Offense Ranking Points: 258 (14T of 26) Run: 472-1845 (16 of 26) Pass: 2768 (8 of 26) Defense Ranking Points: 358 (22 of 26) Run: 555-2220 (19 of 26) Pass: 2515 (12 of 26) |
| Pro Bowlers: None |
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| Coach: Chuck Fairbanks |
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