| After the unexpected playoff run in 1982, expectations were growing for the Patriots as the 1983 season dawned. Like the Patriots teams in the years past, the 1983 Patriots continued to display their trade mark inconsistency during the 1983 season. Despite the higher expectations, the Patriots stumbled out of the gate. In the first game, after blowing an early 14-3 lead, the Patriots hung onto a 23-20 lead late in the 4th. The Baltimore Colts tied the game at 23 to force overtime. The Patriots won the toss and began to drive for the winning score and made history. At the Colts 48, the Patriots fumbled the ball and Johnie Cooks of the Colts picked up the ball and scampered 52 yards for the game winning touchdown. For the first time in NFl history, an overtime game ended on a fumble return touchdown. After dropping the opener to the Colts, the Patriots traveled to Miami for their chief competition in the AFC East. Like the year before, while the Patriots were getting better, the Dolphins were clearly better then the Patriots. After falling behind 3-0, the Dolphins scored 27 straight points to take a 27-3 lead. A small 4th quarter rally by the Patriots cut the deficit down to 10 at 27-17, but the Dolphins responded with a touchdown to put the game out of reach and won soundly despite the relative closeness of the final score of 34-24. At 0-2, the Patriots finally began showing the potential that was expected of them. They defeated the Jets 23-13 for their first victory and then went to Pittsburgh and defeated the Steelers 28-23 on a late Steve Grogan to Stephen Starring 76 yard touchdown pass. With the record at 2-2, the Patriots were again dealt a reality check as the 49ers pounded the Patriots 33-13 and the Patriots followed that with a miserable 12-7 loss to the Colts. The roller coaster season would continue as the Patriots displayed would match their second two game losing streak of the season with another two game winning streak as the Patriots easily defeated Sand Diego 37-21 and crushed Buffalo 31-0. With a 4-4 record at midseason, the Patriots started a playoff run that was concentrated around stellar defense. The Patriots would raise their record to 6-5 with a 21-7 victory over Buffalo and a 17-6 win over Miami. Again the Patriots one step forward would be followed by two steps back and the Patriots suffered a serious blow to their playoff chances. In a 30-0 loss to the Browns, Steve Grogan would suffer a season ending injury. In rookie Tony Eason�s first start, the Jets made Tony Eason look like a rookie, as the Jets won easily 26-3. With Tony Eason struggling, the Patriots� defense rose to the occasion as they made Tony Collin�s first quarter touchdown stand in a 7-0 Patriots� victory. The Patriots� defense shutout the playoff bound Rams in the final three quarters after spotting them 7 points and Mosi Tatupu provided the offense by scoring a touchdown in each of the three remaining quarters for a 21-7 victory. With back-to-back victories, the Patriots were 8-7 and traveling to Seattle to play the Seahawks for the final playoff spot. After falling behind 10-0, Tony Eason hit Derrick Ramsey on a 33 yard pass for his first career touchdown pass; the Patriots would miss the ensuing extra point attempt and would eventually fall to the Seahawks 24-6. While the final 8-8 record fell short of where the Patriots imagined their season would end, the Patriots were heading in the right direction as Tony Collins became the second Patriots� running back to break the 1000 yard barrier as he finished the season with 1,049 yards and 10 touchdowns. |
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| Passing Cmp Att Pct. Yards TDs INTs QBRtg Steve Grogan 168-303 55.4 2411 15 12 81.4 Tony Eason 46-95 48.4 557 1 5 48.4 Mike Kerrigan 6-14 42.9 72 0 1 29.5 |
| Rushing Att. Yards AVG TDs Tony Collins 219 1049 4.8 10 Mosi Tatupu 106 578 5.5 4 Robert Weathers 73 418 5.7 1 Mark van Eeghen 95 358 3.8 2 Steve Grogan 23 108 4.7 2 Tony Eason 19 39 2.1 0 Clarence Weathers 1 28 28.0 0 Mike Kerrigan 1 14 14.0 0 Stanley Morgan 1 13 13.0 0 Receiving Rec Yards AVG TDs Stanley Morgan 58 863 14.9 2 Tony Collins 27 257 9.5 0 Derrick Ramsey 24 335 14.0 6 Robert Weathers 23 212 9.2 0 Cedric Jones 20 323 16.2 1 Clarence Weathers 19 379 19.9 3 Stephen Starring 17 389 22.9 2 Mark van Eeghen 10 102 10.2 0 Mosi Tatupu 10 97 9.7 1 Lin Dawson 9 84 9.3 1 Don Hasselbeck 1 7 7.0 0 Brooks Williams 1 0 0.0 0 Steve Grogan 1 -8 -8.0 0 Interceptions Rick Sanford 7-24-0; Roland James 5-99-0; Fred Marion 2-4-0; Don Blackmon 1-39-0; Steve Nelson 1-6-0; Larry McGrew 1-3-0; Clayton Weishuhn 0-27-1 TD Sacks Andre Tippett 8.5; Julius Adams 8.0; Dennis Owens 4.0; Don Blackmon 3.5; Larry McGrew 2.0; Toby Williams 2.0; Roland James 2.0; Johnny Rembert 2.0; Dave Browning 2.0; Clayton Weishuhn 2.0; Steve Nelson 1.0; Lester Williams 1.0; Marshall Harris 0.5; Doug Rogers 0.5 Kicking XP XPA FG FGA PTS Fred Steinfort 17 18 7 21 38 John Smith 12 15 3 6 21 Juaquin Zendejas 3 4 0 1 3 |
| AFC East W L T .Pct PF PA Dolphins 12 4 0 .750 389 250 Patriots 8 8 0 .500 274 289 Bills 8 8 0 .500 283 351 Colts 7 9 0 .438 264 354 Jets 7 9 0 .438 313 331 Wildcard Seattle 31 Denver 7 Division Playoffs Los Angeles 38 Pittsburgh 10 Seattle 27 Miami 20 AFC Championship Los Angeles 30 Seattle 14 Superbowl XIV Los Angeles 38 Washington 9 |
| 1983 |
| @Baltimore 23-29 0-1 Miami 24-34 0-2 @N.Y. Jets 23-13 1-2 Pittsburgh 28-23 2-2 @San Francisco 13-33 2-3 Baltimore 7-12 2-4 @San Diego 37-21 3-4 Buffalo 31-0 4-4 Atlanta 13-24 4-5 @Buffalo 21-7 5-5 @Miami 17-6 6-5 @Cleveland 0-30 6-6 N.Y. Jets 3-26 6-7 @New Orleans 7-0 7-7 L.A. Rams 21-7 8-7 Seattle 6-24 8-8 Offense Ranking Points: 274 (24 of 28) Run: 324-1347 (2 of 28) Pass: 1420 (27 of 28) Defense Ranking Points: 289 (3 of 28) Run: 315-1289 (25 of 28) Pass: 1691 (5 of 28) |
| Roster QB- Tony Eason QB - Steve Grogan QB - Mike Kerrigan HB - Tony Collins HB - George Peoples FB - Mosi Tatupu FB - Mark van Eeghen FB - Robert Weathers WR - Cedric Jones WR - Stanley Morgan WR - Stephen Starring WR - Clarence Weathers WR - Darryl Wilson TE - Lin Dawson TE - Derrick Ramsey TE - Brian Williams T - Bob Cryder T - Darryl Haley T - Brian Holloway T - Steve Moore G - John Hannah G - Ron Wooten C - Art Kuehn C - Dwight Wheeler C - Pete Brock DE - Julius Adams DE - Dave Browning DE - George Crump DE - Marshall Harris DE - Doug Rogers DE - Kenneth Sims DE - Toby Williams NT - Luther Henson NT - Dennis Owens NT - Lester Williams LB - Don Blackmon LB - John Gillen LB - Tim Golden LB - Brian Ingram LB - Larry McGrew LB - Steve Nelson LB - Johnny Rembert LB - Ed Reynolds LB - Andre Tippett LB - Clayton Weishun DB - Raymond Clayborn DB - Paul Dombroski DB - Roland James DB - Keith Lee Db - Ronnie Lippett DB - Fred Marion DB - Rick Sanford DB - Ricky Smith P - Rich Camarillo K - Fred Steinfort K - Jaoquin Zendejas K - John Smith Injury None |
| Pro Bowlers: G - John Hannah DB - Mike Haynes |
| Coach: Ron Meyer |
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