| As the 1988 season dawned, the controversy surrounding the Patriots' ownership was settled. Victor Kiam of Rimington Razors purchased the team from the Sullivan family. Thus ending the Sullivan's 38 year ownership of the Patriots. The Patriots were a team in transition entering the 1988 season. Three years removed from the franchise's first Superbowl appearance, the roster had few familiar names from the historic 1985 team. Steve Grogan opened as the starting QB with a wide open attack. After an easy 28-3 victory to open the season, the Patriots offense quickly fell apart and lost the next three games. Tom Ramsey was given the starting nod in week 5 against the Colts. Despite the 21-17 victory that raised the Patriots record to 2-3, Ramsey's forgetable performance saw him lose the starting QB job. After the Packers thumped the Patriots 45-3, local icon Doug Flutie was given the starting QB job. The offense and the Patriots play improved immediately after the switc. The team would win 6 of their next 8. Highlighted by Flutie's 4 touchdown passes in an easy 30-7 victory against his former team the Chicago Bears. After a 24-21 loss to the Colts dropped the Patriots behind in the wildcard race and a lackluster offensive effort in a 13-7 victory over the Seahawks, much maligned Tony Eason was given the starting job in a hope to ignite the anemic offense in the last two games. In Eason's first game, the Patriots won their first overtime game in their history by defeating the Tamp Bay Buccaneers 10-7. Heading into the final week of the season, the Patriots were in a three team scrum for the two wildcard slots. Needing a victory over the Broncos, Eason could not spark the offense and the Patriots lost to the Broncos 21-10. With the loss, the Patriots were eliminated from the playoffs. The Patriots, a team that had the second most prolific scoring attack in the NFL short years before, would have the worst passing attack in 1988. Despite Rookie of the Year John Stephens running, the erratic quarterback play would doom the team in it's playoff hunt. |
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| Passing Cmp Att Pct. Yards TDs INTs QBRtg Doug Flutie 92 179 51.4 1150 8 10 57.6 Steve Grogan 67 140 47.9 834 4 13 33.3 Tony Eason 28 43 65.1 249 0 2 60.9 Tom Ramsey 12 27 44.4 100 0 3 19.4 |
| Rushing Att. Yards AVG TDs John Stephens 297 1168 3.9 4 Rob Perryman 146 448 3.1 6 Doug Flutie 38 179 4.7 1 Reggie Dupard 52 151 2.9 2 Mosi Tatupu 22 75 3.4 2 Marvin Allen 7 40 5.7 0 Tony Eason 5 18 3.6 0 Craig James 4 15 3.8 1 Steve Grogan 6 12 2.0 1 Irving Fryar 6 12 2.0 0 Tom Ramsey 3 8 2.7 0 Jeff Feagles 1 0 0.0 0 Stanley Morgan 1- -6 -6.0 0 Receiving Rec Yards AVG TDs Reggie Dupard 34 232 6.8 0 Irving Fryar 33 490 14.8 5 Stanley Morgan 31 502 16.2 4 Cedric Jones 22 313 14.2 1 Rob Perryman 17 134 7.9 0 Craig James 14 171 12.2 0 John Stephens 14 98 7.0 0 Russ Francis 11 161 14.6 0 Lin Dawson 8 106 13.3 2 Mosi Tatupu 8 58 7.3 0 Sammy Martin 4 51 12.8 0 Willie Scott 1 8 8.0 0 Steve Johnson 1 5 5.0 0 Sean Farrell 1 4 4.0 0 Interceptions Raymond Clayborn 4; Roland James 4; Fred Marion 4; Rod McSwain 2; Johnny Rembert 2; Tim Bowman 1; Ronnie Lippett 1; Larry McGrew 1; Tim Jordan 1 Sacks Toby Williams 8; Andre Tippett 7; Johnny Rembert 3; Tim Jordan 3; Larry McGrew 2; Tim Goad 2; Garin Veris 2; Milford Hodge 1 Kicking XP XPA FG FGA PTS Jason Staurovsky 14 15 7 11 35 Teddy Garcia 11 16 6 13 29 N.Y. Jets 28-3 1-0 @Minnesota 6-36 1-1 Buffalo 14-16 1-2 @Houston 6-31 1-3 Indianapolis 21-17 2-3 @Green Bay 3-45 2-4 Cincinnati 27-21 3-4 @Buffalo 20-23 3-5 Chicago 30-7 4-5 Miami 21-10 5-5 @N.Y. Jets 14-13 6-5 @Miami 6-3 7-5 @Indianapolis 21-24 7-6 Seattle 13-7 8-6 Tampa Bay 10-7 9-6 @Denver 10-21 9-7 Offense Ranking Points: 250 (24 of 28) Run: 588-2120 (9 of 28) Pass: 2333 (28 of 28) Defense Ranking Points: 284 (5 of 28) Run: 496-2099 (19 of 28) Pass: 2801 (3 of 28) |
| AFC East W L T .Pct PF PA Bills 12 4 0 .750 329 237 Patriots 9 7 0 .563 250 284 Colts 9 7 0 .563 354 315 Jets 8 7 1 .531 372 354 Dolphins 6 10 0 .375 319 380 Wildcard Houston 24 Cleveland 23 Division Playoffs Buffalo 17 Houston 10 Cincinnati 21 Seattle 13 AFC Championship Cincinnati 21 Buffalo 10 Superbowl XXI San Francisco 20 Cincinnati 16 |
| 1988 |
| Roster QB- Tony Eason QB - Doug Flutie QB - Steve Grogan QB - Tom Ramsey HB - Marvin Allen HB - Elgin Davis HB - Reggie Dupard HB - John Stephens FB - Craig James FB - Mosi Tatupu FB - Bob Perryman WR - Irving Fryar WR - Dennis Gadbois WR - Cedric Jones WR - Sammy Martin WR - Stanley Morgan TE - Lin Dawson TE - Russ Francis TE - Steve Johnson TE - Willie Scott T - Bruce Armstrong T - TomRehder T - Danny Villa G - Paul Fairchild G - Sean Farrell G - Ron Wooten C - Pete Brock C - Mike Babb C - Trevro Matich DE - Milford Hodge DE - Edmind Nelson DE - Kenneth Sims DE - Garin Veris NT - Tim Goad NT/DE - Brent Williams NT - Toby Williams LB - Thomas Benson LB - Vincent Brown LB - Tim Jordan LB - Larry McGrew LB - Eric Naposki LB - Johnny Rembert LB - Ed Reynolds LB - Andre Tippett DB - Jim Bowman DB - Raymond Clayborn DB - Ermest Gibson DB - Darryl Holmes DB - Roland James DB - Ronnie Lippett DB - Fred Marion DB - Rod McSwain DB - Eugene Profit P - Jeff Feagles K - Teddy Garcia K - Jason Staurovsky Injury HB - Tony Collins (Suspended) LB - Ed Williams (Knee) LB - David Ward (Shoulder) |
| Pro Bowlers: LB - Andre Tippett RB - John Stephens LB - Johnny Rembert |
| 1989 |
| Coach: Raymond Berry |
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