1975 New England Patriots: Darkness Before The Dawn

Chuck Fairbanks came to the Patriots in 1973, looking to turn around a franchise that hadn’t been a winner since the mid-1960s and was coming off a 3-11 season. Fairbanks showed immediate progress, getting five wins in ’73 and then going .500 at 7-7 a year later. But in 1975, the New England Patriots regressed. Injuries led to instability at quarterback. The result was a season that turned into a disaster–with the positive being that some of the chaos led to better days in the immediate future.

QUARTERBACK CHAOS

Jim Plunkett was the regular Patriot quarterback, but he hurt his shoulder in the preseason and kept re-injuring it when he tried to come back. Plunkett would only start five games in 1975. Fairbanks gave Neil Graff a shot at the job early, but eventually settled on rookie Steve Grogan, a fifth-round pick out of Kansas State.

Grogan showed promise. He completed 51 percent of his passes and averaged 7.2 yards-per-attempt. As you would expect from a rookie, he made too many mistakes, throwing 18 interceptions in seven starts combined with a lot of relief duty. But his 6.6% interception rate wasn’t obscenely high, as it would be today—it was merely subpar. He gave the Patriots a credible passing attack when he played.

The leading receiver was Randy Vataha, who caught 46 balls for over 700 yards. But the rising star was another rookie, tight end, Russ Francis. A first-round pick out of Oregon, Francis caught 35 passes and his 18.2 yards-per-catch was fantastic for anyone, much less a tight end.

New England’s offensive line didn’t have any Pro Bowlers this season, but they had rising stars in Leon Gray and John Hannah, both just 24-years-old. They paved the way for a running game that was split between Sam Cunningham, Andy Johnson, with a little bit of the mercurial Mack Herron mixed on.

All in all, it was enough for the Patriots to rank 14^th in a 26-team league for points scored. The offense was good enough to at least be competitive. It was the other side of the ball that the problems lay.

DEFENSIVE WOES

New England had some respectable pass rushers. Defensive end Tony McGee finished with nine sacks and tackle Sugar Bear Hamilton recorded six more. But no one else stood out. Fairbanks was one of the NFL’s early pioneers of the 3-4 defense, and he didn’t have the playmaking personnel on the edge to really disrupt offenses. His team struggled to stop the run inside, and they finished 22^nd in the league in points allowed.

A BRUTAL START

The Patriots opened the season at home against the Houston Oilers (today’s Tennessee Titans). Houston coach Bum Phillips was another advocate of the 3-4 defense and with the benefit of playing on a wet day, both defenses dominated.

New England outrushed Houston 179-116. But Graff, struggled to generate any offense and neither team could score. The difference in the game was the Patriots losing two fumbles while the Oilers only lost one—and one of New England’s lost fumbles getting taken to the house. They lost 7-0.

The Miami Dolphins were the gold standard of the AFC East. They had won four straight division titles over a stretch that included a pair of Super Bowl trophies. Miami came to New England for Week 2.

The Patriots played well early. Graff threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Vataha in the first quarter, and then flipped a five-yard TD pass to Francis in the second quarter. New England led 14-0. But Graff also threw three interceptions, the Patriots were outrushed 200-78 and they eventually lost 22-14.

A road trip to old Shea Stadium to face Joe Namath and the New York Jets was next. Plunkett made his first start. But facing a bad team, Plunkett threw three interceptions. The Patriots were outrushed 173-42. After a scoreless first quarter, they trailed 19-0 by halftime. The only bright spot of the 36-7 loss was Grogan throwing a 42-yard touchdown pass to Francis during garbage time.

New England went on the road to face a good Cincinnati Bengals team and the Pats hung in well. Herron ran for 119 yards and Cunningham added 83 more, as the ground game got going. It was a 10-10 tie in the third quarter. But while Plunkett struggled to generate offense, Bengal counterpart Ken Anderson was making big plays down the field. The Patriots faltered down the stretch and lost 27-10.

About the only bright spot that could be put on this 0-4 start was that at least the Boston Red Sox were keeping local fans occupied, as they reached the World Series. Although this loss to the Bengals came on the same day the Red Sox lost to the Cincinnati Reds in Game 2 of the Fall Classic. It really hadn’t been New England’s day against Cincinnati on any level.

SIGNS OF LIFE

The Baltimore Colts, off to a 1-3 start, came to Foxboro. Plunkett again struggled, going just 6/14 for 74 yards and New England trailed 7-0 in the second quarter. But today would be different. They would rush for 241 yards as a team. Touchdown runs by Cunningham and Johnson gave the Patriots a 14-10 lead in the fourth quarter. And Johnson’s 66-yard jaunt to the end zone sealed the 21-10 win. New England was in the win column.

Playing at home against a subpar San Francisco 49ers squad, Plunkett re-injured his should early in the game. Grogan got his chance. He made the most of it, going 12/20 for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson ran for 103 yards. The Patriots won again, 24-16.

New England traveled to St. Louis. The Cardinals were on their way to a second straight playoff appearance over in the NFC. But the Patriots gave them all they could handle. When Hamilton returned a fumble 28 yards for a score, New England led 17-7 in the third quarter. But they committed 11 penalties on the afternoon, the offense and the game eventually got away. It ended a 24-17 loss.

A road trip to play lowly San Diego gave the Patriots a chance to get back on track. Defensive back Bob Howard delivered an early Pick-6 and New England led 10-3 in the first quarter. Grogan would go 17/28 for 245 yards. Cunningham rolled up 90 yards on the ground. The Patriots just kept rolling and their lead grew to 30-9 in the third quarter before they closed out a 33-19 win.

New England was now 3-5 and playing some pretty good football. In an era where just four teams per conference made the playoffs, the postseason was off the table, but they could still do a lot of damage over the final six weeks.

FALTERING AGAIN

The Dallas Cowboys, who eventually made the Super Bowl, came to town. Plunkett was back in the lineup. While he only went 12/30, he made big plays and generated 264 yards—the kind of stat line a little more common in the 1970s than it is today. The problem is that he was sacked six times and the defense couldn’t stop the Cowboys. The Patriots trailed 34-17 before Plunkett tossed a couple of touchdown passes to the late Daryl Stingley to make the final 34-31.

Buffalo was in the hunt for the playoffs, jousting with Miami and resurgent Baltimore (an AFC East team prior to 2002). The Bills had the electric O.J. Simpson in the backfield, at a time when the Juice was simply known for being the best running back in the league. New England went to Buffalo and the result was an offensive shootout.

After falling behind 14-0, the Patriots rallied to lead 28-24 and were tied 31-31 in the fourth quarter. They were keeping O.J. under control, while Grogan went 25/46 for 365 yards. But he threw three interceptions and the Patriots lost turnovers 5-1. The Bills pulled away in the end and handed New England a 45-31 loss.

The Patriots then went to Miami for a Monday Night date, and it was no contest. New England was outrushed 199-72 and lost 20-7 in a game that was never close. While the recent schedule had been tough, the promise of just three weeks earlier seemed a distant memory.

THE FINAL COLLAPSE

It got worse by what happened at home with the Jets. New York was on their way to a miserable 3-11 campaign. But two of those wins would come at New England’s expense, the second one here. Grogan put up some numbers, 15/30 for 273 yards and Vataha caught six passes for 149 yards. Calhoun ran for 103 yards. But Grogan threw four picks in contrast to the efficiency of Joe Namath. The Patriots couldn’t stop John Riggins on the ground. They trailed 30-14 in the fourth quarter. While they scored a coupe of TDs late, in this era prior to the two-point conversion that was merely cosmetic in a 30-28 loss.

The rematch with Buffalo in Foxboro was a miserable affair. The Patriots were crushed in the trenches, losing rush yardage 349-86 and watching Grogan get sacked eight times. The result was a non-competitive 34-14 loss.

A visit to Baltimore was the last chance to leave this season with a good taste in their mouth. And it was a big game. This game would settle whether the Colts or Dolphins would win the division. Moreover, there was no wild-card possibility. New England held Miami’s fate in their hands.

To their credit, the Patriots came out and competed. Grogan went 16/35 for 201 yards. Johnson caught six passes out of the backfield for 103 yards. New England led 21-20 in the fourth quarter and had the city of Baltimore on edge. But Grogan also threw five interceptions. After the Colts took a 27-21 lead, Grogan threw a Pick-6 that effectively ended the 34-21 loss.

DARKNESS BEFORE THE DAWN

At 3-11, there’s no nice way to spin this 1975 season. The Patriots were back where they started when Fairbanks was hired.

The good news is that this was just the darkness before the dawn. New England used the high draft pick they now had to take a future Hall of Fame corner, Mike Haynes. They traded Plunkett and clearly established Grogan as their starter. And in 1976, New England did a complete 180 and went 11-3.