For much of their first two decades, the New England Patriots were hardly memorable and until 1978 had only been to the playoffs once after the AFL-NFL merger. While they were not the most talented, they had heart and desire and displayed that week in and week out all through 1978 when they set the NFL team rushing record that stood for the next 41 years. This is the story of how the Patriots gained those historic 3,165 yards.
The Season
The 1978 New England Patriots were brimming with optimism. Led by a gutsy quarterback in Steve Grogan, they had an outstanding offensive line with two All-Pro's in left tackle Leon Gray and legendary left guard John Hannah who were tutored by one of the game's greats, Jim Ringo. Of course, the bread and butter of their offense was the bevy of running backs led by bruising fullback Sam "Bam" Cunningham.
They began their season innocently enough, with a 16-14 loss to the Redskins. with both touchdowns coming through the air. While Grogan rushed five times for 35 yards, he was also sacked three times for 34 yards. Horace Ivory led the charge for the running backs, rushing 16 times for 86 yards while the rest of his backfieldmates combined to rush for 37 yards, giving the team a grand total of 161 yards on 40 attempts.
The team rebounded the following week in a 16-6 win over the Cardinals. Grogan put the team on his back in the second quarter, rushing for a five yard score and then lofting a 24-yard touchdown pass to tight end Russ Francis just before the half. The offensive line didn't allow any sacks that game as Grogan gained 19 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, Don Calhoun ran 17 times for 143 yards, including an exhilarating 73-yard scamper. The rest of the running backs ran for 107 yards to give the team an impressive 269 yards on the ground in 52 attempts. The Patriots had found their winning formula.
Or so they thought. They lost the next week to the Colts 34-27. Andy Johnson got the Patriots on the board first with a one-yard plunge into the end zone in the opening period and New England led 13-6 at the half. But the Colts were resilient and scored 20 straight points to open the fourth quarter.
New England was resilient too and answered right back with two short rushing touchdowns by Grogan and Cunningham to tie the game at 27-all. But their effort was for naught as Baltimore's Joe Washington ran back the kickoff 90 yards for the winning score.
While Grogan was sacked once for a six-yard loss, he did gain an impressive 65 yards on seven carries. Johnson led the way for the running backs with 109 hard-fought yards on 27 carries while the rest of his compadres combined to gain 32 yards. In total, the Patriots gained 206 yards on 48 carries in the loss. Still, they had found their inner fire.
The Patriots played inspired football at the Oakland Coliseum in Week 4, winning 21-14 against one of the era's toughest teams. The Raiders jumped to a 14-0 lead before the Patriots could even blink in the first quarter, but New England rebounded as Grogan found Francis on a 25-yard touchdown strike to pull his team within a single score. The Patriots took over in the second half as Ivory rumbled for a 16-yard touchdown in the third quarter and Cunningham plunged from the one in the fourth for the game-winner.
For the game, Steve Grogan ran six time for 65 yards while both Johnson (65 yards) and Cunningham (62 yards) led the way for the running backs. In total, the Patriots gained 207 yards on 41 carries against a team that Las Vegas had picked to win by a touchdown.
After that monumental upset, the Patriots started on a roll. They were forced to pass more than usual in a 28-23 win over the powerful San Diego Chargers as Grogan threw three touchdown passes to Harold Jackson and Russ Francis. He also ran for the game's deciding touchdown in the fourth quarter, adding four yards to his 21-yard performance for the day. However, he was sacked thrice for 33 yards.
Meanwhile, due to the flow of the game, none of the Patriots runners ran for more than Cunningham's 27 yards. In total, New England rushed for 101 yards on a season-low 32 carries.
The following week, the Patriots were back to their standard of play as both Calhoun (3 carries, 8 yards) and Cunningham (25 carries, 76 yards) rushed for short touchdowns in the first half of a 24-14 win over the Eagles. The line played better that day too, not allowing a single sack all afternoon as the Patriots rushed for 205 yards on 50 carries.
Week 7 tested New England's intestinal fortitude. It was s tough defensive slugfest throughout in Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium as 13 mile per hour winds rendered both team's passing attacks virtually useless, but with the game deadlocked at 3-all in the fourth quarter, Sam Cunningham's (11 carries, 19 yards) three yard dash into the end zone was all that his team needed to squeak out a win. It was his longest run of the day.
The Patriots rushed for 136 yards on 35 carries that day. A hard fought victory, indeed.
Ivory put the team on his back in the Patriots' Week 8 win over the Dolphins, rushing 15 times for 113 yards. After both Johnson and Cunningham ran for short touchdown runs inthe second quarter, Ivory ran it in from the one in the third and from the Miami 23-yard line to give New England a comfortable 31-24 lead. The Patriots' sacking legendary Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese was just the cherry on top of the 33-24 sundae.
In total, the Patriots rushed 46 times for 225 yards.
The Patriots dominated the Jets the next week, drubbing them 55-21. In first half alone, New England outscored them 41-7. After Steve Grogan began the output by throwing two touchdown passes, the running backs took care of the rest. Ivory scored from the seven and nine-yard lines in the first and second quarters respectively while James McAlister added two one-yard plunges to his resumé in the third and fourth quarters.
Still, it was Calhoun who led all runners that afternoon, rushing ten times for 89 yards. In total, the Patriots ran 43 times for 240 yards and four touchdowns in the demolition.
Ivory once again put the team on his back in Week 10, scoring both of his team's touchdowns in a 14-10 win in Buffalo as 13 mile per hour winds rendered Grogan's passing ability moot. For the day, Ivory rushed 16 times for 128 yards while Cunningham proved to be a valuable change-of-pace back by gaining 85 of the Patriots' 279 yards.
Sadly, New England's winning streak ended at Schaefer Stadium to the Houston Oilers, losing 26-23. Due to short rushing touchdowns by Ivory (8-16) and Grogan (5-22) New England even led 23-7 at the half. But the Oilers were led by one of the most intimidating running backs in the game's history, Earl Campbell. In those days, no one could stop him and by the end of the game, both he and Rob Carpenter had combined to score three touchdowns for the victors. It was a preview of how the Patriots would end their season.
New England's 144 yards rushing on 35 carries was better than Houston's, but it was misleading. The Oilers had gained eight more first downs than the Patriots, a critical factor in any game.
The Patriots bounced back the following week in New York, beating the Jets 19-17 at Shea Stadium. Once again, it was the second-year runner out of Oklahoma that gave the Patriots the boost when they needed it the most. Down by four, Horace Ivory plunged from the one-yard line to give his team a 10-7 lead at the half. Two quarters later, he gave them a 16-10 cushion by running the ball in from the 11-yard line.
It was David Posey's 24 yard field goal in the face of a 14 mile per hour wind that ultimately won the game for New England. In total, the Patriots rushed for 225 yards on 42 carries.
Although they began the contest by trading pick-6's with the Colts the following week, the Patriots settled down in Baltimore's Memorial Stadium with two rushing touchdowns and 228 yards on the ground off of just 36 carries for a critical 35-14 victory.
Dallas was a different story. In smack in the middle of the glory days of their famed Doomsday Defense, the Cowboys were not about to bow down to one of the most well-rounded rushing attacks of the day.
Or so they yearned. Sam Cunningham (14-93) started things off in a flurry, rumbling for a shocking 52-yard touchdown in the first quarter. With the team up 10-3 at the half, many in the Texas Stadium crowd wondered what was wrong with America's Team. The Cowboys were a different team in the second half, shutting out the Patriots while pulling out a 17-10 win. Despite the loss, the Patriots proved that they could hang with the big boys, outgaining the Cowboys 213 to 99 yards on the ground.
The Week 15 tilt against the Bills was a back and forth affair from start to finish, the kind of divisional game that one might expect that late in a season. After Cunningham dashed into the end zone from the four-yard line in the second quarter, Steve Grogan cut the 10-point deficit down to three in the third with a four-yard scamper of his own. Ivory's 20-yard sprint put the Patriots up for good as his team simultaneously won a hard-fought 26-24 game and their division all in the same afternoon. In the end, their effort on the ground was just as impressive, 51 carries for 249 yards.
All seemed well in the Patriots' orbit until their owner Billy Sullivan learned that their coach Chuck Fairbanks had signed a deal to become the University of Colorado's coach the following year. More than a little miffed, Sullivan suspended his head coach for the regular season finale at Miami, handing his duties over to assistant coaches Hank Bullough and Ron Erhardt.
The result was not pretty, but it did set a league record that stood for the next 41 years. New England rushed 27 times for 77 measly yards in the 23-3 loss, but those meager yards gave them 3,165 for the year. A league record that stood until the Baltimore Ravens broke it in 2019 with 3,296 yards on the turf.
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