1986 New England Patriots season

The 1986 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 17th season in the National Football League and 27th overall. The Patriots matched their 11–5 record from the previous season, but this time they finished first in the AFC East, thus winning the division title. This would be the last AFC East Division title the Patriots would win until 1996 and their last playoff appearance until 1994. In the Divisional Round of the playoffs the Denver Broncos defeated the New England Patriots 22–17.

1986 New England Patriots season
Owner	Billy Sullivan
General manager	Patrick Sullivan
Head coach	Raymond Berry
Home field	Sullivan Stadium
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	1st AFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Broncos) 17–22
Pro Bowlers	CB Raymond Clayborn K Tony Franklin WR Stanley Morgan SpT Mosi Tatupu LB Andre Tippett
AP All-Pros	K Tony Franklin (2nd team) WR Stanley Morgan (2nd team) LB Andre Tippett (2nd team)

Staff

New England Patriots 1986 staff
Front office President – Billy Sullivan Executive vice president – Chuck Sullivan Vice-president – Bucko Kilroy General manager – Patrick Sullivan Director of player development – Dick Steinberg Director of college scouting – Joe Mendes Director of pro scouting – Bill McPeak Head coaches Head coach – Raymond Berry Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/receivers – Les Steckel Quarterbacks/special assistant to the head coach – John Polonchek Offensive backfield – Bobby Grier Receivers – Harold Jackson Assistant head coach/offensive line – Rod Humenuik			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Rod Rust Defensive line – Eddie Khayat Assistant defensive line – Ray Hamilton Linebackers – Don Shinnick Defensive backfield – Jim Carr Special teams coaches Special teams/tight ends – Dante Scarnecchia Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Dean Brittenham

Roster

1986 New England Patriots roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 11 Tony Eason 14 Steve Grogan 12 Tom Ramsey Running backs (RB) 30 Mosi Tatupu 32 Craig James 33 Tony Collins 21 Reggie Dupard 24 Robert Weathers Wide receivers (WR) 80 Irving Fryar 83 Cedric Jones 86 Stanley Morgan 81 Stephen Starring 82 Derwin Williams Tight ends (TE) 27 Greg Hawthorne 48 Greg Baty 88 Willie Scott

Offensive linemen (OL) 62 Bill Bain T/G 58 Pete Brock C 66 Paul Fairchild G 76 Brian Holloway T 64 Trevor Matich C 67 Steve Moore T 75 Guy Morriss C 61 Ron Wooten G 68 Darryl Haley T Defensive linemen (DL) 60 Garin Veris DE 96 Brent Williams DE 77 Kenneth Sims DE 99 Ben Thomas DE 90 Toby Williams NT 98 Dennis Owens NT 97 Milford Hodge

Linebackers (LB) 56 Andre Tippett 55 Don Blackmon 57 Steve Nelson 95 Ed Reynolds 50 Larry McGrew 52 Johnny Rembert 59 Steve Doig 54 Ed Williams 94 Mel Black Defensive backs (DB) 38 Roland James SS 42 Ronnie Lippett CB 31 Fred Marion FS 26 Raymond Clayborn CB 22 Gene Profit 23 Rod McSwain 43 Ernest Gibson 25 Vencie Glenn 28 Jim Bowman Special teams  3 Rich Camarillo P  1 Tony Franklin K

Reserve 51 Brian Ingram LB (IR) -- Mark Keel TE (IR) 70 Art Plunkett T (IR) 65 Mike Ruth NT (IR) 53 Clayton Weishuhn LB (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	Indianapolis Colts	W 33–3	1–0	Sullivan Stadium	55,208
2	at New York Jets	W 20–6	2–0	Giants Stadium	72,422
3	Seattle Seahawks	L 31–38	2–1	Sullivan Stadium	58,977
4	at Denver Broncos	L 20–27	2–2	Mile High Stadium	75,804
5	Miami Dolphins	W 34–7	3–2	Sullivan Stadium	60,689
6	New York Jets	L 24–31	3–3	Sullivan Stadium	60,342
7	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 34–0	4–3	Three Rivers Stadium	54,743
8	at Buffalo Bills	W 23–3	5–3	Rich Stadium	77,808
9	Atlanta Falcons	W 25–17	6–3	Sullivan Stadium	60,597
10	at Indianapolis Colts	W 30–21	7–3	Hoosier Dome	56,890
11	at Los Angeles Rams	W 30–28	8–3	Anaheim Stadium	64,339
12	Buffalo Bills	W 22–19	9–3	Sullivan Stadium	60,455
13	at New Orleans Saints	W 21–20	10–3	Superdome	58,259
14	Cincinnati Bengals	L 7–31	10–4	Sullivan Stadium	60,633
15	San Francisco 49ers	L 24–29	10–5	Sullivan Stadium	60,787
16	at Miami Dolphins	W 34–27	11–5	Orange Bowl	74,516
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Round	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
Divisional	at Denver Broncos (2)	L 17–22	0–1	Mile High Stadium	76,105

Game summaries

Week 8

1 2 3 4 Total • Patriots 7 10 3 3 23 Bills 0 0 3 0 3 Date: October 26 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C); wind 7 mph (11 km/h) Referee: Bob McElwee

Scoring summary Q1 NE James 2 yard run (Franklin kick) NE 7–0 Q2 NE Franklin 31 yard field goal NE 10–0 Q2 NE Weathers 16 yard run (Franklin kick) NE 17–0 Q3 BUF Norwood 26 yard field goal NE 17–3 Q3 NE Franklin 27 yard field goal NE 20–3 Q4 NE Franklin 26 yard field goal NE 23–3

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
New England Patriots(3)	11	5	0	.688	7–1	8–4	412	307	W1
New York Jets(4)	10	6	0	.625	6–2	8–4	364	386	L5
Miami Dolphins	8	8	0	.500	5–3	6–6	430	405	L1
Buffalo Bills	4	12	0	.250	1–7	3–11	287	348	L3
Indianapolis Colts	3	13	0	.188	1–7	2–10	229	400	W3

See also

• New England Patriots seasons