1993 New England Patriots season

The 1993 New England Patriots season was the franchise’s 34th season overall and 24th in the National Football League. The Patriots finished fourth in the AFC East Division with a record of five wins and eleven losses.

1993 New England Patriots season
OwnerJames Orthwein
Head coachBill Parcells
Home fieldFoxboro Stadium
Results
Record5–11
Division place4th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersNone
AP All-ProsNone
Uniform

Season summary

Amid year-long rumors that the team would move to St. Louis and become the Stallions (even to the point of a team logo being unveiled and hats being printed), the Patriots ran through the year, the first for coach Bill Parcells, who’d been a linebackers coach in Foxboro in 1980 under Ron Erhardt. The Patriots drafted Drew Bledsoe as the #1 pick and he was named starter.

Sweeping changes had been made in the organization before the season. All coaches from the 1992 season with the exception of Dante Scarnecchia and Bobby Grier were fired and replaced with new ones. Scarnecchia would become a special assistant while Grier would move to the front office. The roster had undergone substantial changes; among the holdovers from the 1992 season were Marv Cook, Ben Coates, Kevin Turner, Michael Timpson, Sam Gash, Greg McMurtry, Vincent Brown, Maurice Hurst, Leonard Russell, Bruce Armstrong, Mike Arthur, and Pat Harlow. The 1993 season was also the first season the current Patriots logo and font was used (though the current variation would undergo a color change in 2000).

The Patriots lost their first four games, even after forcing overtime against the Lions and seeing a last-minute field goal attempt against Seattle bounce off the crossbar. In Week 5 Bledsoe was injured, Scott Secules was named the starting quarterback, and won the game with two passing touchdowns passing and one rushing score in the team's 23–21 win over the Cardinals. Scott Secules was then benched after a 28–14 loss to the Oilers. Bledsoe started for the Patriots, who however lost seven straight before eking out a 7–2 win against the Bengals (it was the last occurrence until the 2011 Falcons of a team scoring only a safety in an NFL game).[1] This win was followed by a 20–17 win over the Cleveland Browns – coached by Parcells’ longtime assistant Bill Belichick – and a 38–0 massacre of the Indianapolis Colts in brutal windchill.

The season ended on January 2, 1994, with many in the sellout crowd at Foxboro Stadium believing it would be the final ever game for the New England Patriots before moving to St. Louis. The finale itself became one of the most dramatic games in the club’s history. The Patriots were hosting the Dolphins, who with champion quarterback Dan Marino out for the season after Week Five, had not won since Thanksgiving Day against the Dallas Cowboys and required a win to make the playoffs. The Patriots led 10–7 at halftime and twice stopped the Dolphins on downs, but early in the third a Bledsoe fumble led to a Dolphins field goal. A blocked punt by the Dolphins’ Darrell Malone led to a touchdown by Scott Mitchell to Mark Ingram. The game lead tied or changed five times in the fourth quarter. In the fourth the Dolphins completed a drive ending in a Terry Kirby touchdown run, this despite Andre Tippett's sack of Mitchell for a ten-yard loss – it was the 100th career sack for the future Hall Of Fame linebacker.

In the final 3:40 Bledsoe drove the Patriots down to a Ben Coates touchdown catch, but the Dolphins forced overtime on a Pete Stoyanovich field goal. In the overtime the Dolphins punted after Chris Slade forced a fumble, then Bledsoe was picked off by J.B. Brown before the Dolphins had to punt again. Vincent Brisby caught a ten-yard pass but fumbled; teammate Leonard Russell recovered the ball and ran 22 yards; Bledsoe then absorbed a Dolphins blitz and launched a 36-yard touchdown to Michael Timpson, ending a wild 33–27 Patriots win. This finished their season at 5–11, but with four straight wins and eliminating the Dolphins from the playoffs as a finale.

The win over Miami marked only the sixth time that the Pats had defeated a team with a winning record in a span of almost five years dating back to week 1 of 1989.

As it turned out, the Patriots would not be leaving for the Midwest after all. Despite owner James Orthwein’s best efforts, Foxboro Stadium owner Robert Kraft was unwilling to let the team out of its lease, which ran through the end of the 2001 season. An effort by Orthwein to buy his way out of the terms of the lease was rejected outright by Kraft; since Orthwein had intended to relocate the Patriots when he purchased the team from Victor Kiam before the previous season, and Kraft said he would challenge any relocation bid in court, he was left with little choice but to put the team up for sale since he no longer desired to do business in New England. Kraft would make a bid for the franchise that would eventually be accepted, and the Patriots remained in Foxborough.

Offseason

1993 NFL Draft
Main article: 1993 NFL Draft
1993 New England Patriots Draft selections
RoundOverallPlayerPositionCollege
11Drew BledsoeQuarterbackWashington State
231Chris SladeDefensive endVirginia
251Todd RucciTacklePenn State
256Vincent BrisbyWide receiverN.E. Louisiana
486Kevin JohnsonDefensive tackleTexas Southern
4110Corwin BrownStrong SafetyMichigan
5113Scott SissonKickerGeorgia Tech
5138Rich GriffithTight endArizona
6142Lawrence HatchCornerbackFlorida
8198Troy BrownWide receiverMarshall

Staff
1993 New England Patriots staff
Front office
  • Chairman of the Board – James Orthwein
  • Vice Chairman of the Board – Michael O'Hallaron
  • Executive Vice President of Football Operations – Patrick Forte
  • Vice President – Bucko Kilroy
  • Director of College Scouting – Charley Armey
  • Director of Pro Scouting – Bobby Grier

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Mike Sweatman

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Johnny Parker

[2]

Roster
1993 New England Patriots roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad

  • 90 Bryan Hooks DT


Rookies in italics

[3]

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 5, 1993 at Buffalo Bills L 14-38
79,751
2 September 12, 1993 Detroit Lions L 16–19 (OT)
54,151
3 September 19, 1993 Seattle Seahawks L 14–17
50,392
4 September 26, 1993 at New York Jets L 7–45
64,836
5 Bye
6 October 10, 1993 at Phoenix Cardinals W 23–21
36,115
7 October 17, 1993 Houston Oilers L 14-28
51,037
8 October 24, 1993 at Seattle Seahawks L 9-10
56,526
9 October 31, 1993 at Indianapolis Colts L 6-9
46,522
10 November 7, 1993 Buffalo Bills L 10-13
54,326
11 Bye
12 November 21, 1993 at Miami Dolphins L 13-17
59,982
13 November 28, 1993 New York Jets L 0–6*
42,810
14 December 5, 1993 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 14-17
51,358
15 December 12, 1993 Cincinnati Bengals W 7–2
29,794
16 December 19, 1993 at Cleveland Browns W 20–17
48,618
17 December 26, 1993 Indianapolis Colts W 38–0
26,571
18 January 2, 1994 Miami Dolphins W 33–27 (OT)
53,883

Standings
AFC East
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(1) Buffalo Bills 12 4 0 .750 329 242 W4
Miami Dolphins 9 7 0 .563 349 351 L5
New York Jets 8 8 0 .500 270 247 L3
New England Patriots 5 11 0 .313 238 286 W4
Indianapolis Colts 4 12 0 .250 189 378 L4

References
  1. All Game Scores in Pro Football History Archived May 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  2. "1993 Club Directory, Administration, and Coaching Staff". 1993 New England Patriots Media Guide. pp. 2, 4–20.
  3. "1993 New England Patriots starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
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