1998 New England Patriots season

1998 New England Patriots season
Head coach	Pete Carroll
Owner	Robert Kraft
Home field	Foxboro Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	4th AFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Jaguars) 25–10
Pro Bowlers	TE Ben Coates CB Ty Law SS Lawyer Milloy
AP All-Pros	CB Ty Law (1st team) TE Ben Coates (2nd team) SS Lawyer Milloy (2nd team)

The 1998 New England Patriots season was the 29th season for the team in the National Football League and 39th season overall. They finished with a 9–7 record, good for fourth place in the division but also a playoff berth; they lost in the first round to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

In the offseason, the Patriots tendered restricted free agent running back Curtis Martin with the highest possible tender, which would return the Patriots first- and third-round draft picks if any team were to sign him and the Patriots were to decide not to match the offer. Fueling the rivalry between the two teams, the New York Jets and head coach Bill Parcells, who had resigned from the Patriots two years earlier, signed Martin, the 1995 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and per restricted free agency rules ceded their first- and third-round picks in the 1998 NFL Draft to the Patriots.^[1] With the first-round pick the Patriots selected another running back Robert Edwards, who rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign. Suffering a broken finger in November,^[2] veteran quarterback Drew Bledsoe was unable to start the team's final two regular season games and was replaced by Scott Zolak.^[3] With a 9–7 record the Patriots finished fourth in the AFC East but earned a sixth seed in the AFC playoffs. With Zolak still at the helm, the Patriots were defeated on the road by the Jacksonville Jaguars, the second straight playoff defeat for second-year head coach Pete Carroll, and as of 2015 the only game the Patriots have ever lost to the Jaguars.^[4]

1998 NFL Draft

1998 New England Patriots Draft Selections

Round	Overall	Player	Position	College
1[5]	18	Robert Edwards	Running back	Georgia
1	22	Tebucky Jones	Safety	Syracuse
2[6]	52	Tony Simmons	Wide receiver	Wisconsin
2	54	Rod Rutledge	Tight end	Alabama
3[7]	81	Chris Floyd	Fullback	Michigan
3	83	Greg Spires	Defensive end	Florida State
4	115	Leonta Rheams	Defensive tackle	Houston
5	145	Ron Merkerson	Linebacker	Colorado
6	176	Harold Shaw	Fullback	Southern Miss
7	211	Jason Andersen	Offensive guard	BYU

Staff

New England Patriots 1998 staff
Front Office Chairman/CEO – Robert Kraft Vice President – Jonathan Kraft Vice President of Business Operations – Andy Wasynczuk Vice President of Player Personnel – Bobby Grier Director of College Scouting – Larry Cook Director of Pro Scouting – Dave Uyrus Assistant Director of Pro Scouting – Andre Tippett Head Coaches Head Coach – Pete Carroll Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator – Ernie Zampese Quarterbacks – Jack Reilly Running Backs – Kirby Wilson Wide Receivers – Steve Walters Tight Ends – Carl Smith Offensive Line – Paul Boudreau Assistant Offensive Line – Jeff Davidson			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator – Steve Sidwell Defensive Line – Ray Hamilton Linebackers – Bo Pelini Defensive Backs – Ron Lynn Defensive Assistant/Defensive Backs – DeWayne Walker Special Teams Coaches Special Teams – Dante Scarnecchia Special Teams Coaching Assistant – Mark Jackson Strength and Conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Johnny Parker

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	TV Time	Attendance
1	September 7, 1998	at Denver Broncos	L 27–21	ABC 9:00 pm	74,745
2	September 13, 1998	Indianapolis Colts	W 29–6	ESPN 8:15 pm	60,068
3	September 20, 1998	Tennessee Oilers	W 27–16	CBS 1:00 pm	59,973
4	Bye
5	October 4, 1998	at New Orleans Saints	W 30–27	CBS 1:00 pm	56,172
6	October 11, 1998	Kansas City Chiefs	W 40–10	CBS 1:00 pm	59,749
7	October 19, 1998	New York Jets	L 24–14	ABC 9:00 pm	60,062
8	October 25, 1998	at Miami Dolphins	L 12–9	CBS 1:00 pm	73,973
9	November 1, 1998	at Indianapolis Colts	W 21–16	CBS 1:00 pm	58,056
10	November 8, 1998	Atlanta Falcons	L 41–10	FOX 1:00 pm	59,790
11	November 15, 1998	at Buffalo Bills	L 13–10	CBS 1:00 pm	72,020
12	November 23, 1998	Miami Dolphins	W 26–23	ABC 9:00 pm	58,729
13	November 29, 1998	Buffalo Bills	W 25–21	CBS 4:15 pm	58,304
14	December 6, 1998	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 23–9	CBS 4:15 pm	58,632
15	December 13, 1998	at St. Louis Rams	L 32–18	CBS 1:00 pm	48,946
16	December 20, 1998	San Francisco 49ers	W 24–21	FOX 1:00 pm	59,153
17	December 27, 1998	at New York Jets	L 31–10	CBS 1:00 pm	74,302

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
^(2) New York Jets	12	4	0	.750	416	266	W6
^(4) Miami Dolphins	10	6	0	.625	321	265	L1
^(5) Buffalo Bills	10	6	0	.625	400	333	W1
^(6) New England Patriots	9	7	0	.563	337	329	L1
Indianapolis Colts	3	13	0	.188	310	444	L2

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result
Wildcard	January 3, 1999	at Jacksonville Jaguars	L 25–10

Notable games

• September 13 vs. Indianapolis Colts:

The Peyton Manning/New England Patriots rivalry kicked off with a 29–6 rout of Manning's Colts. Ty Law ran back a first-quarter interception 59 yards for the game's first touchdown, while Terry Glenn's three-yard catch and Robert Edwards' one-yard run went with three field goals by future Colt Adam Vinatieri for the Pats. Torrance Small caught a touchdown from Manning in the final five minutes for the only score by the Colts. Manning ended the day with three picks returned for 71 yards.

• September 20 vs. Tennessee Oilers:

In their final season using the team nickname "Oilers", the future Tennessee Titans put on a hard challenge for the Patriots, as Eddie George rushed for 100 yards and caught a 22-yard touchdown from Steve McNair. Al Del Greco and Adam Vinatieri exchanged field goals in the first half and the game lead tied or changed seven times before Lawyer Milloy picked off McNair for a 30-yard fourth-quarter touchdown sealing a 27–16 Patriots win.

• October 4 at New Orleans Saints:

Two seasons since losing Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans the Patriots made their first trip to the Louisiana Superdome; coincidentally, the coach they were facing was the one who'd crushed them in Super Bowl XX in that same building – Mike Ditka. Drew Bledsoe overcame three interceptions and led the Patriots to a 27–24 lead in the game's final four minutes. On a Patriots punt Tebucky Jones of the Patriots tried to down the ball before it went into the endzone; Earl Little of the Saints grabbed it in the endzone but as he went to his knees his teammate Andre Hastings yanked it out of his hands and returned the kick 76 yards, setting up the tying field goal with 1:29 left in regulation. Bledsoe then led the Patriots downfield and Adam Vinatieri kicked the game-winning field goal with three seconds left in a 30–27 Patriots win.

• November 23 vs. Miami Dolphins:

Several days before this Monday Night Football matchup came word that team owner Robert Kraft had secured a stadium deal in Hartford, Connecticut for 2001 (a deal subsequently aborted when a deal to build Gillette Stadium was completed). Though the fanbase was displeased, their support for the team didn't waver even as the Patriots fell behind 23–19 with 3:22 left in the fourth after a Karim Abdul-Jabbar rushing touchdown. On the ensuing Patriots possession, Bledsoe completed a first-down pass on fourth and ten, but later broke the index finger on his throwing hand after striking Todd Rucci's helmet; on another fourth-and-ten on the Dolphins 35-yard-line coach Pete Carroll tried to call timeout, but the Patriots didn't see him and Bledsoe completed the first-down throw to Ben Coates. He then found Shawn Jefferson for the game-winning touchdown with 29 seconds remaining, in a 26–23 Patriots final score.

• November 29 vs. Buffalo Bills:

Local hero Doug Flutie made his first visit to Foxboro Stadium since his days as Patriots quarterback, where he'd won all five starts there. Directing the Bills he threw for 339 yards and rushed for 30 more, leading the Bills to a 21–17 lead in the game's final minute. From there, and despite still nursing a broken finger on his throwing hand, Drew Bledsoe led the Patriots downfield and completed a fourth-down throw to the Bills 26 to Shawn Jefferson with six seconds remaining. There was a referee conference after the play regarding the spot of the ball, at which point one of the referees was heard to say "just give it to them", in reference to the first down.^[8] Bledsoe threw for the endzone on the next play but the ball fell incomplete; the Bills were flagged for pass interference, extending the game by one untimed down, and from the one-yard line Bledsoe lofted a play-action pass to Ben Coates for the winning touchdown. The disgusted Bills (who felt Jefferson was out of bounds on the catch at the 26) went to the locker room even though the extra point still had to be kicked; Adam Vinatieri thus ran in an unopposed two-point conversion for a 25–21 Patriots win, the first career loss in Foxboro for Flutie. The NFL later stated that the game-extending pass interference call was an erroneous decision by the referees.

• December 13 at St. Louis Rams:

Drew Bledsoe's season ended in a 32–18 loss at St. Louis. Bledsoe played the entire game other than several series to get the splint on his broken finger replaced; he completed only 11 of 35 passes; a pass in the first quarter bounced off Lovett Purnell and was intercepted by Todd Lyght. Scott Zolak was sacked and fumbled to former Patriot Ray Agnew. The game was costly for both teams as Terry Glenn and Rams quarterback Tony Banks were lost to injuries.

Final roster

New England Patriots 1998 final roster
Quarterbacks 11 Drew Bledsoe 17 Todd Philcox 16 Scott Zolak Running Backs 30 Tony Carter FB 29 Derrick Cullors 47 Robert Edwards ^R 37 Chris Floyd FB ^R 44 Harold Shaw FB ^R 23 Sedrick Shaw Wide Receivers 80 Troy Brown 84 Shawn Jefferson 18 Anthony Ladd 81 Tony Simmons ^R Tight Ends 86 Mike Bartrum TE/LS 87 Ben Coates 85 Lovett Purnell 83 Rod Rutledge ^R		Offensive Linemen 67 Jason Andersen C/G ^R 78 Bruce Armstrong T 61 Damon Denson G 66 Ed Ellis T 63 Heath Irwin G 68 Max Lane G 77 Zefross Moss T 71 Todd Rucci G 60 Scott Rehberg T 64 Dave Wohlabaugh C Defensive Linemen 92 Ferric Collons DE 90 Chad Eaton DT 55 Willie McGinest DE 75 Leonta Rheams DT ^R 94 Greg Spires DE ^R 74 Chris Sullivan DE 95 Henry Thomas DT 97 Mark Wheeler DT		Linebackers 54 Tedy Bruschi OLB 59 Todd Collins OLB 45 Dana Cottrell LB ^UR 99 Vernon Crawford OLB 52 Ted Johnson ILB 53 Chris Slade OLB 93 Shawn Stuckey LB ^UR Defensive Backs 26 Chris Canty CB 42 Chris Carter FS 32 Willie Clay FS 21 Steve Israel CB 34 Tebucky Jones CB ^R 24 Ty Law CB 36 Lawyer Milloy SS 31 Kato Serwanga CB ^UR 25 Larry Whigham FS Special Teams 19 Tom Tupa P  4 Adam Vinatieri K		Reserve Lists data possibly incomplete 82 Vincent Brisby WR (IR) 88 Terry Glenn WR (IR) -- Ron Merkerson LB (NF-Inj.) ^R 96 Brandon Mitchell DT (IR) 51 Bernard Russ LB (IR) 72 Devin Wyman DT (IR) Practice Squad data incomplete Notations R: 1998 Rookie UR: 1998 Undrafted Rookie Italicized players are not on the 53-man roster.

Notes and references

1. Wilner, Barry (December 2000). "Take That! (p. 2)". Football Digest. Retrieved December 16, 2007.
2. "Bledsoe Motto: If It's Broke, Don't Fix It". Los Angeles Times. November 30, 1998. Retrieved June 17, 2009.
3. "Great Scott". Associated Press (Sports Illustrated). December 21, 1998. Retrieved June 17, 2009.
4. New England Patriots versus Jacksonville Jaguars
5. Draft pick received with a 1998 third-round pick from the New York Jets in compensation for restricted free agent Curtis Martin.
6. Draft pick received with a 1997 third-round pick, 1997 fourth-round pick, and 1999 first-round pick from the New York Jets in compensation for Bill Parcells in 1997.
7. Draft pick received with a 1998 first-round pick from the New York Jets in compensation for restricted free agent Curtis Martin.
8. "Fan Friday". BuffaloBills.com. October 31, 2008. Retrieved December 8, 2009.

External links

• Season page on Pro Football Reference