1983 NFL season explained

Year:1983
Nflchampion:Los Angeles Raiders
Regular Season:September 3 – December 19, 1983
Playoffs Start:December 24, 1983
Afcchampion:Los Angeles Raiders
Nfcchampion:Washington Redskins
Sb Name:XVIII
Sb Date:January 22, 1984
Sb Site:Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida
Pb Date:January 29, 1984

The 1983 NFL season was the 64th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts played their final season in Baltimore before the team's relocation to Indianapolis the following season. The season ended with Super Bowl XVIII when the Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins 38–9 at Tampa Stadium in Florida.

Player movement

Trades

Retirements

Draft

See main article: article and 1983 NFL Draft. The 1983 NFL draft was held from April 26 to 27, 1983, at New York City's Sheraton Hotel. With the first pick, the Baltimore Colts selected quarterback John Elway from Stanford University.

Major rule changes

1983 deaths

Division races

From to and this season to, ten teams qualified for the playoffs: the winners of each of the divisions, and two wild-card teams in each conference. The two wild cards would meet for the right to face whichever of the three division winners had the best overall record. The tiebreaker rules were based on head-to-head competition, followed by division records, common opponents records, and conference play.

National Football Conference

WeekEastCentralWestWild CardWild Card
1Cowboys, Eagles1–03 teams1–03 teams1–0
2Cowboys2–04 teams1–1Rams2–0
3Cowboys3–0Vikings, Packers2–14 teams2–1
4Cowboys4–0Vikings3–149ers3–1Redskins3–16 teams2–2
5Cowboys5–0Vikings, Packers3–249ers4–1Redskins4–15 teams3–2
6Cowboys6–0Vikings4–23 teams4–2Redskins5–14 teams4–2
7Cowboys7–0Vikings5–249ers, Rams5–23 teams5–23 teams4–3
8Cowboys7–1Vikings6–249ers6–2Redskins6–2Saints, Rams5–3
9Cowboys8–1Vikings6–349ers6–3Redskins7–2Saints, Rams5–4
10Cowboys9–1Vikings6–43 teams6–4Redskins8–23 teams6–4
11Cowboys, Redskins9–2Vikings, Packers6–549ers, Rams7–4Cowboys, Redskins9–249ers, Rams7–4
12Cowboys, Redskins10–2Vikings7–549ers, Rams7–5Cowboys, Redskins10–249ers, Rams7–5
13Cowboys, Redskins11–2Vikings, Lions7–6Rams8–5Cowboys, Redskins11–2Lions, Vikings7–6
14Cowboys, Redskins12–2Lions8–649ers, Rams8–6Cowboys, Redskins12–249ers, Rams8–6
15Redskins13–2Lions, Packers8–749ers9–6Cowboys12–34 teams8–7
16Redskins14–2Lions9–749ers10–6Cowboys12–4Rams9–7

American Football Conference

WeekEastCentralWestWild CardWild Card
13 teams1–04 teams0–13 teams1–0
2Dolphins2–0Steelers, Browns1–1Raiders, Broncos2–0
3Dolphins, Bills2–1Steelers, Browns2–1Raiders3–06 teams2–1
4Dolphins, Bills3–1Browns3–1Raiders4–03 teams3–16 teams2–2
54 teams3–2Steelers, Browns3–2Raiders4–17 teams3–24 teams2–3
6Bills, Colts4–2Steelers, Browns4–2Raiders5–14 teams4–25 teams3–3
7Bills5–2Steelers5–2Raiders5–2Dolphins, Colts4–3Browns, Seahawks4–3
8Dolphins, Bills5–3Steelers6–2Raiders6–2Dolphins, Bills5–3Broncos5–3
9Dolphins, Bills6–3Steelers7–2Raiders, Broncos6–3Dolphins, Bills6–3Raiders, Broncos6–3
10Dolphins7–3Steelers8–2Raiders7–3Bills, Colts6–4Seahawks, Broncos6–4
11Dolphins, Bills7–4Steelers9–2Raiders8–3Dolphins, Bills7–45 teams6–5
12Dolphins8–4Steelers9–3Raiders9–33 teams7–53 teams6–5
13Dolphins9–4Steelers9–4Raiders10–3Browns8–53 teams7–6
14Dolphins10–4Steelers9–5Raiders11–33 teams8–64 teams7–7
15Dolphins11–4Steelers10–5Raiders11–4Broncos9–64 teams8–7
16Dolphins12–4Steelers10–6Raiders12–4Seahawks9–7Broncos9–7

Regular season

Scheduling formula

    Inter-conference
AFC East vs NFC West
AFC Central vs NFC Central
AFC West vs NFC East

Highlights of the 1983 season included:

Two games were played on Thursday, November 24, featuring Pittsburgh at Detroit and St. Louis at Dallas, with Detroit and Dallas winning.

Tiebreakers

Playoffs

See main article: 1983–84 NFL playoffs.

Notable events

Milestones

The following players set all-time records during the season:

Most touchdowns, season John Riggins, Washington (24)
Most rushing touchdowns, season John Riggins, Washington (24)
Most punt return yards, season Greg Pruitt, Los Angeles Raiders (666)
Most total field goals made, season Ali Haji-Sheikh, New York Giants (35)

Statistical leaders

Team

Points scoredWashington Redskins (541)
Total yards gainedSan Diego Chargers (6,197)
Yards rushingChicago Bears (2,727)
Yards passingSan Diego Chargers (4,661)
Fewest points allowedMiami Dolphins (250)
Fewest total yards allowedCincinnati Bengals (4,327)
Fewest rushing yards allowedWashington Redskins (1,289)
Fewest passing yards allowedNew Orleans Saints (2,691)

Awards

Most Valuable PlayerJoe Theismann, quarterback, Washington
Coach of the YearJoe Gibbs, Washington
Offensive Player of the YearJoe Theismann, quarterback, Washington
Defensive Player of the YearDoug Betters, defensive end, Miami
Offensive Rookie of the YearEric Dickerson, running back, LA Rams
Defensive Rookie of the YearVernon Maxwell, linebacker, Baltimore Colts
Man of the YearRolf Benirschke, placekicker, San Diego
Comeback Player of the YearBilly Johnson, wide receiver, Atlanta
Super Bowl Most Valuable PlayerMarcus Allen, running back, LA Raiders

Coaching changes

Offseason

Dan Henning replaced the fired Leeman Bennett.

Kay Stephenson replaced Chuck Knox, who left the team to join the Seattle Seahawks.

Marv Levy was fired and replaced by John Mackovic.

Ray Perkins was replaced by Bill Parcells.

Walt Michaels resigned and was replaced by Joe Walton.

Ray Malavasi was fired and replaced by John Robinson.

Dick Vermeil resigned and was replaced by Marion Campbell.

Chuck Knox joined the Seahawks after resigning from the Bills. Seattle had fired Jack Patera after the team lost their first two games in 1982. Mike McCormack, the team's director of football operations, took over as interim for the remainder of that season.

In-season

Ed Biles was fired after the team lost their first six games. Defensive coordinator Chuck Studley took over as interim.

Stadium changes

Schaefer Stadium is renamed Sullivan Stadium after New England Patriots founder and owner Billy Sullivan

Uniform changes

Television

This was the second year under the league's five-year broadcast contracts with ABC, CBS, and NBC to televise Monday Night Football, the NFC package, and the AFC package, respectively.[4]

O. J. Simpson replaced Fran Tarkenton as ABC's fill-in color commentator. Howard Cosell then ignited racial controversy during the broadcast of the September 5 MNF game between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins when his commentary on Alvin Garrett, an African American wide receiver for Washington, included a reference to "That little monkey".[5] The fallout contributed to Cosell's decision to leave MNF after the season.

Regular season game not broadcast by Network TV

DateTimeTeamsLocal TVAnnouncers
October 9, 19833:00 PM CDTKansas City Chiefs @ Los Angeles RaidersKCTV-TV (Kansas City area)
(blacked out in Los Angeles area)		Don Fortune (play-by-play)
Len Dawson (analyst)

References

Notes and References

  1. News: His Swann song . steelers.com. Teresa Varley. 2019-01-11. 2021-03-03. en.
  2. 100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.185
  3. Web site: 5 New York Giants are pallbearers for Doug Kotar - UPI Archives .
  4. Book: Quinn, Kevin G.. The Economics of the National Football League: The State of the Art. Springer Science & Business Media. 2011. 338. 978-1-4419-6289-8.
  5. News: Ex Redskin Alvin Garrett Recalls Remarkable Cosell. The Washington Post. August 1, 2022.

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