1983 Buffalo Bills season

Last updated

1983 Buffalo Bills season
Owner Ralph Wilson
Head coach Kay Stephenson
Home field Rich Stadium
Results
Record8–8
Division place2nd AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers RB Joe Cribbs
DT Fred Smerlas

The 1983 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 14th season in the National Football League, and the 24th overall. It was the first of three seasons for head coach Kay Stephenson. Bills running back Joe Cribbs was both the Bills' leading rusher (1131 yards), and the team's leader in receptions and receiving yards (57 catches for 524 yards). [note 1] The team looked to improve on its 4–5 record from 1982. With the NFL schedule back to 16 games, the Bills were a more competitive team during 1983. The team started 5–2 through its first 7 games. However, they would struggle the rest of the way, as they went 3–6 in its final 9 games en route to a mediocre 8–8 season. This season also saw the Bills beat the Dolphins in Miami for the first time since 1966, Miami's inaugural season. After beating the Chiefs, 14–9, in Arrowhead Stadium on December 4, the Bills would lose 22 road games in a row, which included going 0–8 on the road in each of the following two seasons.

Contents

Offseason

NFL draft

The Bills drafted future Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, the third of a record six quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 1983 draft. Kelly received opposing offers from the United States Football League [1] and from the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Concordes. [2] Kelly would ultimately sign with the USFL’s Houston Gamblers for the following three seasons [3] before making his first start with the Bills in Week One of the 1986 season. The Bills later retired Kelly's #12, at the time the only number the franchise retired. Linebacker Darryl Talley played for twelve years with the Bills. He was a two-time Pro Bowler, in 1990 and 1991. He was inducted into the Bills Wall of Fame.

1983 Buffalo Bills draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
112 Tony Hunter   Tight end Notre Dame
114 Jim Kelly  *   Quarterback Miami (FL) Kelly would join the Bills for the 1986 season.
239 Darryl Talley  *  Linebacker West Virginia
493 Trey Junkin  Linebacker Louisiana Tech
4112Jimmy Payne  Defensive end Georgia
5126Matt Vandenboom  Defensive back Wisconsin
7180Gurnest Brown  Defensive tackle Maryland
8207James Durham Defensive back Houston
9234George Parker  Running back Norfolk State
10260Richard Tharpe Defensive tackle Louisville
11293Larry White Defensive end Jackson State
12320 Julius Dawkins   Wide receiver Pittsburgh
      Made roster        Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[4]

Personnel

Staff

1983 Buffalo Bills staff

Front office

Head coaches

  • Head Coach – Kay Stephenson

Offensive coaches

  • Running Backs – Andy MacDonald
  • Receivers – Milt Jackson
  • Tight Ends – Al Sandahl
  • Offensive Line – Jim Niblack
  • Offensive Assistant – Perry Moss
Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Miller McCalmon


Roster

1983 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordAttendanceNotes
1September 4, 1983 Miami Dolphins L 12–00–178,715 Uwe von Schamann accounted for all points scored
2September 11, 1983at Cincinnati Bengals W 10–61–146,839 Joe Ferguson threw a 14-yard touchdown
3September 18, 1983 Baltimore Colts W 28–232–140,937Game lead changed seven times in final three quarters
4September 25, 1983 Houston Oilers W 30–133–160,070Ferguson threw for only 127 yards
5October 3, 1983 New York Jets L 34–103–279,933Buffalo's only Monday Night Football appearance of the year
6October 9, 1983at Miami DolphinsW 38–354–259,948Ferguson threw five touchdowns and 419 yards; first road win over Miami since 1966
7October 16, 1983at Baltimore ColtsW 30–75–238,565Last trip to Baltimore until formation of Ravens
8October 23, 1983 New England Patriots L 31–05–360,424Ferguson intercepted three times by Roland James
9October 30, 1983 New Orleans Saints W 27–216–349,413Ferguson threw four touchdowns
10November 6, 1983at New England PatriotsL 21–76–442,604Ferguson intercepted four times
11November 13, 1983at New York JetsW 24–177–448,513Bills outscored Jets 24–3 in second half; Bills last visit ever to Shea Stadium and Queens, NY
12November 20, 1983 Los Angeles Raiders L 27–247–5
72,393
Bills lost despite erasing 21-point Raiders lead in the fourth
13November 27, 1983at Los Angeles Rams L 41–177–648,246 Eric Dickerson rushed for 125 yards
14December 4, 1983at Kansas City Chiefs W 14–98–627,104 Joe Cribbs' 185 rushing yards constituted almost all of Buffalo's offense
15December 11, 1983 San Francisco 49ers L 23–108–738,039Ferguson intercepted three times
16December 18, 1983at Atlanta Falcons L 31–148–831,015 Matt Kofler threw for 125 yards
Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text

Season summary

Week 1

1234Total
Dolphins063312
Bills00000

Week 2

1234Total
Bills037010
Bengals03036

Week 3

1234Total
Colts637723
Bills0771428
  • Date: September 18
  • Location: Rich Stadium
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty

Week 4

1234Total
Oilers337013
Bills7631430

Week 5

1234Total
Jets07101734
Bills0001010
  • Date: October 5
  • Location: Rich Stadium
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, OJ Simpson

Week 6

Dan Marino first start in NFL
1234OTTotal
Bills77714338
Dolphins071414035

Week 7

1234Total
Bills7173330
Colts70007

Week 8

1234Total
Patriots0702431
Bills00000
  • Date: October 23
  • Location: Rich Stadium
  • Referee: Tom Dooley

Week 9

1234Total
Saints0701421
Bills7137027

The Bills knocked Ken Stabler out of the game at the end of the first quarter with a rib injury. [5]

Week 10

1234Total
Bills00077
Patriots0147021

Week 11

1234Total
Bills00141024
Jets0143017
  • Date: November 13
  • Location: Shea Stadium
  • Game attendance: 48,513
  • Game weather: 37 °F (2.8 °C) • 19 miles per hour (31 km/h; 17 kn)
  • Referee: Gene Barth
  • TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones

Week 12

Los Angeles Raiders (8-3) at Buffalo Bills (7-4)
1234Total
Raiders7371027
Bills0302124

Week 13

1234Total
Bills077317
Rams014101741

Week 14

1234Total
Bills070714
Chiefs03339

Week 15

1234Total
49ers3314323
Bills0100010

Week 16

1234Total
Bills070714
Falcons3147731

Standings

AFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Miami Dolphins (2)1240.7506–29–3389250W5
New England Patriots 880.5004–46–6274289L1
Buffalo Bills 880.5004–47–5283351L2
Baltimore Colts 790.4383–55–9264354W1
New York Jets 790.4383–54–8313331L2

Awards and honors

All-Pros

Notes

  1. 1983 was the last of Cribbs' three NFL Pro Bowl seasons before he left the NFL for the USFL's Birmingham Stallions in 1984.

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References

  1. Northrop, Milt (April 30, 1983). "Bills To Battle With USFL — Blitz Make Pitch for Kelly". The Buffalo News . p. C-1.
  2. Beacon, Bill (May 4, 1983). "Concordes Make Pitch for Kelly". The Ottawa Citizen . p. 49.
  3. Felser, Larry; Northrop, Milt (June 9, 1983). "Bills To Lose Jim Kelly to the USFL". The Buffalo News . p. C-1.
  4. "1983 Buffalo Bills draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  5. Eugene Register-Guard. 1983 Oct 31.