24th season in franchise history
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.
Offseason [ edit ] NFL draft [ edit ] 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 .
[4]
Personnel [ edit ] 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
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 [ edit ] Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance Notes 1 September 4, 1983 Miami Dolphins L 12–0 0–1 78,715 Uwe von Schamann accounted for all points scored 2 September 11, 1983 at Cincinnati Bengals W 10–6 1–1 46,839 Joe Ferguson threw a 14-yard touchdown 3 September 18, 1983 Baltimore Colts W 28–23 2–1 40,937 Game lead changed seven times in final three quarters 4 September 25, 1983 Houston Oilers W 30–13 3–1 60,070 Ferguson threw for only 127 yards 5 October 3, 1983 New York Jets L 34–10 3–2 79,933 Buffalo's only Monday Night Football appearance of the year 6 October 9, 1983 at Miami Dolphins W 38–35 4–2 59,948 Ferguson threw five touchdowns and 419 yards; first road win over Miami since 1966 7 October 16, 1983 at Baltimore Colts W 30–7 5–2 38,565 Last trip to Baltimore until formation of Ravens 8 October 23, 1983 New England Patriots L 31–0 5–3 60,424 Ferguson intercepted three times by Roland James 9 October 30, 1983 New Orleans Saints W 27–21 6–3 49,413 Ferguson threw four touchdowns 10 November 6, 1983 at New England Patriots L 21–7 6–4 42,604 Ferguson intercepted four times 11 November 13, 1983 at New York Jets W 24–17 7–4 48,513 Bills outscored Jets 24–3 in second half; Bills last visit ever to Shea Stadium and Queens, NY 12 November 20, 1983 Los Angeles Raiders L 27–24 7–5 72,393
Bills lost despite erasing 21-point Raiders lead in the fourth 13 November 27, 1983 at Los Angeles Rams L 41–17 7–6 48,246 Eric Dickerson rushed for 125 yards 14 December 4, 1983 at Kansas City Chiefs W 14–9 8–6 27,104 Joe Cribbs ' 185 rushing yards constituted almost all of Buffalo's offense 15 December 11, 1983 San Francisco 49ers L 23–10 8–7 38,039 Ferguson intercepted three times 16 December 18, 1983 at Atlanta Falcons L 31–14 8–8 31,015 Matt Kofler threw for 125 yards Note : Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text
Season summary [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total • Dolphins 0 6 3 3 12 Bills 0 0 0 0 0
1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 0 3 7 0 10 Bengals 0 3 0 3 6
1 2 3 4 Total Colts 6 3 7 7 23 • Bills 0 7 7 14 28
Date: September 18Location: Rich StadiumReferee: Pat Haggerty
1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 3 3 7 0 13 • Bills 7 6 3 14 30
1 2 3 4 Total • Jets 0 7 10 17 34 Bills 0 0 0 10 10
Date: October 5Location: Rich StadiumReferee: Jerry Markbreit TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, OJ Simpson
Dan Marino first start in NFL 1 2 3 4 OT Total • Bills 7 7 7 14 3 38 Dolphins 0 7 14 14 0 35
1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 7 17 3 3 30 Colts 7 0 0 0 7
1 2 3 4 Total • Patriots 0 7 0 24 31 Bills 0 0 0 0 0
Date: October 23Location: Rich StadiumReferee: Tom Dooley
1 2 3 4 Total Saints 0 7 0 14 21 • Bills 7 13 7 0 27
Scoring summary Q1 4:06 BUF Butler 15 yard pass from Ferguson (Danelo kick) BUF 7–0 Q2 13:14 BUF Hunter 40 yard pass from Ferguson (Danelo kick) BUF 14–0 Q2 5:59 BUF Mosley 22 yard pass from Ferguson (kick failed) BUF 20–0 Q2 1:57 NO Tice 12 yard pass from Wilson (Andersen kick) BUF 20–7 Q3 0:19 BUF Mosley 8 yard pass from Ferguson (Danelo kick) BUF 27–7 Q4 7:33 NO Brenner 3 yard pass from Wilson (Andersen kick) BUF 27–14 Q4 3:34 NO Young 5 yard pass from Wilson (Andersen kick) BUF 27–21
The Bills knocked Ken Stabler out of the game at the end of the first quarter with a rib injury. [5]
Week 10 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 0 0 7 7 • Patriots 0 14 7 0 21
Week 11 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 0 0 14 10 24 Jets 0 14 3 0 17
Week 12 [ edit ] Los Angeles Raiders (8-3) at Buffalo Bills (7-4) 1 2 3 4 Total • Raiders 7 3 7 10 27 Bills 0 3 0 21 24
Week 13 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 7 7 3 17 • Rams 0 14 10 17 41
Week 14 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 0 7 0 7 14 Chiefs 0 3 3 3 9
Week 15 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total • 49ers 3 3 14 3 23 Bills 0 10 0 0 10
Week 16 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 7 0 7 14 • Falcons 3 14 7 7 31
Standings [ edit ] Awards and honors [ edit ] All-Pros [ edit ] References [ edit ] ^ Northrop, Milt (April 30, 1983). "Bills To Battle With USFL — Blitz Make Pitch for Kelly". The Buffalo News . p. C-1. ^ Beacon, Bill (May 4, 1983). "Concordes Make Pitch for Kelly". The Ottawa Citizen . p. 49. ^ Felser, Larry; Northrop, Milt (June 9, 1983). "Bills To Lose Jim Kelly to the USFL". The Buffalo News . p. C-1. ^ "1983 Buffalo Bills draftees" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved November 15, 2014 . ^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1983 Oct 31. External links [ edit ]
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Division championships (14) Conference championships (4) League championships (2) Wall of Fame Media Owners Current league affiliations Former league affiliation