1984 NFL season

The 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana before the season.

The season ended with Super Bowl XIX when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins. This was the first Super Bowl televised by ABC, who entered into the annual championship game rotation with CBS and NBC. This game marked the second shortest distance between the Super Bowl host stadium (Stanford, California) and a Super Bowl team (San Francisco 49ers).^[1]

The 49ers became the first team in NFL history to win 15 games in a regular season and to win 18 in an entire season (including the post-season). Additionally, two major offensive records were set this season, with quarterback Dan Marino establishing a new single-season passing yards record with 5,084 (later broken by Drew Brees and Tom Brady in 2011), and Eric Dickerson establishing a new single-season rushing yards record with 2,105.

Also during the season, San Diego Chargers wide receiver Charlie Joiner became the all-time leader in career receptions, he set that mark in a game between the Chargers and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium.

Major rule changes

• Linebackers are permitted to wear numbers 90–99.
• The penalty for a kickoff or onside kick that goes out of bounds is 5 yards from the previous spot and a re-kick must be made. However, if the second (or more) kickoff or onside kick goes out of bounds, the receiving team may choose instead to take possession of the ball at the out of bounds spot.
• Leaping to try to block a field goal or an extra point is illegal unless the defensive player was lined up at the line of scimmage.
• A kicker or holder who fakes being roughed or run into by a defensive player can receive an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
• Unsportsmanlike conduct will also by called for any prolonged, excessive, or premeditated celebration by individual players or a group of players. This is usually referred to as the "Mark Gastineau Rule" because a major reason why this change was made was to stop him from performing his signature "Sack Dance" every time after he sacked an opposing quarterback.

Final standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

  x  – clinched wild card berth,   y  – clinched division title

Tiebreakers

• N.Y. Giants finished ahead of St. Louis and Dallas in the NFC East based on best head-to-head record (3–1 to Cardinals' 2–2 and Cowboys' 1–3).
• St. Louis finished ahead of Dallas in the NFC East based on better division record (5–3 to Cowboys' 3–5).

Playoffs

Home team in capitals

AFC

• Wild-Card playoff: SEATTLE 13, L.A. Raiders 7
• Divisional playoffs: MIAMI 31, Seattle 10; Pittsburgh 24, DENVER 17
• AFC Championship: MIAMI 45, Pittsburgh 28 at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida, January 6, 1985

NFC

• Wild-Card playoff: N.Y. Giants 16, L.A. RAMS 13
• Divisional playoffs: SAN FRANCISCO 21, N.Y. Giants 10; Chicago 23, WASHINGTON 19
• NFC Championship: SAN FRANCISCO 23, Chicago 0 at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California, January 6, 1985

Super Bowl

• Super Bowl XIX: San Francisco (NFC) 38, Miami (AFC) 16, at Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California, January 20, 1985

Milestones

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

Awards

References

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1981–1990 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
• 1984 season in details
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)