1983 Buffalo Bills season

1983 Buffalo Bills season
Head coach Kay Stephenson
Owner Ralph Wilson
Home field Rich Stadium
Results
Record 8–8
Division place 2nd AFC East
Playoff finish did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season Next season
< 1982 1984 >

The 1983 Buffalo Bills season was the 24th season for the club and its 14th in the National Football League (NFL). 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).[1]

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1983 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 would play for the USFL's Houston Gamblers from 1983–1985, before making his first start with the Bills in Week One of the 1986 season. The Bills later retired Kelly's #12, the only time the franchise ever retired a player's number. 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
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 12 Tony Hunter  Tight end Notre Dame
1 14 Jim Kelly * †  Quarterback Miami (FL)
2 39 Darryl Talley *  Linebacker West Virginia
4 93 Trey Junkin  Linebacker Louisiana Tech
4 112 Jimmy Payne  Defensive end Georgia
5 126 Matt Vandenboom  Defensive back Wisconsin
7 180 Gurnest Brown  Defensive tackle Maryland
8 207 James Durham  Defensive back Houston
9 234 George Parker  Running back Norfolk State
10 260 Richard Tharpe  Defensive tackle Louisville
11 293 Larry White  Defensive end Jackson State
12 320 Julius Dawkins  Wide receiver Pittsburgh
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Personnel

Staff

colspan="7" style="background: #004089; color:white; border: 2px solid #c60c30" text-align: center;" | 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

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance Notes
1 September 4, 1983 Miami Dolphins L 12–0
78,715
 Uwe von Schamann accounted for all points scored
2 September 11, 1983 at Cincinnati Bengals W 10–6
46,839
 Joe Ferguson threw a 14-yard touchdown
3 September 18, 1983 Baltimore Colts W 28–23
40,937
 Game lead changed seven times in final three quarters
4 September 25, 1983 Houston Oilers W 30–13
60,070
 Ferguson threw for only 127 yards
5 October 3, 1983 New York Jets L 34–10
79,933
 Buffalo's only Monday Night appearance of the year
6 October 9, 1983 at Miami Dolphins W 38–35
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
38,565
 Last trip to Baltimore until formation of Ravens
8 October 23, 1983 New England Patriots L 31–0
60,424
 Ferguson intercepted three times by Roland James
9 October 30, 1983 New Orleans Saints W 27–21
49,413
 Ferguson threw four touchdowns
10 November 6, 1983 at New England Patriots L 21–7
42,604
 Ferguson intercepted four times
11 November 13, 1983 at New York Jets W 24–17
48,513
 Bills outscored Jets 24–3 in second half
12 November 20, 1983 Los Angeles Raiders L 27–24
72,393
 Bills lost despite erasing 21-point Raiders lead in the fourth
13 November 27, 1983 at Los Angeles Rams L 41–17
48,246
 Eric Dickerson rushed for 125 yards
14 December 4, 1983 at Kansas City Chiefs W 14–9
27,104
 Joe Cribbs' 185 rushing yards constituted almost all of Buffalo's offense
15 December 11, 1983 San Francisco 49ers L 23–10
38,039
 Ferguson intercepted three times
16 December 18, 1983 at Atlanta Falcons L 31–14
31,015
 Matt Kofler threw for 125 yards

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Miami Dolphins(2) 12 4 0 .750 6–2 9–3 389 250 W5
New England Patriots 8 8 0 .500 4–4 6–6 274 289 L1
Buffalo Bills 8 8 0 .500 4–4 7–5 283 351 L2
Baltimore Colts 7 9 0 .438 3–5 5–9 264 354 W1
New York Jets 7 9 0 .438 3–5 4–8 313 331 L2

Awards and honors

All-Pros

References

  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.
  2. ↑ "1983 Buffalo Bills draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2014.

External links