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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
NFL draft
The Bills drafted future
Bills Wall of Fame
.
[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
87 IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
88 IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
-- IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
39 IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
Practice squad
Rookies in italics
Schedule
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
Week 1
1
2 3 4 Total
• Dolphins
0
6 3 3
12
Bills
0
0 0 0
0
Date: September 4Location:
Week 2
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bills
0
3 7 0
10
Bengals
0
3 0 3
6
Week 3
1
2 3 4 Total
Colts
6
3 7 7
23
• Bills
0
7 7 14
28
Date: September 18Location: Rich StadiumReferee: Pat Haggerty
Week 4
1
2 3 4 Total
Oilers
3
3 7 0
13
• Bills
7
6 3 14
30
Week 5
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
Week 6
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
Week 7
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bills
7
17 3 3
30
Colts
7
0 0 0
7
Date: October 16Location: Memorial Stadium
Referee: Bob Frederic
Week 8
1
2 3 4 Total
• Patriots
0
7 0 24
31
Bills
0
0 0 0
0
Date: October 23Location: Rich StadiumReferee: Tom Dooley
Week 9
1
2 3 4 Total
Saints
0
7 0 14
21
• Bills
7
13 7 0
27
Date: October 30Location: Rich Stadium
Game attendance: 49,413Referee: Jim Tunney Television network: CBS
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
1
2 3 4 Total
Bills
0
0 0 7
7
• Patriots
0
14 7 0
21
Date: November 6Location:
Week 11
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bills
0
0 14 10
24
Jets
0
14 3 0
17
Week 12
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
Date: November 20Location:
Week 13
1
2 3 4 Total
Bills
0
7 7 3
17
• Rams
0
14 10 17
41
Week 14
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bills
0
7 0 7
14
Chiefs
0
3 3 3
9
Date: December 4Location: EST
Game attendance: 27,104Game weather: 29 °F (−1.7 °C) • 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)Referee: Jerry Seeman TV announcers (NBC ): Don Criqui
Week 15
1
2 3 4 Total
• 49ers
3
3 14 3
23
Bills
0
10 0 0
10
Date: December 11Location: EST
Game attendance: 38,039Game weather: 27 °F (−2.8 °C) • 17–26 miles per hour (27–42 km/h; 15–23 kn) CloudyReferee: Bob FredericTV announcers (CBS ): Dick Stockton , Wayne Walker
Week 16
1
2 3 4 Total
Bills
0
7 0 7
14
• Falcons
3
14 7 7
31
Date: December 18Location:
Standings
Awards and honors
All-Pros
Notes
References
^ 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
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