Colonel William A. Phillips

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 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
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	12	Tony Hunter	Tight end	Notre Dame
1	14	Jim Kelly * †	Quarterback	Miami (FL)	Kelly would join the Bills for the 1986 season.
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

^[4]

Personnel

Staff

1983 Buffalo Bills staff

Front office President – Ralph Wilson Senior Executive Vice President – Pat McGroder Vice President of Football Operations – Kay Stephenson Vice President of Player Personnel – Norm Pollom 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 Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Bob Zeman Defensive Line – Don Lawrence Defensive Backfield – Jerry Glanville Defensive Assistant – Miller McCalmon Special teams coaches Special Teams – Miller McCalmon

Roster

1983 Buffalo Bills roster

	Quarterbacks 11 Joe Dufek 12 Joe Ferguson 10 Matt Kofler Running backs 20 Joe Cribbs 40 Robb Riddick 48 Roosevelt Leaks FB 34 Booker Moore 23 Van Williams Wide receivers 80 Jerry Butler 89 Julius Dawkins 85 Byron Franklin 82 Frank Lewis 81 Perry Tuttle Tight ends 84 Buster Barnett 86 Mark Brammer 47 Tony Hunter		Offensive linemen 70 Joe Devlin T 63 Justin Cross T 53 Will Grant C 72 Ken Jones T 73 Jon Borchardt G 51 Jim Ritcher G 61 Tom Lynch G 65 Tim Vogler C Defensive linemen 75 Bill Acker NT 91 Ken Johnson DE 76 Fred Smerlas NT 83 Sherman White DE 77 Ben Williams DE 93 Scott Virkus DE		Linebackers 55 Jim Haslett ILB 50 Trey Junkin 52 Chris Keating ILB 59 Joey Lumpkin 54 Eugene Marve ILB 58 Mark Merrill 62 Ervin Parker OLB 56 Darryl Talley OLB 57 Lucius Sanford OLB 41 Phil Villapiano OLB Defensive backs 29 Mario Clark CB 28 Judson Flint SS 22 Steve Freeman FS 47 Bill Hurley SS 21 Mike Kennedy SS 43 David Kilson CB 42 Rod Kush FS 38 Jeff Nixon SS 26 Charles Romes CB 24 Gary Thompson CB 45 Len Walterscheid FS 27 Chris Williams FS Special teams  7 Greg Cater P 19 Joe Danelo K  5 Fred Steinfort K		Reserve lists 87 Robert Holt WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 88 Mike Mosley WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- Roger Taylor T (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 39 Matt Vandenboom DB (IRTooltip 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 4 Location: Rich Stadium Game start: 1:00 PM EST Game attendance: 78,715 Game weather: 72 °F (22.2 °C) • 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn) Referee: Jim Tunney TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Bob Griese

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 0 3 7 0 10 Bengals 0 3 0 3 6 Date: September 11 Location: Riverfront Stadium Referee: Gordon McCarter

Week 3

1 2 3 4 Total Colts 6 3 7 7 23 • Bills 0 7 7 14 28 Date: September 18 Location: Rich Stadium Referee: Pat Haggerty

Week 4

1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 3 3 7 0 13 • Bills 7 6 3 14 30 Date: September 25 Location: Rich Stadium Referee: Chuck Heberling

Week 5

1 2 3 4 Total • Jets 0 7 10 17 34 Bills 0 0 0 10 10 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

1 2 3 4 OT Total • Bills 7 7 7 14 3 38 Dolphins 0 7 14 14 0 35 Date: October 9 Location: Orange Bowl Game start: 1:00 PM EST Game attendance: 59,948 Game weather: 79 °F (26.1 °C) • 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn) Referee: Fred Silva TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Bob Griese

Week 7

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 7 17 3 3 30 Colts 7 0 0 0 7 Date: October 16 Location: 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 23 Location: Rich Stadium Referee: Tom Dooley

Week 9

1 2 3 4 Total Saints 0 7 0 14 21 • Bills 7 13 7 0 27 Date: October 30 Location: Rich Stadium Game attendance: 49,413 Referee: Jim Tunney Television network: CBS

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 6 Location: Sullivan Stadium Referee: Pat Haggerty

Week 11

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 0 0 14 10 24 Jets 0 14 3 0 17 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)

1 2 3 4 Total • Raiders 7 3 7 10 27 Bills 0 3 0 21 24 Date: November 20 Location: Rich Stadium - Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00pm EST Game attendance: 72,393 Game weather: 52 °F (11.1 °C) • 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn) Referee: Bob McElwee TV announcers (NFL on NBC): Don Criqui and Gene Washington

Week 13

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 7 7 3 17 • Rams 0 14 10 17 41 Date: November 27 Location: Anaheim Stadium Referee: Ben Dreith

Week 14

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 0 7 0 7 14 Chiefs 0 3 3 3 9 Date: December 4 Location: Arrowhead Stadium Game start: 1:00 PM EST Game attendance: 27,104 Game 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 11 Location: Rich Stadium Orchard Park, NY Game start: 1:00 PM EST Game attendance: 38,039 Game weather: 27 °F (−2.8 °C) • 17–26 miles per hour (27–42 km/h; 15–23 kn) Cloudy Referee: Bob Frederic TV 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 18 Location: Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium Referee: Fred Silva

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

• Fred Smerlas, Nose tackle
• Steve Freeman, Safety

Notes

References

External links

• 1983 Buffalo Bills at Pro-Football-Reference.com