1983 NFL Season Recap

Originally published on Aug. 30, 2020

By Zane Miller

On Sunday, January 22nd, 1984, the Los Angeles (now Las Vegas) Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins (now Washington Football Team) 38-9 in Super Bowl XVIII to win the 64th championship in NFL history. It was the third championship for the Raiders franchise as Raiders running back Marcus Allen won the Super Bowl MVP Award. The game was held at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann won the 1983 MVP Award with 29 passing touchdowns and 3714 passing yards while Dolphins defensive end Doug Betters won the 1983 Defensive Player of the Year Award with 16 sacks.

Out of Playoffs: Cleveland Browns (9-7), St. Louis Cardinals (8-7-1), New Orleans Saints (8-8), Buffalo Bills (8-8), Chicago Bears (8-8), New England Patriots (8-8), Green Bay Packers (8-8), Minnesota Vikings (8-8), Cincinnati Bengals (7-9), Atlanta Falcons (7-9), Baltimore Colts (7-9), New York Jets (7-9), San Diego Chargers (6-10), Kansas City Chiefs (6-10), Philadelphia Eagles (5-11), New York Giants (3-12-1), Houston Oilers (2-14), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-14)

Out in first round: Dallas Cowboys (L 24-17 to Rams), Denver Broncos (L 31-7 to Seahawks)

Out in second round: Miami Dolphins (L 27-20 to Seahawks), Pittsburgh Steelers (L 38-10 to Raiders), Detroit Lions (L 24-23 to 49ers), Los Angeles Rams (L 51-7 to Redskins)

Out in third round: San Francisco 49ers (L 24-21 to Redskins), Seattle Seahawks (L 30-14 to Raiders)

Most passing touchdowns: #12 Lynn Dickey (Packers)- 32 TD

Most rushing touchdowns: #44 John Riggins (Redskins)- 24 TD

Most receiving touchdowns: #81 Roy Green (Cardinals)- 14 TD

Most sacks: #99 Mark Gastineau (Jets)- 19 sacks

Most interceptions: #29 Mark Murphy (Redskins)- 9 INT

Best field goal percentage (min. 11 attempts): #9 Matt Bahr (Browns)- 21 for 24, 87.5%

Scoring Summary

 

Link to stats database: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1983/