'83 NFL season - expectations, retrospect

[Rupert Patrick]

NFL Films Presents did a half hour retrospective in January '84 featuring their picks for the 4 best games of 1983:

Wk. 6 Buffalo 38 @ Miami 35 (OT)
Wk. 7 Washington 47 @ Green Bay 48
Wk. 15 Kansas City 38 @ San Diego 41
Wk. 5 L.A. Raiders 35 @ Washington Redskins 37

Some other favorites from that season:

Wk. 1 Dallas 31 @ Washington 30
Wk. 15 Kansas City 48 @ Seattle 51 (OT)
Wk. 15 Baltimore Colts 19 @ Denver Broncos 21 - Elway (23/44 345 yds. & 3 TD's) rallies the playoff bound Broncos who trailed 19-0 at halftime.

I've been working on a manuscript of the most important games of each season, where I write a couple thousand words about each of the four most interesting games of each season, the games I would have most wanted to see. The games I have chosen for the 1983 season are, in order from most interesting to number four, are:

1 - Week 5 Raiders vs Redskins
2 - Week 7 Redskins vs Packers
3 - Week 6 Bills vs. Dolphins
4 - Week 16 Rams vs Saints

The Rams-Saints game had a lot going for it - a New Orleans win gives them their first winning season and first trip to the playoffs in franchise history, at the Superdome, against the Rams, who needed a win and a Green Bay loss to get the wild card. Snake Stabler made the final start of his NFL career for New Orleans in that game, but the Rams won 26-24 on a last-second Mike Lansford field goal. Bob Thomas kicked a last-second field goal for Chicago to beat the Packers 23-21 to give LA the final wild card in the NFC.

[TanksAndSpartans]

Rupert, what year did you start with?

[Rupert Patrick]

Rupert, what year did you start with?

From 1933 to 1969 NFL, and 1960-69 AFL, and 1946-49 AAFC, I wrote about the top two games of each season, and listed a number of honorable mention games for each season where I would write a couple sentences. From 1970-2017 I wrote about the top four games of each season, and listed honorable mentions. The project is about 70 percent completed, but it is massive, and will comprise a series of perhaps 5-7 books. I chose not to do 1920-1932 because I frankly did not know enough about the era and the records are spotty at best. One of the things I did with this was to reconstruct these games from scratch, using newspapers and radio accounts/gamebooks and play by play and film/television and steering clear completely from non-reference books. Once I get my "Statistical History of Pro Football" books published (it became so large it became necessary to split that into two books, a volume one and volume two if you will) and Volume 1 is with publishers for review as we speak, I will get to finishing these books on the most interesting games of each season.

[ChrisBabcock]

...and will comprise a series of perhaps 5-7 books.

That's quite an undertaking!

[NWebster]

NFL Films Presents did a half hour retrospective in January '84 featuring their picks for the 4 best games of 1983:

Wk. 6 Buffalo 38 @ Miami 35 (OT)
Wk. 7 Washington 47 @ Green Bay 48
Wk. 15 Kansas City 38 @ San Diego 41
Wk. 5 L.A. Raiders 35 @ Washington Redskins 37

Some other favorites from that season:

Wk. 1 Dallas 31 @ Washington 30
Wk. 15 Kansas City 48 @ Seattle 51 (OT)
Wk. 15 Baltimore Colts 19 @ Denver Broncos 21 - Elway (23/44 345 yds. & 3 TD's) rallies the playoff bound Broncos who trailed 19-0 at halftime.

It's pretty interesting to see that list of the best games of 1983, considering the number of complaints on this board about how there's too much offense nowadays

Agree. Most of my favorite games of the last 20 years have been low scoring nail-biters, like the Ravens / Steelers rivalry, even the greatest show on Turf had really one big play to beat the Titans in the Super Bowl. The problem with one team scoring 40 points in every freaking game is that if the other scoes 40 its interesting, if they score 10 its useless. If both score ~10, its guaranteed to be close.

[Retro Rider]

I've been working on a manuscript of the most important games of each season, where I write a couple thousand words about each of the four most interesting games of each season, the games I would have most wanted to see.

The games I have chosen for the 1983 season are, in order from most interesting to number four, are:

1 - Week 5 Raiders vs Redskins
2 - Week 7 Redskins vs Packers
3 - Week 6 Bills vs. Dolphins
4 - Week 16 Rams vs Saints

The Rams-Saints game had a lot going for it - a New Orleans win gives them their first winning season and first trip to the playoffs in franchise history, at the Superdome, against the Rams, who needed a win and a Green Bay loss to get the wild card. Snake Stabler made the final start of his NFL career for New Orleans in that game, but the Rams won 26-24 on a last-second Mike Lansford field goal. Bob Thomas kicked a last-second field goal for Chicago to beat the Packers 23-21 to give LA the final wild card in the NFC.

I felt bad for Bum and the Saints after they lost that heartbreaker to the Rams in Week 16. It would have been great to see them finally post a winning season and earn a playoff berth. L.A. did not score an offensive touchdown that afternoon (2 interception returns for touchdowns, punt return touchdown, Stabler sacked in the end zone for 2pt. safety & Lansford's game winning FG). A few other critical Saints losses that come to mind from that 1983 season:

Wk. 2 loss at Los Angeles - Saints let a 27-21 lead slip away in the 4th quarter and lose to the Rams 30-27.

Wk. 4 loss at Dallas - Saints blow a 20-13 4th quarter lead and lose 21-20. A 62 yard return of a block field goal by Ron Fellows resulted in one touchdown. An end zone sack of Ken Stabler late in the game gave Dallas the final 2 points they needed to win.

Wk. 12 Monday Night loss at home to the N.Y. Jets 31-28. The Saints blew a 28-14 4th quarter lead. A 78 yard punt return TD by Kirk Springs was the game winner for New York. Lance Mehl intercepted and returned a Stabler pass 34 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.

Wk. 14 loss at New England 7-0 despite the Patriots completing only 3 passes the entire game.

The '83 season did provide some great games, a memorable rookie class and a farewell to Terry Bradshaw and Shea Stadium. Best of luck Rupert with your season by season greatest games project, that's a huge undertaking. I love books like that. Jack Clary's 30 Years of Pro Football's Great Moments is the first "greatest games" book that I purchased in the late '70's (added '80's update several years later). Also have Shelby Strother's NFL Top 40 (1988) and a greatest games book published by Sports Illustrated in the late 1990's. Edit: Upon further review I'm probably thinking of a section in Peter King's A History of the Professional Game published by SI in 1997.

[Gary Najman]

NFL Films Presents did a half hour retrospective in January '84 featuring their picks for the 4 best games of 1983:

Wk. 6 Buffalo 38 @ Miami 35 (OT)
Wk. 7 Washington 47 @ Green Bay 48
Wk. 15 Kansas City 38 @ San Diego 41
Wk. 5 L.A. Raiders 35 @ Washington Redskins 37

Some other favorites from that season:

Wk. 1 Dallas 31 @ Washington 30
Wk. 15 Kansas City 48 @ Seattle 51 (OT)
Wk. 15 Baltimore Colts 19 @ Denver Broncos 21 - Elway (23/44 345 yds. & 3 TD's) rallies the playoff bound Broncos who trailed 19-0 at halftime.

I've been working on a manuscript of the most important games of each season, where I write a couple thousand words about each of the four most interesting games of each season, the games I would have most wanted to see. The games I have chosen for the 1983 season are, in order from most interesting to number four, are:

1 - Week 5 Raiders vs Redskins
2 - Week 7 Redskins vs Packers
3 - Week 6 Bills vs. Dolphins
4 - Week 16 Rams vs Saints

The Rams-Saints game had a lot going for it - a New Orleans win gives them their first winning season and first trip to the playoffs in franchise history, at the Superdome, against the Rams, who needed a win and a Green Bay loss to get the wild card. Snake Stabler made the final start of his NFL career for New Orleans in that game, but the Rams won 26-24 on a last-second Mike Lansford field goal. Bob Thomas kicked a last-second field goal for Chicago to beat the Packers 23-21 to give LA the final wild card in the NFC.

One game I remember very well was the Packers-Falcons contest in week 13, where two Kenny Johnson's interceptions for TDs (including one in OT) were the key for Atlanta's 47-41 victory.

[Retro Rider]

One game I remember very well was the Packers-Falcons contest in week 13, where two Kenny Johnson's interceptions for TDs (including one in OT) were the key for Atlanta's 47-41 victory.

You just reminded me of another '83 Falcons game, a 28-24 stunner over the 49ers in Week 12. Billy White Shoes catches a 47 yard game winning hail mary from Steve Bartkowski with 6 seconds remaining:

"The Falcons had just one last chance at the 49er 47 yard line with no more than 6 seconds on the clock. Time for one play - the Hail Mary. Bartkowski let it fly and a host of 49ers were there to greet it when it came down inside the ten yard line. The ball was tipped in the air, caught by Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, who was then tackled from behind by Ronnie Lott on about the 3 yard line, which drove him down inside the one. Johnson laid flat out on the ground, reached the ball out to a half yard from the end zone, then crawled across the goal line."

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/346 ... ov-20-1983

[Gary Najman]

One game I remember very well was the Packers-Falcons contest in week 13, where two Kenny Johnson's interceptions for TDs (including one in OT) were the key for Atlanta's 47-41 victory.

You just reminded me of another '83 Falcons game, a 28-24 stunner over the 49ers in Week 12. Billy White Shoes catches a 47 yard game winning hail mary from Steve Bartkowski with 6 seconds remaining:

"The Falcons had just one last chance at the 49er 47 yard line with no more than 6 seconds on the clock. Time for one play - the Hail Mary. Bartkowski let it fly and a host of 49ers were there to greet it when it came down inside the ten yard line. The ball was tipped in the air, caught by Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, who was then tackled from behind by Ronnie Lott on about the 3 yard line, which drove him down inside the one. Johnson laid flat out on the ground, reached the ball out to a half yard from the end zone, then crawled across the goal line."

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/346 ... ov-20-1983

That was one of the top plays of that season. It's interesting that in the Packers game the next week, the Falcons had another Hail Mary TD pass, this at the end of the first half, from Mike Moroski to Stacey Bailey. I think is the only time where two successful Hail Marys by the same team happened in consecutuve weeks.


What about the Raiders-Cowboys lonely Sunday Night contest of 1983? The Raiders won 40-38.

[TanksAndSpartans]

Rupert, what year did you start with?

From 1933 to 1969 NFL, and 1960-69 AFL, and 1946-49 AAFC, I wrote about the top two games of each season, and listed a number of honorable mention games for each season where I would write a couple sentences. From 1970-2017 I wrote about the top four games of each season, and listed honorable mentions. The project is about 70 percent completed, but it is massive, and will comprise a series of perhaps 5-7 books. I chose not to do 1920-1932 because I frankly did not know enough about the era and the records are spotty at best. One of the things I did with this was to reconstruct these games from scratch, using newspapers and radio accounts/gamebooks and play by play and film/television and steering clear completely from non-reference books. Once I get my "Statistical History of Pro Football" books published (it became so large it became necessary to split that into two books, a volume one and volume two if you will) and Volume 1 is with publishers for review as we speak, I will get to finishing these books on the most interesting games of each season.

Sounds great - thanks Rupert - maybe I'll continue your line with some early games - I've been looking at 1914 recently. Anyway, looking forward to seeing your work.