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1983 Houston Oilers season

NFL team season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1983 Houston Oilers season was the 24th season overall and 14th with the National Football League (NFL). After a strike-shorted 1–8 season, the Oilers traded their second draft choice to the Los Angeles Rams,[1] probably fearing that Eric Dickerson, the player they desired to pick with that second choice,[2] would join the Los Angeles Express of the USFL. Dickerson was cool about playing for the Oilers,[2] while his family was firmly opposed.[3]

OwnerBud Adams
General managerLadd Herzeg
Head coachEd Biles
Chuck Studley (interim)
Home stadiumHouston Astrodome
Quick facts Houston Oilers season, Owner ...
1983 Houston Oilers season
OwnerBud Adams
General managerLadd Herzeg
Head coachEd Biles
Chuck Studley (interim)
Home stadiumHouston Astrodome
Results
Record2–14
Division place4th AFC Central
PlayoffsDid not qualify
Pro BowlersRB Earl Campbell
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The Oilers ultimately made a marginal improvement, winning two games,[4] but failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season. The 460 points allowed by the team are the most given up by the team in franchise history.[5]

The week 13 game against Tampa Bay, before which both teams had 1–11 records, was nicknamed the "Repus Bowl". Steve Wulf wrote of the game, "Yes, this was the Small One, the battle of the beatens, the movable object meeting the resistible force. There were only tomorrows. When these two teams get together, nothing can happen. This game was for a marble."[6] Tampa Bay won the game 33–24.

The last remaining active member of the 1983 Houston Oilers was offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, who retired after the 2001 season.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1983 NFL draft
More information Round, Pick ...
1983 Houston Oilers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 9 Bruce Matthews * †  Guard USC
2 30 Harvey Salem  Tackle California
2 42 Keith Bostic *  Defensive back Michigan
3 58 Tim Joiner  Linebacker LSU
3 69 Chris Dressel  Tight end Stanford
3 83 Steve Brown  Defensive back Oregon
4 86 Greg Hill  Defensive back Oklahoma State
4 88 Mike McCloskey  Tight end Penn State
5 114 Larry Moriarty  Running back Notre Dame
5 139 Jerome Foster  Defensive end Ohio State
6 142 Steve Haworth  Defensive back Oklahoma
7 170 Herkie Walls  Wide receiver Texas
8 198 Robert Thompson  Linebacker Michigan
9 226 Kevin Potter  Defensive back Missouri
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career
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[7]

Personnel

Staff

1983 Houston Oilers staff

Front office

  • Owner/Chairman of the Board/President – Bud Adams
  • Executive Vice President/General Manager – Ladd Herzeg

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Vic Rapp

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Bill Allerheiligen

Roster

1983 Houston Oilers roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

 Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

 Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Schedule

More information Week, Date ...
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 4 Green Bay Packers L 38–41 (OT) 0–1 Astrodome Recap
2 September 11 at Los Angeles Raiders L 6–20 0–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap
3 September 18 Pittsburgh Steelers L 28–40 0–3 Astrodome Recap
4 September 25 at Buffalo Bills L 13–30 0–4 Rich Stadium Recap
5 October 2 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–17 0–5 Three Rivers Stadium Recap
6 October 9 Denver Broncos L 14–26 0–6 Astrodome Recap
7 October 16 at Minnesota Vikings L 14–34 0–7 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Recap
8 October 23 Kansas City Chiefs L 10–13 (OT) 0–8 Astrodome Recap
9 October 30 at Cleveland Browns L 19–25 (OT) 0–9 Cleveland Stadium Recap
10 November 6 Cincinnati Bengals L 14–55 0–10 Astrodome Recap
11 November 13 Detroit Lions W 27–17 1–10 Astrodome Recap
12 November 20 at Cincinnati Bengals L 10–38 1–11 Riverfront Stadium Recap
13 November 27 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 24–33 1–12 Tampa Stadium Recap
14 December 4 Miami Dolphins L 17–24 1–13 Astrodome Recap
15 December 11 Cleveland Browns W 34–27 2–13 Astrodome Recap
16 December 18 at Baltimore Colts L 10–20 2–14 Memorial Stadium Recap
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Season summary

Week 1 vs Packers

See also: 1983 Green Bay Packers season
Week One: Green Bay Packers (0–0) at Houston Oilers (0–0)
More information Quarter, OT ...
Quarter 1 2 34OTTotal
Packers 7 21 37341
Oilers 10 0 721038
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at Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas

More information Game information ...
Game information

First quarter

Second quarter

  • GB – John Jefferson 5-yard pass from Lynn Dickey (Jan Stenerud kick), 8:55. Packers 14–10. Drive:
  • GB – John Jefferson 13-yard pass from Lynn Dickey (Jan Stenerud kick), 0:51. Packers 21–10. Drive:
  • GB – Gerry Ellis 11-yard pass from Lynn Dickey (Jan Stenerud kick), 0:30. Packers 28–10. Drive:

Third quarter

  • HOU – Earl Campbell 7-yard run (Florian Kempf kick), 9:08. Packers 28–17. Drive:
  • GB – Jan Stenerud 46-yard field goal, 4:36. Packers 31–17. Drive:

Fourth quarter

  • HOU – Earl Campbell 8-yard run (Florian Kempf kick), 11:05. Packers 31–24. Drive:
  • HOU – Earl Campbell 1-yard run (Florian Kempf kick), 4:23. Tie 31–31. Drive:
  • GB – James Lofton 74-yard pass from Lynn Dickey (Jan Stenerud kick), 4:13. Packers 38–31. Drive:
  • HOU – Larry Moriarty 2-yard run (Florian Kempf kick), 0:48. Tie 38–38. Drive:

Overtime

  • GB – Jan Stenerud 42-yard field goal, 9:05. Packers 41–38. Drive:
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
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Week 11 vs Lions

Week Eleven: Detroit Lions (5–5) at Houston Oilers (0–10)
More information Quarter, Total ...
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Lions 0 10 7017
Oilers 3 7 14327
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at Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas

  • Date: November 13, 1983
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Indoors (dome)
  • Game attendance: 40,660
  • Referee: Bob Frederic
  • Box Score, Box Score
More information Team, Category ...
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Lions PassingEric Hipple17/29, 213 Yds, 3 INT
RushingBilly Sims20 Rush, 105 Yds, TD
ReceivingBilly Sims9 Rec, 90 Yds
Oilers PassingOliver Luck18/26, 189 Yds, 2 TD, INT
RushingEarl Campbell28 Rush, 107 Yds
ReceivingMike Renfro7 Rec, 75 Yds
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More information Scoring summary, Quarter ...
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Standings

More information AFC Central, W ...
AFC Central
 W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(3) Pittsburgh Steelers 10 6 0 .625 4–2 8–4 355 303 L1
Cleveland Browns 9 7 0 .563 3–3 7–5 356 342 W1
Cincinnati Bengals 7 9 0 .438 4–2 4–8 346 302 L1
Houston Oilers 2 14 0 .125 1–5 1–11 288 460 L1
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References

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