1984 Indianapolis Colts season
32nd season in franchise history; first in Indianapolis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1984 Indianapolis Colts season was the 32nd season for the team in the National Football League (NFL) and first in Indianapolis, as they relocated from Baltimore after the 1983 NFL season. The Colts finished the year with a record of 4 wins and 12 losses, and fourth in the AFC East division. In their inaugural game in Indianapolis, they lost 23–14 to the New York Jets and did not win their first game there until week 5, when they defeated the Buffalo Bills 31–17. The Colts lost five games in a row (including one to the Bills, who started the season 0–11 and finished 2–14) to end the season. They missed the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season.
| 1984 Indianapolis Colts season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Robert Irsay |
| General manager | Jim Irsay |
| Head coach | Frank Kush |
| Home stadium | Hoosier Dome |
| Results | |
| Record | 4–12 |
| Division place | 4th AFC East |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
The Colts' 2,107 passing yards and 4,132 total yards gained on offense were the fewest in the league in 1984.[1]
Offseason
NFL draft
| 1984 Indianapolis Colts draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Leonard Coleman | Cornerback | Vanderbilt | |
| 1 | 19 | Ron Solt * | Guard | Maryland | |
| 2 | 35 | Blaise Winter | Defensive tackle | Syracuse | |
| 3 | 66 | Chris Scott | Defensive tackle | Purdue | |
| 4 | 93 | Craig Curry | Cornerback | Texas | |
| 4 | 103 | George Wonsley | Running back | Mississippi State | |
| 5 | 120 | Golden Tate | Wide receiver | Tennessee State | |
| 5 | 130 | Kevin Call | Tackle | Colorado State | |
| 6 | 147 | Dwight Beverly | Running back | Illinois | |
| 8 | 205 | Eugene Daniel | Cornerback | LSU | |
| 11 | 290 | Bob Stowe | Tackle | Illinois | |
| 12 | 317 | Steve Hathaway | Defensive end | West Virginia | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Personnel
Staff
|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Roster
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 2 | New York Jets | L 14–23 | 0–1 | Hoosier Dome | 61,148 | |
| 2 | September 9 | at Houston Oilers | W 35–21 | 1–1 | Astrodome | 43,820 | |
| 3 | September 16 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 33–34 | 1–2 | Hoosier Dome | 60,274 | |
| 4 | September 23 | at Miami Dolphins | L 7–44 | 1–3 | Miami Orange Bowl | 55,415 | |
| 5 | September 30 | Buffalo Bills | W 31–17 | 2–3 | Hoosier Dome | 60,032 | |
| 6 | October 7 | Washington Redskins | L 7–35 | 2–4 | Hoosier Dome | 60,012 | |
| 7 | October 14 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 7–16 | 2–5 | Veterans Stadium | 50,277 | |
| 8 | October 21 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 17–16 | 3–5 | Hoosier Dome | 60,026 | |
| 9 | October 28 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 3–22 | 3–6 | Texas Stadium | 58,724 | |
| 10 | November 4 | San Diego Chargers | L 10–38 | 3–7 | Hoosier Dome | 60,143 | |
| 11 | November 11 | at New York Jets | W 9–5 | 4–7 | Giants Stadium | 51,066 | |
| 12 | November 18 | New England Patriots | L 17–50 | 4–8 | Hoosier Dome | 60,009 | |
| 13 | November 25 | at Los Angeles Raiders | L 7–21 | 4–9 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 40,289 | |
| 14 | December 2 | at Buffalo Bills | L 15–21 | 4–10 | Rich Stadium | 20,693 | |
| 15 | December 9 | Miami Dolphins | L 17–35 | 4–11 | Hoosier Dome | 60,411 | |
| 16 | December 16 | at New England Patriots | L 10–16 | 4–12 | Sullivan Stadium | 22,383 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Standings
| AFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| (1) Miami Dolphins | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 8–0 | 10–2 | 513 | 298 | W2 |
| New England Patriots | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 362 | 352 | W1 |
| New York Jets | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–5 | 7–7 | 332 | 364 | L1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–6 | 4–8 | 239 | 414 | L5 |
| Buffalo Bills | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 1–7 | 1–11 | 250 | 454 | L2 |
Regular season
Game summaries
Week 2: vs. Houston Oilers
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colts | 0 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
| Oilers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
- Date: September 9, 1984
- Game time: 3:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 43,820
- Referee: Fred Wyant
- TV announcers (NBC): Phil Stone (play-by-play) and Reggie Rucker (color commentator)
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Week 8 vs. Pittsburgh
"Good Things come to those who hustle", are words attributed to Pittsburgh's eventual Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll when he recalled Franco Harris Immaculate Reception in 1972. Those words were never so true when Ray Butler scored in the last minute of play-off a deflected pass to give the Colts a dramatic 17–16 win over the eventual AFC Central Division champion Steelers. The 54-yard score capped a 17-point fourth quarter for the Colts, as they moved on drives of 57, 77 and 80 yards for their third victory of the season.
