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AFC teams: West, Central, East

Cowboys

Giants

Eagles

Cardinals

Redskins

Bears

Lions

Packers

Vikings

Buccaneers

Falcons

Rams

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NFC teams: West, Central, East

The1984 NFL season was the 65thregular season of theNational Football League. TheColts relocated fromBaltimore, Maryland, toIndianapolis, Indiana, before the season.

The season ended withSuper Bowl XIX when theSan Francisco 49ers defeated theMiami Dolphins 38–16 atStanford Stadium in California. This was the firstSuper Bowl televised byABC, who entered into the annual championship game rotation withCBS andNBC. This game marked the second shortest distance between the Super Bowl host stadium (Stanford, California) and a Super Bowl team (San Francisco 49ers).^[1]

The 49ers became the first team in NFL history to win 15 games in a regular season and to win 18 in an entire season (including the postseason). Additionally, two major offensive records were set this season, with quarterbackDan Marino establishing a new single-season passing yards record with 5,084 (later broken byDrew Brees in2011,2012,2013 and2016, byTom Brady in2011, byPeyton Manning in2013, byBen Roethlisberger andPatrick Mahomes in2018 and byJameis Winston in2019) andEric Dickerson establishing a new single-season rushing yards record with 2,105. Another statistical record broken wasMark Gastineau for most sacks in a single season, with 22 (surpassed byMichael Strahan in2001 and byT.J. Watt in2021).

Also during the season,San Diego Chargers wide receiverCharlie Joiner became the all-time leader in career receptions; he set that mark in a game between the Chargers and thePittsburgh Steelers atPittsburgh'sThree Rivers Stadium.

In a week 10 game against theKansas City Chiefs, theSeattle Seahawks set numerous NFL records for interception returns, including most interception return yardage in a game and most interceptions returned for touchdowns in a game with 4 (all touchdowns over 50 yards in length). The Seahawks also tied an NFL record with 63 defensive takeaways on the season.

Salaries increased significantly over the past two seasons in the NFL, up nearly fifty percent; newHouston Oilers quarterbackWarren Moon led the list at $1.1 million.^[2]

• February 4, 1984: Warren Moon signs a contract with the Houston Oilers.^[3]

• February 18, 1984: The New Orleans Saints acquire quarterbackRichard Todd in a trade with the New York Jets.
• February 23, 1984: The Pittsburgh Steelers acquire David Woodley in a trade with the Miami Dolphins.
• October 10, 1984: The Houston Oilers traded running backEarl Campbell to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for their top choice in the1985 NFL draft.^[4]

• July 24, 1984: Four-time Super Bowl champion Terry Bradshaw announces his retirement.^[5]

The1984 NFL draft was held from May 1 to May 2, 1984, atNew York City'sOmni Park Central Hotel. With the first pick, theNew England Patriots selected wide receiverIrving Fryar from theUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln.

In an attempt to head off a bidding war within its own ranks forUnited States Football League andCanadian Football League players, a one-timesupplemental draft of USFL and CFL players was held on June 5, 1984. This supplemental draft was especially designed for players who would have been eligible for the regular NFL draft but had already signed a contract with a USFL team after being selected in1984 USFL draft earlier on January 4. NFL owners did not want to risk potentially "wasting" picks in the regular draft on players who were already signed by another league, but also wanted to ensure there would not be a large influx of free agent talent in case the new rival league suddenly collapsed. With the first pick, theTampa Bay Buccaneers selected quarterbackSteve Young fromBYU, who previously was selected by theLos Angeles Express with the 11th pick in the USFL draft. Young would eventually join the Buccaneers in summer 1985 soon after the Express suspended operations.^[6][7][8][9]

• Theleague's jersey numbering system was modified to allow linebackers to wear numbers 90 to 99, in addition to 50 to 59.
• The penalty for a kickoff or onside kick that goes out of bounds is 5 yards from the previous spot and a re-kick must be made. However, if the second (or more) kickoff or onside kick goes out of bounds, the receiving team may choose instead to take possession of the ball at the out of bounds spot.
• Leaping to try to block a field goal or an extra point is illegal unless the defensive player was lined up at the line of scrimmage.
• A kicker or holder who fakes being roughed or run into by a defensive player can receive anunsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
• Unsportsmanlike conduct will also be called for any prolonged, excessive, or premeditated celebration by individual players or a group of players. This is usually referred to as the "Mark Gastineau Rule" because a major reason why this change was made was to stop him from performing his signature "Sack Dance" every time after he sacked an opposing quarterback. This rule was instituted after Rams offensive tackleJackie Slater pushedNew York Jets defensive endMark Gastineau, who after sacking Rams quarterbackVince Ferragamo, performed his sack dance, igniting a brawl. This occurred during a week 4 game between the Rams and the Jets. This also referred to theWashington Redskins "Fun Bunch".

• David Overstreet was killed in a car accident on June 24, 1984.^[10] He was driving northbound in his 1980 Mercedes onTexas State Highway 155, when his car swerved off the road about 10 miles northeast ofTyler into gasoline pumps at a service station and exploded.^[11] The Dolphins wore a helmet decal with the number 20 in his memory during their1984 season in which they reachedSuper Bowl XIX.
  • This was the third offseason in four years in which an active Dolphins player died. LinebackerRusty Chambers was killed in a July 1981 automobile accident, and linebackerLarry Gordon died of a heart attack while jogging in June 1983.
• Ricky Bell died November 28, 1984, at the age of 29 due to complications caused by dermatomyositis. Bell was the first overall selection in the1977 draft by theTampa Bay Buccaneers following an All-America career atUSC. Bell played for coachJohn McKay at USC and Tampa Bay.
• Kirk Collins died on February 22, 1984. Collins had been a defensive back for theLos Angeles Rams. Collins emerged as a starter despite being drafted in the seventh round of the1980 draft. Collins had been diagnosed with Esophageal cancer the previous season.

From 1970 to 2001, there were three divisions (Eastern, Central and Western) in each conference. The winners of each division, and a fourth "wild card" team based on the best non-division winner, qualified for the playoffs. The tiebreaker rules were changed to start with head-to-head competition, followed by division records, records against common opponents, and records in conference play.

ThePro Football Hall of Fame Game, in which theSeattle Seahawks defeated theTampa Bay Buccaneers 38–0, was contested on July 28, 1984, and held atFawcett Stadium inCanton, Ohio, the same city wherethe league was founded. The 1984 Hall of Fame Class included Willie Brown, Mike McCormack, Charley Taylor and Arnie Weinmeister.

Highlights of the 1984 season included:

• Thanksgiving: Two games were played on Thursday, November 22, featuring Green Bay atDetroit and New England atDallas, with Detroit and Dallas winning.

• N.Y. Giants finished ahead ofSt. Louis andDallas in the NFC East based on best head-to-head record (3–1 to Cardinals' 2–2 and Cowboys' 1–3).
• St. Louis finished ahead of Dallas in the NFC East based on better division record (5–3 to Cowboys' 3–5).

• September 30, 1984: The Colts won their first game ever at Indianapolis during a Week 5 contest against AFC East opponent, theBuffalo Bills, winning by a 31–17 margin.

• For the only time in NFL history, two teams – the Oilers and the Bills – begin the season 0–10.^[14]
  • The Oilers defeated the Chiefs in week 11. The Bills reached 0-11 before upending the Cowboys.

The following players set all-time records during the season:

• Cincinnati Bengals:Sam Wyche replaced the resigningForrest Gregg, who left to join the Green Bay Packers.
• Green Bay Packers:Bart Starr was fired.Forrest Gregg then joined the Packers after resigning from the Bengals.
• Houston Oilers:Hugh Campbell was hired as head coach.Ed Biles was fired after the team lost their first six games the previous season, with defensive coordinatorChuck Studley taking over as the interim head coach.
• Minnesota Vikings:Les Steckel replaced the retiringBud Grant.

• Cleveland Browns:Sam Rutigliano was fired after starting the season 1–7, and was replaced by defensive coordinatorMarty Schottenheimer.
• Indianapolis Colts:Frank Kush resigned after the team went 4–11. Offensive line coachHal Hunter served as interim for the team's final regular season game.
• New England Patriots:Ron Meyer was fired after eight games, despite a 5–3 record, due to his team-wide alienation of players.Raymond Berry, who had been out of coaching since serving as New England's receivers coach from 1978 to 1981, was named as Meyer's replacement.

The relocatedIndianapolis Colts moved from Baltimore'sMemorial Stadium to theHoosier Dome in Indianapolis.

TheNew York Jets moved their home games fromShea Stadium inNew York City toGiants Stadium inEast Rutherford, New Jersey, sharing it with theGiants.

• TheAtlanta Falcons switched from white to black face masks.
• TheBuffalo Bills switched from white helmets to red, primarily to help quarterbackJoe Ferguson distinguish his teammates from the white helmets also worn by AFC East rivalsIndianapolis Colts,Miami Dolphins, andNew England Patriots.^[15]
• TheChicago Bears permanently added "GSH" to the left sleeve of the jerseys, in memory of longtime owner and coachGeorge Halas. The Bears also added navy blue pants to wear with their white jerseys, in addition to white socks to match the white jersey's sleeve coloring.
• TheCleveland Browns added new striping patterns to their brown and white jerseys, and white pants. Outlines were also added to the numbers. During the preseason, the numbers on the brown jerseys were orange trimmed with white; however, complaints about the numbers being too difficult to read prompted the color scheme to be reversed for the regular season. They also stopped using orange pants and instead wore white pants with both the brown and white jerseys. Brown-topped socks were worn with the brown jerseys, and orange-topped socks were worn with the white jerseys.
• TheDetroit Lions switched from gray to blue face masks.
• TheGreen Bay Packers added player numbers to their pants at the hip, similar to theDallas Cowboys, also adding a small gold stripe on the inner white stripe of the pants. The "TV numbers" on the jerseys were moved from the sleeves to the shoulders, and the "G" monogram on the helmets was superimposed on the jersey sleeves.
• TheMinnesota Vikings wore white shoes for the first time.
• TheNew England Patriots made major changes to their jerseys, reinstating the "UCLA stripes" around the shoulders (last seen in 1968), replacing the two stripes at the bottom of the sleeves which were used from 1973 to 1983. The Patriots also returned to wearing red pants with their white jerseys as they did in 1979 and '80. These uniforms remained largely unchanged through 1992, except for a change to red facemasks in 1991 and the discontinuation of the red pants in 1988 and '89.
• The San Diego Chargers modified the lightning bolt scheme on the yellow pants by adding a blue panel surrounding the white lightning bolt.

This was the third year under the league's five-year broadcast contracts withABC,CBS, andNBC to televiseMonday Night Football, the NFC package, and the AFC package, respectively.Howard Cosell leftMNF, primarily due to the fallout of his offhand remarks about wide receiverAlvin Garrett during a 1983 broadcast that was viewed as racially insensitive.O. J. Simpson was then promoted from fill-in to full-time color commentator, joiningFrank Gifford andDon Meredith in the booth. On NBC's pregame showNFL '84,Bob Costas replacedLen Berman as host. This was the last season thatPhyllis George served onThe NFL Today.^[16]

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1981–1990 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)

• NFL seasons
• 1984 in American football
• 1984 NFL season

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• Use mdy dates from November 2013