1984 NFL season
| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 2 – December 17, 1984 |
| Playoffs | |
| Start date | December 23, 1984 |
| AFC Champions | Miami Dolphins |
| NFC Champions | San Francisco 49ers |
| Super Bowl XIX | |
| Date | January 20, 1985 |
| Site | Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California |
| Champions | San Francisco 49ers |
| Pro Bowl | |
| Date | January 27, 1985 |
| Site | Aloha Stadium |
The 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana before the season. The Colts new home field was the Hoosier Dome. The New York Jets moved their home games from Shea Stadium in New York City to Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The season ended with Super Bowl XIX when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins 38-16 at Stanford Stadium in California. This was the first Super Bowl televised by ABC, who entered into the annual championship game rotation with CBS and NBC. 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 post-season). Additionally, two major offensive records were set this season, with quarterback Dan Marino establishing a new single-season passing yards record with 5,084 (later broken by Drew Brees and Tom Brady in 2011 and by Peyton Manning in 2013), and Eric Dickerson establishing a new single-season rushing yards record with 2,105.
Also during the season, San Diego Chargers wide receiver Charlie Joiner became the all-time leader in career receptions; he set that mark in a game between the Chargers and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium.
Salaries increased significantly over the past two seasons in the NFL, up nearly fifty percent; quarterback Warren Moon led the list at $1.1 million.[2]
Major rule changes
- Linebackers are permitted to wear numbers 90–99.
- 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 an unsportsmanlike 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.
Regular Season games not broadcast by Network TV
| Date | Time | Teams | Local TV | Announcers |
| September 3, 1984 | 4:00 PM EDT | Cleveland @ Seattle | WKYC-TV (Cleveland area) KING-TV (Seattle area) |
|
| October 14, 1984 | 4:00 PM EDT | Buffalo @ Seattle | WKBW-TV (Buffalo area) KING-TV (Seattle area) |
Final standings
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against
| AFC East | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) Miami Dolphins | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 513 | 298 |
| New England Patriots | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 362 | 352 |
| New York Jets | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 332 | 364 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 239 | 414 |
| Buffalo Bills | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 250 | 454 |
| AFC Central | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
| (3) Pittsburgh Steelers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 387 | 310 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 339 | 339 |
| Cleveland Browns | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 250 | 297 |
| Houston Oilers | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 240 | 437 |
| AFC West | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
| (2) Denver Broncos | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 353 | 241 |
| (4) Seattle Seahawks | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 418 | 282 |
| (5) Los Angeles Raiders | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 368 | 278 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 314 | 324 |
| San Diego Chargers | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 394 | 413 |
| NFC East | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (2) Washington Redskins | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 426 | 310 |
| (5) New York Giants | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 299 | 301 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 423 | 345 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 308 | 308 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 6 | 9 | 1 | .406 | 278 | 320 |
| NFC Central | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
| (3) Chicago Bears | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 325 | 248 |
| Green Bay Packers | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 390 | 309 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 335 | 380 |
| Detroit Lions | 4 | 11 | 1 | .281 | 283 | 408 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 276 | 484 |
| NFC West | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
| (1) San Francisco 49ers | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 475 | 227 |
| (4) Los Angeles Rams | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 346 | 316 |
| New Orleans Saints | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 298 | 361 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 281 | 382 |
Tiebreakers
- N.Y. Giants finished ahead of St. Louis and Dallas 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).
Playoffs
| Dec 30 – Mile High Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Pittsburgh | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
| Dec 22 – Kingdome | Jan 6 – Miami Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Denver | 17 | ||||||||||||||||
| AFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | LA Raiders | 7 | 3 | Pittsburgh | 28 | |||||||||||||
| Dec 29 – Miami Orange Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Seattle | 13 | 1 | Miami | 45 | |||||||||||||
| AFC Championship | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Seattle | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| Jan 20 – Stanford Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Miami | 31 | ||||||||||||||||
| Divisional playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Wild Card playoffs | A1 | Miami | 16 | |||||||||||||||
| Dec 30 – RFK Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| N1 | San Francisco | 38 | ||||||||||||||||
| Super Bowl XIX | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Chicago | 23 | ||||||||||||||||
| Dec 23 – Anaheim Stadium | Jan 6 – Candlestick Park | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Washington | 19 | ||||||||||||||||
| NFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | NY Giants | 16 | 3 | Chicago | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Dec 29 – Candlestick Park | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | LA Rams | 13 | 1 | San Francisco | 23 | |||||||||||||
| NFC Championship | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | NY Giants | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | San Francisco | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
Statistical leaders
Team
| Points scored | Miami Dolphins (513) |
| Total yards gained | Miami Dolphins (6,936) |
| Yards rushing | Chicago Bears (2,974) |
| Yards passing | Miami Dolphins (5,018) |
| Fewest points allowed | San Francisco 49ers (227) |
| Fewest total yards allowed | Chicago Bears (3,863) |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed | Chicago Bears (1,377) |
| Fewest passing yards allowed | New Orleans Saints (2,453) |
Milestones
The following players set all-time records during the season:
| Most Passing Yards Gained, Season | Dan Marino, Miami (5,084) |
| Most Passing Touchdowns, Season | Dan Marino, Miami (48) |
| Most Passes Completed, Season | Dan Marino, Miami (362) |
| Most Rushing Yards Gained, Season | Eric Dickerson, Los Angeles Rams (2,105) |
| Most Rushing Attempts, Season | James Wilder, Tampa Bay (407) |
| Most Pass Receptions, Season | Art Monk, Washington (106) |
| Most Receiving Touchdowns, Season | Mark Clayton, Miami (18) |
| Most Extra Points Made, Season | Uwe von Schamann, Miami (66) |
| Most Extra Point Attempts, Season | Uwe von Schamann, Miami (70) |
| Most Sacks, Season | Mark Gastineau, New York Jets (22.0) |
| Most Rushing Yards Gained, Career | Walter Payton, Chicago (13,309 at the end of the season) |
| Most Receptions, Career | Charlie Joiner, San Diego (657 at the end of the season) |
Awards
References
- ^ The shortest distance was the Los Angeles Rams, whose home was the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum before moving to Anaheim the year after playing in Super Bowl XIV vs the Pittsburgh Steelers, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Ca.
- ^ "NFL salaries increasing". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. January 15, 1985. p. 2B.
- 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)