From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NFL team season
The Saints playing against the Chicago Bears during a 1984 away game at Soldier Field.
The 1984 New Orleans Saints season was the team's 18th as a member of the National Football League . They were unable to improve on their previous season 's output of 8–8, winning only seven games.[ 1] The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the eighteenth consecutive season. The Saints started out winning three of their first five games. However, the Saints would struggle as newly acquired quarterback Richard Todd threw 19 interceptions to just 11 touchdowns as the Saints again finished the season with a losing record at 7-9. It was in week 6 against the Bears that Walter Payton passed Jim Brown to become the NFL's all-time leading rusher.
Todd was acquired from the New York Jets for a first-round draft choice, and he beat out the aging Ken Stabler for the starting job at training camp, the Saints' last at Vero Beach, Florida . Stabler, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016, retired midway through the season.
Late in the season, owner John Mecom Jr., who purchased the Saints as an expansion franchise for $8.5 million in late 1966, announced he would sell the team, with an asking price of $70 million. Fears abounded across Louisiana the team would be moved to Jacksonville if Mecom could not find a local buyer. Eventually, the team was sold in early 1985 to New Orleans native and car magnate Tom Benson , with Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards brokering the deal.
Offseason
NFL draft
[ 2]
Personnel
Staff
1984 New Orleans Saints staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
Defensive coordinator – Wade Phillips
Defensive line – Willie Zapalac
Linebackers – John Paul Young
Defensive backfield – Lance Van Zandt
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
Strength and Conditioning – Russell Paternostro
Roster
Regular season
Transactions
October 10, 1984: The New Orleans Saints in exchange for their top choice in the 1985 NFL Draft to the Houston Oilers in exchange for running back Earl Campbell .[ 3]
Schedule
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Record
Venue
Attendance
1
September 2
Atlanta Falcons
L 28–36
0–1
Louisiana Superdome
66,652
2
September 9
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
W 17–13
1–1
Louisiana Superdome
54,686
3
September 16
at San Francisco 49ers
L 20–30
1–2
Candlestick Park
57,611
4
September 23
St. Louis Cardinals
W 34–24
2–2
Louisiana Superdome
58,723
5
September 30
at Houston Oilers
W 27–10
3–2
Astrodome
43,108
6
October 7
at Chicago Bears
L 7–20
3–3
Soldier Field
53,752
7
October 14
Los Angeles Rams
L 10–28
3–4
Louisiana Superdome
63,161
8
October 21
at Dallas Cowboys
L 27–30 (OT)
3–5
Texas Stadium
50,966
9
October 28
at Cleveland Browns
W 16–14
4–5
Cleveland Municipal Stadium
52,489
10
November 4
Green Bay Packers
L 13–23
4–6
Louisiana Superdome
57,426
11
November 11
at Atlanta Falcons
W 17–13
5–6
Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
40,590
12
November 19
Pittsburgh Steelers
W 27–24
6–6
Louisiana Superdome
66,005
13
November 25
San Francisco 49ers
L 3–35
6–7
Louisiana Superdome
65,177
14
December 2
at Los Angeles Rams
L 21–34
6–8
Anaheim Stadium
49,348
15
December 9
Cincinnati Bengals
L 21–24
6–9
Louisiana Superdome
40,855
16
December 15
at New York Giants
W 10–3
7–9
Giants Stadium
63,739
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Season summary
Week 1
1
2 3 4 Total
• Falcons
5
14 7 10
36
Saints
7
14 0 7
28
[ 4]
Week 2
1
2 3 4 Total
Buccaneers
7
3 3 0
13
• Saints
0
7 3 7
17
Date: September 9Location: Louisiana SuperdomeGame weather: Indoors (dome)Referee: Gordon McCarter
[ 5]
[ 6]
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
NO
Passing
Ken Stabler
14/27, 157 YDS, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
Rushing
George Rogers
23 CAR, 88 YDS
Receiving
Eugene Goodlow
6 REC, 62 YDS, 1 TD
SF
Passing
Joe Montana
10/17, 128 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
Wendell Tyler
10 CAR, 82 YDS, 1 TD
Receiving
Freddie Solomon
3 REC, 72 YDS, 1 TD
Point spread : 49ers by 5½
Over/Under: 45.0 (over)
Time of Game:
Saints
Game Statistics
49ers
20
First downs
19
31–119
Rushes–yards
32–148
162
Passing yards
179
16–34–5
Passes
13–26–1
2–13
Sacked–yards
3–20
149
Net passing yards
159
268
Total yards
307
166
Return yards
160
3–46.0
Punts
5–40.8
0–0
Fumbles–lost
0–0
4–47
Penalties–yards
6–54
31:38
Time of Possession
28:22
Week 4
1
2 3 4 Total
Cardinals
0
7 7 10
24
• Saints
10
3 7 14
34
Date: September 23Location: Louisiana SuperdomeGame weather: Indoors (dome)Referee: Jim Tunney TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist and Terry Bradshaw
[ 7]
Week 5
1
2 3 4 Total
• Saints
14
3 0 10
27
Oilers
0
0 3 7
10
Date: September 30Location: Astrodome Game weather: Indoors (dome)Referee: Bob Frederic
[ 8]
Week 6
1
2 3 4 Total
Saints
0
7 0 0
7
• Bears
6
7 0 7
20
[ 9]
Week 7
1
2 3 4 Total
• Rams
0
21 7 0
28
Saints
3
0 0 7
10
Date: October 14Location: Louisiana SuperdomeGame weather: Indoors (dome)Referee: Chuck Heberling TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and Hank Stram
[ 10]
Week 8
1
2 3 4 OT Total
Saints
0
17 10 0 0
27
• Cowboys
3
3 0 21 3
30
[ 11]
Week 9
1
2 3 4 Total
• Saints
0
10 0 6
16
Browns
0
7 7 0
14
[ 12]
Week 10
1
2 3 4 Total
• Packers
0
10 10 3
23
Saints
7
3 0 3
13
Date: November 4Location: Louisiana SuperdomeGame start: 12:00 pm CST Game weather: Indoors (dome)Referee: Jim Tunney
[ 13]
Week 11
1
2 3 4 Total
• Saints
10
0 0 7
17
Falcons
0
10 3 0
13
[ 14]
Week 12
1
2 3 4 Total
Steelers
0
14 0 10
24
• Saints
3
10 0 14
27
[ 15]
[ 16]
Point spread : 49ers by 2
Over/Under: 42.0 (under)
Time of Game:
49ers
Game Statistics
Saints
22
First downs
12
33–219
Rushes–yards
28–131
201
Passing yards
118
15–32–0
Passes
14–26–1
1–13
Sacked–yards
8–48
188
Net passing yards
70
407
Total yards
201
107
Return yards
113
6–44.3
Punts
8–45.5
1–0
Fumbles–lost
1–0
4–60
Penalties–yards
3–20
27:48
Time of Possession
32:12
Week 14
1
2 3 4 Total
Saints
0
7 0 14
21
• Rams
14
10 3 7
34
[ 17]
Week 15
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bengals
0
3 14 7
24
Saints
0
7 7 7
21
Date: December 9Location: Louisiana SuperdomeGame weather: Indoors (dome)Referee: Gene Barth
[ 18]
Week 16
1
2 3 4 Total
• Saints
7
0 0 3
10
Giants
0
3 0 0
3
Scoring summary Q1 8:54 NO Gajan 2 yard pass from Wilson (Andersen kick)NO 7–0
Q2 14:31 NYG Haji-Sheikh 37 yard field goalNO 7–3
Q4 13:55 NO Andersen 37 yard field goal NO 10–3
[ 19]
Standings
References
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Wild card berths (5) Division championships (9) Conference championships (1) League championships (1) Retired numbers Ring of Honor Current league affiliations