1984 Buffalo Bills season
OwnerRalph Wilson
Head coachKay Stephenson
Home fieldRich Stadium
Results
Record2–14
Division place5th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersRB Greg Bell

The 1984 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 15th season in the National Football League, and the 25th overall. The team started the season with eleven consecutive losses before an upset home win over Dallas in Week 12. The 1984 Bills gave up a team-record 454 points on defense, an average of more than 28 per game.[1] The Bills gave up 30+ points eight times and allowed fewer than 20 points in a game only three times all season. The Bills also allowed sixty quarterback sacks, for a total of 554 yards, the most-ever at the time.[2][note 1] The Bills’ 4,341 total yards gained was second-worst in the league in 1984 (only the Colts gained fewer total yards).[3] The 1984 Bills are one of only two NFL teams[note 2] to have been outscored by 25 points six different times during the season.[4] This season is notable for being Pete Carroll’s first NFL coaching experience. The Bills failed to win a single road game.

Offseason

Uniform change

For the third time in team history, the Bills changed their helmets. While keeping the streaking buffalo logo from the second change, the Bills changed their helmet color from white to red. They would keep the red helmet through the 2010 season.[5] It was the Bills first major change to their helmets since changing from the "standing Bison" to the streaking buffalo before the 1974 season. Since three of the Bills' four AFC Eastern division opponents—Miami, Indianapolis and New England—then had white helmets (the Jets wore green helmets, but would wear white ones from 1998-2018; the Patriots have used silver helmets since 1993), "it was easier for [Ferguson] to distinguish and that's the reason why we made the switch."[6][7] Ferguson had thrown a high number of interceptions over the previous two seasons, and coach Kay Stephenson hoped it would help the quarterback reduce them. Ironically, 1984 was Ferguson's last year with the Bills, and only year with the red helmets; Ferguson, after 107 consecutive starts dating to the 1977 season (at the time tied with the league record), was benched in favor of Joe Dufek on September 30. Ferguson's interception total actually increased compared to the previous year, and he would go on to play for at least three more teams (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts and Canadian football's San Antonio Texans) that all had white helmets.

The Bills wore white jerseys for all 1984 home games, the only time they have done so in franchise history. Buffalo wore white at home occasionally every other year from 1980-86, and has done so since 2011.

NFL draft

Notre Dame running back Greg Bell made the Pro Bowl in his rookie season; he was later traded to the Los Angeles Rams in the blockbuster three-team Eric Dickerson trade. Defensive end Sean McNanie played for the team for four of his seven NFL seasons. Punter John Kidd played his first six seasons with Buffalo; his career lasted a total of 15 seasons.

1984 Buffalo Bills draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 26 Greg Bell *  Running back Notre Dame
2 41 Eric Richardson  Wide receiver San Jose State
3 77 Rodney Bellinger  Defensive back Miami (FL)
3 79 Sean McNanie  Defensive end San Diego State
3 82 Speedy Neal  Running back Miami (FL)
4 95 Mitchell Brookins  Wide receiver Illinois
5 128 John Kidd  Punter Northwestern
6 155 Tony Slaton  Center USC
7 182 Stan David  Linebacker Texas Tech
8 209 Stacy Rayfield  Defensive back Texas–Arlington
9 236 Leroy Howell  Defensive end Appalachian State
10 263 Joe Azelby  Linebacker Harvard
11 299 Craig White  Wide receiver Missouri
12 322 Russell Davis  Wide receiver Maryland
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[8]

Personnel

Staff

1984 Buffalo Bills staff

Front office

  • President – Ralph Wilson
  • Senior executive vice-president – Pat McGroder
  • Vice-president of administration/General Manager – Terry Bledsoe
  • Vice-president of football operations – Kay Stephenson
  • Vice-president of player personnel – Norm Pollom
  • Director of pro personnel – Bill Polian
  • Assistant director of player personnel – Bruce Nicholas

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Miller McCalmon

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – Jim Speros

[9]

Roster

1984 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 2 New England Patriots L 17–21 0–1 Rich Stadium 48,528
2 September 9 at St. Louis Cardinals L 7–37 0–2 Busch Memorial Stadium 35,785
3 September 17 Miami Dolphins L 17–21 0–3 Rich Stadium 65,455
4 September 23 New York Jets L 26–28 0–4 Rich Stadium 48,330
5 September 30 at Indianapolis Colts L 17–31 0–5 Hoosier Dome 60,032
6 October 7 Philadelphia Eagles L 17–27 0–6 Rich Stadium 37,555
7 October 14 at Seattle Seahawks L 28–31 0–7 Kingdome 59,034
8 October 21 Denver Broncos L 7–37 0–8 Rich Stadium 31,204
9 October 28 at Miami Dolphins L 7–38 0–9 Miami Orange Bowl 58,824
10 November 4 Cleveland Browns L 10–13 0–10 Rich Stadium 33,343
11 November 11 at New England Patriots L 10–38 0–11 Sullivan Stadium 43,313
12 November 18 Dallas Cowboys W 14–3 1–11 Rich Stadium 74,391
13 November 25 at Washington Redskins L 14–41 1–12 RFK Stadium 51,513
14 December 2 Indianapolis Colts W 21–15 2–12 Rich Stadium 20,693
15 December 8 at New York Jets L 17–21 2–13 Giants Stadium 45,378
16 December 16 at Cincinnati Bengals L 21–52 2–14 Riverfront Stadium 55,771

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 3 (Monday, September 17, 1984): vs. Miami Dolphins

[10]

Week 3: Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills
Period 1 2 34Total
Dolphins (3–0) 7 7 7021
Bills (0–3) 0 3 7717

at Rich Stadium • Orchard Park, New York

  • Date: September 17, 1984
  • Game time: 9:01 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C); wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)
  • Game attendance: 65,455
  • Referee: Bob Frederic
  • TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford (play-by-play) and O. J. Simpson (color commentator)
  • [11]
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
MIA Passing
Rushing
Receiving
BUF Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Dolphins Game Statistics Bills
First downs
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passes
Sacked–yards
Net passing yards
Total yards
Return yards
Punts
Fumbles–lost
Penalties–yards
Time of Possession
  • Buffalo had now gone the first three weeks without scoring a TD in the first half.

Week 7

1 234Total
Bills 0 1477 28
• Seahawks 17 077 31

[12]

Week 9 (Sunday, October 28, 1984): at Miami Dolphins

[13]

Week 9: Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins
Period 1 2 34Total
Bills (0–9) 0 0 077
Dolphins (9–0) 7 17 01438

at Miami Orange Bowl • Miami, Florida

TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
BUF Passing
Rushing
Receiving
MIA Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Bills Game Statistics Dolphins
First downs
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passes
Sacked–yards
Net passing yards
Total yards
Return yards
Punts
Fumbles–lost
Penalties–yards
Time of Possession

Week 12

1 234Total
Cowboys 0 300 3
• Bills 7 007 14
Scoring summary
Q1BUFBell 85 yard run (Nelson kick)BUF 7–0
Q2DALSeptien 20 yard field goalBUF 7–3
Q4BUFBell 3 yard pass from Ferguson (Nelson kick)BUF 14–3

[14]

Week 13


1 234Total
Bills 0 770 14
• Redskins 17 1077 41


Week 14

1 234Total
Colts 0 933 15
• Bills 21 000 21
Scoring summary
Q1BUFBell 7 yard run (Nelson kick)BUF 7–0
Q1BUFHunter 18 yard pass from Duek (Nelson kick)BUF 14–0
Q1BUFFranklin 64 yard pass from Dufek (Nelson kick)BUF 21–0
Q2INDSafety, Wilson tackled in end zoneBUF 21–2
Q2INDMiddleton 14 yard pass from Schlichter (Allegre kick)BUF 21–9
Q3INDAllegre 28 yard field goalBUF 21–12
Q4INDAllegre 21 yard field goalBUF 21–15

[15]

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Miami Dolphins(1) 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

Notes

  1. ↑ The record was later shattered by the Eagles in 1986.
  2. ↑ The 1975 Bears are the other

References

  1. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: Team Game Finder Query Results
  2. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference: In a single season, from 1978 to 2011, in the regular season, sorted by descending Sacked
  3. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1984 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics
  4. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the NFL, in the regular season, requiring Points Differential <= -25, sorted by most games in season matching criteria.
  5. ↑ SportsLogos.net: Buffalo Bills Logos
  6. ↑ ProFootballTalk.com: The story behind the Bills’ red helmets, 23 June 2011|Retrieved January 4, 2012]
  7. ↑ BuffaloBills.com: Untold uniform stories: Fergie behind helmet color change, 23 June 2011 Archived February 15, 2018, at the Wayback Machine|Retrieved January 4, 2012
  8. ↑ "1984 Buffalo Bills draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  9. ↑ 1984 Buffalo Bills Media Guide. pp. 3–19.
  10. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2022-Jul-10.
  11. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2021-Jun-06.
  12. ↑ . Retrieved 2023-Sep-07.
  13. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2022-Jul-10.
  14. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-15.
  15. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-16.
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