The 1983 Houston Oilers season was the 24th season overall and 14th with the National Football League (NFL). After a strike-shorted 1–8 season, the Oilers traded their second draft choice to the Los Angeles Rams,[1] probably fearing that Eric Dickerson, the player they desired to pick with that second choice,[2] would join the Los Angeles Express of the USFL. Dickerson was cool about playing for the Oilers,[2] while his family was firmly opposed.[3]
| 1983 Houston Oilers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Bud Adams |
| General manager | Ladd Herzeg |
| Head coach | Ed Biles Chuck Studley (interim) |
| Home field | Houston Astrodome |
| Results | |
| Record | 2–14 |
| Division place | 4th AFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | RB Earl Campbell |
The Oilers ultimately made a marginal improvement, winning two games,[4] but failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season. The 460 points allowed by the team are the most given up by the team in franchise history.[5]
The week 13 game against Tampa Bay, before which both teams had 1–11 records, was nicknamed the "Repus Bowl". Steve Wulf wrote of the game, "Yes, this was the Small One, the battle of the beatens, the movable object meeting the resistible force. There were only tomorrows. When these two teams get together, nothing can happen. This game was for a marble."[6] Tampa Bay won the game 33–24.
The last remaining active member of the 1983 Houston Oilers was offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, who retired after the 2001 season.
Offseason
editNFL draft
edit| 1983 Houston Oilers draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Bruce Matthews * † | Guard | USC | |
| 2 | 30 | Harvey Salem | Tackle | California | |
| 2 | 42 | Keith Bostic * | Defensive back | Michigan | |
| 3 | 58 | Tim Joiner | Linebacker | LSU | |
| 3 | 69 | Chris Dressel | Tight end | Stanford | |
| 3 | 83 | Steve Brown | Defensive back | Oregon | |
| 4 | 86 | Greg Hill | Defensive back | Oklahoma State | |
| 4 | 88 | Mike McCloskey | Tight end | Penn State | |
| 5 | 114 | Larry Moriarty | Running back | Notre Dame | |
| 5 | 139 | Jerome Foster | Defensive end | Ohio State | |
| 6 | 142 | Steve Haworth | Defensive back | Oklahoma | |
| 7 | 170 | Herkie Walls | Wide receiver | Texas | |
| 8 | 198 | Robert Thompson | Linebacker | Michigan | |
| 9 | 226 | Kevin Potter | Defensive back | Missouri | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Personnel
editStaff
edit|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Roster
editQuarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE) |
Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
|
Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB)
|
|
Schedule
edit| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 4 | Green Bay Packers | L 38–41 (OT) | 0–1 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 2 | September 11 | at Los Angeles Raiders | L 6–20 | 0–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Recap |
| 3 | September 18 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 28–40 | 0–3 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 4 | September 25 | at Buffalo Bills | L 13–30 | 0–4 | Rich Stadium | Recap |
| 5 | October 2 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 10–17 | 0–5 | Three Rivers Stadium | Recap |
| 6 | October 9 | Denver Broncos | L 14–26 | 0–6 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 7 | October 16 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 14–34 | 0–7 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | Recap |
| 8 | October 23 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 10–13 (OT) | 0–8 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 9 | October 30 | at Cleveland Browns | L 19–25 (OT) | 0–9 | Cleveland Stadium | Recap |
| 10 | November 6 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 14–55 | 0–10 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 11 | November 13 | Detroit Lions | W 27–17 | 1–10 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 12 | November 20 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 10–38 | 1–11 | Riverfront Stadium | Recap |
| 13 | November 27 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 24–33 | 1–12 | Tampa Stadium | Recap |
| 14 | December 4 | Miami Dolphins | L 17–24 | 1–13 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 15 | December 11 | Cleveland Browns | W 34–27 | 2–13 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 16 | December 18 | at Baltimore Colts | L 10–20 | 2–14 | Memorial Stadium | Recap |
Season summary
editWeek 1 vs Packers
editWeek One: Green Bay Packers (0–0) at Houston Oilers (0–0)
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packers | 7 | 21 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 41 |
| Oilers | 10 | 0 | 7 | 21 | 0 | 38 |
at Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas
- Date: September 4
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Indoors (dome)
- Game attendance: 44,073
- Referee: Bob McElwee
- TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Dick Vermeil
- Box Score, Box Score
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 11 vs Lions
edit| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | Passing | Eric Hipple | 17/29, 213 Yds, 3 INT |
| Rushing | Billy Sims | 20 Rush, 105 Yds, TD | |
| Receiving | Billy Sims | 9 Rec, 90 Yds | |
| Oilers | Passing | Oliver Luck | 18/26, 189 Yds, 2 TD, INT |
| Rushing | Earl Campbell | 28 Rush, 107 Yds | |
| Receiving | Mike Renfro | 7 Rec, 75 Yds |
| Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Standings
edit| AFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers(3) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 355 | 303 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 356 | 342 | W1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–2 | 4–8 | 346 | 302 | L1 |
| Houston Oilers | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 1–5 | 1–11 | 288 | 460 | L1 |
References
edit- ^ "Rams, Oilers Trade Drafts". The Sacramento Bee. April 24, 1983. p. C4.
- ^ a b "Dickerson Not Eager To Be Oiler". Austin American-Statesman. April 23, 1983. p. C2.
- ^ "SMU's Dickerson Cool to Prospect of Oilers". The San Francisco Examiner. April 22, 1983. p. F6.
- ^ "1983 Houston Oilers". Pro Football Reference.
- ^ Patra, Kevin (December 25, 2012). "Tennessee Titans on pace to break shameful record". National Football League. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
- ^ Murphy, Austin (November 20, 2008). "Washington-Washington State playing for pride in Apple Cup". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
- ^ "1983 Houston Oilers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2014.