1983 Baltimore Colts season
The 1983 Baltimore Colts season was the 31st season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). This would be the last season in Baltimore as they moved to Indianapolis for the following season. The Colts finished the year with a record of 7 wins and 9 losses, and tied for fourth in the AFC East division with the New York Jets. However, the Colts finished ahead of New York based on better conference record (5–9 to Jets' 4–8).
Having finished the 1982 season with the worst record in the league, the Colts held the No. 1 pick in the 1983 NFL draft and expected to land the nation's top collegiate player to their 1983 roster. The Colts used the top pick on John Elway of Stanford. Elway, however, refused to play for the Colts (and even considered joining the New York Yankees baseball organization unless he was traded). The Colts were forced to trade Elway to the Denver Broncos and Mike Pagel retained his position as starting quarterback. The Elway controversy became more interesting when Elway's Broncos visited Baltimore for the second game of the season. The Broncos won that game 17–10. Later, when the teams faced each other again in Denver for the second-to-last game of the season, the Colts took a 19–0 lead over the Broncos, only to blow the lead in the fourth quarter and lose 21–19.
Personnel
Staff
1983 Baltimore Colts staff |
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Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
- Special Teams – Mike Westhoff
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Regular season
Schedule
Week |
Date |
Opponent |
Result |
Record |
Game Site |
Attendance |
1 |
September 4, 1983 |
at New England Patriots |
W 29–23 OT |
1–0 |
Sullivan Stadium |
45,526 |
2 |
September 11, 1983 |
Denver Broncos |
L 10–17 |
1–1 |
Memorial Stadium |
52,613 |
3 |
September 18, 1983 |
at Buffalo Bills |
L 23–28 |
1–2 |
Rich Stadium |
40,937 |
4 |
September 25, 1983 |
Chicago Bears |
W 22–19 |
2–2 |
Memorial Stadium |
34,350 |
5 |
October 2, 1983 |
at Cincinnati Bengals |
W 34–31 |
3–2 |
Riverfront Stadium |
48,104 |
6 |
October 9, 1983 |
New England Patriots |
W 12–7 |
4–2 |
Memorial Stadium |
35,618 |
7 |
October 16, 1983 |
Buffalo Bills |
L 7–30 |
4–3 |
Memorial Stadium |
38,565 |
8 |
October 23, 1983 |
Miami Dolphins |
L 7–21 |
4–4 |
Memorial Stadium |
32,343 |
9 |
October 30, 1983 |
at Philadelphia Eagles |
W 22–21 |
5–4 |
Veterans Stadium |
59,150 |
10 |
November 6, 1983 |
at New York Jets |
W 17–14 |
6–4 |
Shea Stadium |
53,323 |
11 |
November 13, 1983 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
L 13–24 |
6–5 |
Memorial Stadium |
57,319 |
12 |
November 20, 1983 |
at Miami Dolphins |
L 17–50 |
6–6 |
Miami Orange Bowl |
54,482 |
13 |
November 27, 1983 |
at Cleveland Browns |
L 23–41 |
6–7 |
Cleveland Stadium |
65,812 |
14 |
December 4, 1983 |
New York Jets |
L 6–10 |
6–8 |
Memorial Stadium |
35,462 |
15 |
December 11, 1983 |
at Denver Broncos |
L 19–21 |
6–9 |
Mile High Stadium |
74,864 |
16 |
December 18, 1983 |
Houston Oilers |
W 20–10 |
7–9 |
Memorial Stadium |
20,418 |
Game summaries
Week 1
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1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
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• Colts |
3 |
10 | 7 | 3 | 6 |
29 |
Patriots |
0 |
13 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
23 |
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Scoring summary |
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Q1 |
| BAL | Raul Allegre 25 yard field goal | IND 3–0 |
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Q2 |
| NE | Stephen Starring 73 yard pass from Steve Grogan (kick failed) | NE 6–3 |
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Q2 |
| NE | Stanley Morgan 50 yard pass from Steve Grogan (John Smith kick) | NE 13–3 |
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Q2 |
| BAL | Bernard Henry 16 yard pass from Mike Pagel (Raul Allegre kick) | NE 13–10 |
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Q2 |
| BAL | Raul Allegre 52 yard field goal | Tie 13–13 |
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Q3 |
| NE | John Smith 39 yard field goal | NE 16–13 |
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Q3 |
| BAL | Bernard Henry 5 yard pass from Mike Pagel (Raul Allegre kick) | BAL 20–16 |
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Q4 |
| NE | Robert Weathers 9 yard run (John Smith kick) | NE 23–20 |
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Q4 |
| BAL | Raul Allegre 33 yard field goal | Tie 23–23 |
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Q4 |
| BAL | Johnie Cooks 52 yard fumble return | BAL 29–23 |
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[1]
Standings
See also
References
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| | | Franchise | |
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| Stadiums | |
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| Culture | |
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| Lore | |
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| Rivalries | |
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| Division championships (20) |
✝Tied for 1st place in their division, but since there was no tie-breaking system in 1965, a game was played to determine who went to the conference championship. The Colts lost the divisional playoff game.
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| Super Bowl appearances (4) | |
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| League championships (5) | |
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| Retired numbers | |
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| Current league affiliations | |
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| Seasons (63) | |
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