1984 Buffalo Bills season

1984 Buffalo Bills season
Owner	Ralph Wilson
Head coach	Kay Stephenson
Home field	Rich Stadium
Results
Record	2–14
Division place	5th AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	RB Greg Bell
← 1983 Bills seasons 1985 →

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.

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.

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 Head Coach – Kay Stephenson Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – John Becker Running Backs – Andy MacDonald Receivers – Milt Jackson Tight Ends – Perry Moss Offensive Line – Jim Niblack			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line – Don Lawrence Linebackers – Monte Kiffin Defensive Backfield – Pete Carroll Defensive Assistant – Miller McCalmon Special teams coaches Special Teams – Miller McCalmon Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – Jim Speros

^[9]

Roster[]

1984 Buffalo Bills roster

	Quarterbacks 19 Joe Dufek 12 Joe Ferguson 10 Matt Kofler Running backs 28 Greg Bell 34 Booker Moore 41 Speedy Neal FB 40 Robb Riddick 23 Van Williams 27 Craig White Wide receivers 81 Mitchell Brookins 80 Jerry Butler 89 Julius Dawkins 83 Preston Dennard 85 Byron Franklin 29 John Mistler 88 Mike Mosley Tight ends 84 Buster Barnett 86 Mark Brammer 87 Tony Hunter 49 Ulysses Norris		Offensive linemen 73 Jon Borchardt G 63 Justin Cross T 70 Joe Devlin T 53 Will Grant C 72 Ken Jones T 61 Tom Lynch G 51 Jim Ritcher G 65 Tim Vogler G/C Defensive linemen 75 Bill Acker NT 91 Ken Johnson DE 95 Sean McNanie DE 79 Dean Prater DE 76 Fred Smerlas NT 93 Scott Virkus DE 77 Ben Williams DE		Linebackers 50 Joe Azelby 59 Stan David ILB 55 Jim Haslett ILB 50 Trey Junkin LB 52 Chris Keating OLB 54 Eugene Marve ILB 58 Mark Merrill 58 Steve Potter 57 Lucius Sanford OLB 56 Darryl Talley OLB 60 Al Wenglikowski Defensive backs 43 Martin Bayless CB 36 Rodney Bellinger CB 30 Brian Carpenter CB 22 Steve Freeman FS 25 Rod Hill CB 48 Lawrence Johnson CB 42 Rod Kush FS 38 Jeff Nixon SS 26 Charles Romes CB 47 Lucious Smith CB 24 CB 30 SS 45 Len Walterscheid FS 21 Don Wilson FS Special teams 18 Joe Danelo K  4 John Kidd P		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 2, 1984	New England Patriots	L 21–17	48,528
2	September 9, 1984	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 37–7	35,785
3	September 17, 1984	Miami Dolphins	L 21–17	65,455
4	September 23, 1984	New York Jets	L 28–26	48,330
5	September 30, 1984	at Indianapolis Colts	L 31–17	60,032
6	October 7, 1984	Philadelphia Eagles	L 27–17	37,555
7	October 14, 1984	at Seattle Seahawks	L 31–28	59,034
8	October 21, 1984	Denver Broncos	L 37–7	31,204
9	October 28, 1984	at Miami Dolphins	L 38–7	58,824
10	November 4, 1984	Cleveland Browns	L 13–10	33,343
11	November 11, 1984	at New England Patriots	L 38–10	43,313
12	November 18, 1984	Dallas Cowboys	W 14–3	74,391
13	November 25, 1984	at Washington Redskins	L 41–14	51,513
14	December 2, 1984	Indianapolis Colts	W 21–15	20,693
15	December 8, 1984	at New York Jets	L 21–17	45,378
16	December 16, 1984	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 52–21	55,771

Game summaries[]

Week 3[]

1 2 3 4 Total • Dolphins 7 7 7 0 21 Bills 0 3 7 7 17 Date: Monday September 17, 1984 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 9:00 PM EST Game attendance: 65,455 Game weather: 54 °F (12.2 °C); wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn) Referee: Bob Frederic TV announcers (ABC Monday Night Football): Frank Gifford , O.J Simpson

showScoring summary Q1 12:51 MIA Mark Duper 11 yard pass from Dan Marino (Uwe von Schamann kick) MIA 7–0 Q2 MIA Mark Clayton 12 yard pass from Dan Marino (Uwe von Schamann kick) MIA 14–0 Q2 14:55 BUF Joe Danelo 33 yard field goal MIA 14–3 Q3 MIA Nat Moore 1 yard pass from Dan Marino (Uwe von Schamann kick) MIA 21–3 Q3 BUF Speedy Neal 1 yard rush ( Joe Danelo kick) MIA 21–10 Q4 BUF Julius Dawkins 37 yard pass from Joe Ferguson ( Joe Danelo kick) MIA 21–17

• Buffalo had now gone the first three weeks without scoring a TD in the first half.

^[10]

Week 12[]

1 2 3 4 Total Cowboys 0 3 0 0 3 • Bills 7 0 0 7 14 Date: November 18 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 74,391 Game weather: 38 °F (3.3 °C); wind 17 miles per hour (27 km/h; 15 kn) Referee: Bob McElwee TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and Hank Stram

showScoring summary Q1 BUF Bell 85 yard run (Nelson kick) BUF 7–0 Q2 DAL Septien 20 yard field goal BUF 7–3 Q4 BUF Bell 3 yard pass from Ferguson (Nelson kick) BUF 14–3

• Greg Bell 27 Rush, 206 Yds

^[11]

Week 14[]

1 2 3 4 Total Colts 0 9 3 3 15 • Bills 21 0 0 0 21 Date: December 2 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 35 °F (1.7 °C); wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)

showScoring summary Q1 BUF Bell 7 yard run (Nelson kick) BUF 7–0 Q1 BUF Hunter 18 yard pass from Duek (Nelson kick) BUF 14–0 Q1 BUF Franklin 64 yard pass from Dufek (Nelson kick) BUF 21–0 Q2 IND Safety, Wilson tackled in end zone BUF 21–2 Q2 IND Middleton 14 yard pass from Schlichter (Allegre kick) BUF 21–9 Q3 IND Allegre 28 yard field goal BUF 21–12 Q4 IND Allegre 21 yard field goal BUF 21–15

^[12]

Standings[]

AFC East
view talk	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[]

References[]

External links[]

• 1984 Buffalo Bills at Pro-Football-Reference.com