1982 Buffalo Bills season

1982 Buffalo Bills season
1982 Buffalo Bills season
Owner	Ralph Wilson
Head coach	Chuck Knox
Home field	Rich Stadium
Results
Record	4–5
Division place	4th AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	DT Fred Smerlas; DE Ben Williams
	← 1981; Bills seasons; 1983 →;

The 1982 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 13th season in the National Football League, and the 23rd overall. Due to the 1982 NFL strike, the season was shortened to only nine games; the Bills' 4–5 record left them in the 9th spot in the AFC (one spot away from the last playoff seed), therefore eliminating the Bills from the playoffs in the 16-team tournament format.

The Bills led the league in rushing in 1982, with 1,371 yards (152.3 per game) on the ground.^[1]^[2] This was the last season with Chuck Knox as head coach, as negotiations for a new contract with ownership failed, which led him to leave Buffalo for the Seattle Seahawks in January 1983.

Offseason

NFL draft

Linebacker Eugene Marve played linebacker for Buffalo for six seasons. Placekicker Gary Anderson went on to become the second-leading scorer in NFL history, although he did so with five other NFL teams,^[3] as he never played a regular-season game for Buffalo.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1982 Buffalo Bills draft
1	19	Perry Tuttle	Wide receiver	Clemson
2	48	Matt Kofler	Quarterback	San Diego State
3	59	Eugene Marve	Linebacker	Saginaw Valley State
4	93	Van Williams	Running back	Carson–Newman
6	160	DeWayne Chivers	Tight end	South Carolina
7	171	Gary Anderson * ^†	Kicker	Syracuse
8	218	Luc Tousignant	Quarterback	Fairmont State
9	245	Dennis Edwards	Defensive end	USC
10	272	Vic James	Defensive back	Colorado
11	298	Frank Kalil	Guard	Arizona
12	329	Tony Suber	Defensive tackle	Gardner–Webb
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff/coaches

1982 Buffalo Bills staff

Front office

Majority owner/team president – Ralph Wilson
General manager – Stew Barber
Vice president/minority owner – Pat McGroder

Coaching staff

Head coach – Chuck Knox
Assistant head coach - - Tom Caitlin

Offensive coaches

Offensive coordinator / offensive line – Ray Proschaska
Running backs coach – Chick Harris
Quarterbacks coach - Kay Stephenson
Wide receivers coach – Jack Donaldson

Defensive/special teams coaches

Defensive coordinator / linebackers coach - Tom Caitlin
Defensive line – Jim Carmody
Defensive backs – Ralph Hawkins
Special teams – Steve Moore

Special assignments

Special assignments coach – Miller McCalmon

Roster

**1982 Buffalo Bills roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 12 Joe Ferguson 10 Matt Kofler 17 Matt Robinson Running backs (RB) 47 Curtis Brown FB 20 Joe Cribbs 25 Roland Hooks 48 Roosevelt Leaks FB 34 Booker Moore 40 Robb Riddick Wide receivers (WR) 80 Jerry Butler 87 Robert Holt 82 Frank Lewis 88 Mike Mosley 89 Lou Piccone 81 Perry Tuttle Tight ends (TE) 86 Mark Brammer 84 Buster Barnett		Offensive linemen (OL) 73 Jon Borchardt T 78 Justin Cross T 70 Joe Devlin T 53 Will Grant C 72 Ken Jones T 61 Tom Lynch G 67 Reggie McKenzie G 51 Jim Ritcher G 65 Tim Vogler G/C Defensive linemen (DL) 91 Ken Johnson DE 97 Darrell Irvin DE 99 Mark Roopenian NT 76 Fred Smerlas DT 83 Sherman White DE 77 Ben Williams DE		Linebackers (LB) 55 Jim Haslett ILB 52 Chris Keating ILB 60 Joey Lumpkin 54 Eugene Marve ILB 59 Shane Nelson ILB 62 Ervin Parker OLB 58 Isiah Robertson OLB 57 Lucius Sanford OLB 41 Phil Villapiano OLB Defensive backs (DB) 29 Mario Clark CB 22 Steve Freeman SS 42 Rod Kush SS 24 Lemar Parrish CB 38 Jeff Nixon FS 26 Charles Romes CB 45 Bill Simpson FS 27 Chris Williams CB Special teams 7 Greg Cater P 1 Efrén Herrera K 5 Nick Mike-Mayer K				Reserve 85 Byron Franklin WR (IR) 23 Van Williams RB (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	NFL.com recap
1	September 12	Kansas City Chiefs	W 14–9	1–0	Rich Stadium	Recap
2	September 16	Minnesota Vikings	W 23–22	2–0	Rich Stadium	Recap
Players' strike
3	November 21	Miami Dolphins	L 7–9	2–1	Rich Stadium	Recap
4	November 28	Baltimore Colts	W 20–0	3–1	Rich Stadium	Recap
5	December 5	at Green Bay Packers	L 21–33	3–2	Milwaukee County Stadium	Recap
6	December 12	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 13–0	4–2	Rich Stadium	Recap
7	December 19	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 23–24	4–3	Tampa Stadium	Recap
8	December 27	at Miami Dolphins	L 10–27	4–4	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap
9	January 2	at New England Patriots	L 19–30	4–5	Schaefer Stadium	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chiefs	3	3	0	3	9
• Bills	7	7	0	0	14

Date: September 12
Location: Rich Stadium • Orchard Park, New York
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 73 °F (22.8 °C) • Wind 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn)
Referee: Jerry Seeman

^[4]

Week 2

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	2	17	3	0	22
• Bills	0	7	6	10	23

Date: Thursday September 16
Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Game start: 8:30 p.m. EST
Game weather: 60 °F (15.6 °C), wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)
Referee: Fred Wyant
TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, and Fran Tarkenton

^[5]

Week 5

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bills	0	7	0	14	21
• Packers	6	7	7	13	33

Date: December 12
Location: Milwaukee County Stadium
Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 42 °F (5.6 °C) • Wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
Referee: Ben Dreith
TV announcers (NBC): Bob Costas and Bob Trumpy

^[6]

Week 6

Terry Bradshaws worst game in NFL

Pittsburgh Steelers (4-1) at Buffalo Bills (3-2)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	0	0	0	0
• Bills	0	10	3	0	13

Date: December 12
Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 58,391
Game weather: 20 °F (−6.7 °C) • Wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn); snow
Referee: Pat Haggerty
TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and John Brodie

^[7]

Week 8

Buffalo Bills (4-3) at Miami Dolphins (5-2)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bills	10	0	0	0	10
• Dolphins	0	7	13	7	27

Date: December 27
Location: Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 76 °F (24.4 °C) • Wind 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn)
Referee: Dick Jorgensen
TV announcers (ABC Monday Night Football): Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, and Don Meredith

^[8]

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Miami Dolphins⁽²⁾	7	2	0	.778	6–1	6–1	198	131	W3
New York Jets⁽⁶⁾	6	3	0	.667	2–2	2–3	245	166	L1
New England Patriots⁽⁷⁾	5	4	0	.556	3–1	5–3	143	157	W1
Buffalo Bills	4	5	0	.444	1–3	3–3	150	154	L3
Baltimore Colts	0	8	1	.056	0–5–0	0–7–0	113	236	L2

AFC v t e
#	Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Seeded postseason qualifiers
1	Los Angeles Raiders	8	1	0	.889	260	200	W5
2^[a]	Miami Dolphins	7	2	0	.778	198	131	W3
3^[a]	Cincinnati Bengals	7	2	0	.778	232	177	W2
4^[b]^[c]	Pittsburgh Steelers	6	3	0	.667	204	146	W2
5^[b]^[c]	San Diego Chargers	6	3	0	.667	288	221	L1
6^[c]	New York Jets	6	3	0	.667	245	166	L1
7	New England Patriots	5	4	0	.556	143	157	W1
8^[d]	Cleveland Browns	4	5	0	.444	140	182	L1
Did not qualify for the postseason
9^[d]	Buffalo Bills	4	5	0	.444	150	154	L3
10^[d]	Seattle Seahawks	4	5	0	.444	127	147	W1
11	Kansas City Chiefs	3	6	0	.333	176	184	W1
12	Denver Broncos	2	7	0	.222	148	226	L3
13	Houston Oilers	1	8	0	.111	136	245	L7
14	Baltimore Colts	0	8	1	.056	113	236	L2
Tiebreakers
^ ^a ^b Miami finished ahead of Cincinnati based on better conference record (6–1 to Cincinnati’s 6–2). ^ ^a ^b Pittsburgh finished ahead of San Diego based on better record against common opponents (3–1 to Chargers' 2–1). Conference tiebreak was initially used to eliminate New York Jets. ^ ^a ^b ^c Pittsburgh and San Diego finished ahead of New York Jets based on conference record (Pittsburgh and San Diego 5–3 against Jets’ 2–3) ^ ^a ^b ^c Cleveland finished ahead of Buffalo and Buffalo ahead of Seattle based on conference record (4–3 to Buffalo’s 3–3 to Seattle’s 3–5).

Awards and honors

All-Pros

First Team

Fred Smerlas, Nose tackle

Second Team

Ben Williams, Defensive end

References

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[7–2-9] Miami finished ahead of Cincinnati based on better conference record (6–1 to Cincinnati’s 6–2).

[6–3a-10] Pittsburgh finished ahead of San Diego based on better record against common opponents (3–1 to Chargers' 2–1). Conference tiebreak was initially used to eliminate New York Jets.

[6–3b-11] Pittsburgh and San Diego finished ahead of New York Jets based on conference record (Pittsburgh and San Diego 5–3 against Jets’ 2–3)

[4–5-12] Cleveland finished ahead of Buffalo and Buffalo ahead of Seattle based on conference record (4–3 to Buffalo’s 3–3 to Seattle’s 3–5).

[1] Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1982 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics

[2] "1982 Buffalo Bills".

[3] Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Minnesota, Tennessee

[4] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[5] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[6] "Buffalo Bills at Green Bay Packers - December 5th, 1982". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

[7] "Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills - December 12th, 1982". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

[8] "Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins - December 27th, 1982". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

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v t e Buffalo Bills
Founded in 1960 Based and headquartered in Orchard Park, New York
Franchise	Franchise History All-time roster Seasons Pro Bowl selections First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Coaches NFL in Toronto
Stadiums	War Memorial Stadium Highmark Stadium Rogers Centre (Bills Toronto Series) New Highmark Stadium (set to open in 2026)
Culture	Ralph Wilson Billy Buffalo Buffalo Jills Bills Mafia Ken "Pinto Ron" Johnson Tim Russert Buffalo '66 Second String Flutie Flakes "Shout" song "Mr. Brightside" "3 Acts of God" Elway to Marino Four Falls of Buffalo Zubaz "No one circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills!"
Lore	Electric Company Wide Right No Punt Game The Comeback Music City Miracle Snowvertime Hail Murray 13 Seconds
Rivalries	Kansas City Chiefs Miami Dolphins New England Patriots New York Jets Tennessee Titans
Division championships (14)	1964 1965 1966 1980 1988 1989 1990 1991 1993 1995 2020 2021 2022 2023
Conference championships (4)	1990 1991 1992 1993
League championships (2)	1964 1965
Wall of Fame	Simpson Kemp McGroder Sestak Shaw Wilson 12th Man Dubenion Stratton Ferguson Levy DeLamielleure James Abramoski Kalsu Saimes Kelly Smerlas Hull Talley Ritcher Thomas Reed Tasker Smith Edgerson Hansen Polian Miller Saban Gilchrist
Media	Broadcasters Radio Radio Network WGR 550 Television MSG Western New York Personalities: Chris Brown Van Miller Eric Wood Steve Tasker
Owners	Ralph Wilson Pegula family Terry Kim
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1970–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: East Division
Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1960–1969)
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