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 the Dallas Cowboys in Week 12. The 1984 Bills gave up a team-record 454 points on defense, an average of more than 28 per game.Pro-Football-Reference.com: Team Game Finder Query Results
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.Pro-Football-Reference: In a single season, from 1978 to 2011, in the regular season, sorted by descending SackedThe record was later shattered by the Eagles in 1986. The Bills’ 4,341 total yards gained was second-worst in the league in 1984 (only the Colts gained fewer total yards).Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1984 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics The 1984 Bills are one of only two NFL teamsThe 1975 Bears are the other to have been outscored by 25 points six different times during the season.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. 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.SportsLogos.net: Buffalo Bills Logos 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 to 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."ProFootballTalk.com: The story behind the Bills’ red helmets, 23 June 2011|Retrieved January 4, 2012]BuffaloBills.com: Untold uniform stories: Fergie behind helmet color change, 23 June 2011 |Retrieved January 4, 2012 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 to 1986, 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.
Personnel
Staff
Roster
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 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 The Football Database. Retrieved 2022-Jul-10.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game: 3 hours, 15 minutes
DolphinsGame statisticsBills First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards 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
. Retrieved 2023-Sep-07.
Week 9 (Sunday, October 28, 1984): at Miami Dolphins The Football Database. Retrieved 2022-Jul-10.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game: 2 hours, 54 minutes
BillsGame statisticsDolphins First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of Possession
Week 12
Greg Bell 27 Rush, 206 Yds Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-15.
Week 13
Week 14
Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-16.
Week 16
Standings
Notes
References
External links 1984 Buffalo Bills at Pro-Football-Reference.com