1982 Buffalo Bills season

23rd season in franchise history

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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.

1982 Buffalo Bills Draft
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	19	Perry Tuttle	WR	Clemson
2	48	Matt Kofler	QB	San Diego State
3	59	Eugene Marve	LB	Saginaw Valley State
4	93	Van Williams	RB	Carson-Newman
6	160	DeWayne Chivers	TE	South Carolina
7	171	Gary Anderson	K	Syracuse
8	218	Luc Tousignant	QB	Fairmont State
9	245	Dennis Edwards	DE	USC
10	272	Vic James	DB	Colorado
11	298	Frank Kalil	G	Arizona
12	329	Tony Suber	DT	Gardner–Webb

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

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 12 Joe Ferguson 10 Matt Kofler 17 Matt Robinson Running backs 47 Curtis Brown FB 20 Joe Cribbs 25 Roland Hooks 48 Roosevelt Leaks FB 34 Booker Moore 40 Robb Riddick Wide receivers 80 Jerry Butler 87 Robert Holt 82 Frank Lewis 88 Mike Mosley KR/WR 89 Lou Piccone 81 Perry Tuttle Tight ends 86 Mark Brammer 84 Buster Barnett		Offensive linemen 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 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 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 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 lists 85 Byron Franklin WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad 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

Scoring summary

1	KC	Nick Lowery 39 yard field goal	Chiefs 3–0

1	BUF	Frank Lewis 20 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)	Bills 7–3

2	KC	Nick Lowery 47 yard field goal	Bills 7–6

2	BUF	Jerry Butler 6 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)	Bills 14–6

4	KC	Nick Lowery 42 yard field goal	Bills 14–9

^[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

Scoring summary

1	MIN	Safety, Moore tackled by Mullaney in end zone	Vikings 2–0

2	MIN	Bob Bruer 27 yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick)	Vikings 9–0

2	MIN	Bob Bruer 2 yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick)	Vikings 16–0

2	MIN	Rick Danmeier 43 yard field goal	Vikings 19–0

2	BUF	Frank Lewis 6 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)	Vikings 19–7

3	BUF	Jerry Butler 4 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (kick failed)	Vikings 19–13

3	MIN	Rick Danmeier 42 yard field goal	Vikings 22–13

4	BUF	Nick Mike-Mayer 21 yard field goal	Vikings 22–16

4	BUF	Jerry Butler 11 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)	Bills 23–22

^[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

Scoring summary

2	BUF	Roosevelt Leaks 1 yard rush (Efrén Herrera kick)	Bills 7–0

2	BUF	Efrén Herrera 34 yard field goal	Bills 10–0

3	BUF	Efrén Herrera 19 yard field goal	Bills 13–0

^[7]

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

^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1982 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics
^ "1982 Buffalo Bills".
^ Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Minnesota, Tennessee
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ "Buffalo Bills at Green Bay Packers - December 5th, 1982". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
^ "Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills - December 12th, 1982". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

Bills on Pro Football Reference
Bills on jt-sw.com
Bills Stats on jt-sw.com

v t e Buffalo Bills
Founded in 1960 Based and headquartered in Orchard Park, New York
Franchise	Franchise History Players 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 Ken "Pinto Ron" Johnson Tim Russert Buffalo '66 Second String Flutie Flakes "Shout" song "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: John Murphy 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)
Category Commons

v t e Buffalo Bills seasons
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Bold indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

Buffalo Bills seasons

Bold indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl victory
Italics indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

1982 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Baltimore	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Buffalo	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	LA Rams
Miami	Houston	LA Raiders	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	St. Louis	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay