1982 Buffalo Bills season

1982 Buffalo Bills season
Head coach	Chuck Knox
Owner	Ralph Wilson
Home field	Rich Stadium
Results
Record	4–5
Division place	4th AFC East
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Timeline
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The 1982 Buffalo Bills season was the 23rd season for the club and its 13th in the National Football League. 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, thereby 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.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1982 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, as he never played a regular season game for Buffalo.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team
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

Regular season

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Bills points	Opponents	Record	Attendance
1	Sep 12	Kansas City Chiefs	Win	14	9	1–0	76,383
2	Sep 16	Minnesota Vikings	Win	23	22	2–0	77,753
3	Nov 21	Miami Dolphins	Loss	7	9	2–1	52,945
4	Nov 28	Baltimore Colts	Win	20	0	3–1	33,985
5	Dec 5	at Green Bay Packers (at Milwaukee)	Loss	21	33	3–2	46,655
6	Dec 12	Pittsburgh Steelers	Win	13	0	4–2	58,391
7	Dec 19	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Loss	23	24	4–3	42,510
8	Dec 27	at Miami Dolphins	Loss	10	27	4–4	73,924
9	Jan 2	at New England Patriots	Loss	19	30	4–5	36,218

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 • Wind 6

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

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total Vikings 2 17 3 0 22 • Bills 0 7 6 10 23 Date: September 16 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 8:30 p.m. EST Game weather: 60°F, wind 11 mph

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

Standings

AFC East
	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

American Football Conference
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Los Angeles Raiders(1)	8	1	0	.889	260	200	W5
Miami Dolphins(2)	7	2	0	.778	198	131	W3
Cincinnati Bengals(3)	7	2	0	.778	232	177	W2
Pittsburgh Steelers(4)	6	3	0	.667	204	146	W2
San Diego Chargers(5)	6	3	0	.667	288	221	L1
New York Jets(6)	6	3	0	.667	245	166	L1
New England Patriots(7)	5	4	0	.556	143	157	W1
Cleveland Browns(8)	4	5	0	.444	140	182	L1
Buffalo Bills	4	5	0	.444	150	154	L3
Seattle Seahawks	4	5	0	.444	127	147	W1
Kansas City Chiefs	3	6	0	.333	176	184	W1
Denver Broncos	2	7	0	.222	148	226	L3
Houston Oilers	1	8	0	.111	136	245	L7
Baltimore Colts	0	8	1	.056	113	236	L2

Awards and honors

All-Pros

First Team

• Fred Smerlas, Nose tackle

Second Team

• Ben Williams, Defensive end

References

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