1983 Baltimore Colts season


The 1983 Baltimore Colts season was the 31st season for the team in the National Football League. This would be the last season in Baltimore as they moved to Indianapolis for the following season. The Colts finished the year with a record of 7 wins and 9 losses, and tied for fourth in the AFC East division with the New York Jets. However, the Colts finished ahead of New York based on better conference record.
Having finished the 1982 season with the NFL's worst record at a winless 0–8–1, the Colts held the No. 1 pick in the 1983 NFL draft and expected to land the nation’s top collegiate player to their 1983 roster. The Colts used the top pick on John Elway of Stanford. Elway, however, refused to play for the Colts and even considered joining the New York Yankees baseball organization unless he was traded. The Colts were forced to trade Elway to the Denver Broncos and Mike Pagel retained his position as starting quarterback. The Elway controversy became more interesting when Elway’s Broncos visited Baltimore for the second game of the season. The Broncos won that game 17–10. Later, when the teams faced each other again in Denver for the second-to-last game of the season, the Colts took a 19–0 lead over the Broncos, only to blow the lead in the fourth quarter and lose 21–19. They won their final game as a Baltimore team against the Houston Oilers 20–10. This left Baltimore without an NFL team until the Ravens began play in 1996.

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordGame SiteAttendance
1September 4, 1983at New England PatriotsW 29–23 OT1–0Sullivan Stadium
45,526
2September 11, 1983Denver BroncosL 10–171–1Memorial Stadium
52,613
3September 18, 1983at Buffalo BillsL 23–281–2Rich Stadium
40,937
4September 25, 1983Chicago BearsW 22–192–2Memorial Stadium
34,350
5October 2, 1983at Cincinnati BengalsW 34–313–2Riverfront Stadium
48,104
6October 9, 1983New England PatriotsW 12–74–2Memorial Stadium
35,618
7October 16, 1983Buffalo BillsL 7–304–3Memorial Stadium
38,565
8October 23, 1983Miami DolphinsL 7–214–4Memorial Stadium
32,343
9October 30, 1983at Philadelphia EaglesW 22–215–4Veterans Stadium
59,150
10November 6, 1983at New York JetsW 17–146–4Shea Stadium
53,323
11November 13, 1983Pittsburgh SteelersL 13–246–5Memorial Stadium
57,319
12November 20, 1983at Miami DolphinsL 0-376–6Miami Orange Bowl
54,482
13November 27, 1983at Cleveland BrownsL 23–416–7Cleveland Stadium
65,812
14December 4, 1983New York JetsL 6–106–8Memorial Stadium
35,462
15December 11, 1983at Denver BroncosL 19–216–9Mile High Stadium
74,864
16December 18, 1983Houston OilersW 20–107–9Memorial Stadium
20,418

Game summaries

Week 1

Week 15 at Broncos

Standings