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1984 National Football League season
Regular season
Duration September 2, 1984–December 17, 1984
Playoffs
Start date December 23, 1984
AFC Champions Miami Dolphins
NFC Champions San Francisco 49ers
Super Bowl XIX
Date January 20, 1985
Site Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California
Champions San Francisco 49ers
Pro Bowl
Date January 27, 1985
Site Aloha Stadium
National Football League seasons
 < 1983 1985 > 

The 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana.

The season ended with Super Bowl XIX when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins. This was the first Super Bowl televised by ABC, who entered into the annual championship game rotation with CBS and NBC. This game marked the second shortest distance between the Super Bowl host city (Palo Alto, CA) and a Super Bowl team (San Francisco 49ers). The first was The Los Angeles Rams, who's home was The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum before moving to Anaheim the year after playing in Super Bowl XIV vs The Pittsburgh Steelers, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Ca.

The 49ers became the first team in NFL history to win 15 games in a regular season and to win 18 in an entire season (counting post-season).

Major rule changes[]

  • Linebackers are permitted to wear numbers 90–99.
  • The penalty for a kickoff or onside kick that goes out of bounds is 5 yards from the previous spot and a re-kick must be made. However, if the second (or more) kickoff or onside kick goes out of bounds, the receiving team may choose instead to take possession of the ball at the out of bounds spot.
  • Leaping to try to block a field goal or an extra point is illegal unless the defensive player was lined up at the line of scimmage.
  • A kicker or holder who fakes being roughed or run into by a defensive player can receive an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
  • Unsportsmanlike conduct will also by called for any prolonged, excessive, or premeditated celebration by individual players or a group of players. This is usually referred to as the "Mark Gastineau Rule" because a major reason why this change was made was to stop him from performing his signature "Sack Dance" every time after he sacked an opposing quarterback.

Final standings[]

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

  x  - clinched wild card berth,   y  - clinched division title

AFC East
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Miami Dolphins 14 2 0 .875 513 298
New England Patriots 9 7 0 .563 362 352
New York Jets 7 9 0 .438 332 364
Indianapolis Colts 4 12 0 .250 239 414
Buffalo Bills 2 14 0 .125 250 454
AFC Central
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Pittsburgh Steelers 9 7 0 .563 387 310
Cincinnati Bengals 8 8 0 .500 339 339
Cleveland Browns 5 11 0 .313 250 297
Houston Oilers 3 13 0 .188 240 437
AFC West
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Denver Broncos 13 3 0 .813 353 241
x-Seattle Seahawks 12 4 0 .750 418 282
x-Los Angeles Raiders 11 5 0 .688 368 278
Kansas City Chiefs 8 8 0 .500 314 324
San Diego Chargers 7 9 0 .438 394 413
NFC East
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Washington Redskins 11 5 0 .688 426 310
x-New York Giants 9 7 0 .563 299 301
St. Louis Cardinals 9 7 0 .563 423 345
Dallas Cowboys 9 7 0 .563 308 308
Philadelphia Eagles 6 9 1 .406 278 320
NFC Central
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-Chicago Bears 10 6 0 .625 325 248
Green Bay Packers 8 8 0 .500 390 309
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6 10 0 .375 335 380
Detroit Lions 4 11 1 .281 283 408
Minnesota Vikings 3 13 0 .188 276 484
NFC West
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-San Francisco 49ers 15 1 0 .938 475 227
x-Los Angeles Rams 10 6 0 .625 346 316
New Orleans Saints 7 9 0 .438 298 361
Atlanta Falcons 4 12 0 .250 281 382


Tiebreakers[]

  • N.Y. Giants finished ahead of St. Louis and Dallas in the NFC East based on best head-to-head record (3-1 to Cardinals' 2-2 and Cowboys' 1-3).
  • St. Louis finished ahead of Dallas in the NFC East based on better division record (5-3 to Cowboys' 3-5).

Playoffs[]

Home team in capitals

AFC[]

  • Wild-Card playoff: SEATTLE 13, L.A. Raiders 7
  • Divisional playoffs: MIAMI 31, Seattle 10; PITTSBURGH 24, Denver 17
  • AFC Championship: MIAMI 45, Pittsburgh 28 at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida, January 6, 1985

NFC[]

  • Wild-Card playoff: N.Y. Giants 16, L.A. RAMS 13
  • Divisional playoffs: SAN FRANCISCO 21, N.Y. Giants 10; CHICAGO 23, Washington 19
  • NFC Championship: SAN FRANCISCO 23, Chicago 0 at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California, January 6, 1985

Super Bowl[]

Milestones[]

The following players set all-time records during the season:

Most Passing Yards Gained, Season Dan Marino, Miami (5,084)
Most Passing Touchdowns, Season Marino, Miami (48)
Most Rushing Yards Gained, Season Eric Dickerson, Los Angeles Rams (2,105)
Most Pass Receptions, Season Art Monk, Washington (106)
Most Rushing Yards Gained, Career Walter Payton, Chicago (13,309 at the end of the season)

Awards[]

Most Valuable Player Dan Marino, Quarterback, Miami
Coach of the Year Chuck Knox, Seattle
Offensive Player of the Year Dan Marino, Quarterback, Miami
Defensive Player of the Year Kenny Easley, Safety, Seattle
Offensive Rookie of the Year Louis Lipps, Wide Receiver, Pittsburgh
Defensive Rookie of the Year Bill Maas, Defensive Tackle, Kansas City

References[]

1984 NFL seasonv · d · e
AFC East Central West East Central West NFC
Buffalo Cincinnati Denver Dallas Chicago Atlanta
Indianapolis 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
1984 NFL DraftNFL PlayoffsPro BowlSuper Bowl XIX
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