1983 New Orleans Saints season
NFL team season / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 1983 New Orleans Saints season was the team’s 17th as a member of the National Football League. They improved on their previous season’s output of 4–5, winning eight games.[1] Despite the improvement, the team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the seventeenth consecutive season.
1983 New Orleans Saints season | |
---|---|
Owner | John Mecom, Jr. |
General manager | Bum Phillips |
Head coach | Bum Phillips |
Home field | Louisiana Superdome |
Results | |
Record | 8–8 |
Division place | 3rd NFC West |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers | LB Rickey Jackson |
|
With an 8–7 record going into the final game of the season at the Superdome against the Los Angeles Rams, the Saints, with a win, would have finished with their first winning season and their first playoff berth. However, Rams kicker Mike Lansford kicked a 42-yard field goal with :06 left to defeat the Saints 26–24, and advance to the playoffs. Other than that field goal, the Rams did not score a single point on offense, instead scoring via a punt return for a touchdown, two interception returns for touchdowns, and a safety.
Two weeks earlier the Saints lost to the New England Patriots in shocking conditions with sleet and snow[2] – with the only score being set up by Patriot Ricky Smith returning the initial kickoff to the 3-yard line. As of 2021, this game remains the most recent 7–0 result in NFL history,[3] with only three games since seeing just one score,[4] each one a single field goal.[note 1]
Another damaging loss came on Monday Night Football in week 12, when the New York Jets rallied from a 14-point deficit by scoring 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, capped off by a 76-yard punt return touchdown by Kirk Springs, to stun the Saints 31–28. The Saints had a chance to force overtime in the closing seconds, but Morten Andersen missed badly to the left on a 51-yard field goal attempt.