1984 Buffalo Bills season

Offseason

Uniform change

For the third time in team history, the Bills changed their helmets. While keeping the streaking buffalo logo from the second change, the Bills changed their helmet color from white to red. They would keep the red helmet through the 2010 season. It was the Bills first major change to their helmets since changing from the "standing Bison" to the streaking buffalo before the 1974 season. Since three of the Bills' four AFC Eastern division opponents—Miami, Indianapolis and New England—then had white helmets (the Jets wore green helmets but would wear white ones from 1998 to 2018; the Patriots have used silver helmets since 1993), "it was easier for [Ferguson] to distinguish and that's the reason why we made the switch." Ferguson had thrown a high number of interceptions over the previous two seasons, and coach Kay Stephenson hoped it would help the quarterback reduce them. Ironically, 1984 was Ferguson's last year with the Bills, and only year with the red helmets; Ferguson, after 107 consecutive starts dating to the 1977 season (at the time tied with the league record), was benched in favor of Joe Dufek on September 30. Ferguson's interception total actually increased compared to the previous year, and he would go on to play for at least three more teams (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts and Canadian football's San Antonio Texans) that all had white helmets.

The Bills wore white jerseys for all 1984 home games, the only time they have done so in franchise history. Buffalo wore white at home occasionally every other year from 1980 to 1986, and has done so since 2011.

NFL draft

Main article: 1984 NFL draft

Notre Dame running back Greg Bell made the Pro Bowl in his rookie season; he was later traded to the Los Angeles Rams in the blockbuster three-team Eric Dickerson trade. Defensive end Sean McNanie played for the team for four of his seven NFL seasons. Punter John Kidd played his first six seasons with Buffalo; his career lasted a total of 15 seasons.

Personnel

Staff

• President – Ralph Wilson

• Senior executive vice-president – Pat McGroder

• Vice-president of administration/General Manager – Terry Bledsoe

• Vice-president of football operations – Kay Stephenson

• Vice-president of player personnel – Norm Pollom

• Director of pro personnel – Bill Polian

• Assistant director of player personnel – Bruce Nicholas

• Head coach – Kay Stephenson

• Quarterbacks – John Becker

• Running backs – Andy MacDonald

• Receivers – Milt Jackson

• Tight ends – Perry Moss

• Offensive line – Jim Niblack

• Defensive coordinator/defensive line – Don Lawrence

• Linebackers – Monte Kiffin

• Defensive backfield – Pete Carroll

• Defensive assistant – Miller McCalmon

• Special teams – Miller McCalmon

• Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – Jim Speros

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 3 (Monday, September 17, 1984): vs. [[1984 Miami Dolphins season|Miami Dolphins]]

• Point spread:
• Over/under:
• Time of game: 3 hours, 15 minutes

• Buffalo had now gone the first three weeks without scoring a TD in the first half.

Week 7

Week 9 (Sunday, October 28, 1984): at [[1984 Miami Dolphins season|Miami Dolphins]]

• Point spread:
• Over/under:
• Time of game: 2 hours, 54 minutes

Week 12

• Greg Bell 27 Rush, 206 Yds

Week 13

Week 14

Week 16

Standings

Notes

References

References

1. [http://pfref.com/tiny/hK5h1 Pro-Football-Reference.com: Team Game Finder Query Results]
2. [http://pfref.com/tiny/XrreB Pro-Football-Reference: In a single season, from 1978 to 2011, in the regular season, sorted by descending Sacked]
3. The record was later shattered by [[1986 Philadelphia Eagles season. the Eagles in 1986]].
4. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1984/ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1984 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics]
5. [[1975 Chicago Bears season. The 1975 Bears]] are the other
6. [http://pfref.com/tiny/RLSLz Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the NFL, in the regular season, requiring Points Differential <= -25, sorted by most games in season matching criteria.]
7. [https://www.sportslogos.net/team.php?id=149 SportsLogos.net: Buffalo Bills Logos]
8. [https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/06/23/the-story-behind-the-bills-red-helmets/ ProFootballTalk.com: The story behind the Bills’ red helmets, 23 June 2011]. Retrieved January 4, 2012]
9. [http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-2/Untold-uniform-stories-Fergie-behind-helmet-color-change/363e8e60-8573-42ac-8f4a-2bb56169e127 BuffaloBills.com: Untold uniform stories: Fergie behind helmet color change, 23 June 2011] {{Webarchive. link. (February 15, 2018). Retrieved January 4, 2012
10. "1984 Buffalo Bills draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
11. "1984 Buffalo Bills Media Guide".
12. [https://www.footballdb.com/games/boxscore.html?gid=1984091701 The Football Database]. Retrieved 2022-Jul-10.
13. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198409170buf.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com]. Retrieved 2021-Jun-06.
14. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198410140sea.htm]. Retrieved 2023-Sep-07.
15. [https://www.footballdb.com/games/boxscore.html?gid=1984102804 The Football Database]. Retrieved 2022-Jul-10.
16. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198411180buf.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com]. Retrieved 2014-Nov-15.
17. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198412020buf.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com]. Retrieved 2014-Nov-16.