1983 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

The 1983 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 64th season the team was in the National Football League. The Cardinals won eight games, including victories over both participants in that year's AFC Championship Game, the Raiders and Seahawks.[1] However, the team also lost in meetings over both participants of the 1983 NFC Championship Game, the 49ers and the Redskins. Despite their winning record, the team failed to reach the playoffs.

1983 St. Louis Cardinals season
Head coach	Jim Hanifan
Owner	Bill Bidwill
Home field	Busch Stadium
Results
Record	8–7–1
Division place	3rd NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	WR Roy Green P Carl Birdsong

The Cardinals had a winning record, despite being outscored by a total of 54 points during the regular season. In fact, St. Louis’ 428 points surrendered was, to that point, the most points given up by a team with a winning record in NFL history; it is still second-most all time.[2][note 1]

Personnel

Staff

1983 St. Louis Cardinals staff

	Front office President – Bill Bidwill Director of Pro Personnel – Larry Wilson Director of Player Personnel – George Boone Head coaches Head Coach – Jim Hanifan Special Assistant to the Head Coach – Leon McLaughlin Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Rod Dowhower Offensive Backfield – Dick Jamieson Receivers – Emmitt Thomas Offensive Line – Tom Lovat			Defensive coaches Assistant Head Coach/Defense – Floyd Peters Defensive Coordinator – Tom Bettis Linebackers – Rudy Feldman Defensive Assistant – Chuck Banker Special teams coaches Special Teams – Chuck Banker Strength and conditioning Flexibility and Strength – Don Brown

Roster

1983 St. Louis Cardinals roster

	Quarterbacks 17 Jim Hart 16 Rusty Lisch 15 Neil Lomax Running backs 32 Ottis Anderson 39 Willard Harrell 40 Randy Love 30 Stump Mitchell 24 Wayne Morris FB Wide receivers 82 Steve Bird 81 Roy Green 84 Mike Shumann 83 Pat Tilley Tight ends 89 Greg LaFleur 87 Doug Marsh 85 Jamie Williams		Offensive linemen 61 Dan Audick T 71 Joe Bostic G 64 Randy Clark C 72 Dan Dierdorf T 63 Tootie Robbins T 56 Carlos Scott C 67 Luis Sharpe T 68 Terry Stieve G Defensive linemen 60 Al Baker DE 69 Rush Brown DT 73 Mark Duda DT 65 David Galloway DT 75 Curtis Greer DE 78 Elois Grooms DE 76 Stafford Mays DE		Linebackers 58 Dave Ahrens 51 Kurt Allerman 52 Charles Baker 57 Jim Eliopulos 50 Bob Harris 54 E.J. Junior 53 Craig Shaffer Defensive backs 35 Jeff Griffin CB 47 Cedric Mack CB 38 Lee Nelson SS 23 Benny Perrin FS 26 George Schmitt 46 Leonard Smith 48 Lionel Washington Special teams 18 Carl Birdsong P 11 Neil O'Donoghue K		Reserve lists -- Fernanza Burgess WR (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 4, 1983	at New Orleans Saints	L 28–17	60,430
2	September 11, 1983	Dallas Cowboys	L 34–17	48,532
3	September 18, 1983	San Francisco 49ers	L 42–27	38,132
4	September 25, 1983	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 14–11	64,465
5	October 2, 1983	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 38–14	58,975
6	October 9, 1983	Washington Redskins	L 38–14	42,698
7	October 16, 1983	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 34–27	48,224
8	October 24, 1983	New York Giants	T 20–20	45,630
9	October 30, 1983	Minnesota Vikings	W 41–31	42,575
10	November 6, 1983	at Washington Redskins	L 45–7	51,380
11	November 13, 1983	Seattle Seahawks	W 33–28	33,280
12	November 20, 1983	San Diego Chargers	W 44–14	40,644
13	November 24, 1983	at Dallas Cowboys	L 35–17	60,974
14	December 4, 1983	at New York Giants	W 10–6	25,156
15	December 11, 1983	at Los Angeles Raiders	W 34–24	32,111
16	December 18, 1983	Philadelphia Eagles	W 31–7	21,902

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Washington Redskins^(1)	14	2	0	.875	7–1	10–2	541	332	W9
Dallas Cowboys^(4)	12	4	0	.750	7–1	10–2	479	360	L2
St. Louis Cardinals	8	7	1	.531	3–4–1	5–6–1	374	428	W3
Philadelphia Eagles	5	11	0	.313	1–7	4–10	233	322	L2
New York Giants	3	12	1	.219	1–6–1	3–8–1	267	347	L4

Notes

1. It was eclipsed in 2000 by the St. Louis Rams, with 471 points surrendered.

References

1. 1983 St. Louis Cardinals
2. Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2012, in the Regular Season, team with winning record, sorted by descending Points Allowed.