The 1983 Baltimore Colts season was the 31st season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). This would be the franchise's final 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 (5–9 to Jets’ 4–8).
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. The Colts' desertion left Baltimore without an NFL team until the Ravens began play in 1996. Professional football was reintroduced to the Baltimore market in 1994 with the creation of the Baltimore Stallions Canadian Football League team during what was essentially an ill-fated American expansion. From 1981 to this season, the Colts went a combined 9–31–1 (.232).
Offseason NFL draft
Undrafted free agents + 1983 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJohn MillerLinebackerMississippi State
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 4 at New England Patriots W 29–23 (OT) 1–0 Sullivan Stadium 45,526 2 September 11 Denver Broncos L 10–17 1–1 Memorial Stadium 52,613 3 September 18 at Buffalo Bills L 23–28 1–2 Rich Stadium 40,937 4 September 25 Chicago Bears W 22–19 (OT) 2–2 Memorial Stadium 34,350 5 October 2 at Cincinnati Bengals W 34–31 3–2 Riverfront Stadium 48,104 6 October 9 New England Patriots W 12–7 4–2 Memorial Stadium 35,618 7 October 16 Buffalo Bills L 7–30 4–3 Memorial Stadium 38,565 8 October 23 Miami Dolphins L 7–21 4–4 Memorial Stadium 32,343 9 October 30 at Philadelphia Eagles W 22–21 5–4 Veterans Stadium 59,150 10 November 6 at New York Jets W 17–14 6–4 Shea Stadium 53,323 11 November 13 Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–24 6–5 Memorial Stadium 57,319 12 November 20 at Miami Dolphins L 0-37 6–6 Miami Orange Bowl 54,482 13 November 27 at Cleveland Browns L 23–41 6–7 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 65,812 14 December 4 New York Jets L 6–10 6–8 Memorial Stadium 35,462 15 December 11 at Denver Broncos L 19–21 6–9 Mile High Stadium 74,864 16 December 18 Houston Oilers W 20–10 7–9 Memorial Stadium 20,418 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1
Week 15 at Broncos
Standings
See also History of the Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis Colts seasons Colts–Patriots rivalry
References