# 1983 Los Angeles Rams season

The 1983 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 46th year with the National Football League and the 38th season in the city of Los Angeles. The franchise drafted a future Hall of Fame Running Back in Eric Dickerson. The season saw the team attempt to improve on its 2–7 record from 1982. The team started out 5–2 before splitting their next 4 games and then lost at home to Washington to sit at 7–5. They would split their last 4 games to finish 9–7 and make the playoffs for the first time since 1980 after a 2-year absence. In the playoffs, they defeated the Cowboys 24–17 in Dallas to advance to the divisional round. However, in the game, the Rams were annihilated 51–7 by the Redskins, who would move on to the Super Bowl, only to lose to the other Los Angeles NFL team, the Los Angeles Raiders, 38–9.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1983 Los Angeles Rams draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 2 | Eric Dickerson * $^†$ | Running back | Southern Methodist |
| 2 | 32 | Henry Ellard * | Wide receiver | Fresno State |
| 2 | 36 | Mike Wilcher | Linebacker | North Carolina |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Eric Dickerson

While he considered going to the Los Angeles Express in the United States Football League, Dickerson decided to go into the National Football League at the advice of his mother because the NFL had been around longer. He was selected second overall in the 1983 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams. An immediate pro success, he established rookie records for most rushing attempts (390), most rushing yards gained (1,808) and most touchdowns rushing (18), including another two receiving touchdowns. His efforts earned him All-Pro, Pro Bowl, Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors.

### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 4 | at New York Giants | W 16–6 | 1–0 | Giants Stadium | 75,281 |
| 2 | September 11 | New Orleans Saints | W 30–27 | 2–0 | Anaheim Stadium | 45,572 |
| 3 | September 18 | at Green Bay Packers | L 24–27 | 2–1 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 54,037 |
| 4 | September 25 | at New York Jets | L 24–27 | 2–2 | Shea Stadium | 52,070 |
| 5 | October 2 | Detroit Lions | W 21–10 | 3–2 | Anaheim Stadium | 49,403 |
| 6 | October 9 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 10–7 | 4–2 | Candlestick Park | 59,118 |
| 7 | October 16 | Atlanta Falcons | W 27–21 | 5–2 | Anaheim Stadium | 50,404 |
| 8 | October 23 | San Francisco 49ers | L 35–45 | 5–3 | Anaheim Stadium | 66,070 |
| 9 | October 30 | at Miami Dolphins | L 14–30 | 5–4 | Miami Orange Bowl | 72,175 |
| 10 | November 6 | Chicago Bears | W 21–14 | 6–4 | Anaheim Stadium | 53,010 |
| 11 | November 14 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 36–13 | 7–4 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 31,202 |
| 12 | November 20 | Washington Redskins | L 20–42 | 7–5 | Anaheim Stadium | 63,031 |
| 13 | November 27 | Buffalo Bills | W 41–17 | 8–5 | Anaheim Stadium | 48,246 |
| 14 | December 4 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 9–13 | 8–6 | Veterans Stadium | 32,867 |
| 15 | December 11 | New England Patriots | L 7–21 | 8–7 | Anaheim Stadium | 46,503 |
| 16 | December 18 | at New Orleans Saints | W 26–24 | 9–7 | Louisiana Superdome | 70,148 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### September 25, 1983
#### Week 4: Los Angeles Rams 24, New York Jets 27

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Rams | 14 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Jets | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 27 |
at Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C)
* Referee: Fred Silva
* TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

### Playoffs

| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| Wildcard | December 26 | at Dallas Cowboys (4) | W 24–17 | 1–0 | Texas Stadium | 43,521 |
| Divisional | January 1, 1984 | at Washington Redskins (1) | L 7–51 | 1–1 | RFK Stadium | 55,363 |

### December 26, 1983
#### NFC: Los Angeles Rams 24, Dallas Cowboys 17

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rams | 7 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 24 |
| Cowboys | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST/11:30 a.m. CST
* Game weather: 27 °F (−3 °C), mostly cloudy
* Game attendance: 62,118
* Referee: Gordon McCarter
* TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

### January 1, 1984
#### NFC: Washington Redskins 51, Los Angeles Rams 7

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rams | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Redskins | 17 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 51 |
at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C.
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 38 °F (3 °C), mostly cloudy
* Game attendance: 54,440
* Referee: Ben Dreith
* TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

### Standings

NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| San Francisco 49ers$^{(2)}$ | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 432 | 293 | W3 |
| Los Angeles Rams$^{(5)}$ | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 5–1 | 8–4 | 361 | 344 | W1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2–4 | 7–5 | 319 | 337 | L1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 1–5 | 4–8 | 370 | 389 | W1 |

## Awards and honors

* Eric Dickerson, NFC Pro Bowl selection
* Eric Dickerson, All-Pro selection
* Eric Dickerson, NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
* Eric Dickerson, UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year
* Eric Dickerson, UPI NFC Player of the Year