NFL playoffs, 1982–83
The Washington Redskins' defense stopping a Miami Dolphins running play in Super Bowl XVII
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| Dates | January 8–30, 1983 | ||||
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| Season | 1982 | ||||
| Teams | 16 | ||||
| Games played | 15 | ||||
| Defending champions |
San Francisco 49ers (did not qualify) |
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| Champions | Washington Redskins | ||||
| Runners-up | Miami Dolphins | ||||
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| Because a player's strike shortened the 1982 regular season to 9 games, the NFL adopted a special 16-team playoff tournament | |||||
The National Football League playoffs for the 1982 season began on January 8, 1983. The postseason tournament concluded with the Washington Redskins defeating the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII, 27–17, on January 30, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
A players' strike reduced the regular season to nine games. Thus, the league used a special 16-team playoff format (dubbed the "Super Bowl Tournament"), just for this year. Division standings were ignored (although each division did send at least one team to the playoffs). Eight teams from each conference were seeded 1–8 based on their regular season records.
Because of the eight-game first round, this was the first (and currently only) time that NFL playoff games were regionally televised across the United States instead of nationwide. This year was also the only season in which the conference championship games were played on separate days.
In addition, it marked the first time in NFL history in which a team that qualified for the playoffs had a losing record (< .500), as both Cleveland and Detroit finished with 4–5 records (.444). Both teams lost in the first round of the playoffs. This feat went unmatched until the 2010 Seattle Seahawks won their division with a 7–9 (.438) record. However, it is not the only time that teams with non-winning records (≤ .500) have made the playoffs. Since 1978, ten teams with an 8–8 record made the playoffs: seven wild cards: 1990 Saints, 1991 Jets, 1999 Lions, 1999 Cowboys, 2004 Vikings, 2004 Rams, and the 2006 Giants; as well as three division winners: 1985 Browns, 2008 Chargers, and the 2011 Broncos. Also, the 2014 Panthers won their division with a 7-8-1 (.469) record and became the fourth team (and the second that played a full 16-game season) to qualify for the playoffs with a sub-.500 record.
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