NFL Super Bowl Winners

Super Bowl XVII played on January 30, 1983, was won by the Champions of the NFC the Washington Redskins who defeated the AFC Champions the Miami Dolphins at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California.

The 1982 NFL Season was reduced from a 16-game schedule per team to 9 because of a 57-day long players strike.

During this shortened regular season the Washington Redskins topped the 1982 NFC East coached by Joe Gibbs with a regular season record of 8-1-0. They had a point scoring average of 21.1 points per game which put their offense 12th best of 28 in the NFL. The Redskins had a points allowed average of 14.2 per game which made their defense 1st overall in the league.

However, as a result of the players strike a different format was adopted for the postseason playoff games. Division standings were ignored and the top eight teams from each Conference (AFC & NFC) were seeded 1-8 based on their regular season records and entered into a special 16 team playoff tournament. The season finale was still Super Bowl.

The Washington Redskins first round game (marked down in the NFC Wild Card results) was against the Detroit Lions. For this playoff tournament the Redskins had been seeded 1st and the Lions 8th based on their regular season records in the NFC.

Looking a bit deeper at regular season the Lions had ended up fourth in the NFC Central Division coached by Monte Clark with a regular season record of 4-5-0. The Lions regular season point scoring average was 20.1 per game which put their offense 15th best of 28 in the NFL and their points allowed average was 19.6 per game which ranked their defense 14th overall in the league.

The Lions were possibly seeded a little bit low for the playoff tournament as I believe that they had a better overall record than both the Atlanta Falcons and the St Louis Cardinals who had both been seeded higher and they could have even been a better side than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers even though the Bucs beat them narrowly in regular season. The Lions were more on a par with the Minnesota Vikings as a 4th or 5th seed.

The Redskins and the Lions had not played against each other through the course of the shortened season but going by the form book and using the points scored and allowed averages as a guide the Redskins were nailed-on for victory.

The game went as expected and was a very one-sided affair with the Washington Redskins scoring a facile win by 31 points to 7.

The Redskins second round game (marked down in the NFC Divisional Playoff results) was against the Minnesota Vikings who had finished 2nd in the NFC Central Division coached by Bud Grant . The Vikings were seeded 4th best team in the 1982 NFC according to regular season records.

However, the Vikings had a point scoring average of 20.8 per game which put their offense 13th best of 28 in the NFL and their points allowed average had been 22 per game putting their defense 20th best overall in the league and were probably seeded a little leniently for the 1982 playoff tournament as they were not good in either offense or defense, although they did actually manage to beat one of the better teams of 1982 who were the Dallas Cowboys right at the end of regular season.

Still, it doesn′t matter where the Vikings had been seeded as the result of this second round game testifies the fact that they were just simply not good enough. The Redskins won easily by 21 points to 7.

In the third round of playoffs (marked down in the NFC Championship Game results) the Washington Redskins played the Dallas Cowboys who were an altogether better team than those the Redskins had met so far. The Cowboys were seeded 2nd best in the NFC on their regular season record.

The Cowboys had ended up second in the NFC East Division coached by Tom Landry with a regular season record of 6-3-0. They had a point scoring average of 25.1 per game putting their offense 5th of 28 in the NFL and a points allowed average of 16.1 conceded per game which made their defense 3rd best overall in the league.

In ranking the Cowboys 2nd best of the NFC it therefore put them in the top 4 of the whole league and so having made the last 4 (of the AFC & NFC combined) that seeding would have been bang on.

Regardless of rankings the Cowboys had actually beaten the Redskins in regular season and it looked to be a close call. However, with the Redskins defense once again showing how good they were at their trade the Cowboys were quite firmly put in their place and the Redskins won in good style by 31 points to 17.

The Washington Redskins opponents in Super Bowl XVII were the Miami Dolphins who had finished top of the 1982 AFC East Division coached by Don Shula with a regular season record of 7-2-0. The Dolphins were seeded number 2 in the AFC for the playoffs on their regular season record.

In regular season the Dolphins had achieved a point scoring average of 22 per game putting their offense 10th best of 28 in the NFL and their points allowed average was 14.6 conceded per game which made their defense 2nd overall in the league. Their Conference playoff seeding was just about right and they were definitely in the top handful across the NFL.

In the Dolphins first round playoff game (marked down in the AFC Wild Card results) they played the New England Patriots who had ended up in 3rd spot in the 1982 AFC East Division coached by Ron Meyer with a regular season record of 5-4-0. The Patriots were seeded 7th in the AFC.

The Patriots point scoring average in regular season was 15.9 per game which put their offense 21st best of 28 in the NFL and their points allowed average was 17.4 per game conceded which them 7th overall in defense. Their overall record was not great and they were seeded about right although they had beaten the Dolphins in a somewhat un-inspiring contest in regular season by 3 points to 0.

This time it was the higher seeded Miami Dolphins who won the game by 28 points to 13.

The Miami Dolphins second round opponents (marked down in the AFC Divisional Playoff results) were the San Diego Chargers who had ended up 2nd in the AFC West Division coached by Don Coryell with a regular season record of 6-3-0. The Chargers were seeded 5th in the AFC playoffs.

The San Diego Chargers had a point scoring average of 32 per game which put their offense 1st of 28 in the NFL and their points allowed average was 24.6 per game which put their defense 24th overall. It is possible that the Chargers seeding of 5th was a little bit high but they were definitely in the top 8 of the AFC.

In the game the Dolphins were the boss of the Chargers offense and limited them to but a few scoring opportunities. Dolphins won by 34 points to 13.

The Miami Dolphins 3rd round playoff game (marked down in the AFC Championship Game results) was against the New York Jets who had ended up 2nd in the AFC East Division coached by Walt Michaels with a regular season record of 6-3-0. The Jets were seeded 6th in the AFC for the playoffs.

In regular season the Jets had a point scoring average of 27.2 per game putting their offense 3rd best of 28 in the NFL and a points allowed average of 18.4 per game conceded which put their defense 10th best in the league. I believe the Jets should have been ranked above the San Diego Chargers in 1982 as they were overall a better team. Still, the Jets did go further in the playoffs than the Chargers but I don′t suppose either team is worried about it now!

During regular season the Dolphins and the Jets had played each other once with the Dolphins winning quite a high scoring game by 45 - 28.

In the playoff game it was the Dolphins once again who quite comfortably got the better of the Jets winning 14 - 0.

Although having lost some of the shine off the regular season through the players strike the 1982 playoff tournament using the seeding system did work on the whole well enough and whilst Super Bowl XVII did not capture one of the leading offensive teams it got both of the top defensive sides in the Washington Redskins and the Miami Dolphins.

In the first quarter of Super Bowl XVII it was the Miami Dolphins who got off the mark the quickest and ended the first period 7 - 0 up.

The second quarter saw the Redskins get themselves into the game with ten points but the Dolphins matched that with ten of their own.

It wasn′t until the third that the Redskins managed to really get to grips with the game and "won" the quarter, scoring 3 points to the Dolphins 0. However, in the fourth the tide really turned and the Washington Redskins really set about their business to rattle up another 14 points with no reply.

The Washington Redskins won Super Bowl XVII by 27 points to 17.

John Riggins the Washington Redskins Running Back was voted Super Bowl XVII MVP.

Note
The Washington Redskins playoff averages were 27.5 points scored per game (21.1 regular season) and an average of 12 points conceded per game (14.2 regular season).

The Miami Dolphins playoff averages were 23.25 points scored per game (22 regular season) and an average of 13.25 points conceded per game (14.6 regular season).

In Conclusion
Although the 1982 NFL Season was a bit of a mixed up lot, what with player strikes, shortened season, division finishing positions ignored and a playoff tournament no less it did however end up with the two most solid teams of 1982 through to Super Bowl XVII.

The Redskins improved their average figures in both offense and defense throughout postseason and seemed to play better the tougher the opposition got. They scored points at will with their offense running like a perfectly oiled machine, whilst their defense was extremely solid and gave little away all playoffs.

The Dolphins improved as the playoffs went on and they were not let down by their averages improving in both offense and defense. In the end they just found one team to be too good, the Washington Redskins!

Team	1	2	3	4	OT / Overtime	T / Total
Miami Dolphins (AFC)	7	10	0	0	-	17
Washington Redskins (NFC)	0	10	3	14	-	27