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 time that NFL playoff games were regionally televised across the United States instead of nationwide. The NFL could have televised all eight games nationwide had it scheduled one game in each conference in the four broadcast windows; instead, AFC games were held late Saturday and early Sunday, with NFC games played early Saturday and late Sunday. (Since the 2022-23 NFL season, one first round playoff game is regionally televised in the primary markets only of the two playing teams, with the game available via streaming nationwide.) This year was also the only season in which the conference championship games were played on separate days, although the NFL has announced in case both conference championship games are held in the same city, with the two teams that share a stadium (in East Rutherford, New Jersey or Inglewood, California), one conference championship game would be played on Saturday and the other played on a Sunday.
With the altered format and expanded playoff field, this season saw the first playoff berths given to teams with losing records (win percentage < .500), as both Cleveland and Detroit finished with 4–5 records (.444). Both teams lost in the first round of the playoffs. Since then, the 2010 Seattle Seahawks, 2014 Carolina Panthers, 2020 Washington Football Team, 2022 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and 2025 Panthers have won their division with losing records, with the 2010 Seahawks becoming the first sub-.500 team to make the playoffs in a full-length season and becoming the first sub-.500 team to win a playoff game.
The expanded playoff format made it possible for a team to host three games in the postseason, which Washington and Miami both did. Under the typical playoff format at the time, this was not possible as all wild-card round winners would always play away games in the divisional round. With the expansion to fourteen playoff teams starting in 2020–21, it is once again possible for a team to host three playoff games in the same season. This was first exemplified in the 2021 Kansas City Chiefs.
Participants
Bracket
Schedule In the United States, CBS televised the NFC playoff games, while NBC broadcast the AFC games and Super Bowl XVII.
The players' strike and the reduced regular season caused the playoffs and Super Bowl to be delayed by one week than what they were originally scheduled for (the playoffs in the 1980s usually began at or near the last weekend of December). Because of the eight-game first round, this was the first time that NFL playoff games were regionally televised across the United States instead of nationwide. The league still used the two traditional weekend 12:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. EST time slots, and did not hold prime time postseason games until the 2001–02 playoffs. Furthermore, scheduling conflicts with college basketball on CBS that had been previously set before the NFL playoffs were rescheduled following the resumption of play forced the conference championship games to be played on separate days.
Round Away team Score Home team Date Kickoff(ET / UTC−5) TV First Round playoffs Detroit Lions 7–31 Washington Redskins January 8, 1983 12:30 p.m. CBS St. Louis Cardinals 16–41 Green Bay Packers New England Patriots 13–28 Miami Dolphins 4:00 p.m. NBC Cleveland Browns 10–27 Los Angeles Raiders New York Jets 44–17 Cincinnati Bengals January 9, 1983 12:30 p.m. NBC San Diego Chargers 31–28 Pittsburgh Steelers Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17–30 Dallas Cowboys 4:00 p.m. CBS Atlanta Falcons 24–30 Minnesota Vikings Second Round playoffs Minnesota Vikings 7–21 Washington Redskins January 15, 1983 12:30 p.m. CBS New York Jets 17–14 Los Angeles Raiders 4:00 p.m. NBC San Diego Chargers 13–34 Miami Dolphins January 16, 1983 12:30 p.m. NBC Green Bay Packers 26–37 Dallas Cowboys 4:00 p.m. CBS Conference championships Dallas Cowboys 17–31 Washington Redskins January 22, 1983 12:30 p.m. CBS New York Jets 0–14 Miami Dolphins January 23, 1983 12:30 p.m. NBC Super Bowl XVII Miami Dolphins 17–27 Washington Redskins January 30, 1983 6:00 p.m. NBC
First Round playoffs
Saturday, January 8, 1983
NFC: Washington Redskins 31, Detroit Lions 7
The Redskins jumped to a 24–0 lead en route to an easy 31–7 victory over the Lions, who were in their first postseason game since 1970. Washington receiver Alvin Garrett, who caught only one pass during the regular season, recorded six receptions for 110 yards and three touchdowns. Fullback John Riggins led the team on the ground with 119 rushing yards. Quarterback Joe Theismann compiled 210 passing yards and three touchdowns. While the Redskins only outgained the Lions by two yards (366 to 364), they intercepted two passes and recovered three fumbles, while losing no turnovers themselves.
The game seemed to start well for Detroit, as they reached the Redskins 21-yard line on their opening drive. But halfback Billy Sims lost a fumble that was recovered by Washington linebacker Rich Milot. The next time the Lions had the ball, Jeris White intercepted a pass intended for Sims and returned it 77 yards for a touchdown, the second longest interception return in NFL playoff history. Then on their third possession, quarterback Eric Hipple was sacked by blitzing cornerback Vernon Dean causing a fumble that defensive tackle Darryl Grant recovered on the Redskins 19-yard line. This set up Mark Moseley's 26-yard field goal to make the score 10–0 with just over two minutes left in the first quarter.
Washington increased their lead to 17–0 early in the second quarter with Theismann's 21-yard touchdown pass to Garrett. Detroit responded with a drive to the Redskins 5-yard line, but came up empty again when Dave Butz forced a fumble from Sims that was recovered by defensive end Dexter Manley. Washington then drove 96 yards to score on Garrett's second 21-yard touchdown catch, giving the team a 24–0 first half lead.
In the third quarter, Washington essentially put the game away with a 5-play, 74-yard drive that ended with Garrett's third touchdown of the day, this one a 27-yard catch, making the lead 31–0. Meanwhile, all Detroit could do was avoid a shutout on Hipple's 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end David Hill, the Lions' first playoff score since the 1957 NFL Championship Game.
Lions receiver Leonard Thompson was the top performer for his team with seven receptions for 150 yards.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Lions and Redskins.
The same teams met in the same stadium nine years later for the NFC championship, with the Redskins routing the Lions 41–10 en route to the Super Bowl XXVI title.
The teams would meet a third time in 1999, with Washington winning again 27–13.
NFC: Green Bay Packers 41, St. Louis Cardinals 16
In the first playoff game at Lambeau Field since the Ice Bowl in 1967, Green Bay quarterback Lynn Dickey threw for 260 yards and four touchdowns en route to a 41–16 win. The Packers scored four touchdowns on four consecutive possessions and finished the game with 453 yards. It was their first playoff victory since Super Bowl II in 1968, as well as the Packers only playoff win in the twenty-five seasons from 1968 to 1992.
Cardinals kicker Neil O'Donoghue gave the team a 3–0 lead with an 18-yard field goal on their opening drive, however this would be the extent of his success. By the end of the game, he missed attempts from 44 and 45 yards, while also having a 44-yard attempt and an extra point kick blocked, both by Packers tight end Gary Lewis. Meanwhile, Green Bay responded to his field goal with a 60-yard touchdown pass from Dickey to receiver John Jefferson.
There would be no more scoring until 5:45 remained in the half, when the Packers suddenly buried St. Louis with three consecutive touchdowns. First, Cardinals safety Benny Perrin slipped while covering James Lofton in the end zone, and Dickey threw him the ball for a 20-yard score. Then Packers linebacker George Cumby recovered Stump Mitchell's fumble on the Packers 39. Dickey's subsequently completed a 30-yard pass to Jefferson and Eddie Lee Ivery broke off an 18-yard run before finishing the drive with a 2-yard rushing score. Two plays later, safety Mark Murphy intercepted Neil Lomax's pass and returned it 22 yards to the Cardinals 12-yard line, setting up Dickey's 4-yard touchdown toss to Ivery that gave Green Bay a 28–3 lead. St. Louis managed to respond with Lomax's 5-yard touchdown pass to Pat Tilley with nine seconds left in the half, but Lewis blocked the extra point, and their 28–9 halftime deficit ended up being as close as the score would ever get.
Green Bay increased their lead to 31–9 with Jan Stenerud's 46-yard field goal on their opening drive of the second half. In the final minute of the third quarter, they went up 38–9 on Dickey's fourth touchdown pass of the day, a 7-yarder to Jefferson at the end of an 89-yard drive that included a 43-yard pass interference penalty against defensive back Carl Allen. In the fourth quarter, Stenerud kicked a 34-yard field goal, while Lomax closed out the scoring on an 18-yard touchdown pass to receiver Mike Shumann with 8:13 left in regulation.
By the end of the game, the Packers had set numerous franchise post season records, including most touchdown passes in a game (4), most receiving yards (6 receptions for 148 yards by Jefferson), and longest field goal (46 yards by Stenerud).
Cardinals receiver Roy Green caught nine passes for 113 yards. Lomax completed 32 of 51 passes for 385 yards and two touchdowns, but was intercepted twice and sacked five times, twice by defensive end Mike Butler.
This was the Cardinals' last postseason game representing St. Louis. The franchise relocated to Arizona in 1988 and did not return to the playoffs until 1998. The city of St. Louis would not be represented again in the NFL postseason until the Rams, who moved to the city in 1995, won Super Bowl XXXIV following the 1999 season.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Cardinals and Packers.
AFC: Miami Dolphins 28, New England Patriots 13
This first round playoff game featured a rematch of the infamous Snowplow Game earlier in the regular season, replete with a pregame reenactment of the kick. The Dolphins controlled most of the game with four long touchdown drives, and intercepted Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan twice. Miami's mobile quarterback David Woodley had one of the best performances of his career, completing 16 of 19 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns (both to tight end Bruce Hardy) with no interceptions, while also rushing for 16 yards. Woodley's passer rating for this game was 153.8. Miami running back Andra Franklin had 26 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown. Miami significantly outgained New England in total yards (448 to 237) and rushing yards (214 to 77).