1984 NFL season

• February 4, 1984: Warren Moon signs a contract with the Houston Oilers.[3]
• February 23, 1984: The Pittsburgh Steelers acquire David Woodley in a trade with the Miami Dolphins.

• Linebackers are permitted to wear numbers 90 to 99.
• The penalty for a kickoff or onside kick that goes out of bounds is 5 yards from the previous spot and a re-kick must be made. However, if the second (or more) kickoff or onside kick goes out of bounds, the receiving team may choose instead to take possession of the ball at the out of bounds spot.
• Leaping to try to block a field goal or an extra point is illegal unless the defensive player was lined up at the line of scrimmage.
• A kicker or holder who fakes being roughed or run into by a defensive player can receive an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
• Unsportsmanlike conduct will also be called for any prolonged, excessive, or premeditated celebration by individual players or a group of players. This is usually referred to as the “Mark Gastineau Rule” because a major reason why this change was made was to stop him from performing his signature “Sack Dance” every time after he sacked an opposing quarterback. This also referred to the Washington Redskins "Fun Bunch".

• David Overstreet was killed in a car accident on June 24, 1984. He was driving northbound in his 1980 Mercedes on Texas State Highway 155, when his car swerved off the road about 10 miles northeast of Tyler into gasoline pumps at a service station and exploded.[5] The Dolphins wore a helmet decal with the number 20 in his memory during their 1984 season in which they reached Super Bowl XIX.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, in which the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38–0, was contested on July 28, 1984 and held at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, the same city where the league was founded. The 1984 Hall of Fame Class included Willie Brown, Mike McCormack, Charley Taylor and Arnie Weinmeister.

• September 30, 1984: The Colts won their first game ever at Indianapolis during a Week 5 contest against AFC East opponent, the Buffalo Bills, winning by a 31-17 margin.

• For the only time in NFL history, two teams — the Oilers and the Bills — begin the season 0–10.[6]

Walter Payton (34) pictured breaking the NFL's career rushing record on October 7, 1984..

Eric Dickerson pictured in his record-breaking 1984 season, where he set the NFL record for most rushed yards.

The following players set all-time records during the season:

The relocated Indianapolis Colts moved from Baltimore's Memorial Stadium to the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis.

The New York Jets moved their home games from Shea Stadium in New York City to Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, sharing it with the Giants.

• The Atlanta Falcons switched from white to black face masks.
• The Buffalo Bills switched from white helmets to red, primarily to help quarterback Joe Ferguson distinguish his teammates from the white helmets also worn by AFC East rivals Baltimore Colts, Miami Dolphins, and New England Patriots.[7]
• The Chicago Bears permanently added "GSH" to the left sleeve of the jerseys, in memory of longtime owner and coach George Halas. The Bears also added navy blue pants to wear with their white jerseys.
• The Cleveland Browns added new striping patterns to their brown and white jerseys, and white pants. Outlines were also added to the numbers. During the preseason, the numbers on the brown jerseys were orange trimmed with white; however, complaints about the numbers being too difficult to read prompted the color scheme to be reversed for the regular season. They also stopped using orange pants and instead wore white pants with both the brown and white jerseys. Brown-topped socks were worn with the brown jerseys, and orange-topped socks were worn with the white jerseys.
• The Detroit Lions switched from gray to blue face masks.
• The Green Bay Packers added player numbers to their pants at the hip, similar to the Dallas Cowboys. The "TV numbers" on the jerseys were moved from the sleeves to the shoulders, and the "G" monogram on the helmets was repeated on the jersey sleeves.
• The New England Patriots made major changes to their jerseys, adding "UCLA stripes" around the shoulders, replacing the two stripes at the bottom of the sleeves which were used from 1973-83. The Patriots also returned to wearing red pants with their white jerseys as they did in 1979 and '80.

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1981–1990 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)