Age: 34 (Sept. 9)
13th
season in pro football, 10th in NFL & with Redskins
College: Notre
Dame
Height: 6’0” Weight: 198
Prelude:
Runner-up for
the Heisman Trophy in 1970, Theismann was a 4th-round draft pick of
the Miami Dolphins in ’71 but signed with Toronto of the CFL instead. After
three years in Canada, he joined the Redskins (who had traded for his draft
rights) in 1974 but was stuck behind veterans Billy Kilmer and Sonny Jurgensen.
Jurgensen retired following the ’74 season, and Kilmer in ’77, at which point
the cocky quarterback got his chance to start full-time. He passed for over
2500 yards in each season from 1978 thru ’81, with a high of 3568 in 1981. In
the strike-shortened 1982 season, the Redskins went 8-1 and won the Super Bowl.
Theismann was selected to the Pro Bowl and received the Bert Bell Trophy from
the Maxwell Club. Mobile and a fiery leader, he was well-established as the
starting quarterback and had a title under his belt.
1983 Season Summary
Appeared and
started in all 16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 459 [9]
Most
attempts, game – 46 at San Diego 10/31
Completions –
276 [8]
Most
completions, game – 28 vs. Dallas 9/5
Yards – 3714 [5]
Most yards,
game – 417 vs. LA Raiders 10/2
Completion
percentage – 60.1 [8]
Yards per
attempt – 8.1 [4]
TD passes – 29 [2, tied with Danny White]
Most TD
passes, game – 3 at Seattle 9/25, vs. LA Raiders 10/2, vs. Atlanta 12/4
Interceptions
– 11
Most
interceptions, game – 4 vs. NY Giants 12/17
Passer rating
– 97.0 [2]
400-yard
passing games – 1
300-yard
passing games – 4
200-yard
passing games – 9
Rushing
Attempts – 37
Most
attempts, game - 5 (for 18 yds.) at Seattle 9/25
Yards – 234
Most yards,
game – 36 yards (on 3 carries) vs. Dallas 9/5
Yards per
attempt – 6.3
TDs – 1
Scoring
TDs – 1
Points – 6
Postseason: 3
G
Pass attempts
– 84
Most
attempts, game - 35 vs. LA Raiders, Super Bowl
Pass
completions – 48
Most
completions, game - 18 vs. LA Rams, NFC Divisional playoff
Passing
yardage – 774
Most yards,
game - 302 vs. LA Rams, NFC Divisional playoff
TD passes – 3
Most TD
passes, game - 2 vs. LA Rams, NFC Divisional playoff
Interceptions
– 3
Most
interceptions, game - 2 vs. LA Raiders, Super Bowl
Rushing
attempts – 5
Most rushing
attempts, game - 3 vs. LA Raiders, Super Bowl
Rushing yards
– 30
Most rushing
yards, game - 18 vs. LA Raiders, Super Bowl
Average gain
rushing – 6.0
Rushing TDs –
0
Awards & Honors:
NFL MVP: AP,
PFWA, NEA, Sporting News
NFL Offensive
Player of the Year: AP
1st
team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, NEA, Pro Football Weekly, Sporting News
1st
team All-NFC: UPI, Pro Football Weekly
Pro Bowl
Redskins went
14-2 and finish first in the NFC East while leading the league in scoring (541
points) and touchdowns (63). Won NFC Divisional Playoff over Los Angeles Rams
(51-7) and NFC Championship over San Francisco 49ers (24-21). Lost Super Bowl
to Los Angeles Raiders (38-9).
Aftermath:
Theismann passed
for 3391 yards and 24 TDs in 1984 as the Redskins again reached the postseason.
He continued to start until suffering a career-ending broken leg in a Monday
Night game against the Giants during the 1985 season. Overall, he threw for a
career pro total of 31,299 yards (6093 in CFL, 25,206 in NFL) and 200
touchdowns (40 in CFL, 160 in NFL).
--
MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or
Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or
USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football
Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press
International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league
itself).
[Updated 2/6/14]
