After a strike-shorted 1–8 season, the Oilers traded their second draft choice to the Los Angeles Rams,[1] probably fearing that Eric Dickerson, the player they desired to pick with that second choice,[2] would join the Los Angeles Express of the USFL.
[3] The Oilers ultimately made a marginal improvement, winning two games,[4] but failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
[5] The week 13 game against Tampa Bay, before which both teams had 1–11 records, was nicknamed the "Repus Bowl".
Steve Wulf wrote of the game, "Yes, this was the Small One, the battle of the beatens, the movable object meeting the resistible force.
The last remaining active member of the 1983 Houston Oilers was offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, who retired after the 2001 season.