Editing Super Bowl XVIII (section)

===Washington Redskins===
{{main|1983 Washington Redskins season}}

The Redskins entered the game appearing to be even better than the previous season when they defeated the [[Miami Dolphins]] 27–17 in [[Super Bowl XVII]]. The Redskins finished the regular season with a 14–2 record, the best in the NFL, and their two losses were only by one point each. In addition, the Redskins set new NFL records with 541 points breaking the previous mark of 513 points set by the [[1961 Houston Oilers season|1961 Oilers]] (since broken by the [[1998 Minnesota Vikings season|1998 Minnesota Vikings]], the [[2007 New England Patriots season|2007]] and [[2012 New England Patriots season|2012 New England Patriots]], [[2011 Green Bay Packers season|2011 Green Bay Packers]], [[2011 New Orleans Saints season|2011 New Orleans Saints]], [[2013 Denver Broncos season|2013 Denver Broncos]], and [[2018 Kansas City Chiefs season|2018 Kansas City Chief]]s), and also had a turnover margin of +43 and the top-ranked run defense.

The Redskins had a number of efficient offensive weapons. Quarterback [[Joe Theismann]] won the [[NFL Most Valuable Player Award]] for being the second [[Passer rating|rated passer]] in the league behind [[Steve Bartkowski]], completing 276 out of 459 (60.1 percent) of his passes for 3,714 yards, 29 touchdowns, and only 11 interceptions. He rushed for 234 yards and another touchdown. Washington's main deep threats were wide receivers [[Charlie Brown (wide receiver, born 1958)|Charlie Brown]] (78 receptions, 1,225 yards, and 8 touchdowns) and [[Art Monk]] (47 receptions, 746 yards, and 5 touchdowns), with the latter fully healthy after the previous year's injury that caused him to miss the entire postseason.  Wide receiver [[Alvin Garrett]], who replaced Monk during that time, emerged as a significant contributor by catching 25 passes for 332 yards. Fullback [[John Riggins]] once again was the team's top rusher with 1,347 yards, and set a then-NFL record by scoring the most rushing touchdowns in a season (24). Multi-talented running back [[Joe Washington]] recorded 772 rushing yards, while catching 47 passes for 454 yards and 6 touchdowns.  Kicker [[Mark Moseley]] led the NFL in scoring with 161 points, while Riggins ranked second with 144, making them the first teammates to finish a season as the NFL's top two scorers since 1951.  Washington's powerful offensive line, "The Hogs", were led by two Pro Bowlers, guard [[Russ Grimm]] and tackle [[Joe Jacoby]].

The Redskins' defense led the league in fewest rushing yards allowed (1,289). [[Pro Bowl]] defensive tackle [[Dave Butz]] recorded 11.5 sacks and a fumble recovery.  On the other side of the line, defensive end [[Dexter Manley]] recorded 11 sacks and an interception. Defensive back [[Mark Murphy (American football executive)|Mark Murphy]] led the NFL with 9 interceptions, while the other starters in the secondary, [[Vernon Dean]], [[Anthony Washington (American football)|Anthony Washington]] and [[Ken Coffey]], along with rookie cornerback [[Darrell Green]], combined for 13 interceptions. Washington, Coffey and Green filled the void left by the season-long suspension of safety [[Tony Peters]] and the season-long holdout by cornerback [[Jeris White]].