1998 NFL season

American football season November 2013 March 2026 1998 Denver Broncos September 6 – December 28, 1998 January 2, 1999 Denver Broncos Atlanta Falcons XXXIII January 31, 1999 Pro Player Stadium, Miami February 7, 1999 The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). The season culminated with Super Bowl XXXIII, with the Denver Broncos defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34–19 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami. The Broncos had won their first thirteen games, the best start since the undefeated 1972 Dolphins, and were tipped by some to have a realistic chance at winning all nineteen games.New York eyes 19–0, but there's no rush Minneapolis Star Tribune November 16, 1998Freeman Mike Chasing Perfection and Taking Questions; Voluble Broncos Are 13–0 and Ready to Talk The New York Times December 9, 1998 The Minnesota Vikings became the first team since the 1968 Baltimore Colts to win all but one of their regular season games and not win the Super Bowl. After no team had won 14 regular season games since the 1992 49ers, three teams went 14–2 or better for the only time in a 16-game season. Draft The 1998 NFL draft was held from April 17 to 18, 1998, at New York City's Theater at Madison Square Garden. With the first pick, the Indianapolis Colts selected quarterback Peyton Manning from the University of Tennessee.Hickey Kevin Colts drafted Peyton Manning 20 years ago Colts Wire USA Today 2018-04-18 https://coltswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/colts/2018/04/18/indianapolis-colts-drafted-peyton-manning-20-years-ago/80173683007/ 2026-04-25 Referee changes Dale Hamer and Gary Lane returned to head linesman and side judge, respectively. Tony Corrente and Ron Winter were promoted to referee. Mike Pereira left the field after two seasons as a side judge to become an assistant supervisor of officials. He succeeded Jerry Seeman as Vice President of Officiating in 2001. Pereira's replacement, Terry McAulay, assumed Pereira's old position and uniform number (77). McAulay was promoted to referee in 2001 and was crew chief for three Super Bowls (XXXIX, XLIII and XLVIII). Major rule changes The officiating position titles of back judge and field judge were swapped to become more consistent with college and high school football. The field judge is now 20 yards deep, positioned on the same sideline as the line judge, while the back judge is 25 yards from the line of scrimmage near the center of the field. Tinted visors on players' facemasks are banned except for medical need. A defensive player can no longer flinch before the snap in an attempt to draw movement from an offensive lineman. A team will be penalized immediately for having 12 players in a huddle even if the 12th player goes straight to the sideline as the huddle breaks. During the season, the rules regarding the coin toss were changed to where the visiting team must make the call before the coin is tossed instead of while it was in the air. On Thanksgiving, the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions went to overtime. During the coin toss, Steelers running back Jerome Bettis was heard calling "tails" but referee Phil Luckett claimed he said "heads". The coin landed on tails, and the Lions won the toss and eventually the game on a Jason Hanson field goal. It was later revealed that Bettis had changed his mind during the call and was originally going to call "heads" but stopped.David Pincus https://www.sbnation.com/2009/11/26/1165932/11-26-1998-the-turkey-day-coin-flip 11/26/1998 - The Turkey Day coin flip sbnation.com November 26, 2010 December 3, 2016 December 18, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20161218144229/http://www.sbnation.com/2009/11/26/1165932/11-26-1998-the-turkey-day-coin-flip live Thus, the rule change was adopted to prevent any further confusion. Preseason Hall of Fame Game The 1998 Hall of Fame Class included Paul Krause, Tommy McDonald, Anthony Muñoz, an offensive lineman for the Cincinnati Bengals, Mike Singletary, a member of the Chicago Bears Super Bowl XX championship team, and Dwight Stephenson, a Pro Bowl offensive lineman with the Miami Dolphins. Regular season Kickoff time changes This was the first season where the late games kicked off at 4:05 p.m. ET (for those games on the single game network) and 4:15 p.m. ET (for those on the doubleheader network), replacing the original 4:00 p.m. ET start time to give networks more time to finish the early games before the start of the late games. Dallas' Thanksgiving game was also likewise moved from 4:00 to 4:15 ET. The 4:15 start time would last until 2011 when kickoff times would be pushed later to give networks even more time between games. Monday Night Football broadcasts were also pushed back from its 9:00 p.m. ET start time to 8:00 p.m. ET, with the actual kickoffs at 8:20 p.m. to allow for a 20 minute pregame show. Scheduling formula     Inter-conference AFC East vs NFC West AFC Central vs NFC Central AFC West vs NFC East Highlights of the 1998 season included: Thanksgiving: Two games were played on Thursday, November 26, featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings at the Dallas Cowboys, with the Lions and Vikings winning. The Steelers-Lions game is notable for going into overtime, where the Steelers' Jerome Bettis called the coin toss in the air, but referee Phil Luckett awarded the Lions the ball after he thought Bettis tried to call both heads and tails at the same time. The Lions went on to kick a field goal on the first possession, winning 19–16. In the other game, Vikings rookie wide receiver Randy Moss caught three touchdowns, all of over 50 yards in a 46–36 win. Final standings Tiebreakers Miami finished ahead of Buffalo in the AFC East based on better net division points (6 to Bills' 0). Oakland finished ahead of Seattle in the AFC West based on head-to-head sweep (2–0). Carolina finished ahead of St. Louis in the NFC West based on head-to-head sweep (2–0). Playoffs 1998–99 NFL playoffs Statistical leaders Team Points scoredMinnesota Vikings (556)Total yards gainedSan Francisco 49ers (6,800)Yards rushingSan Francisco 49ers (2,544)Yards passingMinnesota Vikings (4,328)Fewest points allowedMiami Dolphins (265)Fewest total yards allowedSan Diego Chargers (4,208)Fewest rushing yards allowedSan Diego Chargers (1,140)Fewest passing yards allowedPhiladelphia Eagles (2,720) Individual ScoringGary Anderson, Minnesota (164 points)TouchdownsTerrell Davis, Denver (23 TDs)Most field goals madeAl Del Greco, Tennessee (36 FGs)RushingTerrell Davis, Denver (2,008 yards)PassingRandall Cunningham, Minnesota, (106.0 rating)Passing touchdownsSteve Young, San Francisco (36 TDs)Pass receivingO.J. McDuffie, Miami (90 catches)Pass receiving yardsAntonio Freeman, Green Bay (1,424)Receiving touchdownsRandy Moss, Minnesota (17 touchdowns)Punt returnsDeion Sanders, Dallas (15.6 average yards)Kickoff returnsTerry Fair, Detroit (28.0 average yards)InterceptionsTy Law, New England (8)PuntingCraig Hentrich, Tennessee (47.2 average yards)SacksMichael Sinclair, Seattle (16.5) Awards Most Valuable PlayerTerrell Davis, running back, DenverCoach of the YearDan Reeves, AtlantaOffensive Player of the YearTerrell Davis, running back, DenverDefensive Player of the YearReggie White, defensive end, Green BayOffensive Rookie of the YearRandy Moss, wide receiver, MinnesotaDefensive Rookie of the YearCharles Woodson, cornerback, OaklandNFL Comeback Player of the YearDoug Flutie, quarterback, BuffaloNFL Man of the YearDan Marino, quarterback, MiamiSuper Bowl Most Valuable PlayerJohn Elway, quarterback, Denver Coaching changes Offseason Oakland Raiders – Jon Gruden; replaced Joe Bugel, who was fired after the 1997 season. Indianapolis Colts – Jim Mora; replaced Lindy Infante, who was fired after the 1997 season. Dallas Cowboys – Chan Gailey; replaced Barry Switzer, who resigned after the 1997 season. Buffalo Bills – Wade Phillips; replaced Marv Levy, who retired after the 1997 season. In-season San Diego Chargers - June Jones; replaced Kevin Gilbride, who was fired after Week 6 of the 1998 season. Atlanta Falcons - Rich Brooks; served as interim head coach for Weeks 16 and 17 of the 1998 season while Dan Reeves recovered from quadruple bypass surgery. Stadium changes Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens moved from Memorial Stadium to Ravens Stadium at Camden Yards Buffalo Bills: Rich Stadium was renamed Ralph Wilson Stadium after Bills founder and owner Ralph Wilson Oakland Raiders: The Oakland Coliseum was renamed Network Associates Coliseum after the software company Network Associates acquired the naming rights Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Buccaneers moved from Houlihan's Stadium to Raymond James Stadium, with Raymond James Financial acquiring the naming rights Tennessee Oilers: The Oilers moved from the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville New uniforms The Baltimore Ravens began wearing their white pants instead of black with their white jerseys. The Detroit Lions wore blue pants and silver-topped socks with their white jerseys for this season only. The Jacksonville Jaguars removed the black side panels on uniforms. The New York Jets unveiled a modernized version of the team's classic design and logo used from 1964 to 1977. The San Diego Chargers returned to navy pants with their white jerseys. The San Francisco 49ers switched from white to gold pants. Television This was the first season that CBS held the rights to televise AFC games, taking over from NBC. Meanwhile, this was the first time that ESPN broadcast all of the Sunday night games throughout the season (this was also the first season in which ESPN's coverage used the Monday Night Football themes, before reverting to using an original theme in 2001). ABC and Fox renewed their rights for Monday Night Football and the NFC package, respectively. All of these networks signed eight-year television contracts through the 2005 season.Quinn, Kevin G. The Economics of the National Football League: The State of the Art Springer Science & Business Media 2011 338 978-1-4419-6289-8 MNF broadcasts were pushed to an 8:00 p.m. ET start time. The actual kickoffs were at 8:20 p.m., preceded by a new pregame show hosted by Chris Berman. Frank Gifford was then reassigned as a special contributor to the pregame show, while Boomer Esiason replaced Gifford in the booth. Longtime CBS Sports announcer Jim Nantz was named as the host of the revived The NFL Today pregame show, with Marcus Allen, Brent Jones, and George Seifert with Mike Lombardi replacing Seifert by week 13 as analysts. For its new lead broadcast team, CBS hired Greg Gumbel (who hosted The NFL Today from 1990-93) and Phil Simms from NBC. Randy Cross also came from NBC, and was paired with longtime CBS Sports announcer Verne Lundquist to form the network's new #2 crew. Kevin Harlan also came over from FOX. Fox hired Cris Collinsworth from NBC to replace Ronnie Lott as one of the Fox NFL Sunday analysts. Longtime broadcaster Tim Ryan joined for one season on play by play. ESPN hired Paul Maguire from NBC to join Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann in a three-man booth. Official AFC team affiliates TeamAffiliateBaltimore RavensWJZ-TVBuffalo BillsWIVBCincinnati BengalsWKRCDenver BroncosKCNCIndianapolis ColtsWISH-TVJacksonville JaguarsWJAXKansas City ChiefsKCTVMiami DolphinsWFORNew England PatriotsWBZ-TVNew York JetsWCBSOakland RaidersKPIXPittsburgh SteelersKDKASan Diego ChargersKFMBSeattle SeahawksKIRO-TVTennessee OilersWTVF External links Football Outsiders 1998 DVOA Ratings and Commentary https://web.archive.org/web/20160304092539/http://www.footballoutsiders.com/dvoa-ratings/2005/1998-dvoa-ratings-and-commentary March 4, 2016 Pro Football Reference.com – 1998 References NFL Record and Fact Book (1-932994-36-X) NFL History 1991–2000 (Last accessed October 17, 2005) Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (0-06-270174-6) Steelers Fever – History of NFL Rules (Last accessed October 17, 2005) Category:NFL seasons National Football League