2003 NFL season

This article is about the American football season in the United States. For the Gaelic football season in Ireland, see 2003 National Football League (Ireland).

2003 National Football League season

Regular season
Duration	September 4 – December 28, 2003
Playoffs
Start date	January 3, 2004
AFC Champions	New England Patriots
NFC Champions	Carolina Panthers
Super Bowl XXXVIII
Date	February 1, 2004
Site	Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas
Champions	New England Patriots
Pro Bowl
Date	February 8, 2004
Site	Aloha Stadium
← 2002 NFL seasons 2004 →

The 2003 NFL season was the 84th regular season of the National Football League (NFL).

Regular-season play was held from September 4, 2003, to December 28, 2003. Due to damage caused by the Cedar Fire, Qualcomm Stadium was used as an emergency shelter, and thus the Miami Dolphins–San Diego Chargers regular-season match on October 27 was instead played at Sun Devil Stadium, the home field of the Arizona Cardinals. This was the first season in NFL History where every team won at least 4 games.

The playoffs began on January 3, 2004. The NFL title was won by the New England Patriots when they defeated the Carolina Panthers, 32–29, in Super Bowl XXXVIII at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 1.

This was the last season until the 2016 NFL season where neither of the previous Super Bowl participants made the playoffs.

Draft

The 2003 NFL Draft was held from April 26 to 27, 2003 at New York City's Theater at Madison Square Garden. With the first pick, the Cincinnati Bengals selected quarterback Carson Palmer from the University of Southern California.

Referee changes

Dick Hantak and Bob McElwee retired in the 2003 off-season. Hantak joined the league as a back judge in 1978, and was assigned Super Bowl XVII in that position. He was promoted to referee in 1986, working Super Bowl XXVII. McElwee joined the NFL in 1976 as a line judge, and became a referee in 1980. He was the referee for three Super Bowls: XXII, XXVIII, and XXXIV. Walt Anderson and Pete Morelli were promoted to referee to replace Hantak and McElwee.

Major rule changes

"NFL Kickoff" event on September 4, 2003: Joe Theismann (L) and Joe Namath (R) at a military tribute

• If an onside kick inside the final five minutes of the game does not go 10 yards, goes out of bounds, or is touched illegally, the receiving team will have the option of accepting the penalty and getting the ball immediately. Previously, the kicking team was penalized, but had another chance to kick again from five yards back.
• League officials encouraged networks to immediately cut to a commercial break if an instant replay challenge review was initiated. Previously networks were generally not permitted to utilize those game stoppages for their prescribed commercial periods. ^[1]

2003 deaths

• John Butler: A former General Manager with the Buffalo Bills, whose team qualified for Super Bowl XXVIII and the San Diego Chargers, ^[2] he died of lymphoma on April 11, 2003.
• David Woodley: Having played for the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII, Woodley died from complications due to kidney and liver failure on May 4, 2003. ^[3] Twenty years after Super Bowl XVII, he became the youngest Super Bowl starting quarterback to die, until the death of Super Bowl XXXIV starter Steve McNair at age 36 in 2009. Woodley was buried at St. Joseph Cemetery in Shreveport, alongside his parents.

Pro Football Hall of Fame

• Sid Gillman: A former head coach and general manager with the San Diego Chargers, Gillman died in his sleep on January 3, 2003, Gillman died in his sleep at age 91. ^[4] He was interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Final regular season standings

AFC East view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK (1) New England Patriots 14 2 0 .875 5–1 11–1 348 238 W12 Miami Dolphins 10 6 0 .625 4–2 7–5 311 261 W2 Buffalo Bills 6 10 0 .375 2–4 4–8 243 279 L3 New York Jets 6 10 0 .375 1–5 6–6 283 299 L2 AFC North view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK (4) Baltimore Ravens 10 6 0 .625 4–2 7–5 391 281 W2 Cincinnati Bengals 8 8 0 .500 3–3 6–6 346 384 L2 Pittsburgh Steelers 6 10 0 .375 3–3 5–7 300 327 L1 Cleveland Browns 5 11 0 .313 2–4 3–9 254 322 W1 AFC South view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK (3) Indianapolis Colts 12 4 0 .750 5–1 9–3 447 336 W1 (5) Tennessee Titans 12 4 0 .750 4–2 8–4 435 324 W3 Jacksonville Jaguars 5 11 0 .313 2–4 3–9 276 331 L1 Houston Texans 5 11 0 .313 1–5 3–9 255 380 L4 AFC West view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK (2) Kansas City Chiefs 13 3 0 .813 5–1 10–2 484 332 W1 (6) Denver Broncos 10 6 0 .625 5–1 9–3 381 301 L1 Oakland Raiders 4 12 0 .250 1–5 3–9 270 379 L2 San Diego Chargers 4 12 0 .250 1–5 2–10 313 441 W1

NFC East view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK (1) Philadelphia Eagles 12 4 0 .750 5–1 9–3 374 287 W1 (6) Dallas Cowboys 10 6 0 .625 5–1 8–4 289 260 L1 Washington Redskins 5 11 0 .313 1–5 3–9 287 372 L3 New York Giants 4 12 0 .250 1–5 3–9 243 387 L8 NFC North view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK (4) Green Bay Packers 10 6 0 .625 4–2 7–5 442 307 W4 Minnesota Vikings 9 7 0 .563 4–2 7–5 416 353 L1 Chicago Bears 7 9 0 .438 2–4 4–8 283 346 L1 Detroit Lions 5 11 0 .313 2–4 4–8 270 379 W1 NFC South view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK (3) Carolina Panthers 11 5 0 .688 5–1 9–3 325 304 W3 New Orleans Saints 8 8 0 .500 3–3 7–5 340 326 W1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7 9 0 .438 2–4 6–6 301 264 L2 Atlanta Falcons 5 11 0 .313 2–4 4–8 299 422 W2 NFC West view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK (2) St. Louis Rams 12 4 0 .750 4–2 8–4 447 328 L1 (5) Seattle Seahawks 10 6 0 .625 5–1 8–4 404 327 W2 San Francisco 49ers 7 9 0 .438 2–4 6–6 384 337 L1 Arizona Cardinals 4 12 0 .250 1–5 3–9 225 452 W1

Tiebreakers

• Indianapolis finished ahead of Tennessee in the AFC South based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
• Denver clinched the AFC 6 seed instead of Miami based on better conference record (9–3 to 7–5).
• Buffalo finished ahead of N.Y. Jets in the AFC East based on better division record (2–4 to 1–5).
• Jacksonville finished ahead of Houston in the AFC South based on better division record (2–4 to 1–5).
• Oakland finished ahead of San Diego in the AFC West based on better conference record (3–9 to 2–10).
• Philadelphia clinched the NFC 1 seed instead of St. Louis based on better conference record (9–3 to 8–4).
• Seattle clinched the NFC 5 seed instead of Dallas based on strength of victory (.406 to .388).

Playoffs

Main article: 2003–04 NFL playoffs

Within each conference, the four division winners and the two wild card teams (the top two non-division winners with the best overall regular season records) qualified for the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1 through 4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card teams are seeded 5 and 6. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. In the first round, dubbed the wild-card playoffs or wild-card weekend, the third-seeded division winner hosts the sixth seed wild card, and the fourth seed hosts the fifth. The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference then receive a bye in the first round. In the second round, the divisional playoffs, the number 1 seed hosts the worst surviving seed from the first round (seed 4, 5, or 6), while the number 2 seed will play the other team (seed 3, 4, or 5). The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional playoff games then meet in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed. Although the Super Bowl, the fourth and final round of the playoffs, is played at a neutral site, the designated home team is based on an annual rotation by conference.

Playoff seeds
Seed	AFC	NFC
1	New England Patriots (East winner)	Philadelphia Eagles (East winner)
2	Kansas City Chiefs (West winner)	St. Louis Rams (West winner)
3	Indianapolis Colts (South winner)	Carolina Panthers (South winner)
4	Baltimore Ravens (North winner)	Green Bay Packers (North winner)
5	Tennessee Titans (wild card)	Seattle Seahawks (wild card)
6	Denver Broncos (wild card)	Dallas Cowboys (wild card)

Bracket

	Jan. 3 – Bank of America Stadium					Jan. 10 – Edward Jones Dome
	6	Dallas	10
						3	Carolina	29**
	3	Carolina	29								Jan. 18 – Lincoln Financial Field
						2	St. Louis	23
						NFC
	Jan. 4 – Lambeau Field										3	Carolina	14
						Jan. 11 – Lincoln Financial Field
											1	Philadelphia	3
	5	Seattle	27								NFC Championship
						4	Green Bay	17
	4	Green Bay	33*													Feb. 1 – Reliant Stadium
						1	Philadelphia	20*
	Wild Card playoffs
						Divisional playoffs
	Jan. 4 – RCA Dome															N3	Carolina	29
						Jan. 11 – Arrowhead Stadium
																A1	New England	32
	6	Denver	10													Super Bowl XXXVIII
						3	Indianapolis	38
	3	Indianapolis	41								Jan. 18 – Gillette Stadium
						2	Kansas City	31
						AFC
	Jan. 3 – M&T Bank Stadium										3	Indianapolis	14
						Jan. 10 – Gillette Stadium
											1	New England	24
	5	Tennessee	20								AFC Championship
						5	Tennessee	14
	4	Baltimore	17
						1	New England	17

* Indicates overtime victory

** Indicates double overtime victory

This box:

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Milestones

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

Record	Player or team	Date/Opponent	Previous record holder [5]
Most Touchdowns, Season	Priest Holmes, Kansas City (27)	December 28, vs. Chicago	Marshall Faulk, St. Louis, 2000 (26)
Most Rushing Yards Gained, Game	Jamal Lewis, Baltimore (295)	September 14, vs. Cleveland	Corey Dillon, Cincinnati vs. Denver, October 22, 2000 (278)
Most Consecutive Field Goals	Mike Vanderjagt, Indianapolis	December 28, at Houston	Gary Anderson, 1997–98 (40)
Most Consecutive Road Games Lost	Detroit Lions	December 21, vs. Carolina	Houston Oilers, 1981–84 (23)
Most consecutive games with a sack	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (69)	November 9, 2003	Dallas Cowboys (68)

Statistical leaders

Team

Points scored	Kansas City Chiefs (484)
Total yards gained	Minnesota Vikings (6,294)
Yards rushing	Baltimore Ravens (2,674)
Yards passing	Indianapolis Colts (4,179)
Fewest points allowed	New England Patriots (238)
Fewest total yards allowed	Dallas Cowboys (4,056)
Fewest rushing yards allowed	Tennessee Titans (1,295)
Fewest passing yards allowed	Dallas Cowboys (2,631)

Individual

Scoring	Jeff Wilkins, St. Louis (163 points)
Touchdowns	Priest Holmes, Kansas City (27 TDs)
Most field goals made	Jeff Wilkins, St. Louis (39 FGs)
Rushing	Jamal Lewis, Baltimore (2,066 yards)
Passing	Steve McNair, Tennessee (100.4 rating)
Passing touchdowns	Brett Favre, Green Bay (32 TDs)
Pass receiving	Torry Holt, St. Louis (117 catches)
Pass receiving yards	Torry Holt, St. Louis (1,696)
Pass receiving touchdowns	Randy Moss, Minnesota (17 touchdowns)
Punt returns	Dante Hall, Kansas City (16.3 average yards)
Kickoff returns	Jerry Azumah, Chicago (29.0 average yards)
Interceptions	Brian Russell, Minnesota and Tony Parrish, San Francisco (9)
Punting	Shane Lechler, Oakland (46.9 average yards)
Sacks	Michael Strahan, New York Giants (18.5)

Awards

Most Valuable Player	Peyton Manning, quarterback, Indianapolis and Steve McNair, quarterback, Tennessee Titans
Coach of the Year	Bill Belichick, New England
Offensive Player of the Year	Jamal Lewis, running back, Baltimore
Defensive Player of the Year	Ray Lewis, linebacker, Baltimore
Offensive Rookie of the Year	Anquan Boldin, wide receiver, Arizona
Defensive Rookie of the Year	Terrell Suggs, linebacker, Baltimore
NFL Comeback Player of the Year	Jon Kitna, Quarterback, Cincinnati
Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year	Will Shields, Guard, Kansas
Super Bowl Most Valuable Player	Tom Brady, Quarterback, New England

Coaching changes

• Cincinnati Bengals – Marvin Lewis; replaced Dick LeBeau who was fired following the 2002 season.
• Dallas Cowboys – Bill Parcells; replaced Dave Campo who was fired following the 2002 season.
• Detroit Lions – Steve Mariucci; replaced Marty Mornhinweg who was fired following the 2002 season.
• Jacksonville Jaguars – Jack Del Rio; replaced Tom Coughlin who was fired following the 2002 season.
• San Francisco 49ers – Dennis Erickson; replaced Steve Mariucci who was fired following the 2002 season.

Stadium changes

Tennessee at Green Bay in the preseason; both teams made the playoffs

• Baltimore Ravens: Ravens Stadium was renamed M&T Bank Stadium after M&T Bank acquired the naming rights
• Chicago Bears: The Bears moved back to a newly renovated Soldier Field after temporarily playing in 2002 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois
• New England Patriots: CMGI Field was renamed Gillette Stadium after Gillette acquires the naming rights
• Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles moved from Veterans Stadium to Lincoln Financial Field, with Lincoln Financial Group acquiring the naming rights
• San Francisco 49ers: After the naming rights deal with 3Com expired, the stadium was officially renamed San Francisco Stadium at Candlestick Point instead of its original Candlestick Park name

In addition new turf was installed for the following teams:

• Atlanta Falcons: New FieldTurf surface
• Buffalo Bills: New AstroPlay home turf
• New Orleans Saints: New AstroPlay home turf by mid-season

New uniforms

• The Atlanta Falcons unveiled a new uniform design featuring red trim down the sides of both the jerseys and pants. The pants were switched from gray to white. Black remained the primary jersey color while a red alternate jersey was also introduced. The falcons helmet logo was redesigned to be more aggressive and closely resemble a capital "F".
• The Cincinnati Bengals added new alternate black pants with their black jerseys for select home games.
• The Cleveland Browns added new alternate orange pants last worn during the 1970s-early 1980s Kardiac Kids era of coach Sam Rutigliano.
• The Denver Broncos introduced blue pants with orange streaks to match with their blue jerseys.
• The Detroit Lions introduced a new design that added black trim to their logo and jerseys, and changed their face masks from blue to black.
• The Houston Texans added red third alternate uniforms.
• The Miami Dolphins added orange third alternate uniforms.
• The New England Patriots added silver third alternate uniforms.
• The New Orleans Saints wore gold pants full time, discontinuing using black pants with their white jerseys.
• The Philadelphia Eagles added silver trim to the jersey numbers on uniforms, and black third alternate uniforms.
• The San Diego Chargers wore white pants instead of blue with their white jerseys.
• The Tennessee Titans added powder blue third alternate uniforms.

Notes

1. Gaughan, Mark (March 27, 2003). "Execs Plan Only Minor Procedures". The Buffalo News. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
2. John Butler (1946-2003)
3. Bikoff, Ken (May 7, 2003). "Woodley's death sad but powerful". Pro Football Weekly. Archived from the original on July 2, 2005. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
4. Martin, Susan (January 4, 2003). "Legendary Gillman dies at 91". Buffalo News. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
5. "Records". 2005 NFL Record and Fact Book. NFL. 2005. ISBN   978-1-932994-36-0.

References

• NFL Record and Fact Book ( ISBN   1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 2001– (Last accessed October 17, 2005)
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League ( ISBN   0-06-270174-6)

External links

• Football Outsiders 2003 Team Efficiency Ratings
• Pro Football Reference.com – 2003