Regular season | |
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Duration | September 7, 2017 – December 31, 2017 |
Playoffs | |
Start date | January 6, 2018 |
AFC Champions | New England Patriots |
NFC Champions | Philadelphia Eagles |
Super Bowl LII | |
Date | February 4, 2018 |
Site | U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
Champions | Philadelphia Eagles |
Pro Bowl | |
Date | January 28, 2018 |
Site | Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida |
The 2017 NFL season was the 98th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 52nd of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 7, 2017, with the Kansas City Chiefs defeating the defending Super Bowl LI champion New England Patriots in the NFL Kickoff Game. The season concluded with Super Bowl LII, in which the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to win their first Super Bowl title, and fourth NFL championship, in franchise history, and making the NFC East the first and currently only division where every team has won a Super Bowl.
This would be the last season until 2023 that no regular season games ended in a tie.
For the second time since the league expanded to a 16-game season, a team finished winless in a full season, as Cleveland lost all 16 of their games this season.
For the second consecutive year, a team relocated to the Los Angeles metropolitan area, as the former San Diego Chargers announced their intent to do so in January 2017. [1] [2] This was the first time that the Los Angeles metropolitan area had two teams since 1994.
The 2017 NFL League year began on March 9 at 4:00 p.m. ET. On March 7, clubs were allowed to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the agents of players who became unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their contracts two days later. On March 9, clubs exercised options for 2017 on players who have option clauses in their contracts, submitted qualifying offers to their restricted free agents with expiring contracts and to whom desire to retain a Right of Refusal/Compensation, submitted a Minimum Salary Tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2016 contracts and who have fewer than three accrued seasons of free agent credit, and teams were required to be under the salary cap using the "Top-51" definition (in which the 51 highest paid-players on the team's payroll must have a collected salary cap hit below the actual cap). The 2017 trading period also began the same day.
A total of 496 players were eligible for some form of free agency at the beginning of the free agency period. [3] Notable players to change teams via free agency included:
The following notable trades were made during the 2017 league year:
The 2017 NFL draft was held on April 27–29 in Philadelphia. The Cleveland Browns selected Myles Garrett with the first overall pick.
Alberto Riveron replaced Dean Blandino as the league's Vice President of Officiating. [56] Blandino would then be hired by Fox Sports as a rule analyst.
The following officials were hired:
The following rule changes were approved for the 2017 NFL season at the owners' meeting on March 28, 2017: [57]
The following rule changes were approved for the 2017 NFL season at the NFL Spring League meeting on May 23, 2017: [59]
The ban on teams contacting potential coaching candidates until that candidate's team has been eliminated from the playoffs was tabled.
The following people associated with the NFL (or AFL) died in 2017. [60]
Training camps for the 2017 season were held in late July through August. Teams started training camp no earlier than 15 days before the team's first scheduled preseason game.
Prior to the start of the regular season, each team played four preseason exhibition games, beginning on August 10. The preseason began on August 3, with the 2017 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game between the Dallas Cowboys (represented in the 2017 Hall of Fame Class by owner Jerry Jones) and the Arizona Cardinals (represented by quarterback Kurt Warner). It was televised nationally on NBC. [65] The preseason schedule ended on August 31; One preseason game between the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans, was canceled in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
The 2017 regular season's 256 games were played over a 17-week schedule which began on September 7. Each of the league's 32 teams plays a 16-game schedule, with one bye week for each team. The slate also features games on Monday nights. There are games played on Thursday, including the National Football League Kickoff game in prime time on September 7 and games on Thanksgiving Day. The regular season concluded with a full slate of 16 games on Sunday, December 31, all of which were the intra–division matchups, as it has been since 2010.
Under the NFL's current scheduling formula, each team plays the other three teams in its own division twice. In addition a team plays against all four teams in one other division from each conference. The final two games on a team's schedule are against the two teams in the team's own conference in the divisions the team was not set to play which finished the previous season in the same rank in their division (e.g. the team which finished first in its division the previous season would play each other team in its conference that also finished first in its respective division). The preset division pairings for 2017 will be as follows.
Intra-conference | Inter-conference |
Highlights of the 2017 schedule included:
The entire schedule was released on April 20, 2017.
The following games were moved or canceled because of severe weather, by way of flexible scheduling, or for other reasons:
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The 2017 playoffs began on January 6–7, 2018 with the Wild Card playoff round. The four winners of these playoff games visited the top two seeded teams in each conference in the Divisional round games played on January 13–14. The winners of those games advanced the Conference championship games was held on January 21. The two Conference champions advanced to Super Bowl LII was held on February 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The 2018 Pro Bowl was held at Camping World Stadium in Orlando on January 28.
Jan 7 – Mercedes-Benz Superdome | Jan 14 – U.S. Bank Stadium | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Carolina | 26 | ||||||||||||||||
4 | New Orleans | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
4 | New Orleans | 31 | Jan 21 – Lincoln Financial Field | |||||||||||||||
2 | Minnesota | 29 | ||||||||||||||||
NFC | ||||||||||||||||||
Jan 6 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 2 | Minnesota | 7 | |||||||||||||||
Jan 13 – Lincoln Financial Field | ||||||||||||||||||
1 | Philadelphia | 38 | ||||||||||||||||
6 | Atlanta | 26 | NFC Championship | |||||||||||||||
6 | Atlanta | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
3 | LA Rams | 13 | Feb 4 – U.S. Bank Stadium | |||||||||||||||
1 | Philadelphia | 15 | ||||||||||||||||
Wild Card playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
Divisional playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
Jan 7 – EverBank Field | N1 | Philadelphia | 41 | |||||||||||||||
Jan 14 – Heinz Field | ||||||||||||||||||
A1 | New England | 33 | ||||||||||||||||
6 | Buffalo | 3 | Super Bowl LII | |||||||||||||||
3 | Jacksonville | 45 | ||||||||||||||||
3 | Jacksonville | 10 | Jan 21 – Gillette Stadium | |||||||||||||||
2 | Pittsburgh | 42 | ||||||||||||||||
AFC | ||||||||||||||||||
Jan 6 – Arrowhead Stadium | 3 | Jacksonville | 20 | |||||||||||||||
Jan 13 – Gillette Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
1 | New England | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
5 | Tennessee | 22 | AFC Championship | |||||||||||||||
5 | Tennessee | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
4 | Kansas City | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | New England | 35 | ||||||||||||||||
During a September 22, 2017 speech, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, made controversial remarks criticizing the practice of taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem—a practice popularized by Colin Kaepernick in 2016 as part of an effort to protest alleged racial inequality and police brutality. Trump suggested that those who partake in the practice were disrespecting the country's heritage, and asked his audience, "wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He's fired. He's fired!'" During the subsequent weekend of games, over 200 players protested the remarks, by either kneeling or locking arms during the playing of the national anthem. The Pittsburgh Steelers (with the exception of offensive tackle and former Army Ranger Alejandro Villanueva), Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks chose to not go out on field at all during the anthem. [79] [80] [81]
On December 17, 2017, Jerry Richardson, owner of the Carolina Panthers, announced he was putting the team up for sale. [82] [83] Richardson had previously indicated the team would be put up for sale after his death (since his only living son left the team in 2009), [84] but an expose in Sports Illustrated accused Richardson of paying hush money to cover up questionable conduct, including racial slurs and sexually suggestive requests of employees, hastening Richardson's decision. [85] The Panthers' lease on Bank of America Stadium expired after the 2018 season, [86] which would have allowed any incoming owner to relocate the team out of the Carolinas to another market of their choice without penalty had they so desired.
Individual [121] | |
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Scoring leader | Greg Zuerlein, Los Angeles Rams (158) |
Most field goals made | Robbie Gould, San Francisco (39 FGs) |
Touchdowns | Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams (19 TDs) |
Rushing | Kareem Hunt, Kansas City (1,327 yards) |
Passing yards | Tom Brady, New England (4,577 yards) |
Passing touchdowns | Russell Wilson, Seattle (34 TDs) |
Passer rating | Alex Smith, Kansas City (104.7 rating) |
Pass receptions | Jarvis Landry, Miami (112 catches) |
Pass receiving yards | Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh (1,533 yards) |
Combined tackles | Preston Brown, Buffalo (144 tackles) |
Interceptions | Kevin Byard, Tennessee and Darius Slay, Detroit (8) |
Punting | Shane Lechler, Houston (4,507 yards, 49.0 average yards) |
Sacks | Chandler Jones, Arizona (17) |
The 7th Annual NFL Honors, saluting the best players and plays from 2017 season, was held at the Northrop Auditorium in Minneapolis, Minnesota on February 3, 2018. [122]
Award | Winner | Position | Team |
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AP Most Valuable Player | Tom Brady | Quarterback | New England Patriots |
AP Offensive Player of the Year | Todd Gurley | Running back | Los Angeles Rams |
AP Defensive Player of the Year | Aaron Donald | Defensive tackle | Los Angeles Rams |
AP Coach of the Year | Sean McVay | Head coach | Los Angeles Rams |
AP Assistant Coach of the Year | Pat Shurmur | Offensive coordinator | Minnesota Vikings |
AP Offensive Rookie of the Year | Alvin Kamara | Running back | New Orleans Saints |
AP Defensive Rookie of the Year | Marshon Lattimore | Cornerback | New Orleans Saints |
AP Comeback Player of the Year | Keenan Allen | Wide receiver | Los Angeles Chargers |
Pepsi Rookie of the Year | Alvin Kamara | Running back | New Orleans Saints |
Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year | J. J. Watt | Defensive end | Houston Texans |
PFWA NFL Executive of the Year | Howie Roseman | Executive VP of football operations | Philadelphia Eagles |
Super Bowl Most Valuable Player | Nick Foles | Quarterback | Philadelphia Eagles |
The following players were named First Team All-Pro by the Associated Press:
Special teams | |||||
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Placekicker | Greg Zuerlein, Los Angeles Rams | ||||
Punter | Johnny Hekker, Los Angeles Rams | ||||
Kick returner | Pharoh Cooper, Los Angeles Rams | ||||
Special teams | Budda Baker, Arizona |
The following were named the top performers during the 2017 season:
Week/ Month | Offensive Player of the Week/Month | Defensive Player of the Week/Month | Special Teams Player of the Week/Month | |||
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AFC | NFC | AFC | NFC | AFC | NFC | |
1 [123] | Alex Smith (Chiefs) | Sam Bradford (Vikings) | Calais Campbell (Jaguars) | Trumaine Johnson (Rams) | Giorgio Tavecchio (Raiders) | Matt Prater (Lions) |
2 [124] | Tom Brady (Patriots) | J. J. Nelson (Cardinals) | Chris Jones (Chiefs) | Desmond Trufant (Falcons) | Cody Parkey (Dolphins) | Jamal Agnew (Lions) |
3 [125] | Tom Brady (Patriots) | Kirk Cousins (Redskins) | Terrence Brooks (Jets) | DeMarcus Lawrence (Cowboys) | Steven Hauschka (Bills) | Jake Elliott (Eagles) |
Sept. [126] | Kareem Hunt (Chiefs) | Todd Gurley (Rams) | Melvin Ingram (Chargers) | DeMarcus Lawrence (Cowboys) | Ryan Succop (Titans) | Matt Prater (Lions) |
4 [127] | Deshaun Watson (Texans) | Todd Gurley (Rams) | Cameron Heyward (Steelers) | Julius Peppers (Panthers) | Steven Hauschka (Bills) | Greg Zuerlein (Rams) |
5 [128] | Melvin Gordon (Chargers) | Aaron Rodgers (Packers) | Telvin Smith (Jaguars) | Earl Thomas (Seahawks) | Adam Vinatieri (Colts) | Kenjon Barner (Eagles) |
6 [129] | Le'Veon Bell (Steelers) | Adrian Peterson (Cardinals) | Johnathan Joseph (Texans) | Cameron Jordan (Saints) | Ryan Succop (Titans) | Pharoh Cooper (Rams) |
7 [130] | Amari Cooper (Raiders) | Carson Wentz (Eagles) | Kevin Byard (Titans) | Eddie Jackson (Bears) | Travis Benjamin (Chargers) | Kai Forbath (Vikings) |
8 [131] | JuJu Smith-Schuster (Steelers) | Russell Wilson (Seahawks) | Carlos Dunlap (Bengals) | Jalen Mills (Eagles) | Harrison Butker (Chiefs) | Tyrone Crawford (Cowboys) |
Oct. [132] | Deshaun Watson (Texans) | Carson Wentz (Eagles) | Micah Hyde (Bills) | Everson Griffen (Vikings) | Harrison Butker (Chiefs) | Greg Zuerlein (Rams) |
9 [133] | T. Y. Hilton (Colts) | Jared Goff (Rams) | Jordan Jenkins (Jets) | Karlos Dansby (Cardinals) | Jaydon Mickens (Jaguars) | Justin Hardee (Saints) |
10 [134] | Tom Brady (Patriots) | Cam Newton (Panthers) | A. J. Bouye (Jaguars) | Adrian Clayborn (Falcons) | Dion Lewis (Patriots) | Greg Zuerlein (Rams) |
11 [135] | Antonio Brown (Steelers) | Mark Ingram II (Saints) | Matthew Judon (Ravens) | Landon Collins (Giants) | Stephen Gostkowski (Patriots) | Tyler Lockett (Seahawks) |
12 [136] | Philip Rivers (Chargers) | Julio Jones (Falcons) | Cameron Heyward (Steelers) | Luke Kuechly (Panthers) | Sam Koch (Ravens) | Phil Dawson (Cardinals) |
Nov. [137] | Tom Brady (Patriots) | Case Keenum (Vikings) | Casey Hayward (Chargers) | Cameron Jordan (Saints) | Justin Tucker (Ravens) | Greg Zuerlein (Rams) |
13 [138] | Josh McCown (Jets) | Russell Wilson (Seahawks) | Eric Weddle (Ravens) | Dean Lowry (Packers) | Chris Boswell (Steelers) | Robbie Gould (49ers) |
14 [139] | Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers) | Jonathan Stewart (Panthers) | Xavien Howard (Dolphins) | Deion Jones (Falcons) | Jaydon Mickens (Jaguars) | Trevor Davis (Packers) |
15 [140] | Rob Gronkowski (Patriots) | Todd Gurley (Rams) | Marcus Peters (Chiefs) | Darius Slay (Lions) | Sam Koch (Ravens) | Robbie Gould (49ers) |
16 [141] | Dion Lewis (Patriots) | Todd Gurley (Rams) | Mike Hilton (Steelers) | Harrison Smith (Vikings) | Harrison Butker (Chiefs) | Damiere Byrd (Panthers) |
17 [142] | Philip Rivers (Chargers) | Chris Godwin (Buccaneers) | Kevin Byard (Titans) | Ezekiel Ansah (Lions) | JuJu Smith-Schuster (Steelers) | Matt Bryant (Falcons) |
Dec. [143] | Le'Veon Bell (Steelers) | Todd Gurley (Rams) | Jordan Poyer (Bills) | Chandler Jones (Cardinals) | Harrison Butker (Chiefs) | Robbie Gould (49ers) |
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Team | 2016 head coach | 2016 interim | 2017 replacement | Reason for leaving | Notes |
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Buffalo Bills | Rex Ryan | Anthony Lynn | Sean McDermott | Fired | Ryan was fired with one week remaining in the 2016 regular season and a 15–16 record with no playoff appearances in two seasons. [151] Lynn began the 2016 season as running backs coach, then moved to offensive coordinator when Greg Roman was fired in week 3, then interim head coach after the Ryans' dismissal. Lynn lost his one game as interim head coach. [152] Former Carolina Panthers' defensive coordinator Sean McDermott was named as the Bills' new head coach on January 11, 2017. [153] This marks McDermott's first head coaching job. |
Denver Broncos | Gary Kubiak | Vance Joseph | Retired | Kubiak retired from coaching after two seasons due to health concerns, with a victory in Super Bowl 50 and a 24–10 record, including postseason games. [154] Kubiak would later return to the Broncos six months later, working for their front office as a Senior Personnel Advisor. Joseph, who spent the previous season as the Miami Dolphins' defensive coordinator, was hired on January 11, 2017, [155] marking his first head coaching position. | |
Jacksonville Jaguars | Gus Bradley | Doug Marrone | Fired | Bradley was fired with two weeks remaining in the 2016 season and a 14–48 (.226) record with no playoff appearances in four seasons. [156] Marrone, the Jaguars' offensive line coach, was previously head coach of the Buffalo Bills from 2013 to 2014; he went 1–1 in his two games as interim head coach of the Jaguars. [157] On January 9, 2017, the Jaguars announced that Marrone would be named permanent head coach. [158] | |
Los Angeles Chargers | Mike McCoy | Anthony Lynn | McCoy was fired after four seasons, with one playoff appearance and a 27–37 record. [159] Lynn was hired as the Chargers' new head coach on January 12, 2017. [160] He previously coached one game as interim head coach of the Buffalo Bills in 2016, with an 0–1 record. | ||
Los Angeles Rams | Jeff Fisher | John Fassel | Sean McVay | Fisher was fired after going 4–9 through the first 13 games of the 2016 season, and 31–45–1 (.414) in his five-year tenure with the Rams, with no playoff appearances. [161] Fassel, the son of former NFL head coach Jim Fassel, has been the Rams' special teams coach since 2012; he went 0–3 in the interim. On January 12, former Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay was named head coach. At the time of his hiring, McVay was 30 years old, making him the youngest head coach in NFL history (excluding the player-coaches of the 1920s). [162] | |
San Francisco 49ers | Chip Kelly | Kyle Shanahan | Kelly was fired after one season with a 2–14 record. [163] [164] Shanahan, who most recently served as the Atlanta Falcons' offensive coordinator, was named the new coach of the 49ers on February 6, 2017. [165] This marked Shanahan's first head coaching position. |
Team | 2017 head coach | Reason for leaving | Interim replacement | Notes |
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New York Giants | Ben McAdoo | Fired | Steve Spagnuolo | McAdoo became the Giants' head coach in 2016, leading the Giants to a 13–15 (.464) record over the course of parts of two seasons. After accruing a 2–10 (.167) record and benching popular starter Eli Manning (who at the time held the longest active streak as a starting NFL quarterback) during the season, he was fired on December 4, and replaced in the interim by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who was previously the St. Louis Rams' head coach from 2009 to 2011. [166] |
Team | Position | 2016 office holder | Reason for leaving | 2017 office holder | Notes |
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San Francisco 49ers | GM | Trent Baalke | Fired | John Lynch | Baalke, who spent the past twelve years with the team, informed KNBR-AM in San Francisco on January 1, 2017, that he had been fired. [164] [167] On January 29, 2017, Lynch, a former player and broadcaster, was named the general manager of the San Francisco 49ers; it is his first front office position. [168] [169] |
Jacksonville Jaguars | EVP-FO | position created | Tom Coughlin | Coughlin, the team's inaugural head coach, was rehired as executive vice president of football operations on January 9, 2017. He had spent the 2016 season out of football after several years of coaching the New York Giants. | |
Indianapolis Colts | GM | Ryan Grigson | Fired | Chris Ballard | Grigson was relieved of his duties as Colts general manager on January 21, 2017. [170] On January 30, 2017, Chris Ballard, who had spent the past four seasons as director of football operations for the Kansas City Chiefs, was named the new GM of the Colts. |
Washington Redskins | GM | Scot McCloughan | Vacant | McCloughan was fired on March 9, 2017, after two seasons with the Redskins. [171] Doug Williams was named senior vice president of player personnel on June 13, 2017. [172] | |
Buffalo Bills | GM | Doug Whaley | Brandon Beane | Whaley was fired the morning of April 30, 2017, immediately following the draft. He had spent seven seasons with the Bills, four of them as general manager. [173] Brandon Beane, who had spent the previous 19 seasons with the Carolina Panthers (most recently as assistant general manager), was hired as the new general manager on May 9, 2017. [174] | |
Kansas City Chiefs | GM | John Dorsey | Brett Veach | Dorsey was unexpectedly fired on June 22, 2017, after four seasons. [175] Brett Veach, who had spent the past four seasons as the Chiefs co-director of player personnel, was promoted to general manager on July 10, 2017. [176] | |
Carolina Panthers | GM | Dave Gettleman | Marty Hurney | Gettleman was also unexpectedly fired after four seasons on July 17, 2017. [177] Marty Hurney, who was the Panthers' GM from 2002 to 2012, was rehired as the interim general manager for the 2017 season and was later named general manager on a permanent basis. [178] [179] |
Team | Position | 2017 office holder | Reason for leaving | Interim replacement | Notes |
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New York Giants | GM | Jerry Reese | Fired | Kevin Abrams | Having been in the organization since 1994, Reese was the Giants GM since 2007, leading them to two Super Bowl championships and several years of success. He was fired on December 4 along with head coach Ben McAdoo. [166] He was replaced in the interim by former Detroit Lions cornerback Kevin Abrams, who has no previous front office experience. [180] |
Cleveland Browns | VP/GM | Sashi Brown | John Dorsey | Brown was fired on December 7. Brown, who had served as the team's lawyer since 2013, was given the duties of general manager in 2016 despite no prior experience in football. He was considered responsible for trading away the high round draft picks that ended up being Carson Wentz and Deshaun Watson. In addition, he failed to follow through on a trade for Bengals backup quarterback A. J. McCarron, which was attributed to him simply failing to inform the league of the trade in time. [181] Later that day, the Browns named former Kansas City Chiefs GM John Dorsey as their new GM. As general manager in Kansas City from 2013 to 2016, the Chiefs recorded a 43–21 (.672) record. [182] |
The Atlanta Falcons played their first season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, after playing in the Georgia Dome for the previous 25 seasons. The Georgia Dome was demolished by implosion on the morning of November 20, 2017.
On January 12, 2017, the San Diego Chargers exercised their option to relocate to Los Angeles as the Los Angeles Chargers. They joined the Los Angeles Rams as tenants in their new stadium, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California when that stadium opened in 2020. Between 2017 and 2019, the Chargers played at the 30,000 seat StubHub Center in Carson, California, the smallest venue (in terms of number of seats) the league has used for a full season since 1956. [2]
On January 19, 2017, the Oakland Raiders filed paperwork to relocate to Las Vegas, Nevada. The NFL officially approved the Raiders relocation to Las Vegas on March 27. Unlike the Chargers, the Raiders remained at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum through the 2018 and 2019 seasons while Allegiant Stadium was built, with the team moving to Nevada in 2020. [183]
The Los Angeles Rams, who had capped season ticket sales at 55,000 for the 2017 season, announced to have 60,128 spectators in the first home game on week 1. However, reports estimate that spectators only filled a third of the 93,607 seats of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. [184] The Los Angeles Chargers did not sell out their week 2 game at the StubHub Center, which was never expanded to 30,000 seats as originally stated and has typically had less than 26,000 fans in attendance. [185] When the StubHub Center was at capacity, the majority of the fans present were supporters of the opposing team. Among the most notable examples was the October 1 game against Philadelphia Eagles being a mainly pro-Philadelphia crowd. [186] [187]
The San Francisco 49ers reported a Week 3 attendance total that exceeded the capacity of Levi's Stadium, even as wide swaths of empty seats were seen throughout the game. [188] This followed similar sparse attendance for the 49ers' home opener. [189] Even the Dallas Cowboys, a team whose fan base is among the largest in the United States, played their week 13 Thursday Night Football game in front of a half-empty AT&T Stadium. [190] The lifting of the league's blackout policy was cited as one factor in the decline in ticket sales, as viewers would rather watch from the comfort of their homes, especially when weather conditions were less than ideal. At a Colts-Bills game held in blinding lake-effect snow on December 10, scalpers said they had not sold any tickets, an extreme rarity. [191] A majority of television sets in all Western New York were tuned into some portion of the game, the highest viewership for a non-Super Bowl NFL game in the region since record-keeping began. [192]
This was the fourth season under the league's broadcast contracts with its television partners. ESPN continued to air Monday Night Football , while ESPN2 simulcast ESPN Deportes' Spanish-language Monday Night Football broadcasts for the first nine weeks of the regular season; this served as filler programming for the channel until the start of its Monday-night college basketball broadcasts. [209] Along with ESPN's Wild Card game on ABC, ESPN also simulcast the 2018 Pro Bowl on ABC, marking the return of the Pro Bowl to ABC for the first time since 2003. [210]
The practice of "cross-flexing" (switching) Sunday afternoon games continued between CBS and Fox before or during the season, regardless of whether the visiting team is in the AFC (which CBS normally airs) or the NFC (which is normally carried by Fox). NBC continued to air Sunday Night Football , the annual Kickoff game, and the primetime Thanksgiving game, and broadcast Super Bowl LII. This also was the second and final year of the current Thursday Night Football contract with CBS, NBC, and NFL Network.
Although never explicitly announced, the league continued the moratorium on its blackout policy, ensuring all games would be televised in the market of their home teams regardless of ticket sales. [211]
Because of fog and smoke obstruction, NBC was forced to televise large portions of two of their Sunday Night Football games from the skycam angle. Positive reception led NBC to experiment with increased usage of the angle as a primary view during its November 16 and December 14 Thursday Night Football telecasts. Because the angle distorts distance, the traditional sideline camera angle was used for close-yardage situations such as the red zone. [212]
In over-the-top rights, Amazon Video acquired non-exclusive streaming rights to the 10 broadcast television Thursday Night Football games for $50 million. These streams are exclusive to paid Amazon Prime subscribers, in contrast to Twitter, which held the rights to the same package in 2016 and had made those streams free to most of the world. [213] [214]
Verizon Communications acquired international streaming rights to an NFL London Game between the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars, in a similar arrangement to the 2015 game that was streamed by Yahoo!—which was acquired by Verizon in 2017. The game was streamed by Yahoo and other Verizon-owned platforms, including AOL, go90, and Complex. [215] [216] NFL Network remains a partner with Twitter for online content, including its new streaming news program NFL Blitz Live. [217] [218] The NFL also reached a deal with Facebook in September 2017 to offer video highlights following games, and streaming programs on the service's new Watch platform. [219]
This was the final season of the NFL's exclusive mobile streaming contract with Verizon Wireless; the league intended to no longer have a single exclusive partner going forward, citing changes to viewing habits. [220] On December 11, 2017, the NFL announced that it had agreed to a new 5-year, $2.5 billion digital rights agreement with Verizon, allowing it to stream in-market Sunday afternoon games, as well as all nationally televised games, across its mobile platforms. Unlike the previous deal, these streams are no longer exclusive to Verizon Wireless subscribers, as Verizon planned to leverage the divisions of its digital media subsidiary Oath (including the aforementioned Yahoo) as a platform to promote these streams to a larger audience, as well as other digital content and expanded highlights rights. As part of the agreement, Verizon began allowing access to its existing mobile streams to non-customers for the 2017–18 playoffs. [221] As the new contract is non-exclusive, the NFL's television partners may negotiate to add the mobile streaming rights that were reserved to Verizon under the previous contract; NBC was the first to do so. [222]
Two new international digital rights deals led to user criticism over their quality of service. In Canada, NFL Sunday Ticket shifted from distribution through television providers to the over-the-top provider DAZN, while in Europe, Deltatre took over European distribution of NFL Game Pass and launched new mobile apps. Both services faced criticism over their streaming quality, while Delatre's app faced criticism for having bugs and initially lacking features seen in the previous version of the platform. The Independent exposed that Deltatre had also issued an internal e-mail instructing its employees to give the apps 5-star reviews. DAZN subsequently announced that it would return to distributing Sunday Ticket through Canadian television providers in addition to their OTT service. [223] [224]
This was the final season of the NFL's existing national radio contract with Westwood One. [225] Entravision (in the last year of a three-year deal) [226] and ESPN Deportes Radio split Spanish broadcast rights. [227]
The league has sought to reduce the number of standard commercial breaks (media timeouts) on its telecasts from 21 to 16, four in each quarter, with each break extended by one additional 30-second commercial. One particular scenario the league sought to eliminate is the "double-up", in which a network cuts to a commercial after a scoring play, then airs the kickoff, and again goes to commercial before play from scrimmage resumes. Under the proposal, the league will allow networks to cut to commercial during instant replay reviews, which it had not been allowed to do before. Commissioner Roger Goodell stated that the changes are being made in an attempt to consolidate downtime between the actual game play so that there are fewer and less noticeable interruptions; he does not expect the changes to have an appreciable impact on the real-time length of a game, which currently clocks in at slightly over three hours. [228]
The NFL has also, as a trial, lifted its ban on the broadcast of commercials for distilled spirits during its telecasts. However, they are subject to restrictions; a maximum of four liquor ads may be broadcast per-game, along with two per-pregame and postgame show. These ads may not contain football-related themes or target underage viewers, and must contain a "prominent social responsibility message". [229] [230]
Tony Romo, who announced his retirement as a player on April 4, 2017, joined CBS, where he replaced Phil Simms as lead color commentator. Simms and Nate Burleson, who comes over from NFL Network, will replace Tony Gonzalez and Bart Scott on CBS's pregame show, The NFL Today . [231] [232] Jay Cutler also announced his retirement from professional football on May 5 and was slated to join Fox as a color analyst for its NFL coverage; [233] he later rescinded that announcement in August and joined the Miami Dolphins. [234] Gonzalez will move to Fox, where he will join Fox NFL Kickoff ; upon his departure, Gonzalez stated that he wished to pursue opportunities closer to his home in California, rather than travel to New York weekly to appear on CBS. James Lofton, coming over from radio, will replace Solomon Wilcots as a CBS analyst. [235]
On May 31, 2017, it was announced that Mike Tirico would replace Al Michaels on play-by-play on NBC's portion of the Thursday Night Football package, joined by Cris Collinsworth. [236] The NFL had previously required this role to be filled by NBC's lead broadcast team of Michaels and Collinsworth; Tirico called a limited slate of games in 2016, including several NBC-broadcast games as a fill-in for Michaels (who voluntarily took several games off due to the increased number he was calling that season), and as part of a secondary team for selected games the TNF package. [237] [238] He will also succeed Bob Costas as the lead studio host for NBC. [239] [240] However, due to its proximity to the 2018 Winter Olympics (where he also succeeded Bob Costas as lead host), Tirico did not participate in NBC's Super Bowl LII coverage. [241]
Beth Mowins became the second woman to call play-by-play for a national NFL broadcast, following Gayle Sierens in 1987, when she served as play-by-play announcer for the nightcap in ESPN's Week 1 Monday Night doubleheader, with Rex Ryan as her color commentator. [242] In an unusual case of a broadcaster working for two networks in the same season, Mowins also called a regional game for CBS in Weeks 3, 15 and 17, with Jay Feely as her partner. [243]
Also, this would end up being the last season for the Monday Night Football broadcast team of Sean McDonough, Jon Gruden, and Lisa Salters. Gruden would return to coaching the next year for the Oakland Raiders, while McDonough would return to doing College Football for ESPN, although Salters will still be on MNF. McDonough will be replaced by Joe Tessitore, who has done work for ESPN as a College Football announcer, like McDonough, while Jason Witten, who would end up retiring after this season, will replace Gruden, with Booger McFarland, being added as a field analyst.
Rank | Date | Matchup | Network | Viewers (millions) | TV rating [244] | Window | Significance | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | December 17, 4:25 ET | New England Patriots | 27 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 24 | CBS | 26.9 | 15.2 | Late DH [a] | 2016 AFC Championship rematch |
2 | November 23, 4:30 ET | Los Angeles Chargers | 28 | Dallas Cowboys | 6 | 26.3 | 11.1 | Thanksgiving | ||
3 | September 17, 4:25 ET | Dallas Cowboys | 17 | Denver Broncos | 42 | Fox | 26.0 | 14.3 | Late DH [b] | |
4 | November 23, 12:30 ET | Minnesota Vikings | 30 | Detroit Lions | 23 | 24.7 | 11.4 | Thanksgiving | Lions–Vikings rivalry | |
5 | September 10, 8:30 ET | New York Giants | 3 | Dallas Cowboys | 19 | NBC | 24.4 | 13.4 | SNF | Cowboys–Giants rivalry |
6 | October 8, 4:25 ET | Green Bay Packers | 35 | Dallas Cowboys | 31 | Fox | 23.9 | 13.6 | Late DH [c] | Cowboys–Packers rivalry 2016 NFC Divisional Round rematch |
7 | December 10, 4:25 ET | Philadelphia Eagles | 43 | Los Angeles Rams | 35 | 23.8 | 13.7 | Late DH [d] | ||
8 | December 24, 4:25 ET | Seattle Seahawks | 21 | Dallas Cowboys | 12 | 23.0 | 12.2 | Late DH [e] | ||
9 | September 10, 4:25 ET | Seattle Seahawks | 9 | Green Bay Packers | 17 | 22.8 | 12.7 | Late DH [f] | 2014 NFC Championship rematch | |
10 | November 12, 4:25 ET | Dallas Cowboys | 7 | Atlanta Falcons | 27 | 22.0 | 12.8 | Late DH [g] |
*Note – Late DH matchups listed in table are the matchups that were shown to the largest percentage of the market.
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
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The 2012 NFL season was the 93rd season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 47th of the Super Bowl era. It began on Wednesday, September 5, 2012, with the defending Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants falling to the Dallas Cowboys in the 2012 NFL Kickoff game at MetLife Stadium, and ended with Super Bowl XLVII, the league's championship game, on Sunday, February 3, 2013, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, with the Jim Harbaugh-coached San Francisco 49ers facing the John Harbaugh-coached Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens won the game, which marked the first time two brothers were head coaches for opposing teams in the championship game.
The 2013 Pro Bowl was the National Football League (NFL)'s sixty-third annual all-star game which featured players from the 2012 season. It took place at 2:30 pm Hawaii–Aleutian Time on Sunday, January 27, 2013, at the Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The game was televised nationally by NBC in place of CBS. The game was delayed for 30 minutes due to flash flood warnings.
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Gevanni Gerald Rashard Everett is an American professional football tight end for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at South Alabama, and was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft.
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In addition, when the Bills face the Colts, the team will be wearing all red, color rush uniforms. Fans are encouraged to wear red in support of the team.
All games are televised live, which can't help ticket sales for what amounts to practice games.