2008 NFL season
The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."
Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on February 1, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out victorious over the Arizona Cardinals 27–23 and winning their NFL-record sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Conversely, the Detroit Lions became the first NFL team with a winless season since the strike-shortened 1982 NFL season, finishing their season 0–16. Their 0-16 record would eventually be matched by the 2017 Cleveland Browns. For the first time since the NFL expanded to the sixteen-game season in 1978, three teams won two or fewer games: the Lions, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the St. Louis Rams. Previously two teams won two or fewer games in 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1992, and 2001. Also, for the first time since the 1985 Denver Broncos, a team finishing with an 11–5 record missed the playoffs — the defending AFC champion New England Patriots.
The regular season began on September 4 with the defending Super Bowl XLII champion New York Giants defeating the Washington Redskins.
This was the last NFL season to air on analog television, as the Digital television transition in the United States, which required all full-power stations to convert to digital, began on June 12, 2009.
Draft
The 2008 NFL draft was held from April 26 to 27, 2008 at New York City's Radio City Music Hall. With the first pick, the Miami Dolphins selected offensive tackle Jake Long from the University of Michigan.New referees
and Larry Nemmers retired. Carl Cheffers and Alberto Riveron were promoted to referee. Ron Blum also retired from line judge position.Rule changes
The following rule changes were passed at the league's annual owners' meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, during the week of March 31:- One defensive player will be allowed to wear a radio similar to the one worn by the quarterback to communicate with the coaching staff on the field.
- The "force-out" rule on catches made near the sidelines has been eliminated. A receiver now must come down with the ball and both feet in bounds for a pass to be ruled complete; previously, passes would be ruled complete if the receiver was pushed by a defender while in the air and the official judged that he would have come down in bounds had he not been pushed. However, if a receiver is wrapped up in mid-air by a defender and carried out of bounds before both feet touch the ground, the official can still rule the play a completion.
- The 5-yard incidental grabbing of the face mask penalty has been eliminated; incidental contact will not result in a penalty, though intentional grabbing of the face mask will remain a 15-yard personal foul.
- Teams that win the opening coin toss now have the option to defer the decision until the start of the second half, the same as in college and Canadian football.
- Field goal attempts that bounce off the goal post are now reviewable under instant replay.
- Legal forward hand offs that touch the ground and attempted snaps when the ball hits the ground before the quarterback touches it are now considered fumbles; previously, forward hand offs were treated as incomplete passes, while a snap that hit the ground before the quarterback touched it was a 5-yard illegal procedure penalty.
Preseason
Regular season
Formula
Based on the NFL's scheduling formula, the intraconference and interconference matchups for 2008 were:File:Thomas Jones scores TD for Jets, 2008.jpg|thumb|Thomas Jones scores a touchdown for the New York Jets against the St. Louis Rams in week 10 of the season
| Division | AFC opponent | NFC opponent |
| AFC East | West | West |
| AFC North | South | East |
| AFC South | North | North |
| AFC West | East | South |
| NFC East | West | North |
| NFC North | South | South |
| NFC South | North | West |
| NFC West | East | East |
Opening Weekend
The annual NFL Kickoff Game to start the season took place on September 4 and featured the Super Bowl XLII champion New York Giants winning over their division rivals, the Washington Redskins, at Giants Stadium by a score of 16–7. The game's kickoff was ninety minutes earlier than previous years, at 7 p.m. EDT, because of a time conflict with the 2008 Republican National Convention.Other featured games during the opening week included the NBC Sunday Night Football game between the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts, in which the Kyle Orton-led Bears upset the Colts 29–13. In addition, there were two Monday Night Football contests, both division rivalries, as part of the now annual doubleheader: The Minnesota Vikings at the Green Bay Packers in which Aaron Rodgers helped the Packers win, 24–19, and the Denver Broncos at the Oakland Raiders, where Jay Cutler and Eddie Royal led the Broncos in beating the Raiders, 41–14. Also, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady suffered a season-ending injury against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Flexible scheduling
The 2008 season also was the third season of the use of the "flexible scheduling" for Sunday games starting with Week 11.As had happened in 2007, a team played on consecutive Sunday nights due to a game being moved into the Sunday night time slot. The originally scheduled New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys game on December 14 was followed by a flexed December 21 home game for the Giants against the Carolina Panthers; the Giants-Panthers game was flexed because it carried serious playoff implications, as the winner would clinch the NFC's top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. This was the second of three flexed games, with a December 7 interconference matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and Washington Redskins. The league filled the open spot on December 28 with a game between the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers with major playoff implications, as the winner of that game would win the AFC West and earn a home game in the playoffs while the loser would be eliminated.
International play
This was the second consecutive season that the league played at least one regular season game outside the United States as part of the NFL International Series. The contest between the San Diego Chargers and the New Orleans Saints was played at Wembley Stadium in London on October 26, with New Orleans winning 37–32. The Chargers played against the Buffalo Bills on the road the week beforehand on October 19 so they could immediately travel to London afterward in order to get used to the time difference.The league has also approved the Bills' request to play at least one regular season home game at Toronto's Rogers Centre over each of the next five seasons. Team owner Ralph Wilson petitioned the league to play at least one game in Canada to strengthen his club's fan base in Ontario. The game in Toronto was on December 7, after the end of the 2008 CFL season, against the Miami Dolphins; Miami won 16–3. CBS televised both games regionally; the Toronto game was carried across Canada on Rogers Sportsnet and City TV.
Thanksgiving
The traditional Thanksgiving Day games were held on November 27, with the Detroit Lions hosting the Tennessee Titans at 12:30 p.m. EST on CBS, and the Dallas Cowboys' home game following suit on Fox at 4:15 p.m. EST against the Seattle Seahawks. A third game on NFL Network, featuring the Arizona Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles followed at 8:15 p.m. EST. It was the first home game for the Eagles on Thanksgiving Day since 1940, and their first Thanksgiving game at any location since the infamous Bounty Bowl Game in 1989; the Eagles defeated the Cardinals by a score of 48–20.File:Seattle Seahawks vs NY Jets Dec 21 2008.jpg|thumb|Seattle and the New York Jets play on December 21, 2008
Christmas
Despite NFL tradition to play games on Christmas if the holiday lands on a day of the week when the NFL normally plays, and the fact that Christmas landed on a Thursday in 2008, the NFL opted not to hold a Christmas game this season, instead scheduling all of its week 17 matchups for Sunday, December 28.Pro Bowl
The NFL's Pro Bowl all-star game at the end of the season was played at Aloha Stadium in the Honolulu, Hawaii, for the 30th consecutive season. The league had the option under their current contract to hold the game elsewhere, including the possibility of moving it to the host site of the Super Bowl.Schedule changes
Week 2: The Baltimore–Houston game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 4:15 p.m. ET, was postponed to Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET due to Hurricane Ike. The game was later postponed to November 9 at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS.Week 10: The Cincinnati–Houston game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET, was rescheduled to October 26 at 4:05 p.m. ET on CBS, to accommodate the Baltimore–Houston game from Week 2.
Week 11: The Tennessee–Jacksonville game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on CBS.
Week 12: The Carolina–Atlanta game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on Fox.
Week 14: The Washington–Baltimore game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was flexed into NBC Sunday Night Football at 8:15 p.m. ET, replacing the New England–Seattle game, which was moved to 4:05 p.m. ET on CBS.
Week 15: The Denver–Carolina and Pittsburgh–Baltimore games, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, were flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on CBS.
Week 16:
- The Carolina–New York Giants game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was flexed into NBC Sunday Night Football at 8:15 p.m. ET, replacing the San Diego–Tampa Bay game, which was moved to 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS.
- The Atlanta–Minnesota and Philadelphia–Washington games, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, were flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on Fox.
- The Denver–San Diego game, originally scheduled for 4:15 p.m. ET on CBS, was flexed into NBC Sunday Night Football at 8:15 p.m. ET. This game decided the AFC West champion.
- The Jacksonville–Baltimore and Miami–New York Jets games, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, were flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on CBS.
- The Dallas–Philadelphia game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on Fox.