1988 NFL season
| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 4 – December 19, 1988 |
| Playoffs | |
| Start date | December 24, 1988 |
| AFC Champions | Cincinnati Bengals |
| NFC Champions | San Francisco 49ers |
| Super Bowl XXIII | |
| Date | January 22, 1989 |
| Site | Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami |
| Champions | San Francisco 49ers |
| Pro Bowl | |
| Date | January 29, 1989 |
| Site | Aloha Stadium |
Quarterback Warren Moon (left) and running back Mike Rozier (right) of the Houston Oilers were among the league's top passers and rushers, respectively.
The 1988 NFL season was the 69th regular season of the National Football League. The Cardinals relocated from St. Louis, Missouri to the Phoenix, Arizona area becoming the Phoenix Cardinals but remained in the NFC East division. Playoff races came down to the season's final day, with the Seattle Seahawks winning the AFC West by one game, and the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers winning their respective divisions in a five-way tie, with the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants losing the NFC Wild Card berth to the Los Angeles Rams on tiebreakers.
This season marked the final coaching season for the legendary Tom Landry.
The season ended with Super Bowl XXIII when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 20-16 at the Joe Robbie Stadium in Florida.
Major rule changes
- A standard system of two time intervals between plays are established (and would be timed using the play clock): For normal plays, the offensive team has 45 seconds to snap the ball after the previous play is signaled dead. After time outs and other administrative stoppages, the time limit is 30 seconds beginning after the Referee signals that the ball is ready to resume play.
- If a fumble occurs during an extra point attempt, only the fumbling player can recover and/or advance the ball. This change closes a loophole in the "Stabler Fumble Rule" that was enacted during the 1979 NFL season in reaction to the Holy Roller Game.
- The penalty for "Running into the kicker" is changed from five yards and a first down to just 5 yards.
- Referees were outfitted with white hats while all other officials wore black hats, which was the standard practice in college and high school football. From 1979 through 1987, referees wore black hats while all other officials wore white hats.
Final standings
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against
| AFC East | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (2) Buffalo Bills | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 329 | 237 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 354 | 315 |
| New England Patriots | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 250 | 284 |
| New York Jets | 8 | 7 | 1 | .531 | 372 | 354 |
| Miami Dolphins | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 319 | 380 |
| AFC Central | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
| (1) Cincinnati Bengals | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 448 | 329 |
| (4) Cleveland Browns | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 304 | 288 |
| (5) Houston Oilers | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 424 | 365 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 336 | 421 |
| AFC West | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
| (3) Seattle Seahawks | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 339 | 329 |
| Denver Broncos | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 327 | 352 |
| Los Angeles Raiders | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 325 | 369 |
| San Diego Chargers | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 231 | 332 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 4 | 11 | 1 | .281 | 254 | 320 |
| NFC East | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (3) Philadelphia Eagles | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 379 | 319 |
| New York Giants | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 359 | 304 |
| Washington Redskins | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 345 | 387 |
| Phoenix Cardinals | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 344 | 398 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 265 | 381 |
| NFC Central | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
| (1) Chicago Bears | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 312 | 215 |
| (4) Minnesota Vikings | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 406 | 233 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 261 | 350 |
| Detroit Lions | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 220 | 313 |
| Green Bay Packers | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 240 | 315 |
| NFC West | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
| (2) San Francisco 49ers | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 369 | 294 |
| (5) Los Angeles Rams | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 407 | 293 |
| New Orleans Saints | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 312 | 283 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 244 | 315 |
Tiebreakers
- Cincinnati was the top AFC playoff seed ahead of Buffalo based on head-to-head victory (1–0).
- Indianapolis finished ahead of New England in the AFC East based on better record against common opponents (7–5 to Patriots' 6–6).
- Cleveland finished ahead of Houston in the AFC Central based on better division record (4–2 to Oilers' 3–3).
- San Francisco was the second NFC playoff seed ahead of Philadelphia on better record against common opponents (6–3 to Eagles' 5–4).
- Philadelphia finished first in the NFC East based on head-to-head sweep of the N.Y. Giants (2–0).
- Washington finished third in the NFC East based on better division record (4–4) than Phoenix (3–5).
- Detroit finished fourth in the NFC Central based on head-to-head sweep of Green Bay (2–0).
- San Francisco finished first in the NFC West based on better head-to-head record (3–1) against the L.A. Rams (2–2) and New Orleans (1–3).
- The L.A. Rams finished second in the NFC West based on better division record (4–2) than New Orleans (3–3), and earned the last NFC Wild Card based on better conference record (8–4) than the N.Y. Giants (9–5) and New Orleans (6–6).
Playoffs
Main article: 1988–89 NFL playoffs
| Divisional Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 1 – Rich Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| AFC Wild Card Game | AFC Championship | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Houston | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 24 – Cleveland Stadium | Jan. 8 – Riverfront Stadium | |||||||||||||||||
| 2* | Buffalo | 17 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Houston | 24 | 2 | Buffalo | 10 | |||||||||||||
| Dec. 31 – Riverfront Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Cleveland | 23 | 1 | Cincinnati | 21 | Super Bowl XXIII | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Seattle | 13 | ||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 22 – Joe Robbie Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1* | Cincinnati | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| A1 | Cincinnati | 16 | ||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 1 – Candlestick Park | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFC Wild Card Game | NFC Championship | N2 | San Francisco | 20 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Minnesota | 9 | ||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 26 – Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | Jan. 8 – Soldier Field | |||||||||||||||||
| 2* | San Francisco | 34 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | LA Rams | 17 | 2 | San Francisco | 28 | |||||||||||||
| Dec. 31 – Soldier Field | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Minnesota | 28 | 1 | Chicago | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Philadelphia | 12 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1* | Chicago | 20 | ||||||||||||||||
Statistical leaders
Team
| Points scored | Cincinnati Bengals (448) |
| Total yards gained | Cincinnati Bengals (6,057) |
| Yards rushing | Cincinnati Bengals (2,710) |
| Yards passing | Miami Dolphins (4,516) |
| Fewest points allowed | Chicago Bears (215) |
| Fewest total yards allowed | Minnesota Vikings (4,091) |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed | Chicago Bears (1,326) |
| Fewest passing yards allowed | Kansas City Chiefs (2,434) |
Awards
| Most Valuable Player | Boomer Esiason, Quarterback, Cincinnati |
| Coach of the Year | Mike Ditka, Chicago |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Roger Craig, Running back, San Francisco |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Mike Singletary, Linebacker, Chicago |
| Offensive Rookie of the Year | John Stephens, Running back, New England |
| Defensive Rookie of the Year | Erik McMillan, Safety, NY Jets |
References
- NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
- NFL History 1981–1990 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
- Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
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