The 1986 NFL season was the 67th regular season of the National Football League. Defending Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears shared the league’s best record with the Giants at 14–2, with the Giants claiming the spot in the NFC by tiebreakers. In the AFC, the Cleveland Browns earned home-field advantage with a record of 12–4, and they hosted the New York Jets in round one of the AFC playoffs. The Jets had started the season at 10–1 before losing their final five contests. The game went to double OT, with the Browns finally prevailing 23–20. The following Sunday, John Elway and the Denver Broncos defeated the Browns by an identical score in a game known for The Drive, where Elway drove his team 98 yards to send the game to overtime to win. The Giants would defeat their rival Washington Redskins in the NFC title game, blanking them 17–0 to advance to their first Super Bowl. The season ended with Super Bowl XXI when the New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos 39–20 at the Rose Bowl to win their first league title in 30 years.
Major rule changes
- Players are prohibited from wearing apparel, equipment, or other items that carry commercial names, names of organizations, or any type of personal message unless they get specific permission from the league.
- If the offensive team commits a dead ball foul during the last two minutes of a half, the clock will start at the snap.
- If an offensive player fumbles the ball and it goes forward and out of bounds, the ball is returned to that team at the spot of the fumble.
- If an offensive player fumbles the ball in the field of play and it goes out of bounds in the opponent's end zone, the ball is given to the defensive team at the spot of the fumble (this rule would be changed in 1991 to result in a touchback).
- A limited system of instant replay was adopted to aid officiating. A replay official in a booth would decide what plays to review and make the final ruling, regardless of the current score or the amount of time left in the game. The replay official communicated with the game officials via radio transmitters. However, there was no time limit on how long the replay official could review a play and this led to long game delays (this was a major reason why the system was eventually repealed in 1992 and not brought back until a more comprehensive replay system with time limits were established in 1999).
Final standings
Tiebreakers
- Denver was second AFC playoff seed ahead of New England based on head-to-head victory (1–0).
- N.Y. Jets was the first AFC Wild Card based on better conference record (8–4) than Kansas City (9–5), Seattle (7–5), and Cincinnati (7–5).
- Kansas City was the second AFC Wild Card based on better conference record (9–5) than Seattle (7–5) and Cincinnati (7–5).
- N.Y. Giants was the top NFC playoff seed based on better conference record than Chicago (11–1 to Bears' 10–2).
Playoffs
- NOTE: The New York Giants (the NFC one seed) did not play the Washington Redskins (the four seed) in the Divisional playoff round because both teams were in the same division.
- * Indicates overtime victory
- ** Indicates double-overtime victory
Statistical leaders
Team
| Points scored | Miami Dolphins (430) |
| Total yards gained | Cincinnati Bengals (6,490) |
| Yards rushing | Chicago Bears (2,700) |
| Yards passing | Miami Dolphins (4,779) |
| Fewest points allowed | Chicago Bears (187) |
| Fewest total yards allowed | Chicago Bears (4,130) |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed | New York Giants (1,284) |
| Fewest passing yards allowed | St. Louis Cardinals (2,637) |
Milestones
The following players set all-time records during the season:
Awards
| Most Valuable Player | Lawrence Taylor, Linebacker, New York Giants |
| Coach of the Year | Bill Parcells, New York Giants |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Eric Dickerson, Running back, Los Angeles Rams |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Lawrence Taylor, Linebacker, New York Giants |
| Offensive Rookie of the Year | Rueben Mayes, Running back, New Orleans Saints |
| Defensive Rookie of the Year | Leslie O'Neal, Defensive end, San Diego Chargers |
| NFL Comeback Player of the Year | Joe Montana, Quarterback, San Francisco 49ers, Tommy Kramer, Quarterback, Minnesota Vikings (co-winners) |
| Man of the Year | Reggie Williams, Linebacker, Cincinnati Bengals |
| Super Bowl Most Valuable Player | Phil Simms, Quarterback, New York Giants |
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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Early era
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Modern era
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