1988 NFL season

1988 National Football League 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. The playoff races came down to the regular season’s final week, 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

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Buffalo Bills⁽²⁾	12	4	0	.750	7–1	10–2	329	237	L1
Indianapolis Colts	9	7	0	.563	5–3	7–5	354	315	W1
New England Patriots	9	7	0	.563	5–3	7–5	250	284	L1
New York Jets	8	7	1	.531	3–5	6–7–1	372	354	W2
Miami Dolphins	6	10	0	.375	0–8	3–9	319	380	L1

AFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cincinnati Bengals⁽¹⁾	12	4	0	.750	4–2	8–4	448	329	W1
Cleveland Browns⁽⁴⁾	10	6	0	.625	4–2	6–6	304	288	W1
Houston Oilers⁽⁵⁾	10	6	0	.625	3–3	7–5	424	365	L1
Pittsburgh Steelers	5	11	0	.313	1–5	4–8	336	421	W1

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Seattle Seahawks⁽³⁾	9	7	0	.563	6–2	8–4	339	329	W2
Denver Broncos	8	8	0	.500	3–5	5–7	327	352	W1
Los Angeles Raiders	7	9	0	.438	6–2	6–6	325	369	L2
San Diego Chargers	6	10	0	.375	3–5	4–8	231	332	W2
Kansas City Chiefs	4	11	1	.281	2–6	4–9–1	254	320	L2

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Philadelphia Eagles⁽³⁾	10	6	0	.625	6–2	8–4	379	319	W2
New York Giants	10	6	0	.625	5–3	9–5	359	304	L1
Washington Redskins	7	9	0	.438	4–4	6–6	345	387	L2
Phoenix Cardinals	7	9	0	.438	3–5	6–6	344	398	L5
Dallas Cowboys	3	13	0	.188	2–6	3–9	265	381	L1

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears⁽¹⁾	12	4	0	.750	6–2	9–3	312	215	L1
Minnesota Vikings⁽⁴⁾	11	5	0	.688	6–2	9–3	406	233	W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	11	0	.313	4–4	4–8	261	350	W1
Detroit Lions	4	12	0	.250	2–6	3–11	220	315	L2
Green Bay Packers	4	12	0	.250	2–6	3–9	240	313	W2

NFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
San Francisco 49ers⁽²⁾	10	6	0	.625	4–2	8–4	369	294	L1
Los Angeles Rams⁽⁵⁾	10	6	0	.625	4–2	8–4	407	293	W3
New Orleans Saints	10	6	0	.625	3–3	6–6	312	283	W1
Atlanta Falcons	5	11	0	.313	1–5	4–8	244	315	L3

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 (5–3 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


			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
NFL Comeback Player of the Year	Greg Bell, Running Back, LA Rams
NFL Man of the Year	Steve Largent, Wide Receiver, Seattle
Super Bowl Most Valuable Player	Jerry Rice, Wide Receiver, San Francisco

Draft

The 1988 NFL Draft was held from April 24 to 25, 1988 at New York City’s Marriott Marquis. With the first pick, the Atlanta Falcons selected linebacker Aundray Bruce from the University of Auburn.

Coaches

National Football Conference

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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