Patriots

Bills

Dolphins

Jets

Bengals

Ravens

Steelers

Browns

Colts

Titans

Jaguars

Texans

Broncos

Chiefs

Raiders

Chargers

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AFC teams: West, North, South, East

Cowboys

Giants

Eagles

Redskins

Bears

Lions

Packers

Vikings

Falcons

Panthers

Saints

Buccaneers

Cardinals

Rams

Seahawks

49ers

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NFC teams: West, North, South, East

The2008 NFL season was the 89thregular season of theNational Football League (NFL), themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."

Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was atRaymond James Stadium inTampa, Florida, on February 1, 2009,^[2] with thePittsburgh Steelers coming out victorious over theArizona Cardinals 27–23 and winning their NFL-record sixthVince Lombardi Trophy.

Conversely, theDetroit Lions became the first NFL team witha winless season since the strike-shortened1982 NFL season, finishing their season 0–16. Their 0-16 record would eventually be matched by the2017 Cleveland Browns. For the first time since the NFL expanded to the sixteen-game season in1978, three teams won two or fewer games: the Lions, theKansas City Chiefs, and theSt. Louis Rams. Previously two teams won two or fewer games in1979,1981,1983,1985,1992, and2001. Also, for the first time since the1985 Denver Broncos, a team finishing with an 11–5 record missed the playoffs — the defending AFC championNew England Patriots.

The regular season began on September 4 with the defendingSuper Bowl XLII championNew York Giants defeating theWashington Redskins.

This was the last NFL season to air on analog television, as theDigital television transition in the United States, which required all full-power stations to covert to digital, began on June 12, 2009.

The2008 NFL draft was held from April 26 to 27, 2008 atNew York City'sRadio City Music Hall. With the first pick,the Miami Dolphins selected offensive tackleJake Long fromthe University of Michigan.

Gerald Austin andLarry Nemmers retired.Carl Cheffers andAlberto Riveron were promoted to referee.Ron Blum also retired from line judge position.

The following rule changes were passed at the league's annual owners' meeting inPalm Beach, Florida, during the week of March 31:^[3]

• 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.^[4]
• 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 andCanadian football.
• Field goal attempts that bounce off the goal post are now reviewable underinstant 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.

Inpreseason games, the annualPro Football Hall of Fame Game was played August 3 between the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins, which aired onNBC.^[5] Washington won the game, 30–16.^[6] Other preseason highlights included the first game of theToronto Series, which was played August 14 between theBuffalo Bills and thePittsburgh Steelers at Toronto'sRogers Centre. The Bills won that game, 24–21.^[7]

Based on theNFL's scheduling formula, the intraconference and interconference matchups for 2008 were:^[8]

The annualNFL Kickoff Game to start the season took place on September 4 and featured theSuper Bowl XLII championNew York Giants winning over theirdivision rivals, theWashington Redskins, atGiants 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 the2008 Republican National Convention.^[1]

Other featured games during the opening week included theNBC Sunday Night Football game between theChicago Bears and theIndianapolis Colts (the first regular season game atLucas Oil Stadium and a rematch ofSuper Bowl XLI), in which theKyle Orton-led Bears upset the Colts 29–13. In addition, there were twoMonday Night Football contests, bothdivision rivalries, as part of the now annualdoubleheader: TheMinnesota Vikings at theGreen Bay Packers (the Packers' first game withoutBrett Favre since1992) in whichAaron Rodgers helped the Packers win, 24–19, and theDenver Broncos at theOakland Raiders, whereJay Cutler andEddie Royal led the Broncos in beating the Raiders, 41–14.^[9] Also,New England Patriots quarterbackTom Brady suffered a season-ending injury against theKansas City Chiefs.

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 scheduledNew York Giants-Dallas Cowboys game on December 14 was followed by a flexed December 21 home game for the Giants against theCarolina Panthers; the Giants-Panthers game was flexed because it carried serious playoff implications, as the winner would clinch theNFC'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 theBaltimore Ravens andWashington Redskins. The league filled the open spot on December 28 with a game between theDenver Broncos andSan Diego Chargers with major playoff implications, as the winner of that game would win theAFC West and earn a home game in the playoffs while the loser would be eliminated.

This was the second consecutive season that the league played at least one regular season game outside the United States as part of theNFL International Series. The contest between theSan Diego Chargers and theNew Orleans Saints was played atWembley Stadium in London on October 26, with New Orleans winning 37–32.^[10] The Chargers played against theBuffalo 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.^[10]

The league has also approved the Bills' request to play at least one regular season home game at Toronto'sRogers Centre over each of the next five seasons.^[11] Team ownerRalph Wilson petitioned the league to play at least one game in Canada to strengthen his club's fan base inOntario.^[12] The game in Toronto was on December 7, after the end of the2008 CFL season,^[11] against theMiami Dolphins; Miami won 16–3. CBS televised both games regionally; the Toronto game was carried across Canada onRogers Sportsnet andCity TV.

The traditionalThanksgiving Day games^[13] were held on November 27, with theDetroit Lions hosting theTennessee Titans at 12:30 p.m.EST onCBS (with the then 10–1 Titans handily defeating the then 0–11 Lions by a 47–10 score), and theDallas Cowboys' home game following suit onFox at 4:15 p.m. EST against theSeattle Seahawks (the Cowboys defeated the Seahawks by a score of 34–9). A third game onNFL Network, featuring theArizona Cardinals and thePhiladelphia Eagles followed at 8:15 p.m. EST.^[1][8] It was the first home game for the Eagles onThanksgiving Day since1940, and their first Thanksgiving game at any location since the infamousBounty Bowl Game in1989; the Eagles defeated the Cardinals by a score of 48–20. (The Cardinals and Eagles would, two months later, rematch in theNFC Championship Game, with Arizona winning this time by a score of 32–25.)

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 aChristmas game this season, instead scheduling all of its week 17 matchups for Sunday, December 28.

The NFL'sPro Bowlall-star game at the end of the season was played atAloha Stadium in theHonolulu, 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 theSuper Bowl.^[14][15]

Week 2: TheBaltimore–Houston game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 4:15 p.m. ET, was postponed to Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET due toHurricane Ike. The game was later postponed to November 9 at 1:00 p.m. ET onCBS.

Week 10: TheCincinnati–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: TheTennessee–Jacksonville game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on CBS.

Week 12: TheCarolina–Atlanta game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET onFox.

Week 14: TheWashington–Baltimore game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was flexed intoNBC Sunday Night Football at 8:15 p.m. ET, replacing theNew England–Seattle game, which was moved to 4:05 p.m. ET on CBS.

Week 15: TheDenver–Carolina andPittsburgh–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 theSan Diego–Tampa Bay game, which was moved to 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS.
• The Atlanta–Minnesota andPhiladelphia–Washington games, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, were flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on Fox.

Week 17:

• 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 andMiami–New York Jets games, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, were flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on CBS.
• TheDallas–Philadelphia game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on Fox.

The playoffs began with Wild Card Weekend on January 3–4, 2009. The Divisional Playoffs were played on January 10–11 and the Conference Championship Games on January 18.Super Bowl XLIII was played on February 1 atRaymond James Stadium inTampa, Florida, with the Pittsburgh Steelers winning their record sixth Super Bowl.

Within each conference, the four division winners and the top twonon-division winners with the best overall regular season records) qualified for the playoffs. The four division winners areseeded 1–4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card teams are seeded 5–6. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. In the first round, dubbed thewild-card playoffs orwild-card weekend, the third-seeded division winner hosts the sixth-seed wild card, and the fourth seed hosts the fifth. The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference received afirst-round bye. In the second round, thedivisional playoffs, the number 1 seed hosts the worst-surviving seed from the first round (seed 4, 5, or 6), while the number 2 seed will play the other team (seed 3, 4, or 5). The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional playoff games met in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed. Although theSuper Bowl, the championship round of the playoffs, is played at a neutral site, the designated home team is based on an annual rotation by conference.^[18]

* Indicatesovertime victory

The2008 Detroit Lions would mark the capstone of the ill decisions of President/General ManagerMatt Millen since arriving on the job in 2001. After an 0–3 start, the Lions fired Millen on September 23 after seven seasons, during the team's bye week. During that time, the Lions compiled the worst record in the league (31–84, .270 percentage) and had many questionable draft choices.

However, by that point, the damage had been done. The Lions went on to lose every game and finished 0–16,the first winless season in the NFL since the strike-shortened1982 NFL season saw theBaltimore Colts finish 0–8–1, and the first full-season imperfect season since theexpansion1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished 0–14. It marked the first time that a non-expansion team, non-strike shortened team, non-merged team finished winless since the1944 Brooklyn Tigers finished 0–10. It was the second winless season for the Lions, who finished 0–11 in1942. The 0–16 record would be later matched by the2017 Cleveland Browns.

The 2008 season marked the first time since September 20, 1992, that someone other thanBrett Favre started at quarterback for theGreen Bay Packers, asAaron Rodgers became the new offensive "Leader of The Pack". At first, this was given Favre's announcement on March 4, 2008, that he would retire from the league after seventeen seasons. He owns many NFL records, including most wins as a quarterback, mosttouchdowns thrown, (broken by Peyton Manning in 2014) and most consecutive starts at quarterback, as well as most interceptions. He started every Packers game, regular season and postseason, for nearly sixteen full seasons (September 27, 1992 – January 20, 2008).

The Packers were scheduled to retire Favre's #4 jersey in a ceremony during the first week of the season. However, on July 2, 2008, he publicly indicated that he wanted to play again as the starting quarterback. On July 11, 2008, Favre sent a letter to the Packers management asking for an unconditional release which will allow him to play for another team. The Packers did not give it to him, but they were unwilling to release him for fear that he would sign with division rival Minnesota Vikings (Favre's choice for an alternate team). Also, the Packers would not start him as quarterback if he came back to the team, and named the other Packers quarterbackAaron Rodgers as the starting quarterback and Favre as the backup.

From July 14 to 15, Favre did TV interviews discussing his comeback, Rodgers taking his place, and frustrations on the Packers for not being honest with him, personally and publicly.

On July 16, 2008, the Packers filed tampering charges against the Vikings for alleged improper communication between Favre, Vikings head coachBrad Childress and Vikings offensive coordinatorDarrell Bevell. Favre filed for reinstatement on July 29, 2008, and by August 4, NFL CommissionerRoger Goodell reinstated Favre.

Three days later on August 7, the Packers traded Favre to theNew York Jets for a conditional draft pick. He played well for most of the year, but entering December he suffered a shoulder injury which dropped the Jets out of playoff contention. Favre again retired following the 2008 season. The Jets then released Favre in favor of moving in the direction of getting a star college quarterback in the draft, eventually landingMark Sanchez. Another protracted "will he/won't he retire" saga emerged in 2009 which concluded in August of that year when Favre signed with, as expected, the Minnesota Vikings.

Hurricane Ike forced several changes to the 2008 schedule. TheHouston Texans' Week 2 home game against theBaltimore Ravens was first postponed to Monday, September 15, before Ike made landfall; damage toReliant Stadium forced a further postponement, to Week 10, on Sunday, November 9, giving the Texans and the Ravens their bye weeks in Week 2. Furthermore, to accommodate this move, the Texans' home game against theCincinnati Bengals was moved forward from November 9 to Sunday, October 26, pushing the Bengals' bye week from Week 8 to Week 10.^[19] Although no other games were postponed, Ike and its remnants also impacted several other Week 2 games on September 14.

The Texans ended up having to wait until Week 5 against theIndianapolis Colts to have their home opener, the latest an NFL team went into the season before playing at home since theNew Orleans Saintsplayed their entire schedule on the road in 2005due to the damages of the city ofNew Orleans as a result ofHurricane Katrina. (Every other NFL team had at least one home game by the end of Week 2.) With the Ravens eventually advancing to the AFC Championship Game against the rivalPittsburgh Steelers (and having to enter the playoffs as awild card team), the impromptu decision to give the Ravens and Texans their bye week so early in the season ended up having the unintended effect of the Ravens playing in an NFL-record 18 consecutive weeks without a break in the schedule.

The 2008 season saw a marked increase in the use of two new offensive philosophies (at least for the NFL, these offenses previously saw extensive use incollege orCanadian football for a few years): the "wildcat formation", a formation based on thehalfback option play, the "spread offense", which uses multiple wide-receiver sets and the quarterback frequently inshotgun, and the "Suggs package", which features two quarterbacks on the field at once. In week 3 of the season, the wildcat formation, used up until this point primarily as atrick play, was used eight times, including four times in aMiami Dolphins game and three times in a game between theOakland Raiders andBuffalo Bills.^[20] Season-ending injuries to the starting and backup quarterbacks for the Chiefs prompted the team's offensive coordinatorChan Gailey to switch to a spread offense after six games.^[21] In Baltimore, the Ravens, led by rookie head coachJohn Harbaugh, implemented the "Suggs package", which places two quarterbacks on the field at once,Joe Flacco andTroy Smith.^[22] Due mainly to the new formations, 837 points were scored league wide in Week 12, the most ever for one NFL weekend.^[21] The wildcat formation in particular was credited with turning the Miami Dolphins from a last-place team into the winner of the AFC East,^[23] and four of the top ten plays ranked by NFL.com were directly based on the wildcat (two others featured wide receivers throwing passes).^[22]

On November 16, during Week 11, a game between thePhiladelphia Eagles and theCincinnati Bengals atPaul Brown Stadium ended in a 13–13 tie,the first NFL tie game since November 10, 2002, when theAtlanta Falcons and thePittsburgh Steelers ended in a 34–34 draw. After the game,Donovan McNabb mentioned that he did not know there were ties in the NFL, apparently confusing the NFL's postseason rules (where teams can and have played double overtime games because those contests continue until a team finally wins) with the regular season rules. This drew the ire of many fans, who thought that a quarterback of his caliber should know some fundamental rules; however, none of McNabb's critics accused him of not playing to win during the overtime period in Cincinnati, and his play was tied into a game that was widely derided as one of the ugliest, most disjointed, and controversial results in NFL history.^[24]

Ironically, the tie game ultimately helped the Eagles make the playoffs, as it was the deciding tiebreaker for the #6 seed in the NFC; the Eagles went on to lose to the Cardinals in theNFC Championship Game.

No more games would end in a tie until2012.

On January 18, 2008,Georgia Frontiere, owner of theSt. Louis Rams died due to complications withbreast cancer.^[25] The Rams wore a commemorative patch in her honor, with her signature on their left shoulder.

On January 31, 2008,Clark Hunt, chairman of the board for theKansas City Chiefs announced that henceforth the team'sLamar Hunt/American Football League tribute patch that was introduced in the 2007 season will be a permanent part of the Chiefs' uniform.^[26] joining theChicago Bears (withGeorge Halas) and theCleveland Browns (withAl Lerner) with such a patch.

The stretch of highway outsideRalph Wilson Stadium alongU.S. Route 20A inOrchard Park, New York, has been named theTimothy J. Russert Highway. Russert, who wasNBC News's chief Washington bureau correspondent and the host ofMeet the Press, was a Buffalo native and noted Buffalo Bills fan. He died of a heart attack in June 2008.

The league honoredNational Football League Players Association leaderGene Upshaw, who died suddenly at age 63 on August 20 just three days after being diagnosed withpancreatic cancer. For the entire season, the Oakland Raiders wore a patch on the left chest of the jerseys with the initials "GU" and his number 63, his jersey number with the Raiders.^[27] All NFL teams also honored Upshaw with a video tribute and a replica of the uniform patch painted onto the field during the opening weekend.^[28] Originally, the patch on the field and the video tribute were only going to be done in Oakland at the Raiders' home opener against theDenver Broncos as Upshaw played his entire 15-year Hall of Fame career with the Raiders, and atGiants Stadium, when the Giants and Redskins opened the NFL season on September 4. All players wore the same patch during Week One, and later changed to a smaller helmet decal. The Raiders wore the patch through the remainder of the season.

TheWashington Redskins honored the anniversary of death ofSean Taylor this season in a home game against the visitingNew York Giants.

On July 7, 2008, owners of thePittsburgh Steelers, includingArt Rooney's five sons who own 80% of the franchise,^[29] looked to restructure the ownership plan of the franchise in order to comply with NFL ownership regulations.^[30] Current Steelers Chairman,Dan Rooney, and his son, Art Rooney II, President of the franchise, wished to stay involved with the franchise, while the remainder of the brothers – Art Jr., Timothy, Patrick and John – wished to further pursueracetracks that they own in Florida and New York.^[31] Since 2006, many of the racetracks have addedvideo slot machines, causing them to violate "NFL policy that prohibits involvement with racetrack and gambling interests".^[32] On July 11, it was confirmed that investorStanley Druckenmiller had been in discussion with the five Rooney brothers.^[29] A Steelers fan for many years, Druckenmiller "has been known to paint his face black and gold" during games.^[33] CoachMike Tomlin stated that the situation could become a distraction, but "I'm here to coach, they're [the players] here to play. Those questions will be answered by the Rooneys."^[34] On September 18, Druckenmiller withdrew his bid to purchase the team.^[35]

NFL owners unanimously approved the restructuring of ownership on December 17, 2008, with Dan and Art II getting the mandated 30% stake. Meanwhile, brothers Timothy and Patrick (the ones who own race tracks with slot machines, which violate NFL ownership rules) sold their shares outright, while Art Jr., John, and the McGinley family sold some shares but retained smaller ownership roles, with the brothers reducing their shares from 16% to 6% and the McGinley family reducing their shares from 20% to 10%. Joining the ownership group werePilot Travel Centers presidentJim Haslam III,Legendary Pictures president and CEO Thomas Tull, and thePaul family each getting a 16% stake in the team.^[36] Dan Rooney mentioned he has no ill will towards Druckenmiller, mentioning he's a great Steelers fan and wishes he remains one.

The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the regular season:

• Most points scored:New Orleans, 463
• Fewest points scored:Cleveland, 204
• Most total offensive yards: New Orleans, 6,571
• Fewest total offensive yards: Cincinnati, 3,926
• Most total passing yards: New Orleans, 4,977
• Fewest total passing yards:Oakland, 2,369
• Most rushing yards:New York Giants, 2,518
• Fewest rushing yards:Arizona, 1,178

^[47]

• Fewest points allowed:Pittsburgh, 223
• Most points allowed:Detroit, 517
• Fewest total yards allowed: Pittsburgh, 3,795
• Most total yards allowed: Detroit, 6,470
• Fewest passing yards allowed: Pittsburgh, 2,511
• Most passing yards allowed:Seattle, 4,149
• Fewest rushing yards allowed:Minnesota, 1,230
• Most rushing yards allowed: Detroit, 2,754

^[48]

Offseason

The following teams hired new head coaches prior to the start of the 2008 season:

In-season

The following head coaches were fired during the 2008 season:

The firing of Kiffin and Linehan marked the first time since theAFL–NFL merger in1970 that multiple head coaches were fired before Week 5 of the season, and the first since1989 that any coach was fired this early in a season. Both were released heading into their teams' respective bye weeks, while Nolan was released prior to the game just before the 49ers' bye.

Offseason

In-season

In addition to the Bills playing one home game in Toronto's Rogers Centre, this was the first season that theIndianapolis Colts played their home games atLucas Oil Stadium.^[58]

2008 was the final year that the Dallas Cowboys played atTexas Stadium; they moved toCowboys Stadium inArlington, Texas, in 2009.^[59]

McAfee Coliseum reverted to theOakland Coliseum afterMcAfee declined to renew the naming rights. In addition, Monster Park reverted toCandlestick Park permanently after the naming right deal withMonster Cable expired, per the terms ofProposition H, passed by San Francisco voters in 2004, that prohibited the city from accepting another naming rights deals for that stadium.^[60]

The Tennessee Titans switched their home jerseys. They changed their alternateColumbia blue jersey to make it their primary color while thenavy blue jersey became the alternate jersey.

The Denver Broncos brought back the alternate orange jerseys after a three-year hiatus and wore them for games against the New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs.^[61]

In their first two home games, the New England Patriots wore their white jerseys against the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins. It was the first time the Patriots had worn white at home since 1994.^[62]

For the first time in the team's history, the Oakland Raiders wore their white jerseys at home against the San Diego Chargers.

2008 was the first season that the NFL used a new, updated logo. Unveiled on August 31, 2007, inUSA Today, the new design features eight white stars, representing each of the league's eight divisions, instead of 25 on the old logo. The football has been redesigned and rotated to the same angle as the one on the top of theVince Lombardi Trophy given to the Super Bowl champion. Darker shades of red and blue, specifically navy blue, are also used, along with font lettering to that of the league's current typeface for other logos.^[63] The new logo officially made its debut during the2008 NFL draft on April 26.

The 2008 season marked just the third time in thesalary cap era (and first since2001) that no NFL team made major changes to their uniforms or logo. Since 1993, half of the league's teams (Arizona,Atlanta,Buffalo,Cincinnati,Denver,Minnesota,New England,New York Giants,New York Jets,Philadelphia,San Diego,San Francisco,Seattle,St. Louis,Tampa Bay, andTennessee) have completely redesigned their uniforms (The Patriots doing it four times, though none since2000) while another five (Detroit,Green Bay,Miami,New Orleans, andPittsburgh) making minor, though noticeable, changes. The Titans are swapping home and alternate designations on their light blue and navy blue jerseys though.

The Detroit Lions, in celebration of their 75th season in Motown as well as by popular demand by the fans, abandoned their black third jerseys in favor of their 1950s stylethrowback uniforms. They wore these uniforms against Jacksonville (November 9) and Tennessee (Thanksgiving Day – November 27). In addition, thePittsburgh Steelers will make their throwbacks from the previous season theiralternate uniform, wearing them against theBaltimore Ravens on September 29 and theNew York Giants on October 26.^[64] The Jets wore their New York Titans throwbacks at home against Arizona on September 28 and Cincinnati on October 12 this season, and the Bills donned their retro uniforms at home against Oakland Raiders September 21.

This was the third season under the league's television contracts with its American broadcast partners.CBS Sports andFox Sports televised Sunday afternoonAFC andNFC away games, respectively.^[65] For primetime games,NBC broadcastSunday Night Football andESPN airsMonday Night Football.^[66] TheNFL Network'sRun to the Playoffs also broadcast seven Thursday and one Saturday late season night games,^[67] although there were reportedly negotiations to move those games toESPN Classic.^[68]This was also the last NFL season to be broadcast over the air inanalog television in the United States; thedigital television transition occurred in June 2009. Border stations in Canada and Mexico will continue to broadcast in analog; cable stations are unaffected and will be distributed in the format of the cable provider's choice.

Beginning with this season, all regular season games would now be televised inhigh-definition.

NBC broadcastSuper Bowl XLIII, their first Super Bowl sinceSuper Bowl XXXII at the end of the1997 season.^[66]

ESPN reduced the on-air roles of sideline reportersMichele Tafoya andSuzy Kolber during theMonday Night Football telecast.^[69] Also,Emmitt Smith has been replaced onSunday NFL Countdown byCris Carter, who came over fromHBO.

Meanwhile, NBC'sFootball Night in America reunitedDan Patrick withKeith Olbermann on television for the first time since 1997 when they co-hostedSportsCenter. AtFox NFL Sunday, former New York Giants defensive endMichael Strahan joined the show as an analyst.

The in-house NFL Network sawBryant Gumbel resign as their play-by-play announcer after two seasons on the network'sRun to the Playoffs package after critics described his play-by-play calling as "lackluster".^[70]New York Giants radio announcerBob Papa took his place.

Additionally,NFL Films-producedInside the NFL changed premium cable homes fromTime Warner's HBO after three decades toCBS'Showtime. Also changed:James Brown (from the parent network'sThe NFL Today) as host andPhil Simms as one of the analysts. Cris Collinsworth is staying, butDan Marino has been dropped as a studio analyst, and the aforementioned Cris Carter moved to ESPN. Taking their place isWarren Sapp.

On December 4, the NFL Network broadcast its game between the Oakland Raiders and the San Diego Chargers to theaters in New York City,Boston and Los Angeles using state of the art3-D technology. The viewings, which were limited to NFL and consumer electronics executives, served as a test for future use of 3D in NFL television games.^[71] Because of a technical glitch, the first half was not shown.

On radio,Westwood One separated from its longtime corporate sister,CBS Radio and theSports USA Radio Network, another syndicator, has been sold along with parent company Jones Radio Networks to theTriton Media Group.. This led to the former "NFL on Westwood One" giving way in2011 to "NFL on Dial Global".

OnInternet television, both NFL.com and NBCSports.com carried complete live games ofNBC Sunday Night Football for the first time ever. NFL.com continued its live coverage ofThursday and Saturday Night Football, which began in 2007, however for the first time the complete game rather than live look-ins was shown.

ThePittsburgh Steelers2008 season/Super Bowl XLIII championshiphome video went on sale onDVD on February 24, 2009. One week later on March 3, it was released onBlu-ray Disc, making it the firstNFL Films home video release to be on Blu-ray Disc.^[72] The Blu-ray copy is "officially" sold exclusively throughAmazon.com, though it is also available through theSports Illustrated Super Bowl offer as well aseBay. Among its exclusive content included having most of the features inhigh-definition video as well as theNFL on Fox fourth-quarter coverage of the Steelers matchup against theDallas Cowboys atHeinz Field in its entirety. The matchup, which took place duringWeek 14 and renewed the rivalry the two teams had in the 1970s & 1990s, saw the Steelers come back from a 4th quarter ten-point deficit to win 20–13.

TheNew York Giants2007 season/Super Bowl video was only released on DVD the previous year despite the fact thatToshiba dropped support ofHD DVD (the primary rival of Blu-ray) just two weeks afterSuper Bowl XLII.

• Super Bowl XLIII
• 2008 NFL draft

• 2008 NFL season at NFL.com
• Football Outsiders 2008 DVOA Rankings

• 2008 NFL season
• NFL seasons

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