This article is about the American football season in the United States. For the Gaelic football season in Ireland, see2018 National Football League (Ireland).
2018 NFL season
Regular season
Duration
September 6, 2018 (2018-09-06) – December 30, 2018 (2018-12-30)
The 2018 NFL League year and trading period began on March 14. On March 9, clubs were allowed to exercise options for 2018 on players who have option clauses in their contracts, submit qualifying offers to their pending restricted free agents and submit a Minimum Salary Tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2017 contracts and who have fewer than three accrued seasons of free agent credit. Teams were required to be under the salary cap using the "Top-51" definition (in which the 51 highest paid-players on the team's payroll must have a combined salary cap hit below the actual cap). On March 12, clubs were allowed to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the agents of players who were set to become unrestricted free agents.
This season's salary cap increased to $177.2 million per team, up from $167 million in 2017.[1]
March 14:Green Bay traded CBDamarious Randall, a 2018 fourth round selection (114th overall), and a 2018 fifth round selection (150th overall) toCleveland for QBDeShone Kizer, a 2018 fourth round selection (101st overall), and a 2018 fifth round selection (138th overall)[3]
March 14: TheLos Angeles Rams traded DERobert Quinn and a 2018 sixth round selection toMiami in exchange for a 2018 fourth round selection and a 2018 sixth round selection.[10]
March 22: TheNew York Giants traded DEJason Pierre-Paul and their 2018 fourth round selection (102nd overall) toTampa Bay in exchange for a 2018 third round selection (69th overall) and a 2018 fourth round selection (108th overall).[15]
March 29:Washington traded SSu'a Cravens, a 2018 fourth round selection (113th overall), and a 2018 fifth round selection (149th overall) toDenver in exchange for a 2018 fourth round selection (109th overall), two 2018 fifth round selections (142nd and 163rd overall), and a conditional2020 selection.[16]
April 3:New England traded WRBrandin Cooks and a 2018 fourth round selection (136th overall) to theLos Angeles Rams for a 2018 first round selection (23rd overall) and a 2018 sixth round selection (198th overall).[17]
September 17:Cleveland traded WRJosh Gordon and a conditional 2019 seventh round selection toNew England in exchange for a 2019 fifth round selection.[22]
October 30:Denver traded WRDemaryius Thomas and a 2019 seventh round selection toHouston for a 2019 fourth round selection and a 2019 seventh round selection.[25]
SKam Chancellor: Four-time Pro Bowler, two-time second-team All-Pro, andSuper Bowl XLVIII champion. Played for Seattle during his entire eight-year career.[29]
CBAntonio Cromartie: Four-time Pro Bowler and one-time first-team All-Pro. Played for the San Diego Chargers, New York Jets, Arizona, and Indianapolis during his 11-year career.[30]
DEElvis Dumervil: Five-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro. Played for the Denver, Baltimore, and San Francisco during his 12-year career.[31]
DEDwight Freeney: Seven-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro (three first-team, one second-team), andSuper Bowl XLI champion. Played for Indianapolis, the San Diego Chargers, Arizona, Atlanta, Seattle, and Detroit during his 16-year career.[32]
LBJames Harrison: Five-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro (two first-team, two second-team), two-time Super Bowl champion (XL andXLIII), and 2008Defensive Player of the Year. Played for Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and New England during his 15-year career.[33]
WRDevin Hester: Four-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro (three first-team, one second-team) as a return specialist. Played for Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Seattle during his 11-year career.[34][35][36]
GRichie Incognito: Four-time Pro Bowler. Played for the St. Louis Rams, Buffalo, and Miami during his 12-year career.[37] Incognito came out of retirement to sign with Oakland in2019.[38]
RBChris Johnson: Three-time Pro Bowler, one-time first-team All-Pro, and 2009Offensive Player of the Year. Played for Tennessee, the New York Jets, and Arizona during his 10-year career.[39]
CNick Mangold: Seven-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro (two first-team, one second-team). Played for the New York Jets during his entire 11-year career.[40]
CBDarrelle Revis: Seven-time Pro Bowler, four-time first-team All-Pro, andSuper Bowl XLIX champion. Played for the New York Jets, Tampa Bay, New England, and Kansas City during his 11-year career.[42]
OTJoe Thomas: Ten-time Pro Bowler and nine-time All-Pro (seven first-team, two second-team). Played for Cleveland during his entire 11-year career.[43]
Four referees retired during the 2018 off-season, the most to do so since records on the statistics have been kept.[78]
Ed Hochuli: At the time of his retirement, Hochuli was the league's longest-tenured referee, having served with the league for 28 seasons, 26 as a head referee. He was succeeded by his son,Shawn Hochuli.[79]
Gene Steratore: Steratore spent 15 seasons as an official and was the referee ofSuper Bowl LII. Steratore was involved in the controversial ruling known as theCalvin Johnson rule, as well as the infamous use of an index card during a game between theOakland Raiders andDallas Cowboys.[82][83] He was one of two officials who also coveredNCAADivision I basketball games. Steratore accepted an offer from CBS to fill its rules analyst position, which had been vacant since 2015.[78] UmpireClay Martin was promoted to referee to replace Steratore.[84]
Jeff Triplette: Triplette had spent 22 years as an official with the NFL, 19 as a head referee.Alex Kemp replaced Triplette.[79]
Down judge Hugo Cruz was fired for performance-related issues culminating with a missed false start during a Week 6 game between theLos Angeles Chargers andCleveland Browns. It was the first time in theSuper Bowl era that an official was dismissed in-season.[86]
The following playing rule changes have been approved by the Competition Committee for the 2018 season:[87][88]
Make permanent the current rule that changes the spot of the ball after a touchback on a kickoff to the 25-yard line. Prior to2017, the ball was placed at the 20-yard line.
Update the standards for a "catch" to have:
Two feet down or any body part other than the hands
Control of the ball
Make a "football move" such as making a 3rd step, reaching/extending to the line to gain, tucking the ball away, warding off defensive players, or have the ability to perform such an act.
The rule for receivers who were going to the ground during the catch process has been deleted. This is in response to several issues regarding the "going to the ground" rule, especially catches byDallas Cowboys WRDez Bryant in the 2014 NFL playoffs and one byPittsburgh Steelers TEJesse James in 2017 that were overturned due to this rule.
Allow a designated member of the officiating department (for 2018, senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron, vice president officiating evaluation and development Wayne Mackie, and vice president of instant replay and administration Russel Yurk[89]) to instruct game officials to disqualify any player who commits a flagrant non-football act on the field for a foul called on the field. This is in response to a situation whereNew England Patriots tight endRob Gronkowski intentionally inflicted a late hit onBuffalo Bills defensive backTre'Davious White causing a concussion to White. Gronkowski was not ejected for the foul on the field, but did receive a one-game suspension after the NFL's review of the play.
Illegally batting a ball on a scrimmage down will incur a loss of down in addition to the previous 10-yard penalty.
In overtime, when a team is ahead by 3 points, a down will run to its conclusion and all applicable points will score, even if there is a loss of possession. Previously, the offense of the trailing team could not legally score if they lost and regained possession and reached the opponent's end zone all on the same play. The rule remains that if there is a double change of possession on a play with one team in the lead, it is the last play of the game.[90]
If a team scores a touchdown on the final play of regulation which either gives them the victory or leaves them three or more points behind, no extra-point conversion try will be needed.[91]
A ball carrier may slide either head first or feet first to be considered giving himself up on the play, and he is afforded all protections previously provided to a runner sliding feet first.
The following bylaws and resolutions were passed:[92]
Make permanent the liberalization of workout rules for draft prospects.
For a one-year trial period, liberalize the rules for re-signing a player on waivers.
Players on injured reserve can be traded.
Players with injuries deemed major can be placed directly on injured reserve without clearing waivers.
The 10-day postseason waiver claiming period has been reduced to 1 day.
Players can be activated from injured reserve after eight games instead of eight weeks.
Teams have seven business days to complete an injury settlement instead of five.
Players in certain reserve list categories cannot be reinstated after a team's week 13 game. This restriction was previously applied to the last 30 days of the regular season.
Clarify roster procedures for players with military obligations.
For a one-year trial period, teams may contact a player who has been publicly announced to be released before the NFL lists the transaction on a Player Personnel Notice.
The following changes to the kickoff rules were approved at the NFL Spring Owners' Meeting on May 23, 2018:[93]
Players are required to line up for the kickoff as follows:
Five players on the kicking team must be on either side of the kicker
At least two players on each side must be lined up outside of the numbers and at least two additional players on each side must be lined up between the numbers and the hashmarks
Players on the kicking team (excluding the kicker) may only line up within 1 yard of the kickoff spot (the previous limit was 5 yards)
The receiving team must have eight players in a 15-yard "set-up zone" (measured from the receiving team's side of the restraining line 10 yards from the kickoff spot)
No wedge blocks. Players would only be able to do a double-team block within the "set-up zone".
Blocking is prohibited inside the restraining zone (10 yards from the kickoff spot) until the ball touches the ground or is touched in the field of play.
Once a kickoff lands in the end zone, it would become an automatic touchback. Players will no longer have to "kneel" in the end zone to stop the play.
Any player(s) being disqualified are subject to replay review.
It is now a foul (15 yards) for players to lower their helmet to initiate and make contact with an opposing player. The fouling player risks disqualification if:
Player lowers his helmet to establish a linear body posture prior to initiating or making contact with the helmet
Player delivering the blow had an unobstructed path to his opponent
Contact was clearly avoidable (player delivering the blow had other options)
Thechain crew was reduced by one member; the "X" marker, usually unseen on television but used to mark the start of an offensive drive, was eliminated.[94]
In response to the recentNational Anthem protests in the league the past two seasons, any player or staff member who is on the field during the performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" must stand for the duration of the performance. Such players and staff members are not required to be on the field at that time and may wait in the locker room as an alternative. The NFL will not directly fine offending players or staff members for defying the rule, instead fining the teams, who will in turn have power to fine the players or staff members at their own discretion. TheNational Football League Players Association filed a grievance with the league over the policy on July 11.
A 1998 inductee of thePro Football Hall of Fame, McDonald played 12 seasons in the NFL, the majority of them with thePhiladelphia Eagles, where he had the majority of his success. The six-timePro Bowler and four-timeAll-Pro (first or second team) led the league in both receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in 1961 and was the last non-kicking position player to play without afacemask. He died September 24 at the age of 84.[95]
The nine-year veteran of theGreen Bay Packers was the first member of the team's 1961–1968 dynasty to be inducted into the Hall as a 1976 inductee. The fullback, who played from 1958 throughthe first World Championship, appeared in five Pro Bowls, was named first or second team All-Pro six times, and led the league in both rushing touchdowns and yards in 1962, leading the latter category in 1961 as well. He finished his career on the inaugural roster of theNew Orleans Saints. He died October 13, aged 83.[96]
Bob McNair: McNair died November 23 at the age of 81. He had owned theHouston Texans from the time of its establishment in 2002 until his death. His wifeJanice McNair and his sonCal McNair took over as owners, and the government ofHarris County, Texas' minority stake in the team precludes any incoming owner from relocating the team.[99]
Alex Spanos: Spanos owned theChargers from 1984 until his death; he had had senile dementia since 2008 and was not directly involved in the team's relocation from San Diego back to Los Angeles, which was largely orchestrated by his sonDean Spanos, who will head the family consortium that inherits the team. Spanos died October 9, aged 95.[100]
Training camps for the 2018 season were held in late July through August. Teams started training camp no earlier than 15 days before the team's first scheduled preseason game.
ThePro Football Hall of Fame Game, in which theBaltimore Ravens defeated theChicago Bears 17–16, was played on August 2;[101] and was televised nationally byNBC. The Ravens, who made their first Hall of Fame Game appearance, were represented in the 2018 Hall of Fame class by former linebackerRay Lewis, while the Bears were represented by former linebackerBrian Urlacher.
The 2018regular season's 256 games were played over a 17-week schedule that began on September 6. Each of the league's 32 teams played a 16-game schedule, with onebye week for each team. The regular season concluded with a full slate of 16 games on December 30, all of which were intra-division matchups, as it had been since2010.
Under the NFL's currentscheduling formula, each team plays the other three teams in its own division twice. In addition, a team plays against all four teams in one other division from each conference. The final two games on a team's schedule are against the two remaining teams in the same conference that finished in the same position in their respective divisions (e.g., the team that finished fourth in its division will play all three other teams in the conference that also finished fourth). The division pairings for 2018 were as follows:
NFL London Games: Three games were played in London in 2018. All games were played atWembley Stadium. The first game featuredSeattle atOakland, on October 14; this game was originally scheduled to be played atTottenham Hotspur Stadium, but was relocated to Wembley when it was determined that the construction at Tottenham would not be finished in time.[103] The two games originally slated to take place at Wembley wereTennessee at theLos Angeles Chargers on October 21 andPhiladelphia atJacksonville on October 28. This was the first time the London games were played on three consecutive weeks, a move the league has taken to try to streamline their London operations.[104][105][106] Seattle, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia won these games.
NFL Mexico Game: One game,Kansas City at theLos Angeles Rams on November 19, was scheduled to take place atEstadio Azteca inMexico City.[106] However, due to poor field conditions resulting from recent concerts andsoccer games at the facility, as well as a "difficult rainy season", the NFL announced on November 13 that the game would be moved back to the Rams' home stadium, theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Although attempts were made to re-sod the field, it failed an inspection by NFL officials.[107][108][109][110] The Rams would beat the Chiefs 54–51, marking the highest-scoring game inMonday Night Football history.[111]
Thanksgiving Day: As has been the case since2006, three games were played on November 22:Chicago atDetroit andWashington at Dallas in the traditional afternoon doubleheader, andAtlanta atNew Orleans in the primetime game. Chicago, Dallas, and New Orleans won these contests.
Christmas Eve game:Christmas Eve, December 24, fell on a Monday in 2018. As was the case in 2007, aMonday Night Football game was scheduled between two western teams, theDenver atOakland, with Oakland winning. This marked the teams' record 18th matchup onMNF.[112]
When the entire season schedule was released on April 19, the league announced flexible scheduling for Saturday games in weeks 15 and 16. The final times of these games were announced on October 24:[113]
Week 7: TheCincinnati–Kansas City game was flexed from 1:00 p.m.ET onCBS to the 8:20 p.m. EDT slot onNBC, replacing the originally-scheduledLos Angeles Rams–San Francisco game, which was moved to 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS. This is the earliest NBC flex game since it took over the Sunday Night package in 2006.[114]
Week 10: TheMiami–Green Bay game was moved from 1:00 p.m. ET to 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS. Additionally, theArizona–Kansas City game, originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET onFox, was cross-flexed to CBS, in the same time slot.[113]
Week 11: TheMinnesota–Chicago game was flexed from 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox to 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC, replacing the originally scheduledPittsburgh–Jacksonville game which was moved to 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS. Additionally, thePhiladelphia–New Orleans game was moved from 1:00 p.m. ET to 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox.[115]
Week 12: The Miami–Indianapolis game was moved from 1:00 p.m. ET to 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS.[116]
Week 13: TheLos Angeles Chargers–Pittsburgh game originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS was flexed to 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC, replacing the originally scheduled San Francisco–Seattle game which was moved to 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox.[117]
Week 14: The Los Angeles Rams–Chicago game originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox was flexed to 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC, replacing the originally scheduled Pittsburgh–Oakland game which was moved to 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox.[117]
Week 15: TheHouston–New York Jets started at 4:30 p.m., while theCleveland–Denver game started at 8:20 p.m. EST, both games broadcast byNFL Network. And theWashington–Jacksonville game originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox was cross-flexed to CBS, in the same time slot.
Week 16: Two games were moved to Saturday, December 22 on NFL Network: theWashington–Tennessee game started at 4:30 p.m. EST, while theBaltimore–Los Angeles Chargers game started at 8:20 p.m. EST. This marked the first time that games were rescheduled to a different day (excluding games rescheduled due to severe weather) under a new deal with NFL Network this season. In addition, theNew York Giants–Indianapolis game originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox was cross-flexed to CBS, in the same time slot.
Week 17: The Indianapolis–Tennessee game originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, was selected as the final 8:20 p.m.NBC Sunday Night Football game of the season, which decided the final AFC wild card spot.[118] Also, the Cincinnati–Pittsburgh,Cleveland–Baltimore, Oakland–Kansas City, Philadelphia–Washington, and Chicago–Minnesota games were moved from 1:00 p.m. ET to 4:25 p.m. ET. with no change in network assignment.
^abKansas City finished ahead of LA Chargers in the AFC West based on division record, claiming the No. 1 seed.
^abNew England claimed the No. 2 seed over Houston based on head-to-head victory.
^abcDenver finished ahead of Cincinnati and Buffalo based on strength of victory. Cincinnati finished ahead of Buffalo based on record vs. common opponents. Cincinnati's cumulative record against Baltimore, Indianapolis, the Los Angeles Chargers and Miami was 3–2, compared to Buffalo's 1–4 cumulative record against the same four teams.
^abNY Jets finished ahead of Oakland based on strength of victory.
^When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.
^abNew Orleans finished ahead of LA Rams based on head-to-head victory, claiming the No. 1 seed.
^abcAtlanta finished ahead of Washington based on head-to-head victory. Atlanta finished ahead of Carolina based on head-to-head sweep. Washington finished ahead of Carolina based on head-to-head victory.
^abNY Giants finished ahead of Tampa Bay based on head-to-head victory.
^When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.
The 2018 playoffs began on the weekend of January 5–6, 2019, with the Wild Card Playoff round. The four winners of those playoff games visited the top two seeds in each conference in the Divisional round games the weekend of January 12–13. The winners of those games advanced to the Conference Championship games on January 20. (In the event that both Los Angeles teams had advanced to their respective conference championships with both teams as the home team, one of the two games would have been postponed to the evening of January 21.)[119] The2019 Pro Bowl was held atCamping World Stadium inOrlando, Florida on January 27.Super Bowl LIII was held on February 3 atMercedes-Benz Stadium inAtlanta.
Adam Vinatieri kicked his 566th career field goal, breaking the record for most field goals in a career previously held byMorten Andersen.[124]
Week 5
Tom Brady threw his 500th career touchdown pass, becoming the third quarterback in NFL history to do so (joiningBrett Favre andPeyton Manning) and becoming the first to do so playing on one team.[125]
Tom Brady threw a touchdown pass to a 71st different receiver, breaking an NFL record previously held byVinny Testaverde.[126]
Drew Brees became the NFL's all-time leading passer with 71,941 passing yards, surpassing Brett Favre and Peyton Manning in the process.
Week 6
Tom Brady became the first quarterback in NFL history to reach 200 regular season wins.[127]
Week 7
Drew Brees became the third quarterback in NFL history to defeat all 32 teams, joiningBrett Favre andPeyton Manning.[128] He also became the fourth quarterback to throw 500 career touchdown passes, joining Favre, Manning, andTom Brady.
Julio Jones became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 10,000 receiving yards, doing so in 104 games. Jones broke the record previously held byCalvin Johnson, who took 115 games.[131]
TheKansas City Chiefs scored 51 points in a 54–51 loss to theLos Angeles Rams, the most points ever scored by a losing team in NFL history. The 105-point aggregate total is also the third highest in NFL history.[133]
TheHouston Texans won their eighth straight game following an 0–3 start, becoming the first team in NFL history to do so.[135]
Philip Rivers completed 25 consecutive passes to start a game, breaking the record of 22 consecutive completions to start a game previously held byMark Brunell. This streak also tiedRyan Tannehill's record of 25 consecutive passes at any point in a game.
Philip Rivers completed 28 out of 29 passes (96.6%), breaking the record for highest completion percentage in a game (minimum 20 attempts). The previous record was held byKurt Warner who completed 92.3% of his passes.[136]
Week 14
Derrick Henry became the second player in NFL history to record a 99-yard rushing touchdown, joining Hall of FamerTony Dorsett who achieved this in 1982.[137]
Week 15
Tom Brady became the fourth quarterback to reach 70,000 career passing yards.[138]
The Patriots clinched theAFC East for the tenth consecutive season (extending an NFL record for most consecutive years winning any division) and their tenth straight playoff berth, breaking the record of nine straight playoff berths previously held by theDallas Cowboys (1975–83) andIndianapolis Colts (2002–10).
Zach Ertz set a new NFL record for the most catches in a single season by a tight end with 113, breaking a record previously held byJason Witten.[139]
Chris Jones recorded a sack in his 11th consecutive game this season, marking a new NFL record.[140]
Week 17
George Kittle had 1,377 receiving yards on the season, breaking the record for most receiving yards by a tight end previously held byTravis Kelce.[141]
Baker Mayfield threw his 27th touchdown pass of the season breaking the record for most touchdown passes by a rookie quarterback, previously shared byPeyton Manning andRussell Wilson.[142]
ThePatriots defeated theRams, 13–3, setting a new record for fewest total points (16) scored in aSuper Bowl, This record was previously held bySuper Bowl VII, in which the Dolphins defeated the Redskins, 14–7 (21 points).[146]
Arians retired from coaching following the 2017 season, finishing the season with a record of 8–8 (.500) and a cumulative record of 49–30–1 (.619) with two playoff appearances.[176]
Fox was fired after the final game of the 2017 season, finishing the season with a record of 5–11 (.313) and a cumulative record of 14–34 (.292) with no playoff appearances.[178]
Nagy spent the past five seasons as an offensive assistant with theKansas City Chiefs, the last two as offensive coordinator; the Bears hired Nagy on January 8 and this will be his first NFL head coaching job.[179]
Caldwell was fired after the final game of the 2017 season, finishing the season with a record of 9–7 (.563) and a cumulative record of 36–28 (.563) with two playoff appearances, but having never won a playoff game as head coach of the Lions.[180] Patricia was hired on February 5, the day after losingSuper Bowl LII as theNew England Patriots defensive coordinator. He had spent his entire NFL career with the Patriots, starting in 2004 as an offensive assistant before working his way up to defensive coordinator in 2012, winning 3 Super Bowls. This will be his first head coaching job.[181]
Pagano was fired after the final game of the 2017 season, finishing the season with a record of 4–12 (.250), his first losing season as Colts' head coach, and a cumulative record of 53–43 (.552) with three playoff appearances.[182]
On February 6, the Colts announced that they had planned to hireNew England Patriots offensive coordinatorJosh McDaniels as the team's next head coach, however, McDaniels informed the Colts that he had changed his mind and was returning to the Patriots.[183] The Colts then hiredPhiladelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich, who was previously a Colts' assistant from 2008 to 2011. This will be Reich's first head coaching job.[184]
McAdoo became the Giants' head coach in 2016, leading the Giants to a 13–15 (.464) record over parts of two seasons with one playoff appearance. After accruing a 2–10 (.167) record and benching starterEli Manning during the season, he was fired on December 4, 2017, and replaced in the interim by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.[185]
Shurmur was announced as the Giants' new head coach on January 22. He had previously served as the head coach of theCleveland Browns from 2011 to 2012, compiling a record of 9–23 (.281), and an offensive coach for thePhiladelphia Eagles andMinnesota Vikings since 2013.[186]
Del Rio was fired after the 2017 season, finishing the season with a record of 6–10 (.375) and a cumulative record of 25–23 (.521) with one playoff appearance.[187] Gruden, who previously coached the Raiders from 1998 to 2001 and won aSuper Bowl with theTampa Bay Buccaneers in2002, confirmed on-air on January 6, that he would be returning to the team as coach. He had spent the previous nine seasons as an on-air analyst forMonday Night Football.[188]
Mularkey and the Titans agreed to part ways after they "couldn't come to an agreement over the future," two days after the Titans' playoff loss to the Patriots. Mularkey had a cumulative record of 20–21 (.488) with one playoff appearance in parts of three seasons with the Titans and guided Tennessee to back-to-back 9–7 (.563) records in his two years as the team's full-time head coach.[189] Vrabel spent the past three seasons as a defensive assistant with theHouston Texans, the last as defensive coordinator; the Titans hired Vrabel on January 20 and this will be his first NFL head coaching job.[190]
Jackson was fired on October 29, accumulating a 2–5–1 (.313) record during the 2018 season and a 3–36–1 (.088) record for his 2.5-season tenure with the Browns. His dismissal follows a power struggle with offensive coordinatorTodd Haley (who was fired at the same time) and the team's 25thconsecutive loss away from home; Jackson failed to win a single road game during his tenure andlost every game in 2017.[191] Williams, the team's defensive coordinator, was previously the head coach of theBuffalo Bills from 2001 to 2003, with a record of 17–31 (.354). Jackson currently serves as the Special Assistant to the Head Coach for theCincinnati Bengals.
McCarthy was fired on December 2, shortly after the Packers loss to the Arizona Cardinals. McCarthy leaves with a record of 135–85–2 (.613) with nine playoff appearances and one Super Bowl championship. Philbin, the team's offensive coordinator, was previously the head coach of theMiami Dolphins from 2012 to 2015, with a record of 24–28 (.462).[192]
Brown was fired on December 7, 2017. He had been the team's attorney since 2013 andde facto general manager since 2016.[193] Dorsey was named the new general manager hours later.[194]
Thompson, who had been the team's general manager since 2005, became the team's senior advisor to football operations.[195] Brian Gutekunst, who had been the team's director of player personnel since 2016, was promoted to become the team's new general manager on January 7.[196]
Smith announced that he would take a leave of absence to care for his wife, who is battling breast cancer. He will remain Executive Vice President of Football Operations.[197] Former Buffalo Bills' vice president of player personnel, Brian Gaine, was named the new general manager on January 13, 2018. Previously, Gaine was Texans' director of pro personnel and then director of player personnel from 2014 to 2016.[198]
Having been in the organization since 1994, Reese was the Giants' general manager since 2007, leading them to two Super Bowl championships and several years of success. He was fired on December 4 along with head coach Ben McAdoo. He was replaced in the interim by assistant general manager Kevin Abrams.[199] Dave Gettleman, previously general manager of theCarolina Panthers and a 14-year veteran of the Giants' front office (from 1999 to 2012), was hired on December 28, 2017.[200]
Brandon resigned his position on May 1, 2018. A newspaper report claimed that Brandon was the subject of an internal investigation regarding his personal conduct and workplace behavior, which neither the Bills nor Brandon mentioned in separate statements regarding his departure; Brandon stated he is seeking other opportunities after spending 20 years with the Bills franchise. He was immediately succeeded by co-owner Kim Pegula.[201]
McKenzie was fired on December 10, 2018, after six-plus seasons as Raiders' GM.[202] Herock, current teams' Director of College Scouting, served as the Raiders' interim General Manager until Oakland hired Mike Mayock on December 31, 2018.[203]
On December 17, 2017,Jerry Richardson, the Panthers' founding owner, announced he was putting the team up for sale.[204][205] Richardson had previously indicated the team would be put up for sale after his death,[206] but Richardson was accused of payinghush money to cover up questionable conduct, including racial slurs and sexually suggestive requests of employees, hastening Richardson's decision.[207] The Panthers' lease onBank of America Stadium expires after the 2018 season,[208] which would allow any incoming owner to relocate the team out ofCharlotte, North Carolina, to another market if they so desired, only being liable for the remaining debt from stadium renovation. At an estimated $35 million, the debt payment would be a small expense compared to the relocation fee the NFL charged for the two teams that relocated in 2016 and 2017.[209] The two most likely candidates to buy the team as of May 2018[update] wereDavid Tepper, a hedge fund manager with a higher net worth and a minority stake in thePittsburgh Steelers but fewer ties to Charlotte; andBen Navarro, a financial services CEO based in Charlotte who had the backing of Richardson's only living son.[210] Tepper was announced as the new owner on May 16, with the announcement coming in time for the league to vote on his bid at the owners meeting on May 19.[211] The sale closed on July 9 with Richardson-era chief operating officer Tina Becker (who ran the franchise after Richardson stepped away from operations) resigning. Tepper immediately stated the franchise would retain the Carolina Panthers name for the time being, but that a new stadium would likely be necessary; he stated that he hoped to build said stadium in Charlotte but would not guarantee the team remains there, claiming he did not know enough about the situation to guarantee the team stays in the Charlotte area.[212]
The Raiders, prior to the 2017 season, committed to relocating toLas Vegas,Nevada, once a newstadium was constructed for them in 2020. In 2016, the Raiders signed a three-year extension with theOakland Coliseum.[213] In order to secure another season inOakland, California, Coliseum management indicated in September 2017 that the Raiders would need to offer major concessions to compensate for the financial losses the Coliseum incurs by hosting Raiders games.[214]
On September 4, University of Phoenix Stadium, the home field of theArizona Cardinals, was renamedState Farm Stadium. Thenaming rights agreement is for 18 years; however, the cost of the deal was not disclosed.[215]
On February 16, EverBank Field, the home field of theJacksonville Jaguars, was renamedTIAA Bank Field, afterTIAA's 2017 acquisition ofEverBank. The naming rights agreement was for 10 years and $43 million.[219]
TheColor Rush program was discontinued, and teams were no longer required to wear the special uniforms forThursday Night Football. Teams had the option to continue using the existingNike designs for the program as standardthird jerseys.[220][221]
Chicago Bears: The Bears brought back their orange alternate jerseys that the team wore from 2005 to 2009 and 2011. The team announced that the orange uniforms will be worn twice in 2018, and the team will use the navy blue "Monsters of the Midway" throwbacks for one game.[222]
Jacksonville Jaguars: On April 19, the Jaguars simplified their uniforms in a similar look they had used before 2013. Gold was also eliminated from their previous jerseys and the gradient black and gold helmet was reverted to an all-black gloss shell.[223]
Los Angeles Rams: On July 27, the Rams announced that due to overwhelming fan demand the NFL relaxed their alternate uniform policy and has permitted them to use their royal blue and yellow throwbacks as their color jerseys for the next two seasons until they present entirely new ones in 2020. When using their white jerseys, the team will still have to use their current set carried over from St. Louis albeit from slight modifications they made to them in 2017.[224]
Miami Dolphins: On April 19, the Dolphins simplified their uniform outlines to take after their classic aqua-and-orange look. Dark blue was removed from everything but the logo. For the second straight year, the Dolphins will wear their official throwback jerseys twice in 2018.[225]
Tennessee Titans: On April 4, the Titans introduced new uniforms. Most prominent among the changes is the helmet, which is changing from the white color the team had used since the 1970s (as the Houston Oilers) to navy blue. The color patterns are also simplified, with a new number typeface inspired both by Greek lettering and the shape of the state of Tennessee.[226]
Pittsburgh Steelers: On May 30, the Steelers unveiled a throwback uniform, that was worn in the late 1970s. Team ownerArt Rooney II announced that the team will wear the uniforms for one game.[227]
San Francisco 49ers: On May 23, 49ers unveiled a new all-white throwback uniform, that was worn in 1994, the year the team won its most recentSuper Bowl. The team announced that they will be worn for one game.[228]
Green Bay Packers: On April 9, the Packers unveiled a patch to commemorate their 100th season.[229]
Indianapolis Colts: On April 10, the Colts unveiled a patch to commemorate their 35th season in Indianapolis.[230]
Los Angeles Chargers: The Chargers added a patch to commemorate the death of team ownerAlex Spanos (and his wife Faye, who died in August) before Week 9's game against the Seahawks.
New Orleans Saints: On August 9, the Saints unveiled a patch to commemorate the death of team ownerTom Benson, featuring Benson in silhouette holding hissecond line umbrella above his initials.[231]
Seattle Seahawks: On October 26, the Seahawks unveiled a patch to commemorate the death of team ownerPaul Allen, featuring his "PGA" initials below the team's12th Man flag.[232]
This was the fifth year under the current broadcast contracts withESPN/ABC,CBS,Fox, andNBC. This included "cross-flexing" (switching) Sunday afternoon games between CBS and Fox before or during the season (regardless of the conference of the visiting team). NBC continued to airSunday Night Football, the annualKickoff game, and the primetime Thanksgiving game. ESPN continued to airMonday Night Football and thePro Bowl, with the latter being simulcast on ABC. CBS broadcastSuper Bowl LIII in English withESPN Deportes airing the game in Spanish (the First time since 2006 in airing the game).
On January 31, the NFL announced that Fox had acquired the broadcast television rights to theThursday Night Football package under a five-year deal (aligned with the remainder of the NFL's current broadcast contracts). Fox aired 11 games,[233] in simulcast withNFL Network,[234][235] with the remaining games in the package airing exclusively on NFL Network to satisfy its carriage contracts (with local broadcastssyndicated broadcast stations in the markets of the teams in each game).[236] CBS and NBC had made bids to renew their previous contracts (CBS had held the rights since 2014, joined by NBC since 2016), but were reluctant to pay a higher rights fee due to the league's ratings downturn.[237]
This was the first season that the league implemented Saturday flexible scheduling for NFL Network's late season Saturday games. Thus, it also marked the first time that games would be rescheduled to a different day (excluding games rescheduled due to severe weather). Under this system, four week 16 games were initially designated as possible matchups to be moved to Saturday. The league would then announce no later than week 8 which two of those four games would be moved and which two would remain on Sunday.[238]
The NFL agreed to an extension of its digital rights agreement withVerizon Communications under a 5-year, $2.5 billion deal. Unlike the previous deal, it no longer includes exclusivity for streaming in-market and nationally televised NFL games on mobile devices with screens 7 inches (18 cm) or less in size (such assmartphones), in order to account for changes in viewing habits, but still includes enhanced access to highlights and other digital content for Verizon-owned properties. In addition, Verizon announced that it would no longer make these streams exclusive toVerizon Wireless subscribers, and would leverage itsportfolio of media brands (such asYahoo!, which it acquired in 2017) to distribute them to a larger audience.[239][240] All of the NFL's current television partners have added mobile streaming rights (which were previously reserved to Verizon) to their existing contracts for the 2018 season, with telecasts becoming available viaCBS All Access, theFox Sports App, the ESPN app, and the NBC Sports app.[241][242] Under the terms of the agreement, Verizon must give the majority of the advertising revenue to the broadcast partners.[243]
On April 26, 2018, the NFL announced that it had reached a two-year extension of its agreement withAmazon for shared digital rights to theThursday Night Football games simulcast with Fox, with a 15% increase in rights fees. To fulfill a request that the streams be available freely, the games will also be made available onTwitch, an Amazon-owned streaming service that was originally designed for video game streaming.[244]
Both of the NFL's national radio contracts,Westwood One for English language[245] andEntravision for Spanish language,[246] expired after the 2017 season. Westwood One's parent companyCumulus Media filed for bankruptcy in November 2017[247] and began terminating national broadcast contracts and sports agreements in January 2018,[248][249] putting any contract extensions on hold. The company emerged from bankruptcy on June 4, 2018.[250]
With the release of the 2018 schedule, NFL.com listedESPN Deportes Radio (which had shared NFL rights with Entravision in 2017 and had carried Super Bowl LII[251]) as the league's national Spanish-language broadcaster. The national English-language broadcaster was still identified as Westwood One, which Westwood One has also confirmed;[252] no press release has been issued in regard to a contract extension with that network, and it is unknown when the current arrangement was signed or when it will end. Additionally, Westwood One removed Sunday afternoon games from their package, instead focusing on the primetime matchups as well as the postseason.SportsUSA,Compass andESPN Radio, which also has broadcast select Sunday afternoon NFL games, will continue to do so.[253] Meanwhile, Entravision extended the Sunday night rights for 3 years, through 2021, and gained two Super Bowls, the entire AFC Playoff package, the Thursday Night Opener, and a Thanksgiving Day game as part of their new deal.[254]
All four broadcast partners will employ rules analysts for the 2018 season, citing changes in the league's rules that have become too complicated for its broadcast teams to handle.[78] NBC hiredTerry McAulay to be their rules analyst forSunday Night Football. CBS hiredGene Steratore to fill their rules analyst position, a position that had been vacant since CBS releasedMike Carey in 2015. ESPN hiredJeff Triplette forMonday Night Football. Fox retained bothMike Pereira andDean Blandino. Additionally, Pereira assists with Fox's Thursday Night Football Coverage.
ESPN introduced a fully new broadcast team forMonday Night Football.Joe Tessitore replacedSean McDonough as lead play-by-play man; McDonough will remain with ESPN as a college football announcer.[255][256] With previous color analystJon Gruden returning to coaching,Monday Night Football hiredJason Witten andBooger McFarland as their color commentators; while McFarland offers his commentary from the sidelines, he fills a role similar to the "non-football" player position thatMonday Night Football has traditionally relied upon in its past three-person booths (such asHoward Cosell,Dennis Miller andTony Kornheiser).[257]Lisa Salters, the sideline reporter, carries over from the previous broadcast team.[258]Jeff Triplette will replaceGerald Austin as rules analyst.[259]
Fox initially had planned to hire a new broadcast team for itsThursday Night Football, making an overture toPeyton Manning to serve as color commentator. Since Manning declined the offer, the network announced that it will be placing its existing lead broadcast team ofJoe Buck andTroy Aikman on the package, reducing the number of games the duo will call on Sundays (Buck and Aikman will only call the nationally televised "America's Game of the Week" telecasts on Sundays).[260] A version ofFox NFL Sunday will serve as thelead-in toThursday Night Football, withoutCurt Menefee orJimmy Johnson; the show will instead be hosted by panelistMichael Strahan from New York City, displacingRich Eisen, the studio host for Thursday night pregame since the package's inception in 2006.[261] Strahan will be joined by fellow Fox colleaguesTerry Bradshaw andHowie Long.
In previous seasons, Buck did not call any NFL games during late October, workingMajor League Baseball playoff games instead. For 2018, Fox coordinated its schedule with MLB so that none of its scheduled broadcasts would land on a Thursday (Fox carries theNLCS and the World Series), so Buck will continue to broadcast both sports, crisscrossing the country in seven cities over a 22-day period.[262]
In addition, NBC introduced a new studio team forFootball Night in America.Mike Tirico, who was the on-site host and secondary play-by-play announcer in 2017, became the show's studio host fromStamford, Connecticut, whileLiam McHugh moved into Tirico's former role.Dan Patrick, who had been the studio host forFNiA since 2008, declined to sign a long-term contract and left NBC.[263]
On radio,Kurt Warner replacedBoomer Esiason as the color commentator for Westwood One'sMonday Night Football broadcasts, after Esiason had filled the role for the previous 18 years. Esiason will continue as a studio host for CBS.[264]
In a surprise announcement made two days before its first game, Amazon announced it would provide its own broadcast team for its eleven games, withHannah Storm andAndrea Kremer serving as the lead broadcast team. The announcement makes Kremer the first-ever female color analyst for an NFL game, the first time a game has been broadcast with no men involved in the broadcast team, and the first time since the 1987 season ofESPN Sunday Night NFL that no former coach or player served on the broadcast team in any capacity. Amazon will offer the standard Fox broadcast team, a British broadcasting team, and a Spanish language feed as alternate audio choices.[265]
Only one game into the pre-season,Indianapolis Colts announcerBob Lamey, who had been with the team for most of the time since their1984 relocation from Baltimore, retired suddenly after a complaint of him using a racial slur in the 1980s was revealed. Sideline reporter Matt Taylor was named hisde facto replacement for the season.[266]
Greg Papa, after 21 years calling play-by-play for theOakland Raiders, joined theSan Francisco 49ers as their play-by-play announcer;[267] Papa cited an ongoing feud with Raiders owner Mark Davis for his departure.[268] Replacing Papa with the Raiders isBrent Musburger, who came out of retirement from sports announcing to sign a three-year deal with the team that will see him serve as broadcaster through the team's relocation to Las Vegas (Musburger maintains a side business, the Vegas Sports Information Network, in Las Vegas).[269][270]
The kick-off times for all three primetime series were moved up to start 5 to 15 minutes earlier to facilitatelocal newscasts andSportsCenter to start earlier and cause less disruption to late night television schedules in the Eastern and Central time zones. Thursday and Sunday Night games now kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET, while Monday Night games now kick off at 8:15 p.m. ET.[238]
After two years of decline, television viewership for the NFL slightly rebounded in 2018, with ratings up 3% as a whole through the first ten weeks of the season, despite a major decline (16%) in other programming on the same networks.[271] The season finished with ratings up 5% compared to 2017.[272]
^Austro, Ben; Schultz, Mark (October 25, 2018)."NFL fires down judge Hugo Cruz".Football Zebras.Archived from the original on October 26, 2018. RetrievedOctober 27, 2018.
^Pergament, Alan (October 29, 2018)."Bills fans should root for 'Tess Effect' on Monday Night Football".The Buffalo News.Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. RetrievedOctober 29, 2018.We hired them to be Booger McFarland and Jason Witten. We hired Booger to be a strongly opinionated irreverent, outrageous character who authentically sounds like a guy who grew up in the country of Winnsboro, Louisiana, sounds like a guy who played nose tackle and doesn't really give a ... about what he says or who cares what he is thought of and just be your funny, irreverent, football smart, savvy self. And we hired Jason Witten to be Jason Witten, a guy who just played 15 years in the league at the highest level and future Hall of Famer and not try to role play.
