1988 NFL season

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.

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
← 1987 NFL seasons 1989 →

Colts

Patriots

Bills

Dolphins

Jets

Bengals

Browns

Oilers

Steelers

Broncos

Chiefs

Raiders

Chargers

Seahawks

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AFC teams: West, Central, East

Cowboys

Giants

Eagles

Cardinals

Redskins

Bears

Lions

Packers

Vikings

Buccaneers

Falcons

Rams

Saints

49ers

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NFC teams: West, Central, East

Quarterback Warren Moon (left) and running back Mike Rozier (right) of the Houston Oilers were among the league's top passers and rushers, respectively.

1988 marked the final seasons for legendary head coaches Tom Landry of Dallas and Bill Walsh of San Francisco as well as the final full year for commissioner Pete Rozelle.

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.

Transactions

Retirements

• January 19, 1988: The Pittsburgh Steelers announce that Donnie Shell and John Stallworth have retired from professional football.^[1]

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 Auburn University.

Officiating changes

Johnny Grier became the first African-American in NFL history to be promoted to referee.^[2] Grier replaced long time referee Bob Frederic, who retired in the offseason. Grier was the field judge in the previous season's Super Bowl XXII, which was the same game that Doug Williams of the Washington Redskins became the first African-American quarterback to win the Super Bowl.

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 was changed from five yards and an automatic first down to just five yards.

1988 deaths

• Alan Ameche: Having played for the Baltimore Colts in the 1950s, he died of a heart attack on August 8, 1988 at age 55 at Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, a few days after undergoing another heart bypass surgery.^[3][4]
• Steve Chomyszak
• David Croudip: The Atlanta Falcons cornerback died on October 10 after a cocaine overdose.^[5]
• Hall Haynes
• Clarke Hinkle
• Joe Don Looney
• Nick Pietrosante
• Art Rooney: The Pittsburgh Steelers founding owner died on August 25 following complications from a stroke.^[6]
• Joey Sternaman

Preseason

American Bowl

A series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States, the only American Bowl game in 1988 was held at London's Wembley Stadium.

Date	Winning Team	Score	Losing Team	Score	Stadium	City
July 31, 1988	Miami Dolphins	27	San Francisco 49ers	21	Wembley Stadium	London

Regular season

Scheduling formula

Inter-conference AFC East vs NFC Central AFC Central vs NFC East AFC West vs NFC West

Highlights of the 1988 season included:

• Thanksgiving: Two games were played on Thursday, November 24, featuring Minnesota at Detroit and Houston at Dallas, with Minnesota and Houston winning.

Final standings

AFC East view talk edit 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 view talk edit 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 view talk edit 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 view talk edit 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 view talk edit 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 view talk edit 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).
• Rams earned the #2 NFC Wild Card based on better conference record (8–4, .667) than the N.Y. Giants (9–5, .642) and New Orleans (6–6, .500).

Playoffs

 

A ticket for the AFC Championship Game between the Bengals and the Bills.

Main article: 1988–89 NFL playoffs

Note: The Cincinnati Bengals (the AFC 1 seed) did not play the Houston Oilers (the 5 seed), nor did the Chicago Bears (the NFC 1 seed) play the Minnesota Vikings (the 4 seed), in the Divisional playoff round because those teams were in the same division.

						Jan 1 – Rich Stadium
						5	Houston	10
	Dec 24 – Cleveland Stadium										Jan 8 – Riverfront Stadium
						2*	Buffalo	17
						AFC
	5	Houston	24								2	Buffalo	10
						Dec 31 – Riverfront Stadium
	4	Cleveland	23								1	Cincinnati	21
											AFC Championship
						3	Seattle	13
																Jan 22 – Joe Robbie Stadium
						1*	Cincinnati	21
						Divisional playoffs
	Wild Card playoffs															A1	Cincinnati	16
						Jan 1 – Candlestick Park
																N2	San Francisco	20
																Super Bowl XXIII
						4	Minnesota	9
	Dec 26 – Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome										Jan 8 – Soldier Field
						2*	San Francisco	34
						NFC
	5	LA Rams	17								2	San Francisco	28
						Dec 31 – Soldier Field
	4	Minnesota	28								1	Chicago	3
											NFC Championship
						3	Philadelphia	12
						1*	Chicago	20

This box:

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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

Coaching changes

Offseason

• Green Bay Packers: Forrest Gregg left to join the SMU Mustangs. Lindy Infante was named as Gregg's replacement.
• Los Angeles Raiders: Tom Flores stepped down to move to the team's front office. Mike Shanahan was named as the team's new head coach.

In-season

• Detroit Lions: Darryl Rogers was fired after 11 games and replaced by defensive coordinator Wayne Fontes.

Stadium changes

The relocated Phoenix Cardinals moved from Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona

Uniform changes

• 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.
• The Green Bay Packers removed the elliptical green circles with the player's number from the hip area of the pants, an addition made in 1984 by former coach Forrest Gregg.
• The New England Patriots dropped the red road pants they had worn since 1984. The red pants returned in 1990.
• The San Diego Chargers switched to a darker shade of blue on their jerseys, from gold to blue face masks, and from gold to white lightning bolts. The helmets remained unchanged until a complete redesign in 2007.

Television

This was the second year under the league's three-year broadcast contracts with ABC, CBS, NBC, and ESPN to televise Monday Night Football, the NFC package, the AFC package, and Sunday Night Football, respectively. Joe Theismann took over as lead color commentator in ESPN's booth, replacing Roy Firestone, while the weekly "guest color commentator" spot was discontinued. Meanwhile, Dick Butkus joined The NFL Today as analyst, alongside host Brent Musburger and Irv Cross.^[7]

A number of NBC's regular NFL commentators were temporarily replaced while they called the network's coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea from September 17 to October 2. Among them, Len Berman returned to the NFL on NBC pregame show to fill-in for host Bob Costas, while Curt Gowdy, Ray Scott, Chuck Thompson, Marty Glickman, Merle Harmon, and Al DeRogatis filled-in on the network's various broadcast crews.

References

1. "Sports People; 2 Steelers Retire". New York Times. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
2. "African-Americans in Pro Football". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
3. "Alan Ameche dies". The Hour. (Norwalk, Connecticut). Associated Press. August 9, 1988. p. 38.
4. "Alan Ameche dies of heart problems". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). news services. August 9, 1988. p. 13.
5. "Falcon David Croudip Dies; Cocaine Cocktail Suspected". Los Angeles Times. October 10, 1988 – via Newspapers.com.
6. 1988 NY Times obituary for Art Rooney
7. Brulia, Tim. "A CHRONOLOGY OF PRO FOOTBALL ON TELEVISION: Part 3" (PDF). Pro Football Researchers.

• 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)