This article is about the American football season in the United States. For the Gaelic football season in Ireland, see 2003 National Football League (Ireland).
Regular-season play was held from September 4, 2003, to December 28, 2003. Due to damage caused by the Cedar Fire, Qualcomm Stadium was used as an emergency shelter, and thus the Miami–San Diego regular-season match on October 27 was instead played at Sun Devil Stadium, the home field of the Arizona Cardinals. This was the first season in NFL history where every team won at least 4 games.
Dick Hantak and Bob McElwee retired in the 2003 off-season. Hantak joined the league as a back judge (the position title was changed to field judge in 1998) in 1978, and was assigned Super Bowl XVII in that position. He was promoted to referee in 1986, working Super Bowl XXVII. McElwee joined the NFL in 1976 as a line judge, and became a referee in 1980. He was the referee for three Super Bowls: XXII, XXVIII, and XXXIV. Walt Anderson and Pete Morelli were promoted to referee to replace Hantak and McElwee.
Major rule changes
"NFL Kickoff" event on September 4, 2003: Joe Theismann (L) and Joe Namath (R) at a military tribute
If an onside kick inside the final five minutes of the game does not go 10 yards, goes out of bounds, or is touched illegally, the receiving team will have the option of accepting the penalty and getting the ball immediately. Previously, the kicking team was penalized, but had another chance to kick again from five yards back.
League officials encouraged networks to immediately cut to a commercial break if an instant replay challenge review was initiated. Previously networks were generally not permitted to utilize those game stoppages for their prescribed commercial periods.[1]
David Woodley: Having played for the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII, Woodley died from complications due to kidney and liver failure on May 4, 2003.[3] Twenty years after Super Bowl XVII, he became the youngest Super Bowl starting quarterback to die, until the death of Super Bowl XXXIV starter Steve McNair at age 36 in 2009. Woodley was buried at St. Joseph Cemetery in Shreveport, alongside his parents.
Within each conference, the four division winners and the two wild card teams (the top two non-division winners with the best overall regular season records) qualified for the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1 through 4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card teams are seeded 5 and 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 the wild-card playoffs or wild-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 then receive a bye in the first round. In the second round, the divisional 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 then meet in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed. Although the Super Bowl, the fourth and final round of the playoffs, is played at a neutral site, the designated home team is based on an annual rotation by conference.[5]
San Francisco 49ers: After the naming rights deal with 3Com expired, the stadium was officially renamed San Francisco Stadium at Candlestick Point instead of its original Candlestick Park name
In addition new turf was installed for the following teams:
The Atlanta Falcons unveiled a new uniform design featuring red trim down the sides of both the jerseys and pants. The pants were switched from gray to white, and black pants were also introduced for selected games. Black remained the primary jersey color while a red alternate jersey was also introduced. The falcons helmet logo was redesigned to be more aggressive and closely resemble a capital "F".
The Cincinnati Bengals added new alternate black pants with their black jerseys for select home games.
The New Orleans Saints wore gold pants full time, discontinuing using black pants with their white jerseys.
The Philadelphia Eagles added silver trim to the jersey numbers on uniforms, and black third alternate uniforms.
The San Diego Chargers wore white pants instead of blue with their white jerseys. They wore blue pants with their blue jerseys for the game vs. the Dolphins which had to be moved from San Diego to Arizona due to wildfires in southern California.
The Tennessee Titans added powder blue third alternate uniforms.
Television
This was the sixth year under the league's eight-year broadcast contracts with ABC, CBS, Fox, and ESPN to televise Monday Night Football, the AFC package, the NFC package, and Sunday Night Football, respectively.
At Fox, Tony Siragusa joined Dick Stockton and Daryl Johnston on the network's #2 broadcast team in a sideline analyst role instead of the traditional sideline reporter.
Notes
^Gaughan, Mark (March 27, 2003). "Execs Plan Only Minor Procedures". The Buffalo News. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
^. Archived from the original on December 18, 2019. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
^Bikoff, Ken (May 7, 2003). . Pro Football Weekly. Archived from the original on July 2, 2005. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
^Martin, Susan (January 4, 2003). "Legendary Gillman dies at 91". Buffalo News. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
^. Yahoo! Sports. December 31, 2006. Archived from the original on January 10, 2010.
NFL History 2001– (Last accessed October 17, 2005)
Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN0-06-270174-6)
External links
Football Outsiders 2003 Team Efficiency Ratings
Pro Football Reference.com – 2003
January 31, 2023
2003, season, this, article, about, american, football, season, united, states, gaelic, football, season, ireland, 2003, national, football, league, ireland, 84th, regular, season, national, football, league, 2003, national, football, league, seasonregular, se. This article is about the American football season in the United States For the Gaelic football season in Ireland see 2003 National Football League Ireland The 2003 NFL season was the 84th regular season of the National Football League NFL 2003 National Football League seasonRegular seasonDurationSeptember 4 December 28 2003PlayoffsStart dateJanuary 3 2004AFC ChampionsNew England PatriotsNFC ChampionsCarolina PanthersSuper Bowl XXXVIIIDateFebruary 1 2004SiteReliant Stadium Houston TexasChampionsNew England PatriotsPro BowlDateFebruary 8 2004SiteAloha Stadium 2002 NFL seasons 2004 PatriotsBillsDolphinsJetsBengalsRavensSteelersBrownsColtsTitansJaguarsTexansBroncosChiefsRaidersChargersclass notpageimage AFC teams West North South East CowboysGiantsEaglesRedskinsBearsLionsPackersVikingsFalconsPanthersSaintsBuccaneersCardinalsRamsSeahawks49ersclass notpageimage NFC teams West North South East Regular season play was held from September 4 2003 to December 28 2003 Due to damage caused by the Cedar Fire Qualcomm Stadium was used as an emergency shelter and thus the Miami San Diego regular season match on October 27 was instead played at Sun Devil Stadium the home field of the Arizona Cardinals This was the first season in NFL history where every team won at least 4 games The playoffs began on January 3 2004 The NFL title was won by the Patriots when they defeated the Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII at Reliant Stadium in Houston Texas on February 1 This was the last season until the 2016 NFL season where neither of the previous Super Bowl participants made the playoffs Contents 1 Draft 2 Referee changes 3 Major rule changes 4 2003 deaths 4 1 Pro Football Hall of Fame 5 Final regular season standings 5 1 Tiebreakers 6 Playoffs 7 Bracket 8 Milestones 9 Statistical leaders 9 1 Team 9 2 Individual 10 Awards 11 Coaching changes 12 Stadium changes 13 New uniforms 14 Television 15 Notes 16 References 17 External linksDraft EditThe 2003 NFL Draft was held from April 26 to 27 2003 at New York City s Theater at Madison Square Garden With the first pick the Cincinnati Bengals selected quarterback Carson Palmer from the University of Southern California Referee changes EditDick Hantak and Bob McElwee retired in the 2003 off season Hantak joined the league as a back judge the position title was changed to field judge in 1998 in 1978 and was assigned Super Bowl XVII in that position He was promoted to referee in 1986 working Super Bowl XXVII McElwee joined the NFL in 1976 as a line judge and became a referee in 1980 He was the referee for three Super Bowls XXII XXVIII and XXXIV Walt Anderson and Pete Morelli were promoted to referee to replace Hantak and McElwee Major rule changes Edit NFL Kickoff event on September 4 2003 Joe Theismann L and Joe Namath R at a military tribute If an onside kick inside the final five minutes of the game does not go 10 yards goes out of bounds or is touched illegally the receiving team will have the option of accepting the penalty and getting the ball immediately Previously the kicking team was penalized but had another chance to kick again from five yards back League officials encouraged networks to immediately cut to a commercial break if an instant replay challenge review was initiated Previously networks were generally not permitted to utilize those game stoppages for their prescribed commercial periods 1 2003 deaths EditJohn Butler A former General Manager with the Buffalo Bills whose team qualified for Super Bowl XXVIII and the San Diego Chargers 2 he died of lymphoma on April 11 2003 David Woodley Having played for the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII Woodley died from complications due to kidney and liver failure on May 4 2003 3 Twenty years after Super Bowl XVII he became the youngest Super Bowl starting quarterback to die until the death of Super Bowl XXXIV starter Steve McNair at age 36 in 2009 Woodley was buried at St Joseph Cemetery in Shreveport alongside his parents Pro Football Hall of Fame Edit Sid Gillman A former head coach and general manager with the San Diego Chargers Gillman died in his sleep on January 3 2003 at the age of 91 4 He was interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City California Final regular season standings EditAFC Eastviewtalkedit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK 1 New England Patriots 14 2 0 875 5 1 11 1 348 238 W12Miami Dolphins 10 6 0 625 4 2 7 5 311 261 W2Buffalo Bills 6 10 0 375 2 4 4 8 243 279 L3New York Jets 6 10 0 375 1 5 6 6 283 299 L2AFC Northviewtalkedit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK 4 Baltimore Ravens 10 6 0 625 4 2 7 5 391 281 W2Cincinnati Bengals 8 8 0 500 3 3 6 6 346 384 L2Pittsburgh Steelers 6 10 0 375 3 3 5 7 300 327 L1Cleveland Browns 5 11 0 313 2 4 3 9 254 322 W1AFC Southviewtalkedit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK 3 Indianapolis Colts 12 4 0 750 5 1 9 3 447 336 W1 5 Tennessee Titans 12 4 0 750 4 2 8 4 435 324 W3Jacksonville Jaguars 5 11 0 313 2 4 3 9 276 331 L1Houston Texans 5 11 0 313 1 5 3 9 255 380 L4AFC Westviewtalkedit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK 2 Kansas City Chiefs 13 3 0 813 5 1 10 2 484 332 W1 6 Denver Broncos 10 6 0 625 5 1 9 3 381 301 L1Oakland Raiders 4 12 0 250 1 5 3 9 270 379 L2San Diego Chargers 4 12 0 250 1 5 2 10 313 441 W1 NFC Eastviewtalkedit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK 1 Philadelphia Eagles 12 4 0 750 5 1 9 3 374 287 W1 6 Dallas Cowboys 10 6 0 625 5 1 8 4 289 260 L1Washington Redskins 5 11 0 313 1 5 3 9 287 372 L3New York Giants 4 12 0 250 1 5 3 9 243 387 L8NFC Northviewtalkedit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK 4 Green Bay Packers 10 6 0 625 4 2 7 5 442 307 W4Minnesota Vikings 9 7 0 563 4 2 7 5 416 353 L1Chicago Bears 7 9 0 438 2 4 4 8 283 346 L1Detroit Lions 5 11 0 313 2 4 4 8 270 379 W1NFC Southviewtalkedit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK 3 Carolina Panthers 11 5 0 688 5 1 9 3 325 304 W3New Orleans Saints 8 8 0 500 3 3 7 5 340 326 W1Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7 9 0 438 2 4 6 6 301 264 L2Atlanta Falcons 5 11 0 313 2 4 4 8 299 422 W2NFC Westviewtalkedit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK 2 St Louis Rams 12 4 0 750 4 2 8 4 447 328 L1 5 Seattle Seahawks 10 6 0 625 5 1 8 4 404 327 W2San Francisco 49ers 7 9 0 438 2 4 6 6 384 337 L1Arizona Cardinals 4 12 0 250 1 5 3 9 225 452 W1 Tiebreakers Edit Indianapolis finished ahead of Tennessee in the AFC South based on head to head sweep 2 0 Denver clinched the AFC 6 seed instead of Miami based on better conference record 9 3 to 7 5 Buffalo finished ahead of N Y Jets in the AFC East based on better division record 2 4 to 1 5 Jacksonville finished ahead of Houston in the AFC South based on better division record 2 4 to 1 5 Oakland finished ahead of San Diego in the AFC West based on better conference record 3 9 to 2 10 Philadelphia clinched the NFC 1 seed instead of St Louis based on better conference record 9 3 to 8 4 Seattle clinched the NFC 5 seed instead of Dallas based on strength of victory 406 to 388 Playoffs EditMain article 2003 04 NFL playoffs Within each conference the four division winners and the two wild card teams the top two non division winners with the best overall regular season records qualified for the playoffs The four division winners are seeded 1 through 4 based on their overall won lost tied record and the wild card teams are seeded 5 and 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 the wild card playoffs or wild 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 then receive a bye in the first round In the second round the divisional 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 then meet in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games hosted by the higher seed Although the Super Bowl the fourth and final round of the playoffs is played at a neutral site the designated home team is based on an annual rotation by conference 5 Playoff seedsSeed AFC NFC1 New England Patriots East winner Philadelphia Eagles East winner 2 Kansas City Chiefs West winner St Louis Rams West winner 3 Indianapolis Colts South winner Carolina Panthers South winner 4 Baltimore Ravens North winner Green Bay Packers North winner 5 Tennessee Titans wild card Seattle Seahawks wild card 6 Denver Broncos wild card Dallas Cowboys wild card Bracket EditJan 3 Bank of America Stadium Jan 10 Edward Jones Dome6 Dallas 103 Carolina 29 3 Carolina 29 Jan 18 Lincoln Financial Field2 St Louis 23NFCJan 4 Lambeau Field 3 Carolina 14Jan 11 Lincoln Financial Field1 Philadelphia 35 Seattle 27 NFC Championship4 Green Bay 174 Green Bay 33 Feb 1 Reliant Stadium1 Philadelphia 20 Wild Card playoffsDivisional playoffsJan 4 RCA Dome N3 Carolina 29Jan 11 Arrowhead StadiumA1 New England 326 Denver 10 Super Bowl XXXVIII3 Indianapolis 383 Indianapolis 41 Jan 18 Gillette Stadium2 Kansas City 31AFCJan 3 M amp T Bank Stadium 3 Indianapolis 14Jan 10 Gillette Stadium1 New England 245 Tennessee 20 AFC Championship5 Tennessee 144 Baltimore 171 New England 17 Indicates overtime victory Indicates double overtime victoryThis box viewtalkeditMilestones EditThe following teams and players set all time NFL records during the season Record Player or team Date opponent Previous record holder 6 Most touchdowns season Priest Holmes Kansas City 27 December 28 vs Chicago Marshall Faulk St Louis 2000 26 Most rushing yards gained game Jamal Lewis Baltimore 295 September 14 vs Cleveland Corey Dillon Cincinnati vs Denver October 22 2000 278 Most consecutive field goals Mike Vanderjagt Indianapolis December 28 at Houston Gary Anderson 1997 98 40 Most consecutive road games lost Detroit Lions December 21 vs Carolina Houston Oilers 1981 84 23 Most consecutive games with a sack Tampa Bay Buccaneers 69 November 9 2003 Dallas Cowboys 68 Statistical leaders EditTeam Edit Points scored Kansas City Chiefs 484 Total yards gained Minnesota Vikings 6 294 Yards rushing Baltimore Ravens 2 674 Yards passing Indianapolis Colts 4 179 Fewest points allowed New England Patriots 238 Fewest total yards allowed Dallas Cowboys 4 056 Fewest rushing yards allowed Tennessee Titans 1 295 Fewest passing yards allowed Dallas Cowboys 2 631 Individual Edit Scoring Jeff Wilkins St Louis 163 points Touchdowns Priest Holmes Kansas City 27 TDs Most field goals made Jeff Wilkins St Louis 39 FGs Rushing Jamal Lewis Baltimore 2 066 yards Passing Peyton Manning Indianapolis 4 267 yards Passing touchdowns Brett Favre Green Bay 32 TDs Pass receiving Torry Holt St Louis 117 catches Pass receiving yards Torry Holt St Louis 1 696 Pass receiving touchdowns Randy Moss Minnesota 17 touchdowns Punt returns Dante Hall Kansas City 16 3 average yards Kickoff returns Jerry Azumah Chicago 29 0 average yards Interceptions Brian Russell Minnesota and Tony Parrish San Francisco 9 Punting Shane Lechler Oakland 46 9 average yards Sacks Michael Strahan New York Giants 18 5 Awards EditMost Valuable Player Peyton Manning quarterback Indianapolis and Steve McNair quarterback Tennessee Titans As of 2022 this is the most recent season without a unanimous MVP Coach of the Year Bill Belichick New EnglandOffensive Player of the Year Jamal Lewis running back BaltimoreDefensive Player of the Year Ray Lewis linebacker BaltimoreOffensive Rookie of the Year Anquan Boldin wide receiver ArizonaDefensive Rookie of the Year Terrell Suggs linebacker BaltimoreNFL Comeback Player of the Year Jon Kitna quarterback CincinnatiWalter Payton NFL Man of the Year Will Shields guard KansasSuper Bowl Most Valuable Player Tom Brady quarterback New EnglandCoaching changes EditCincinnati Bengals Marvin Lewis replaced Dick LeBeau who was fired following the 2002 season Dallas Cowboys Bill Parcells replaced Dave Campo who was fired following the 2002 season Detroit Lions Steve Mariucci replaced Marty Mornhinweg who was fired following the 2002 season Jacksonville Jaguars Jack Del Rio replaced Tom Coughlin who was fired following the 2002 season San Francisco 49ers Dennis Erickson replaced Steve Mariucci who was fired following the 2002 season Stadium changes Edit Tennessee at Green Bay in the preseason both teams made the playoffs Baltimore Ravens Ravens Stadium was renamed M amp T Bank Stadium after M amp T Bank acquired the naming rights Chicago Bears The Bears moved back to a newly renovated Soldier Field after temporarily playing in 2002 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign Illinois New England Patriots CMGI Field was renamed Gillette Stadium after Gillette acquires the naming rights Philadelphia Eagles The Eagles moved from Veterans Stadium to Lincoln Financial Field with Lincoln Financial Group acquiring the naming rights San Francisco 49ers After the naming rights deal with 3Com expired the stadium was officially renamed San Francisco Stadium at Candlestick Point instead of its original Candlestick Park nameIn addition new turf was installed for the following teams Atlanta Falcons New FieldTurf surface Buffalo Bills New AstroPlay home turf New Orleans Saints New AstroPlay home turf by mid season New York Giants New York Jets New FieldTurf surface replacing natural grass New uniforms EditThe Atlanta Falcons unveiled a new uniform design featuring red trim down the sides of both the jerseys and pants The pants were switched from gray to white and black pants were also introduced for selected games Black remained the primary jersey color while a red alternate jersey was also introduced The falcons helmet logo was redesigned to be more aggressive and closely resemble a capital F The Cincinnati Bengals added new alternate black pants with their black jerseys for select home games The Cleveland Browns added new alternate orange pants last worn during the 1970s early 1980s Kardiac Kids era of coach Sam Rutigliano The Denver Broncos introduced blue pants with orange streaks to match with their blue jerseys The Detroit Lions introduced a new design that added black trim to their logo and jerseys and changed their face masks from blue to black The Houston Texans added red third alternate uniforms The Miami Dolphins added orange third alternate uniforms The New England Patriots added silver third alternate uniforms The New Orleans Saints wore gold pants full time discontinuing using black pants with their white jerseys The Philadelphia Eagles added silver trim to the jersey numbers on uniforms and black third alternate uniforms The San Diego Chargers wore white pants instead of blue with their white jerseys They wore blue pants with their blue jerseys for the game vs the Dolphins which had to be moved from San Diego to Arizona due to wildfires in southern California The Tennessee Titans added powder blue third alternate uniforms Television EditThis was the sixth year under the league s eight year broadcast contracts with ABC CBS Fox and ESPN to televise Monday Night Football the AFC package the NFC package and Sunday Night Football respectively At Fox Tony Siragusa joined Dick Stockton and Daryl Johnston on the network s 2 broadcast team in a sideline analyst role instead of the traditional sideline reporter Notes Edit Gaughan Mark March 27 2003 Execs Plan Only Minor Procedures The Buffalo News Retrieved March 24 2017 John Butler 1946 2003 Archived from the original on December 18 2019 Retrieved February 1 2021 Bikoff Ken May 7 2003 Woodley s death sad but powerful Pro Football Weekly Archived from the original on July 2 2005 Retrieved September 1 2007 Martin Susan January 4 2003 Legendary Gillman dies at 91 Buffalo News Retrieved January 15 2021 NFL Playoff Procedures and Tiebreakers Yahoo Sports December 31 2006 Archived from the original on January 10 2010 Records 2005 NFL Record and Fact Book NFL 2005 ISBN 978 1 932994 36 0 References EditNFL Record and Fact Book ISBN 1 932994 36 X NFL History 2001 Last accessed October 17 2005 Total Football The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League ISBN 0 06 270174 6 External links EditFootball Outsiders 2003 Team Efficiency Ratings Pro Football Reference com 2003 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2003 NFL season amp oldid 1123241222, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
