1998 NFL season

Infobox NFL
year = 1998
NFLchampion = Denver Broncos
regular_season = September 6, 1998 - December 28, 1998
playoffs_start = January 2, 1998
AFCchampion = Denver Broncos
NFCchampion = Atlanta Falcons
sb_name = XXXIII
sb_date = January 31, 1999
sb_site = Pro Player Stadium, Miami, Florida
pb_date = February 7, 1999

The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.

The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium (Adelphia Coliseum) in Nashville.

This was the first season that CBS held the rights to televise American Football Conference games, taking over the package from NBC. Meanwhile, this was the first time that ESPN broadcasted "all" of the Sunday night games throughout the season.

The season ended with Super Bowl XXXIII when the Denver Broncos defeated the Atlanta Falcons.

Major rule changes

* Tinted visors on players' facemasks are banned except for medical need.
* A defensive player can no longer flinch before the snap in an attempt to draw movement from an offensive linemen.
* A team will be penalized immediately for having 12 players in a huddle even if the 12th player goes straight to the sideline as the huddle breaks.
* The coin toss will be called before the coin itself is tossed, not while the coin is in the air.
** This is a mid-season change resulting from a controversy during the Detroit Lions-Pittsburgh Steelers game on Thanksgiving Day, where conflicting calls were heard during the toss. The toss was made prior to a Sudden Death overtime period. The official making the call judged Detroit the winner while Pittsburgh argued they made the right call. If the Steelers were to be believed, the game could have had a different outcome.

Final regular season standings

"W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against"

"Clinched playoff seeds are marked in parentheses and shaded in green"

Individual

Awards

References

* "NFL Record and Fact Book" (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
* [http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1991-2000 NFL History 1991-2000] (Last accessed October 17, 2005)
* [http://nflhistory.net/linescores/pdf/1998.pdf 1998 season in details]
* "Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League" (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
* [http://www.steelersfever.com/nfl_history_of_rules.html Steelers Fever - History of NFL Rules] (Last accessed October 17, 2005)