1986 NFL season

Infobox NFL
year = 1986
NFLchampion = New York Giants
regular_season = September 7 1986-December 22 1986
playoffs_start = December 28 1986
AFCchampion = Denver Broncos
NFCchampion = New York Giants
sb_name = XXI
sb_date = January 25 1987
sb_site = Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
pb_date = February 1 1987

The 1986 NFL season was the 67th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXI when the New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos.

Major rule changes

*Players are prohibited from wearing apparel, equipment, or other items that carry commercial names, names of organizations, or any type of personal message unless they get specific permission from the league.
*If the offensive team commits a dead ball foul during the last two minutes of a half, the clock will start at the snap.
*If an offensive player fumbles the ball and it goes forward and out of bounds, the ball is returned to that team at the spot of the fumble.
*If an offensive player fumbles the ball in the field of play and it goes out of bounds in the opponent's end zone, the ball is given to the defensive team at the spot of the fumble (this rule would be changed in 1991 to result in a touchback).
*A limited system of instant replay was adopted to aid officiating. A replay official in a booth would decide what plays to review and make the final ruling, regardless of the current score or the amount of time left in the game. The replay official communicated with the game officials via radio transmitters. However, there was no time limit on how long the replay official could review a play and this led to annoyingly long game delays (this was a major reason why the system was eventually repealed in 1992 and not brought back until time limits for replays were established).

Final standings

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

"Green-shaded teams clinched playoff berths"
"x - clinched wild card berth, y - clinched division title"

References

* "NFL Record and Fact Book" (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
* [http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1981-1990 NFL History 1981-1990] (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
* [http://nflhistory.net/linescores/pdf/1986.pdf 1986 season in details]
* "Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League" (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)