2005 NFL season

The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.

This article is about the American football season in the United States. For the Gaelic football season in Ireland, see 2005 National Football League (Ireland).

2005 National Football League season
Regular season
DurationSeptember 8, 2005 – January 1, 2006
Playoffs
Start dateJanuary 7, 2006
AFC ChampionsPittsburgh Steelers
NFC ChampionsSeattle Seahawks
Super Bowl XL
DateFebruary 5, 2006
SiteFord Field, Detroit, Michigan
ChampionsPittsburgh Steelers
Pro Bowl
DateFebruary 12, 2006
SiteAloha Stadium

Regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006. The regular season also saw the first ever regular season game played outside the United States, as well as the New Orleans Saints being forced to play elsewhere due to damage to the Superdome and the entire New Orleans area by Hurricane Katrina.

The playoffs began on January 7. The New England Patriots' streak of 10 consecutive playoff wins and chance at a third straight Super Bowl title was ended in the Divisional Playoff Round by the Denver Broncos, and eventually the NFL title was won by the Pittsburgh Steelers, who defeated the Seattle Seahawks 21–10 in Super Bowl XL at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan on February 5 for their fifth Super Bowl win. This also marked the first time that a sixth-seeded team, who by the nature of their seeding would play every game on the road, would advance to and win the Super Bowl.

The season formally concluded with the Pro Bowl, the league's all-star game, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 12.

Draft

The 2005 NFL Draft was held from April 23 to 24, 2005 at New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. With the first pick, the San Francisco 49ers selected quarterback Alex Smith from the University of Utah.

Major rule changes
  • The “horse-collar tackle”, in which a defender grabs inside the back or side of an opponent's shoulder pads and pulls that player down, is prohibited.[1] Named the “Roy Williams Rule” after the Dallas Cowboys safety whose horse collar tackles during the 2004 season caused serious injuries to Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens, Tennessee Titans wide receiver Tyrone Calico, and Baltimore Ravens running back Musa Smith.
  • Peel-back blocks (where an offensive player blocks a defender who is moving back toward the direction of his own end zone) below the waist and from the back are now illegal.
  • Unnecessary roughness would be called for blocks away from the play on punters or kickers, similar to the same protection quarterbacks have after interceptions.
  • When time is stopped by officials prior to the snap for any reason while time is in, the play clock resumes with the same amount of time that remained on it – with a minimum of 10 seconds. Previously, the play-clock would be reset to 25 seconds.
  • During field goal and extra point attempts, the defensive team will be penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct if it calls consecutive timeouts in an attempt to "ice" the kicker. Previously, the second timeout request was only denied by officials, and thus could be used to distract the kickers.
  • Players cannot run, dive into, cut, or throw their bodies against or on an opponent who is out of the play or should not have reasonably anticipated such contact.
  • If the defensive team commits a dead ball foul following the end of the half, the offensive team may choose to extend the period for one more play. Previously, the half automatically ended without the defensive team being penalized.
  • During a punt, if the kicking team illegally touches the ball inside the 5-yard line, the receiving team has the option of either treating the result as a touchback or replaying the down with a 5-yard penalty against the kicking team. Previously, the receiving team's only options were either the latter or taking over possession at the spot of the foul. This change prevents an ineligible player from keeping a kick from entering the end zone and becoming a touchback.
  • If the kicking team commits a penalty, the receiving team can have the option of adding the penalty yardage to the return or taking a penalty and forcing the kicking team to rekick the ball. Previously they could take the latter or decline the penalty.
  • If a team calls for an instant replay challenge after it has used all its challenges or is out of timeouts, it will be assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The penalty will also be assessed if a team calls for a challenge inside of two minutes of either half or overtime, when only the replay assistant can initiate reviews. Previously, the request was only denied by the Referee. This change was made to prevent head coaches from constantly stopping the game for any reason, including to just argue with the Referee.
  • Teams are only able to request an instant replay challenge by tossing their red flag to get the attention of officials. The league decided to do away with the electronic pager/vibrating alert system used by head coaches because practically all of them always used their red flags instead of their pagers anyway. (However, the replay assistant will still use the pagers to notify the officials of a replay request.)

2005 deaths

Regular season

First regular season game played outside the United States

The 2005 season also featured the first ever regular season game played outside the United States when a San Francisco 49ers – Arizona Cardinals game was played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on October 2 (the Cardinals won 31–14). The game drew an NFL regular season record of 103,467 paid fans. It was a home game for the Cardinals, mostly because the team rarely sold out at their then-home field, Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. This season was the last year that the Cardinals played at Sun Devil Stadium; the team then moved to their new Cardinals Stadium in nearby Glendale.

Effect of Hurricane Katrina
The Louisiana Superdome did not host the New Orleans Saints during the 2005 season, due in part to damage seen here.
See also: Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints, Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the Louisiana Superdome, and Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans

Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina to the Louisiana Superdome and the greater New Orleans area, the New Orleans Saints’ entire 2005 home schedule was played at different venues while the Saints set up temporary operations in San Antonio, Texas. The Saints’ first home game scheduled for September 18 against the New York Giants was moved to September 19 at Giants Stadium, where the Giants won 27–10. The impromptu “Monday Night doubleheader” with the game already scheduled (Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys) was a success, and was made a permanent part of the schedule the next year when Monday Night Football made the move to ESPN.

As a result of the unscheduled doubleheader, the NFL designated its second weekend, September 18 and 19, as “Hurricane Relief Weekend’, with fund raising collections at all of the league's games. The Saints’ remaining home games were split between the Alamodome in San Antonio and Louisiana State University's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Being forced to travel to 13 of their 16 games (only 3 of their games were actually played in the same city where they practiced) and practice in substandard facilities and conditions in San Antonio, the Saints finished 3–13, their worst season since 1999.

The last time an NFL franchise had to play at an alternate site was in 2002, when the Chicago Bears played home games in Champaign, Illinois, 120 miles (200 km) away, due to the reconstruction of Soldier Field.[2] The last NFL team to abandon their home city during a season was the hapless 1952 Dallas Texans, whose franchise was returned to the league after drawing several poor crowds at the Cotton Bowl. They played their final “home” game at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio, against the Bears on Thanksgiving; the Texans stunned the Bears, 27–23, in front of a crowd estimated at 3,000, for their only win of the season.[3]

Effect of Hurricane Wilma

The Sunday, October 23 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins at Dolphins Stadium was rescheduled to Friday, October 21 at 7:00 pm EDT to beat Hurricane Wilma's arrival to the Miami, Florida area.[4] The Chiefs won the game, 30–20, and became the first visiting team to travel and play on the same day. Since the game was planned for Sunday afternoon, it is one of the few times in history that the Dolphins wore their road jerseys in a home game played at night.

Final regular season standings
Tiebreakers[5]
  • Cincinnati finished ahead of Pittsburgh in the AFC North based on better division record (5–1 to 4–2).
  • Baltimore finished ahead of Cleveland in the AFC North based on better division record (2–4 to 1–5).
  • Tampa Bay finished ahead of Carolina in the NFC South based on better division record (5–1 to 4–2).
  • Chicago clinched the NFC’s #2 seed instead of Tampa Bay or the N.Y. Giants based on better conference record (10–2 to Buccaneers’ 9–3 and Giants’ 8–4).
  • Tampa Bay clinched the NFC's #3 seed instead of the N.Y. Giants based on better conference record (9–3 to 8–4).

Playoffs
Further information: 2005–06 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.

Playoff seeds
SeedAFCNFC
1Indianapolis Colts (South winner)Seattle Seahawks (West winner)
2Denver Broncos (West winner)Chicago Bears (North winner)
3Cincinnati Bengals (North winner)Tampa Bay Buccaneers (South winner)
4New England Patriots (East winner)New York Giants (East winner)
5Jacksonville Jaguars (wild card)Carolina Panthers (wild card)
6Pittsburgh Steelers (wild card)Washington Redskins (wild card)

    Bracket
    Jan. 8 – Giants Stadium Jan. 15 – Soldier Field
    5 Carolina 23
    5 Carolina 29
    4 NY Giants 0 Jan. 22 – Qwest Field
    2 Chicago 21
    NFC
    Jan. 7 – Raymond James Stadium 5 Carolina 14
    Jan. 14 – Qwest Field
    1 Seattle 34
    6 Washington 17 NFC Championship
    6 Washington 10
    3 Tampa Bay 10 Feb. 5 – Ford Field
    1 Seattle 20
    Wild Card playoffs
    Divisional playoffs
    Jan. 8 – Paul Brown Stadium N1 Seattle 10
    Jan. 15 – RCA Dome
    A6 Pittsburgh 21
    6 Pittsburgh 31 Super Bowl XL
    6 Pittsburgh 21
    3 Cincinnati 17 Jan. 22 – Invesco Field at Mile High
    1 Indianapolis 18
    AFC
    Jan. 7 – Gillette Stadium 6 Pittsburgh 34
    Jan. 14 – Invesco Field at Mile High
    2 Denver 17
    5 Jacksonville 3 AFC Championship
    4 New England 13
    4 New England 28
    2 Denver 27


    Milestones

    The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:

    Record Player/Team Date/Opponent Previous Record Holder[6]
    Longest Return of a Missed Field Goal/
    Longest Play in NFL History    		 Nathan Vasher, Chicago (108 yards) November 13, vs. San Francisco Chris McAlister, Baltimore vs. Denver, September 30, 2002 (107 yards)
    Most Consecutive Games Played, Career Jeff Feagles, New York Giants November 27, at Seattle Jim Marshall, 1960–1979 (282)
    Most Touchdowns, Season Shaun Alexander, Seattle (28) N/A Priest Holmes, Kansas City, 2003 (27)
    Most Field Goals, Season Neil Rackers, Arizona (40) N/A Tied by 2 players (39)
    Most Field Goals by a Team, Season Arizona (43) N/A Tied by 2 teams (39)

    Statistical leaders
    Atlanta at Detroit on Thanksgiving, November 24, 2005

    Team
    Points scoredSeattle Seahawks (452)
    Total yards gainedKansas City Chiefs (6,192)
    Yards rushingAtlanta Falcons (2,546)
    Yards passingArizona Cardinals (4,437)
    Fewest points allowedChicago Bears (202)
    Fewest total yards allowedTampa Bay Buccaneers (4,444)
    Fewest rushing yards allowedSan Diego Chargers (1,349)
    Fewest passing yards allowedGreen Bay Packers (2,680)

    Individual
    ScoringShaun Alexander, Seattle (168 points)
    TouchdownsShaun Alexander, Seattle (28 TDs) *
    Most field goals madeNeil Rackers, Arizona (40 FGs) *
    Rushing yardsShaun Alexander, Seattle (1,880 yards)
    Rushing touchdownsShaun Alexander, Seattle (27 TDs) *
    Passer ratingPeyton Manning, Indianapolis (104.1 rating)
    Passing touchdownsCarson Palmer, Cincinnati (32 TDs)
    Passing yardsTom Brady, New England (4,110 yards)
    ReceptionsLarry Fitzgerald, Arizona and Steve Smith, Carolina (103 catches)
    Receiving yardsSteve Smith, Carolina (1,563 yards)
    Receiving touchdownsSteve Smith, Carolina, and Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis (12 TDs)
    Punt returnsReno Mahe, Philadelphia (12.8 average yards)
    Kickoff returnsTerrence McGee, Buffalo (30.2 average yards)
    InterceptionsTy Law, New York Jets and Deltha O'Neal, Cincinnati (10)
    PuntingBrian Moorman, Buffalo and Shane Lechler, Oakland (45.7 average yards)
    SacksDerrick Burgess, Oakland (16)
    * — Denotes new league record.

    Awards
    Most Valuable PlayerShaun Alexander, Running Back, Seattle
    Coach of the YearLovie Smith, Chicago
    Offensive Player of the YearShaun Alexander, Running Back, Seattle
    Defensive Player of the YearBrian Urlacher, Linebacker, Chicago
    Offensive Rookie of the YearCarnell Williams, Running Back, Tampa Bay
    Defensive Rookie of the YearShawne Merriman, Linebacker, San Diego
    NFL Comeback Player of the YearTedy Bruschi, Linebacker, New England
    Steve Smith, Wide Receiver, Carolina (tie)
    Walter Payton NFL Man of the YearPeyton Manning, Quarterback, Indianapolis
    Super Bowl Most Valuable PlayerHines Ward, Wide Receiver, Pittsburgh

    Team Superlatives
    Pittsburgh Super Bowl winners Ben Roethlisberger and Jerome Bettis with sportscaster Chris Berman at Super Bowl XL media day

    Offense
    • Most points scored: Seattle, 452
    • Fewest points scored: Cleveland, 232
    • Most total offensive yards: Kansas City, 6,192
    • Fewest total offensive yards: San Francisco, 3,587
    • Most total passing yards: Arizona, 4,437
    • Fewest total passing yards: San Francisco, 1,898
    • Most rushing yards: Atlanta, 2,546
    • Fewest rushing yards: Arizona, 1,138

    [7]

    Defense
    • Fewest points allowed: Chicago, 202
    • Most points allowed: Houston, 431
    • Fewest total yards allowed: Tampa Bay, 4,444
    • Most total yards allowed: San Francisco, 6,259
    • Fewest passing yards allowed: Green Bay, 2,680
    • Most passing yards allowed: San Francisco, 4,427
    • Fewest rushing yards allowed: San Diego, 1,349
    • Most rushing yards allowed: Houston, 2,303

    [8]

    All-Pro Team
    Offense
    QuarterbackPeyton Manning, Indianapolis
    Running backShaun Alexander, Seattle
    Tiki Barber, N.Y. Giants
    FullbackMack Strong, Seattle
    Wide receiverSteve Smith, Carolina
    Chad Johnson, Cincinnati
    Tight endAntonio Gates, San Diego
    Offensive tackleWalter Jones, Seattle
    Willie Anderson, Cincinnati
    Offensive guardSteve Hutchinson, Seattle
    Brian Waters, Kansas City
    Alan Faneca, Pittsburgh
    CenterJeff Saturday, Indianapolis
    Defense
    Defensive endDwight Freeney, Indianapolis
    Osi Umenyiora, N.Y. Giants
    Defensive tackleJamal Williams, San Diego
    Richard Seymour, New England
    Outside linebackerLance Briggs, Chicago
    Derrick Brooks, Tampa Bay
    Inside linebackerBrian Urlacher, Chicago
    Al Wilson, Denver
    CornerbackChamp Bailey, Denver
    Ronde Barber, Tampa Bay
    SafetyBob Sanders, Indianapolis
    Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh
    Special teams
    KickerNeil Rackers, Arizona
    PunterBrian Moorman, Buffalo
    Kick returnerJerome Mathis, Houston

    Coaching changes

    Stadiums

    The New Orleans Saints played in Baton Rouge’s Tiger Stadium for four games and in San Antonio's Alamodome for three games due to Louisiana Superdome damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Tiger Stadium’s goalposts did not conform to NFL standards due to (a) two supports instead of one and (b) white paint instead of gold. The NFL granted the Saints dispensation to keep LSU's goalposts in place for their games.

    In addition, with the RCA and Edward Jones domes both removing their AstroTurf surfaces in favor of the newer next-generation FieldTurf surface, the old first-generation AstroTurf surface ceased to be used in the NFL.

    Pro Player Stadium was renamed Dolphins Stadium. Pro Player's parent Fruit of the Loom had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection back in 1999, and the Pro Player label was discontinued, but that stadium name was kept for several more years.

    New uniforms
    Defending champions the New England Patriots at the eventual Super Bowl winners the Pittsburgh Steelers, September 25
    • The Arizona Cardinals unveiled a new uniform design featuring trim lines to the outside shoulders, sleeves, and sides of the jerseys and pants. The cardinal helmet logo was also redesigned to be more aggressive.
    • The Buffalo Bills added a third alternative uniform: their 1960s throwbacks with the white helmets and red standing bison logo.
    • The Detroit Lions added black third alternate uniforms.
    • The New York Giants changed their white jerseys to mimic the team's design used in the 1950s. When they last made major changes in 2000, the Giants only modified their blue jerseys to the 1950s look while keeping many of the 1980s elements on their white jerseys, such as the 1980s blue collars instead of the 1950s white collars and red shoulder stripe design.
    • The St. Louis Rams began wearing navy pants with their white jerseys for selected games.

    Television

    This marked the final season that ABC held the rights to televise Monday Night Football after thirty-six years of airing the series. When the TV contracts were renewed near the end of the season, the rights to broadcast Monday Night Football were awarded to Disney-owned corporate sibling ESPN. NBC bought the right to televise Sunday Night Football, marking the first time that the network broadcast NFL games since Super Bowl XXXII in 1998.[9] Meanwhile, CBS and Fox renewed their television contracts to the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference packages, respectively.[10]

    Footnotes
    1. "NFL approves ban on horse-collar tackle". NFL.com. Archived from the original on May 27, 2005. Retrieved August 18, 2005.
    2. "NFL History 2001 —". NFL.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2005. Retrieved October 2, 2005.
    3. Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. ISBN 0-06-270174-6.
    4. "Chiefs-Dolphins game moved to Oct. 21". NFL.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2005. Retrieved October 21, 2005.
    5. 2006 NFL Record and Fact Book. p. 421. ISBN 1-933405-32-5.
    6. "Records". 2005 NFL Record and Fact Book. NFL. 2005. ISBN 1-932994-36-X.
    7. Pro-Football-Reference.com: 2005 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics
    8. Pro-Football-Reference.com: 2005 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics
    9. "NFL announces new prime-time TV packages". NFL.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2005. Retrieved December 13, 2005.
    10. "NFL to remain on broadcast TV". NFL.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2005. Retrieved December 13, 2005.

    References
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