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2003 NFL season

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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).

2003 NFL season
Regular season
DurationSeptember 4 – December 28, 2003
Playoffs
Start dateJanuary 3, 2004
AFC ChampionsNew England Patriots
NFC ChampionsCarolina Panthers
Super Bowl XXXVIII
DateFebruary 1, 2004
SiteReliant Stadium, Houston, Texas
ChampionsNew England Patriots
Pro Bowl
DateFebruary 8, 2004
SiteAloha Stadium
2003 NFL season is located in the United States
Patriots
Patriots
Bills
Bills
Dolphins
Dolphins
Jets
Jets
Bengals
Bengals
Ravens
Ravens
Steelers
Steelers
Browns
Browns
Colts
Colts
Titans
Titans
Jaguars
Jaguars
Texans
Texans
Broncos
Broncos
Chiefs
Chiefs
Raiders
Raiders
Chargers
Chargers
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AFC teams: West, North, South, East
2003 NFL season is located in the United States
Cowboys
Cowboys
Giants
Giants
Eagles
Eagles
Redskins
Redskins
Bears
Bears
Lions
Lions
Packers
Packers
Vikings
Vikings
Falcons
Falcons
Panthers
Panthers
Saints
Saints
Buccaneers
Buccaneers
Cardinals
Cardinals
Rams
Rams
Seahawks
Seahawks
49ers
49ers
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NFC teams: West, North, South, East

The 2003 NFL season was the 84th regular season of the National Football League (NFL).

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 Dolphins–San Diego Chargers 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 New England Patriots when they defeated the Carolina Panthers, in Super Bowl XXXVIII at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 1.

Draft

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The 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

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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

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"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

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Pro Football Hall of Fame

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Final regular season standings

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Conference standings

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Playoffs

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Main article: 2003–04 NFL playoffs

Within each conference, the four division winners and the top two non-division winners with the best overall regular season records) qualified for the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1–4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card teams are seeded 5–6. 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 received a first-round bye. 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 met in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed. Although the Super Bowl, the championship round of the playoffs, is played at a neutral site, the designated home team is based on an annual rotation by conference.[6]

Playoff seeds
Seed AFC NFC
1 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

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Jan 3 – Bank of America Stadium Jan 10 – Edward Jones Dome
6 Dallas 10
3 Carolina 29**
3 Carolina 29 Jan 18 – Lincoln Financial Field
2 St. Louis 23
NFC
Jan 4 – Lambeau Field 3 Carolina 14
Jan 11 – Lincoln Financial Field
1 Philadelphia 3
5 Seattle 27 NFC Championship
4 Green Bay 17
4 Green Bay 33* Feb 1 – Reliant Stadium
1 Philadelphia 20*
Wild Card playoffs
Divisional playoffs
Jan 4 – RCA Dome N3 Carolina 29
Jan 11 – Arrowhead Stadium
A1 New England 32
6 Denver 10 Super Bowl XXXVIII
3 Indianapolis 38
3 Indianapolis 41 Jan 18 – Gillette Stadium
2 Kansas City 31
AFC
Jan 3 – M&T Bank Stadium 3 Indianapolis 14
Jan 10 – Gillette Stadium
1 New England 24
5 Tennessee 20 AFC Championship
5 Tennessee 14
4 Baltimore 17
1 New England 17


* Indicates OT victory
** Indicates 2OT victory
This box:

Milestones

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

Record Player or team Date/opponent Previous record holder[7]
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

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Team

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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

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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

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Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning, quarterback, Indianapolis and Steve McNair, quarterback, Tennessee Titans (As of 2022, this is the most recent season without a consensus MVP)
Coach of the Year Bill Belichick, New England
Offensive Player of the Year Jamal Lewis, running back, Baltimore
Defensive Player of the Year Ray Lewis, linebacker, Baltimore
Offensive Rookie of the Year Anquan Boldin, wide receiver, Arizona
Defensive Rookie of the Year Terrell Suggs, linebacker, Baltimore
NFL Comeback Player of the Year Jon Kitna, quarterback, Cincinnati
Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Will Shields, guard, Kansas City
Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Tom Brady, quarterback, New England

Head coach/front office changes

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Head coach
Front office

Stadium changes

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Tennessee at Green Bay in the preseason; both teams made the playoffs

In addition, new turf was installed for the following teams:

New uniforms

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  • 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 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

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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

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  1. ^ Gaughan, Mark (March 27, 2003). "Execs Plan Only Minor Procedures". The Buffalo News. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  2. ^ "John Butler (1946-2003)". Archived from the original on December 18, 2019. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Martin, Susan (January 4, 2003). "Legendary Gillman dies at 91". Buffalo News. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "2003 Conference Standings". NFL.com. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  6. ^ "NFL Playoff Procedures and Tiebreakers". Yahoo! Sports. December 31, 2006. Archived from the original on January 1, 2010.
  7. ^ "Records". 2005 NFL Record and Fact Book. NFL. 2005. ISBN 978-1-932994-36-0.

References

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