2002 NFL season

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The 2002 season of the National Football League (NFL) was the 83rd one played by the major professional American football league in the United States. The league expanded to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four in each conference. Also, the Chicago Bears played the 2002 season in Champaign, Illinois at Memorial Stadium because of the reconstruction of their home stadium Soldier Field.

The most recent tied game in the NFL, as of 2008, took place on November 10 that season between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The game ended in a 34-34 tie, with both teams setting many team records in the game on offense. It is the second highest-scoring tied game in the NFL since the sudden-death overtime rule went into effect in regular season games in 1974. The Steelers were also involved in the one game that scored higher, a 35-35 draw in Denver in 1974.

The NFL title was eventually won by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they defeated the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII, the Super Bowl championship game, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California on January 26.

Expansion and realignment

With the Houston Texans joining the NFL, the league's teams were realigned into eight divisions, four in each conference. In creating the new divisions, the league tried to maintain the historical rivalries from the old alignment, while at the same time attempting to organize the teams geographically.

The major changes were:

• The Seattle Seahawks were the only team that switched conferences; they moved from the AFC West to the NFC West.
• The Arizona Cardinals moved from the NFC East to the NFC West.
• The Houston Texans, the Indianapolis Colts, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Tennessee Titans were placed into the newly formed AFC South.
• The Atlanta Falcons, the Carolina Panthers, the New Orleans Saints, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were placed into the newly formed NFC South.
• Both the AFC Central and the NFC Central were renamed AFC North and NFC North, respectively.

Additionally, the arrival of the Texans meant that the league could return to its pre-1999 scheduling format in which no team got a bye during the first two weeks or last seven weeks of the season. From 1999 to 2001, at least one team had to sit out each week (including the preseason) because of an odd number of teams in the league.

The league also introduced a new eight-year scheduling rotation designed so that all teams will play each other at least twice during those eight years, and will play in every other team's stadium at least once. An analysis of win percentages has shown a statistical trend upwards for top teams since this change; the top team each year now averages 14.2 wins, versus 13.4 previously.

The playoff format was also modified: four division winners and two wild cards from each conference now advance to the playoffs (changed from three division winners and three wild cards). In each conference, the division winners are now seeded 1 through 4, and the wild cards are seeded 5 and 6.

Major rule changes

• A player who touches a pylon remains in-bounds until any part of his body touches the ground out-of-bounds.
• Continuing-action fouls now become dead-ball fouls and will result in the loss of down and distance.
• Any dead-ball penalties by the offense after they have made the line to gain will result in a loss of 15 yards and a new first down. Previously, the 15 yard penalty was enforced but the down was replayed.
• The act of batting and stripping the ball from a player is officially legal.
• Chop-blocks are illegal on kicking plays.
• Hitting a quarterback helmet-to-helmet anytime after a change of possession is illegal.
• After a kickoff, the game clock will start when the ball is touched legally in the field of play. Previously, the clock started immediately when the ball was kicked.
• Inside the final two minutes of a half, the game clock will not stop when the player who originally takes the snap is tackled behind the line of scrimmage (i.e. sacked).

Final standings

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

Qualified for playoffs

Tiebreakers

• N.Y. Jets finished ahead of New England in the AFC East based on better record in common games (8-4 to 7-5) and Miami based on better division record (4-2 to 2-4).
• New England finished ahead of Miami in the AFC East based on better division record (4-2 to 2-4).
• Cleveland clinched the AFC 6 seed instead of Denver or New England based on better conference record (7-5 to Denver's 5-7 and New England's 6-6).
• Oakland clinched the AFC 1 seed instead of Tennessee based on better head-to-head record (1-0).
• San Diego finished ahead of Kansas City in the AFC West based on better division record (3-3 to 2-4).
• Philadelphia clinched the NFC 1 seed instead of Green Bay or Tampa Bay based on better conference record (11-1 to Green Bay's 9-3 and Tampa Bay's 9-3).
• Tampa Bay clinched the NFC 2 seed instead of Green Bay based on better head-to-head record (1-0).
• St. Louis finished ahead of Seattle in the NFC West based on better division record (4-2 to 2-4).

Playoffs

Home team in bold

AFC

• Wild-Card playoffs: N.Y. Jets 41, Indianapolis 0; Pittsburgh 36, Cleveland 33
• Divisional playoffs: Tennessee 34, Pittsburgh 31 (OT); Oakland 30, N.Y. Jets 10
• AFC Championship: Oakland 41, Tennessee 24 at Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland, California, January 19, 2003

NFC

• Wild-Card playoffs: Atlanta 27, Green Bay 7; San Francisco 39, N.Y. Giants 38
• Divisional playoffs: Philadelphia 20, Atlanta 6; Tampa Bay 31, San Francisco 6
• NFC Championship: Tampa Bay 27, Philadelphia 10 at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 19, 2003

Super Bowl

• Super Bowl XXXVII: Tampa Bay (NFC) 48, Oakland (AFC) 21 at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California, January 26, 2003

Milestones

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

Record	Player/Team	Date/Opponent	Previous Record Holder
Most Pass Receptions, Season	Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis (143)	N/A	Herman Moore, Detroit, 1995 (123)
Longest Return of a Missed Field Goal	Chris McAlister, Baltimore (107 yards)	September 30, vs. Denver	Aaron Glenn, N.Y. Jets vs. Indianapolis, November 15 1998 (104)
Yards From Scrimmage, Career	Jerry Rice, Oakland	September 29, vs. Tennessee	Walter Payton, 1975-1987 (21,264)
Most Rushing Yards Gained, Career	Emmitt Smith, Dallas	October 27, vs. Seattle	Walter Payton, 1975-1987 (16,726)
Most Rushing Yards by a Quarterback, Game	Michael Vick, Atlanta (173)	December 1 vs. Minnesota
Most First Downs by Both Teams, Game	Seattle (32) vs. Kansas City (32) [64 total]	November 24	Tied by 2 games (62 total)
Fewest Fumbles by a Team, Season	Kansas City (7)	N/A	Cleveland, 1959 (8)
Fewest Fumbles Lost by a Team, Season	Kansas City (2)	N/A	Tied by 2 teams (3)
Most Punts by a Team, Season	Houston (116)	N/A	Chicago, 1981 (114)

Statistical leaders

Team

Points scored	Kansas City Chiefs (467)
Total yards gained	Oakland Raiders (6,237)
Yards rushing	Minnesota Vikings (2,507)
Yards passing	Oakland Raiders (4,475)
Fewest points allowed	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (196)
Fewest total yards allowed	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4,044)
Fewest rushing yards allowed	Pittsburgh Steelers (1,375)
Fewest passing yards allowed	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2,490)

Individual

Scoring	Priest Holmes, Kansas City (144 points)
Touchdowns	Priest Holmes, Kansas City (24 TDs)
Most field goals made	Martin Gramatica, Tampa Bay (32 FGs)
Rushing	Ricky Williams, Miami (1,853 yards)
Passing	Chad Pennington, New York Jets (104.2 rating)
Passing touchdowns	Tom Brady, New England (28 TDs)
Pass receiving	Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis (143 catches)
Pass receiving yards	Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis (1,722)
Punt returns	Jimmy Williams, San Francisco (16.8 average yards)
Kickoff returns	MarTay Jenkins, Arizona (28.0 average yards)
Interceptions	Rod Woodson, Oakland and Brian Kelly, Tampa Bay (8)
Punting	Todd Sauerbrun, Carolina (45.5 average yards)
Sacks	Jason Taylor, Miami (18.5)

Awards

Most Valuable Player	Rich Gannon, Quarterback, Oakland
Coach of the Year	Andy Reid, Philadelphia
Offensive Player of the Year	Priest Holmes, Running back, Kansas City
Defensive Player of the Year	Derrick Brooks, Linebacker, Tampa Bay
Offensive Rookie of the Year	Clinton Portis, Running Back, Denver
Defensive Rookie of the Year	Julius Peppers, Defensive End, Carolina
NFL Comeback Player of the Year	Tommy Maddox, Quarterback, Pittsburgh

Notes

References

• NFL 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)
• NFL adopts changes to rules (Last accessed October 17, 2005)
• New alignment takes effect in 2002 from ESPN.com, May 22, 2001 (Last accessed December 9, 2005)
• NFL Announces 2002-2009 Schedule Rotation (Last accessed January 19, 2008)
• Seattle moved to NFC in approved realignment plan from CNNSI.com, May 22, 2001 (Last accessed December 9, 2005)

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