A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 15 – December 15, 1974 |
| Playoffs | |
| Start date | December 21, 1974 |
| AFC Champions | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| NFC Champions | Minnesota Vikings |
| Super Bowl IX | |
| Date | January 12, 1975 |
| Site | Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Champions | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Pro Bowl | |
| Date | January 20, 1975 |
| Site | Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida |
The 1974 NFL season was the 55th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl IX when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings. Players held a strike from July 1 until August 10,[1] prior to the regular season beginning;[2] only one preseason game (that year's College All-Star Game) was canceled, and the preseason contests were held with all-rookie rosters. This is the last season where Bill Belichick is not a coach until 2024.
Draft
The 1974 NFL Draft was held from January 29 to 30, 1974 at New York City's Americana Hotel. With the first pick, the Dallas Cowboys selected defensive end Ed "Too Tall" Jones from the Tennessee State University.
New officials
There were two new referees in 1974, Cal Lepore and Gordon McCarter. Lepore replaced the retired John McDonough, the referee for Super Bowl IV and the NFL's longest game, the 1971 Christmas Day playoff between the Dolphins and Chiefs which lasted 82 minutes, 40 seconds. McCarter succeeded Jack Reader, who left the field to become chief lieutenant to NFL Director of Officiating Art McNally at league headquarters in New York.
Major rule changes
The following changes were adopted to add tempo and action to the game [3][4] and to help counter the proposed changes announced by the World Football League to their games:
- One sudden death overtime period (originally 15 minutes; since 2017, 10 minutes) was added to all preseason (up to 2019) and regular season games; if no team scored in this period, the game would result in a tie. This rule was enacted to decrease the number of tie games. The first regular season overtime, a September 22 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos, ended in a 35–all draw. It was not until November 10, when the New York Jets defeated the New York Giants, 26–20, that an overtime game would produce a winner. Since the 2012 season teams each get one possession to score unless the team first possessing the ball scores a touchdown or yields safety.
- Goal posts: moved to the end line from the goal line, where they were since 1933. This was to reduce the number of games being decided on field goals, and to increase their difficulty, as well as to reduce the risk of player injuries. They were last placed there from 1927 through 1932.
- Missed field goals: the defensive team takes possession at the line of scrimmage or the twenty-yard line (touchback), whichever is farther from their goal line. (In 1994, that reference to the line of scrimmage was changed to the kick spot, which is seven to eight yards behind the line of scrimmage.)
- Kickoffs: moved to the 35-yard line (from the forty-yard line) to reduce touchbacks, promoting more excitement with kickoff returns, through 1993 and since 2011. From 1994 through 2010, the kickoff was five yards back, at the thirty-yard line.
- Punt returns: members of the kicking team cannot go beyond the line of scrimmage until the ball is kicked, except the player at the farthest end of each side of the snapper ("gunners"). The original rule change would have prohibited any player from crossing the line of scrimmage prior to the ball being kicked. The penalty is the same as that for an ineligible player downfield on a pass play.
- An eligible pass receiver could only be contacted once by defenders after the receiver has gone three yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
- When the defensive team commits an illegal use of hands, arms, or body foul from behind the line of scrimmage, the penalty will be assessed from the previous spot instead of the spot of the foul.
- The penalties for offensive holding, illegal use of hands, and tripping were reduced from fifteen to ten yards. Tripping was returned to a 15 yard penalty in the 2023 NFL season.
- Wide receivers blocking back towards the ball within three yards from the line of scrimmage may not block below the waist.
In addition to the on-field rule changes, the league eliminated the "future list" of players a team could sign without placing them on an active roster. The future list had been formalized by the league in 1965 and had informally existed for over a decade before that. The concept returned in 1977, renamed the practice squad.
Division races
From 1970 to 2001, there were three divisions (Eastern, Central and Western) in each conference. The winners of each division, and a fourth "wild card" team based on the best non-division winner, qualified for the playoffs. The tiebreaker rules were changed to start with head-to-head competition, followed by division records, records against common opponents, and records in conference play.
National Football Conference
| Week | Eastern | Central | Western | Wild Card | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Louis, Washington, Dallas | 1–0–0 | Chicago, Minnesota | 1–0–0 | Los Angeles, San Fran. | 1–0–0 | 4 teams | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | St. Louis | 2–0–0 | Minnesota | 2–0–0 | Los Angeles, San Fran. | 2–0–0 | Los Angeles, San Fran. | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | St. Louis | 3–0–0 | Minnesota | 3–0–0 | Los Angeles, San Fran. | 2–1–0 | 4 teams | 2–1–0 |
| 4 | St. Louis | 4–0–0 | Minnesota | 4–0–0 | Los Angeles | 3–1–0 | Philadelphia | 3–1–0 |
| 5 | St. Louis | 5–0–0 | Minnesota | 5–0–0 | Los Angeles | 3–2–0 | Philadelphia | 4–1–0 |
| 6 | St. Louis | 6–0–0 | Minnesota | 5–1–0 | Los Angeles | 4–2–0 | Philadelphia | 4–2–0 |
| 7 | St. Louis | 7–0–0 | Minnesota | 5–2–0 | Los Angeles | 5–2–0 | Washington | 4–3–0 |
| 8 | St. Louis | 7–1–0 | Minnesota | 6–2–0 | Los Angeles | 6–2–0 | Washington | 5–3–0 |
| 9 | St. Louis | 7–2–0 | Minnesota | 7–2–0 | Los Angeles | 7–2–0 | Washington | 6–3–0 |
| 10 | St. Louis | 8–2–0 | Minnesota | 7–3–0 | Los Angeles | 7–3–0 | Washington | 7–3–0 |
| 11 | St. Louis | 9–2–0 | Minnesota | 7–4–0 | Los Angeles | 8–3–0 | Washington | 8–3–0 |
| 12 | St. Louis | 9–3–0 | Minnesota | 8–4–0 | Los Angeles | 9–3–0 | Washington | 8–4–0 |
| 13 | St. Louis | 9–4–0 | Minnesota | 9–4–0 | Los Angeles | 9–4–0 | Washington | 9–4–0 |
| 14 | St. Louis | 10–4–0 | Minnesota | 10–4–0 | Los Angeles | 10–4–0 | Washington | 10–4–0 |
American Football Conference
| Week | Eastern | Central | Western | Wild Card | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buffalo, New England | 1–0–0 | Pittsburgh, Houston, Cincinnati | 1–0–0 | Kansas City | 1–0–0 | Denver, Kansas City, San Diego | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | New England | 2–0–0 | Pittsburgh | 1–0–1 | Oakland* | 1–1–0 | 8 teams | 1–1–0 |
| 3 | New England | 3–0–0 | Cincinnati | 2–1–0 | Oakland* | 2–1–0 | 3 teams | 2–1–0 |
| 4 | New England | 4–0–0 | Cincinnati | 3–1–0 | Oakland | 3–1–0 | Pittsburgh | 2–1–1 |
| 5 | New England | 5–0–0 | Cincinnati | 4–1–0 | Oakland | 4–1–0 | Buffalo | 4–1–0 |
| 6 | Buffalo | 5–1–0 | Pittsburgh | 4–1–1 | Oakland | 5–1–0 | New England | 5–1–0 |
| 7 | Buffalo | 6–1–0 | Pittsburgh | 5–1–1 | Oakland | 6–1–0 | New England | 6–1–0 |
| 8 | Buffalo | 7–1–0 | Pittsburgh | 6–1–1 | Oakland | 7–1–0 | New England | 6–2–0 |
| 9 | Miami | 7–2–0 | Pittsburgh | 6–2–1 | Oakland | 8–1–0 | Buffalo | 7–2–0 |
| 10 | Miami | 8–2–0 | Pittsburgh | 7–2–1 | Oakland | 9–1–0 | Buffalo | 7–3–0 |
| 11 | Miami | 8–3–0 | Pittsburgh | 8–2–1 | Oakland | 9–2–0 | Buffalo | 8–3–0 |
| 12 | Miami | 9–3–0 | Pittsburgh | 8–3–1 | Oakland | 10–2–0 | Buffalo | 9–3–0 |
| 13 | Miami | 10–3–0 | Pittsburgh | 9–3–1 | Oakland | 11–2–0 | Buffalo | 9–4–0 |
| 14 | Miami | 11–3–0 | Pittsburgh | 10–3–1 | Oakland | 12–2–0 | Buffalo | 9–5–0 |