2010 NFL season

The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League and the 45th of the Super Bowl era.

The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orleans Saints, the Super Bowl XLIV champions, defeated the Minnesota Vikings.

Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots, was named NFL MVP for the 2010 season. In Super Bowl XLV, the league's championship game played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers to win their fourth Super Bowl, spoiling the Steelers' chance for a seventh title. This season also marked the first full-length season in which a team with a losing record made the playoffs, when the Seattle Seahawks won the NFC West with a 7–9 record, after defeating St. Louis in Week 17 to clinch the division title. One week later, the Seahawks dethroned the defending champion New Orleans Saints in the wild-card round, to become the first ever sub-.500 playoff team to win a postseason game.

This season marked the last time a game was played on a Tuesday night until .

Labor issues

NFL owners voted in 2008 to opt out of their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) as of the end of the 2010 season. (The vote was 23 in favor, 9 against; the extension measure needed 24 to pass, which would have set the CBA to expire after the 2012 season). Since a new CBA was not reached with the NFLPA, 2010 was an uncapped season, meaning that there was no salary cap or salary floor between which teams had to operate. Also, the uncapped season limited unrestricted free agency only to players with at least six years of experience, as opposed to four under a capped season. The final eight teams alive in the 2009–10 NFL playoffs (Arizona, Dallas, Minnesota and New Orleans in the NFC; and Baltimore, Indianapolis, the New York Jets and San Diego in the AFC) were restricted in the free agents they could sign.

The issue of a CBA continued into the 2011 NFL season, affecting most of the off-season.

Player movement

Free agency began on March 5 2010.

Free agency

Notable players to change teams during free agency included:

*Quarterbacks Derek Anderson (Cleveland to Arizona), David Carr (N.Y. Giants to San Francisco), Jake Delhomme (Carolina to Cleveland) and Matt Leinart (Arizona to Houston).
*Running backs Thomas Jones (N.Y. Jets to Kansas City), Chester Taylor (Minnesota to Chicago), LaDainian Tomlinson (San Diego to N.Y. Jets) and Brian Westbrook (Philadelphia to San Francisco).
*Wide receivers Nate Burleson (Seattle to Detroit), TJ Houshmandzadeh (Seattle to Baltimore) and Terrell Owens (Buffalo to Cincinnati).
*Tight ends Chris Baker (New England to Seattle), Alge Crumpler (Tennessee to New England), Brandon Manumaleuna (San Diego to Chicago) and Ben Watson (New England to Cleveland).
*Offensive tackles Flozell Adams (Dallas to Pittsburgh), Shawn Andrews (Philadelphia to N.Y. Giants), Cornell Green (Oakland to Buffalo) and Artis Hicks (Minnesota to Washington).
*Guards Alan Faneca (N.Y. Jets to Arizona), Rex Hadnot (Cleveland to Arizona) and Wade Smith (Kansas City to Houston).
*Defensive ends Alex Brown (Chicago to New Orleans), Aaron Kampman (Green Bay to Jacksonville), Julius Peppers (Carolina to Chicago), Jason Taylor (Miami to N.Y. Jets) and Kyle Vanden Bosch (Tennessee to Detroit).
*Defensive tackles Dwan Edwards (Baltimore to Buffalo), John Henderson (Jacksonville to Oakland), Ma'ake Kemoeatu (Carolina to Washington), Cory Redding (Seattle to Baltimore) and Jamal Williams (San Diego to Denver).
*Linebackers Karlos Dansby (Arizona to Miami), Larry Foote (Detroit to Pittsburgh), Scott Fujita (New Orleans to Cleveland), Joey Porter (Miami to Arizona) and Will Witherspoon (Philadelphia to Tennessee).
*Cornerbacks Phillip Buchanon (Detroit to Washington), Marlin Jackson (Indianapolis to Philadelphia), Tim Jennings (Indianapolis to Chicago), Nate Jones (Miami to Denver), Dunta Robinson (Houston to Atlanta) and Lito Sheppard (N.Y. Jets to Minnesota).
*Safeties Brodney Pool (Cleveland to N.Y. Jets) and Antrel Rolle (Arizona to N.Y. Giants).

Trades

The following notable trades were made during the 2010 league year:

* March 5: Arizona traded WR Anquan Boldin to Baltimore in exchange for Baltimore's third- and fourth-round selections in the 2010 NFL draft;
* March 5: San Diego traded CB Antonio Cromartie to the N.Y. Jets in exchange for the Jets' second-round selection in 2011;
* March 6: N.Y. Jets traded S Kerry Rhodes to Arizona in exchange for Arizona's fourth-round selection in 2010 and seventh-round selection in 2011;
* March 8: Atlanta traded CB Chris Houston to Detroit in exchange for a sixth-round selection in 2010 and conditional seventh-round selection in 2011;
* March 14: Cleveland traded DE Kamerion Wimbley to Oakland in exchange for a third-round selection in 2010;
* March 14: Cleveland traded QB Brady Quinn to Denver in exchange for RB Peyton Hillis and a sixth-round selection in 2011;
* March 16: Seattle traded DE Darryl Tapp to Philadelphia in exchange for DE Chris Clemons and a fourth-round selection in 2010;
* March 17: San Diego traded QB Charlie Whitehurst to Seattle in return for a swap of second-round selections in 2010;
* April 2: Philadelphia traded CB Sheldon Brown and LB Chris Gocong to Cleveland in exchange for DE Alex Hall and fourth- and fifth-round selections in 2010;
* April 4: Philadelphia traded QB Donovan McNabb to Washington in exchange for a second-round selection in 2010 and conditional third- or fourth-round selection in 2011;
* April 4: Pittsburgh traded CB Bryant McFadden to Arizona in exchange for a swap of fifth and sixth-round selections in 2010;
* April 5: Seattle traded G Rob Sims and a seventh-round selection to Detroit in exchange for DE Robert Henderson and a fifth-round selection in 2010;
* April 12: Pittsburgh traded WR Santonio Holmes to N.Y. Jets in exchange for a fifth-round selection in 2010;
* April 14: Denver traded WR Brandon Marshall to Miami in exchange for Miami's second-round selections in 2010 and 2011;
* April 16: Miami traded Ted Ginn Jr. to San Francisco in exchange for a fifth-round selection;
* April 19: in a three-way trade, Denver traded TE Tony Scheffler to Detroit, Detroit traded LB Ernie Sims to Philadelphia, Philadelphia sent its fifth-round selection in 2010 to Denver and Denver sent its seventh-round selection to Detroit;
* April 20: Tampa Bay traded QB Byron Leftwich to Pittsburgh in exchange for a seventh-round selection in 2010;
* April 21: St. Louis traded DT Adam Carriker to Washington in exchange for fifth- and seventh-round selections;
* April 24: Washington traded QB Jason Campbell to Oakland in exchange for a fourth-round selection in 2012;
* April 24: Tennessee traded RB LenDale White and DE Kevin Vickerson to Seattle in exchange for a fourth-round selection and swap of sixth-round selections in 2010;
* April 24: Oakland traded LB Kirk Morrison to Jacksonville in exchange for a swap of fourth- and fifth-round selections;
* May 10: Dallas traded LB Bobby Carpenter to St. Louis in exchange for OT Alex Barron;
* June 21: New Orleans traded OT Jammal Brown to Washington in exchange for a swap of third- and fourth-round selections in 2010;
* August 31: Seattle traded CB Josh Wilson to Baltimore for a conditional third- or fourth-round selections in 2011;
* September 4: Denver traded CB Alphonso Smith to Detroit in exchange for TE Dan Gronkowski;
* September 15: New England traded RB Laurence Maroney and a sixth-round selection in 2011 to Denver in exchange for a fourth-round selection;
* October 5: Buffalo traded RB Marshawn Lynch to Seattle in exchange for a fourth-round selection in 2011 and a conditional pick in 2012;
* October 6: New England traded WR Randy Moss and a seventh-round selection in 2012 to Minnesota in exchange for a third-round selection in 2011 and a seventh-round selection in 2012;
* October 11: Seattle traded WR Deion Branch to New England in exchange for a fourth-round selection in 2011;
* October 19: Kansas City traded DE Alex Magee to Tampa Bay in exchange for a fifth-round selection in 2011.

Draft

The league's 75th annual selection meeting, more commonly known as the NFL Draft, took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City from April 22–24, the first time that the draft was held over three days instead of the usual two. In the draft with the first overall pick, the St. Louis Rams chose quarterback Sam Bradford from the University of Oklahoma.

Officiating changes

Mike Pereira resigned as the league's Vice President of Officiating. He had led the NFL's officiating since 2001. Carl Johnson was named as Pereira's successor.

Clete Blakeman was promoted to referee, and Don Carey returned to his back judge position.

Rule changes

The following rule changes were passed at the league's annual owners meeting in March:
* The overtime procedure for postseason games has changed. Instead of a straight sudden death, the game will not immediately end if the team that receives the ball first only scores a field goal on its first possession (they can still win the game if they score a touchdown and the game ends if the defense scores a safety). Instead, the other team gets a possession. If the second team on offense then scores a touchdown, it is declared the winner. If the score is tied after both teams had a possession, either by both teams scoring a field goal or by neither team scoring, then it goes back to sudden death. These changes were passed in response to recent statistics that show that since 1994, teams that win the coin toss have won overtime 59.8 percent of the time, and won 34.4 percent of the time on the first possession on a field goal. This included the 2009 NFC Championship Game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints where the Saints won the overtime coin toss and scored a field goal on their first possession to win the game. In May, the league decided against applying these overtime rule changes to regular season games as well, although they eventually instituted the new overtime rules in the regular season starting in 2012. As all of the 2010–11 playoff games ended in regulation for the first time since 2005–06, the new rule was not needed during its first year of use. The first game that used this rule was a 2011–12 playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos, however the Broncos scored a game-winning touchdown on the first play from scrimmage of the overtime period.
* The definition of a "defenseless receiver" (where a receiver cannot be hit in the head or neck area by an opponent who launches himself and makes contact with his helmet, shoulder, or forearm) will now apply to every defenseless player.
* A play will now immediately be whistled dead once a ball carrier's helmet is knocked off.
* The position of the umpire has been moved from behind the defensive linebackers (except in the last two minutes of the first half, the last five minutes of the second half/overtime, and anytime the offense is inside the defense's five-yard-line) to the offensive backfield opposite the throwing arm of the quarterback in order to reduce the numerous times that the official has been run over during plays.
* During field goal and extra point attempts, defenders cannot line up directly across from the long snapper.
* Dead ball 15-yard personal fouls that are committed on the final play of either the second or fourth quarters will be assessed on the second half or overtime kickoff, respectively. Previously, such penalties during those situations were not enforced.
* Punt returners who make a fair catch signal but then muff the ball are entitled with the opportunity to catch the ball before it hits the ground without interference. If there is interference during such a scenario, the receiving team is awarded the ball at the spot of the foul, but no penalty yardage is assessed.
* The 2009 temporary modification to the rules regarding balls in play that strike an object such as a video board or a guide wire has been made permanent. Prior to 2009, only the down was replayed. The 2009 modification added resetting the game clock to the time when the original play was snapped. This amendment was originally passed in response to a punt hitting the center-hung video display boards of Cowboys Stadium during a 2009 pre-season game.
* The replay system will now also be allowed to cover whether there was some sort of interference with the ball during a play.
* If the clock is stopped in the final minute of either half for a replay review, but would not have stopped without the review, there will be a 10-second runoff (similar to when the offensive team commits a penalty inside of one minute in order to preserve time). As with any other 10-second runoff, either team may take a time-out in lieu of the runoff.

Crowd noise

The NFL relaxed all rules regarding crowd noise, citing the need to increase the in-stadium experience to lure more fans to attend games. In addition, the league cited the advances in the coach-to-quarterback radio communications, and more visiting teams using silent snap counts as an alternative to overcome crowd noise.

The NFL's rules to "legislate the fans", and help visiting offensive players hear the snap count, have been controversial from the start. In one notorious example, then- Cincinnati Bengals head coach Sam Wyche and then-quarterback Boomer Esiason "protested" the crowd noise rules during a 1989 nationally televised preseason game against the New Orleans Saints by constantly complaining to the referee about the loud crowd noise inside the Superdome.

The league will still allow stadiums to post visual noise meters and other scoreboard messages to incite fans to make noise, but they must cease when the play clock is down to 15 seconds. However, home teams are still prohibited from pumping in artificial crowd noise.

Crackdown on illegal hits

After several violent hits throughout the NFL made the news in Week 3, the league announced that it would consider suspending players for illegal hits, such as helmet-to-helmet hits or other blows to the head. (Previously, players could only be fined for such hits.) The league also instructed all officials and referees to have an even higher level of attention toward flagrant hits. Game officials were also instructed to err on the side of safety, and throw flags even when in doubt.

The crackdown has been controversial. Many defensive players have complained that the league is being too strict in their interpretation of what constitutes an "illegal hit", and that it forces them to behave significantly differently from how they were taught to play the game. Another concern is the league's instructions to game officials to err on the side of caution, since questionable calls late in close games significantly affect their outcome. However, the medical community has supported the move, believing that it will help reduce concussions and other head injuries.

The league did not end up suspending any players for violent or illegal hits, however several players were fined for these types of hits within the first few weeks of the crackdown.

2010 deaths

*Gaines Adams: Having played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears, Adams died on January 17, 2010.
* Elijah Alexander: Selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1992 NFL Draft, he died on March 24, 2010.
*Bruce Alford Sr.: Selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1943 NFL Draft and later an official for 20 seasons (1960-79), he died on May 8, 2010.
* Johnny Bailey: A former competitor with the Chicago Bears, Bailey died on August 20, 2010, of pancreatic cancer.
* Tom Brookshier: A member of the Philadelphia Eagles 1960 NFL championship team, Brookshier died of cancer at Lankenau Medical Center on January 29, 2010. The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphiabr>
inducted Brookshier into their Hall of Fame in 2007.

Pro Football Hall of Fame

* George Blanda: A member of the Oakland Raiders 1967 AFL championship team, Blanda died after a "short illness" on September 27, 2010. He was 83 years old. A moment of silence was held in Blanda's honor prior to the start of the September 27, 2010 game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears on '' Monday Night Football'', from Soldier Field.
* Merlin Olsen: Having played from ( 1962– 1976) for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League, Olsen died on March 11, 2010 at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California, at the age of 69.

Preseason

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game was held on Sunday, August 8, 2010 at 8:00 pm EDT on NBC, with the Dallas Cowboys defeating the Cincinnati Bengals, 16–7 at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The remainder of the preseason game matchups were announced March 31, 2010. Highlights, among others, include the New York Giants and New York Jets facing off in the first-ever game at New Meadowlands Stadium on ESPN. The preseason game in the Bills Toronto Series featured the host Bills defeating the Indianapolis Colts in Toronto on Thursday, August 19 by a score of 34–21. Exact dates and times for most games were announced in April, shortly after the regular season games were announced.

Regular season

The 2010 regular season was the first year that the league used a modified version of the scheduling formula that was first introduced in , in which all teams play each other at least once every four years, and play in every other team's stadium at least once every eight years (notwithstanding the regular season games played overseas as part of the NFL International Series). Under the original 2002 formula, since the pairings were strictly based on alphabetical order, those teams scheduled to play the entire AFC West had to travel to both Oakland and San Diego in the same season, while those teams playing the entire NFC West had to make their way to both San Francisco and Seattle. In , the New England and New York Jets each had to make cross-country trips to ''all four'' of the aforementioned West Coast teams. In an effort to relieve east coast teams from having to travel to the West Coast multiple times during the same season, teams will only have to visit one West Coast team ( AFC West or NFC West), plus one western team from the same division closer to the Midwest, under the 2010 modified formula. Specifically, those teams traveling to Oakland (Las Vegas since 2020) will also play at Denver, while those playing at San Diego (Los Angeles since 2017) will also play at Kansas City. For teams scheduled to play the NFC West, those traveling to San Francisco will also go to Arizona, while those scheduled to play in Seattle will then go to St. Louis (this became moot in 2016 when the Rams returned to Los Angeles).

For the 2010 season, the intraconference and interconference matchups are:

Intraconference
* AFC East vs. AFC North
* AFC West vs. AFC South
* NFC East vs. NFC North
* NFC West vs. NFC South

Interconference
* AFC East vs. NFC North
* AFC West vs. NFC West
* AFC North vs. NFC South
* AFC South vs. NFC East

The entire 2010 regular-season schedule was unveiled at 7:00 pm EDT on Tuesday, April 20. Additionally, schedule release shows aired on both the NFL Network and as a SportsCenter special on ESPN2.

Opening weekend

The NFL Kickoff Game, the first game of the season, took place on Thursday, September 9, starting at 8:35 pm EDT, with the Super Bowl XLIV champion New Orleans