The 2021 NFL season was the 102nd season of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). The season was the first to feature a 17-game regular season schedule as the league expanded the season from 16 games.
The regular season started on September 9, 2021, with defending
Super Bowl LV champion
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater ...
defeating
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
in the
NFL Kickoff Game
The National Football League Kickoff game, along with related festivities, marks the official start of the National Football League (NFL) regular season. A single game is held, preceded by a concert and other ceremonies. This first game of the se ...
. The regular season ended on January 9, 2022. The playoffs started on January 15 and concluded with
Super Bowl LVI, the league's championship game, at
SoFi Stadium
SoFi Stadium () is a 70,240-seat sports and entertainment indoor stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California, United States. SoFi occupies the former site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack, from Los Angeles International Airport an ...
in
Inglewood, California, on February 13, with the
Los Angeles Rams defeating
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
.
Player movement
The 2021 NFL league year and trading period began on March 17. On March 15, teams were allowed to exercise options for 2021 on players with option clauses in their contracts, submit qualifying offers to their pending restricted free agents, and submit a Minimum Salary Tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2020 contracts and fewer than three accrued seasons of free agent credit. Teams were required to be under the salary cap using the "top 51" definition (in which the 51 highest paid-players on the team's payroll must have a combined salary cap). On March 17, clubs were allowed to contact and begin contract negotiations with players whose contracts had expired and thus became
unrestricted free agents
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
.
Free agency
Free agency began on March 17. Notable players to change teams included:
* Quarterbacks
Andy Dalton
Andrew Gregory Dalton (born October 29, 1987) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Red Rifle", Dalton previously played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, and ...
(Dallas to Chicago),
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Ryan Joseph Fitzpatrick (born November 24, 1982) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. During his career, Fitzpatrick started at quarterback for nine different teams, the most ...
(Miami to Washington), and
Mitchell Trubisky (Chicago to Buffalo)
* Running backs
Matt Breida
Matthew John Breida (born February 28, 1995) is an American football running back for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia Southern and signed with the 49ers as an undrafted free agent ...
(Miami to Buffalo),
Tevin Coleman
Tevin Ford Coleman (born April 16, 1993) is an American football running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college fo ...
(San Francisco to New York Jets),
James Conner (Pittsburgh to Arizona),
Kenyan Drake
Kenyan Drake (born January 26, 1994) is an American football running back and kick returner for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama. Drake was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the th ...
(Arizona to Las Vegas),
Wayne Gallman
Wayne Gallman Jr. (born October 1, 1994) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football at Clemson and contributed to win the CFP national championship (2017) before being drafted in the fourth round of the ...
(New York Giants to San Francisco),
Mark Ingram II
Mark Valentino Ingram II (born December 21, 1989) is an American football running back for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, where he was the first Alabama player to win the Heis ...
(Baltimore to Houston),
Phillip Lindsay
Phillip Lindsay (born July 24, 1994) is an American football running back who is a free agent. Lindsay was born in Denver, Colorado, grew up in Aurora, Colorado, and attended South High School in Denver where he became the school's all-time le ...
(Denver to Houston), and
Damien Williams (Kansas City to Chicago)
* Wide receivers
Nelson Agholor
Nelson Efamehule Agholor (born May 24, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC and was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first ro ...
(Las Vegas to New England),
John Brown (Buffalo to Las Vegas),
Corey Davis (Tennessee to New York Jets),
Will Fuller
William Vincent Fuller V (born April 16, 1994) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame.
High school ca ...
(Houston to Miami),
A. J. Green (Cincinnati to Arizona),
Kenny Golladay
Kenneth Golladay (born November 3, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Dakota and Northern Illinois and was drafted by the Detroit Lions ...
(Detroit to New York Giants),
Marvin Jones Marvin Jones may refer to:
*John Marvin Jones (1882–1976), known as Marvin Jones and J. Marvin Jones, United States congressman
*Marvin Jones (linebacker) (born 1972), American football linebacker
*Marvin Jones (wide receiver) (born 1990), Americ ...
(Detroit to Jacksonville),
Cordarrelle Patterson
Cordarrelle Patterson ( ; born March 17, 1991), nicknamed "Flash", is an American football player for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). A versatile utility player, he plays running back, wide receiver, return specialist ...
(Chicago to Atlanta),
Curtis Samuel
Curtis Samuel (born August 11, 1996) is an American football wide receiver for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, where he was a member of the team that won the 2015 Colle ...
(Carolina to Washington),
Emmanuel Sanders
Emmanuel Niamiah Sanders (born March 17, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver who played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at SMU, and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third ...
(New Orleans to Buffalo), and
Sammy Watkins (Kansas City to Baltimore)
* Tight ends
Jared Cook
Jared Alan Cook (born April 7, 1987) is an American football tight end who is a free agent. He played college football at the University of South Carolina and was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He has ...
(New Orleans to Los Angeles Chargers),
Hunter Henry (Los Angeles Chargers to New England),
Kyle Rudolph
Kyle Daniel Rudolph (born November 9, 1989) is an American football tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second ...
(Minnesota to New York Giants), and
Jonnu Smith
Jonnu Andre Smith (born August 22, 1995) is an American football tight end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at FIU and was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the third round of th ...
(Tennessee to New England)
* Offensive linemen
Pat Elflein (New York Jets to Carolina),
Matt Feiler
Matt Feiler (born July 7, 1992) is an American football guard for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Bloomsburg (PA).
College career
Feiler played college football at Bloomsburg Unive ...
(Pittsburgh to Los Angeles Chargers),
Eric Fisher (Kansas City to Indianapolis),
Ted Karras (Miami to New England),
Corey Linsley (Green Bay to Los Angeles Chargers),
Alex Mack
Javon Alexander Mack (born November 19, 1985) is a former American football center. He played college football for the University of California, Berkeley and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round with the 21st overall of the 2 ...
(Atlanta to San Francisco),
Riley Reiff
Riley Reiff (born December 1, 1988) is an American football offensive tackle for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the first round, 23r ...
(Minnesota to Cincinnati),
Joe Thuney (New England to Kansas City),
Trai Turner
Trai Denzell Turner (born June 14, 1993) is an American football guard for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the ...
(Los Angeles Chargers to Pittsburgh),
Alejandro Villanueva (Pittsburgh to Baltimore), and
Kevin Zeitler
Kevin Zeitler ( ; born March 8, 1990) is an American football guard for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin, and earned consensus All-American honors. He was selected by the Cincin ...
(New York Giants to Baltimore)
* Defensive linemen
Jadeveon Clowney
Jadeveon Davarus Clowney ( ; born February 14, 1993) is an American football defensive end for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at South Carolina, where he won the Ted Hendricks Award, and w ...
(Tennessee to Cleveland),
Maliek Collins (Las Vegas to Houston),
Trey Hendrickson (New Orleans to Cincinnati),
Justin Houston
Justin Donovan Houston (born January 21, 1989) is an American football outside linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he earned All-American honors, and was draf ...
(Indianapolis to Baltimore),
Melvin Ingram (Los Angeles Chargers to Pittsburgh),
Malik Jackson (Philadelphia to Cleveland),
Carl Lawson (Cincinnati to New York Jets),
Yannick Ngakoue
Yannick Nicolas Ngakoue ( ; born March 31, 1995) is an American football defensive end for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Maryland Terrapins football, Maryland and was drafted by the J ...
(Baltimore to Las Vegas),
Aldon Smith
Aldon Jacarus Smith (born September 25, 1989) is an American football defensive end who is a free agent. He played college football at Missouri, and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers seventh overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. Smith also played ...
(Dallas to Seattle),
Solomon Thomas (San Francisco to Las Vegas),
Dalvin Tomlinson
Dalvin Tomlinson (born February 28, 1994) is an American football nose tackle for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the second round of ...
(New York Giants to Minnesota),
Carlos Watkins
Carlos Watkins (born December 5, 1993) is an American football defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson.
Early years
Watkins attended Chase High School in Forest City, ...
(Houston to Dallas), and
J. J. Watt (Houston to Arizona)
* Linebackers
Jeremiah Attaochu
Jeremiah Ojimaojo Attaochu (born January 17, 1993) is a Nigerian born American football outside linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2 ...
(Denver to Chicago),
Bud Dupree
Alvin "Bud" Dupree Jr. (born February 12, 1993) is an American football outside linebacker for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Kentucky, and was drafted in the first round of the 2015 NFL ...
(Pittsburgh to Tennessee),
Samson Ebukam (Los Angeles Rams to San Francisco),
Kamu Grugier-Hill (Miami to Houston),
Matthew Judon (Baltimore to New England),
Christian Kirksey
Christian Paul Kirksey (born August 31, 1992) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Iowa and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He also played for the Green Bay Pack ...
(Green Bay to Houston),
Keanu Neal
Keanu Neal (born July 26, 1995) is an American football safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the 17th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. He played college footb ...
(Atlanta to Dallas),
Kyle Van Noy
Kyle Van Noy (born March 26, 1991) is an American football linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). Van Noy played college football at BYU was selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Detro ...
(Miami to New England),
Denzel Perryman
Denzel Perryman (born December 5, 1992) is an American football middle linebacker for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Miami.
High school career
Perryman attended Coral Gables Senior Hig ...
(Los Angeles Chargers to Carolina),
Haason Reddick
Haason Samir Reddick (born September 22, 1994) is an American football outside linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Temple, and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the ...
(Arizona to Carolina) and
Nick Vigil
Nick Vigil (born August 20, 1993) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Utah State, and was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He has also played for the ...
(Los Angeles Chargers to Minnesota)
* Defensive backs
Chidobe Awuzie (Dallas to Cincinnati),
A. J. Bouye (Denver to Carolina),
Justin Coleman
Justin Jamal Coleman (born March 27, 1993) is an American football cornerback and nickelback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tennessee, and signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an und ...
(Detroit to Miami),
Ronald Darby (Washington to Denver),
Kyle Fuller (Chicago to Denver),
Shaquill Griffin
Shaquill "Shaq" Griffin (born July 20, 1995) is an American football cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He is the twin brother of former linebacker Shaquem Griffin, and both brothers played college f ...
(Seattle to Jacksonville),
Troy Hill (Los Angeles Rams to Cleveland),
Mike Hilton
Michael Hilton Jr. (born March 9, 1994) is an American football cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ole Miss and signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free ...
(Pittsburgh to Cincinnati),
Malik Hooker
Malik Hooker (born April 2, 1996) is an American football safety for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts with the 15th overall pick in the ...
(Indianapolis to Dallas),
Adoree Jackson
Adoree' K. Jackson (born September 18, 1995) is an American football cornerback and return specialist for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC and was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in ...
(Tennessee to New York Giants),
William Jackson III (Cincinnati to Washington),
Janoris Jenkins
Janoris Jermain Jenkins (born October 29, 1988), nicknamed "Jackrabbit", is an American football cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Alabama and Florida and was draft ...
(New Orleans to Tennessee),
Rayshawn Jenkins (Los Angeles Chargers to Jacksonville),
John Johnson (Los Angeles Rams to Cleveland),
Lamarcus Joyner (Las Vegas to New York Jets),
Damontae Kazee (Atlanta to Dallas),
Desmond King (Tennessee to Houston),
Jalen Mills (Philadelphia to New England), and
Patrick Peterson
Patrick De'mon Peterson Jr. (born July 11, 1990) is an American football cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU, where he won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the best defensiv ...
(Arizona to Minnesota)
*Kicker
Matt Prater
Matthew Phillip Prater (born August 10, 1984) is an American football placekicker for
the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Regarded as one of the best long distance kickers in NFL history, he held the NFL record for lon ...
(Detroit to Arizona)
*Punters
Matt Haack (Miami to Buffalo) and
Cameron Johnston (Philadelphia to Houston)
Trades
The following notable trades were made during the 2021 league year:
* March 17: Detroit traded QB
Matthew Stafford
John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he was a first-team All-American, and was selected ...
to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for QB
Jared Goff
Jared Thomas Goff (born October 14, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California, where he set the Pac-12 Conference season records for passi ...
, a
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
third round selection (No. 101), a
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
first round selection, and a
2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
first round selection.
* March 17: Philadelphia traded QB
Carson Wentz
Carson James Wentz (born December 30, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). Wentz played college football at North Dakota State, where he won two consecutive NCAA FCS ...
to Indianapolis in exchange for a 2021 third round selection and a conditional 2022 second round selection.
*March 17: Las Vegas traded C
Rodney Hudson and 2021 seventh round selection to Arizona in exchange for a 2021 third round selection.
*March 17: New England traded OT
Marcus Cannon and 2021 fifth and sixth round selections to Houston in exchange for 2021 fourth and sixth round selections.
*March 17: Houston traded LB
Benardrick McKinney
Benardrick Cornelius McKinney (born November 19, 1992) is an American football inside linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Mississippi State and was selected by the Houston Texans in the second round of the 2015 NFL D ...
and a 2021 seventh round selection to Miami in exchange for DE
Shaq Lawson and a 2021 sixth round selection.
*March 17: Las Vegas traded OT
Trent Brown and a 2021 fifth round selection to New England in exchange for a 2021 seventh round selection.
*April 5: The New York Jets traded QB
Sam Darnold to Carolina in exchange for a 2021 sixth round selection and 2022 second and fourth round selections.
*April 23: Baltimore traded OT
Orlando Brown Jr., a 2021 second round selection, and a 2022 sixth round selection to Kansas City for 2021 first, third, and fourth round selections and a 2022 fifth round selection.
*April 28: Carolina traded QB
Teddy Bridgewater
Theodore Edmond Bridgewater Jr. (born November 10, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL).
Born and raised in Miami, Florida, he graduated from Miami Northwestern high school ...
to Denver in exchange for a 2021 sixth round selection.
* May 18: Philadelphia traded CB
Jameson Houston
Jameson Houston (born June 30, 1996) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at Baylor.
Professional career Cleveland Browns
Houston was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent. He w ...
and a 2023 sixth round selection to Jacksonville in exchange for CB
Josiah Scott.
* June 6: Atlanta traded WR
Julio Jones
Quintorris Lopez "Julio" Jones Jr. (; born February 8, 1989) is an American football wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, and was drafted by the Atlanta Falco ...
and a 2023 sixth round selection to Tennessee in exchange for a 2022 second round selection and a 2023 fourth round selection.
* July 28: Houston traded WR
Randall Cobb to Green Bay in exchange for a 2022 sixth round selection.
* August 12: Jacksonville traded LB
Joe Schobert
Joseph Robert Schobert (born November 6, 1993) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Schobert played college football at Wisconsin where he won t ...
to Pittsburgh in exchange for a 2022 sixth round selection.
* August 17: Green Bay traded CB
Josh Jackson to the New York Giants in exchange for CB
Isaac Yiadom
Isaac Yiadom (born February 20, 1996) is an American football cornerback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). A graduate of Doherty Memorial High School in Worcester, Massachusetts, he played college football at Bosto ...
.
* August 25: Carolina traded ILB Denzel Perryman and a 2022 7th round selection to Las Vegas Raiders in excange for a 2022 6th round selection.
* August 30: Cincinnati traded C
Billy Price to the New York Giants in exchange for DT
B. J. Hill
Benjamin Joseph Hill (born May 17, 1973) is an American college basketball coach and former head men's basketball coach at the University of Northern Colorado. He began coaching the Bears in 2010–11, when he guided them to the school's first-ev ...
.
* August 31: Baltimore traded G
Ben Bredeson
Ben Bredeson (born February 20, 1998) is an American football guard for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan. Bredeson attended Arrowhead High School, where he was named the Gatorade Hig ...
and a 2022 fifth round selection to the New York Giants in exchange for a 2022 fourth round selection and a 2023 seventh round selection.
* August 31: The New York Jets traded TE
Chris Herndon and a 2022 sixth round selection to Minnesota in exchange for a 2022 fourth round selection.
* September 8: Houston traded CB
Bradley Roby to New Orleans in exchange for a 2022 third round selection and a conditional 2023 sixth round selection.
* September 27: Jacksonville traded CB
C. J. Henderson and a 2022 fifth round selection to Carolina in exchange for TE
Dan Arnold and a 2022 third selection.
* October 6: New England traded CB
Stephon Gilmore to Carolina in exchange for a 2023 sixth round selection.
* October 15: Philadelphia traded TE
Zach Ertz
Zachary Adam Ertz (born November 10, 1990) is an American football tight end for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft and later won Supe ...
to Arizona in exchange for CB
Tay Gowan
Tay Gowan (born January 7, 1998) is an American football cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCF and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL ...
and a 2022 fifth round selection.
* October 27: Houston traded RB
Mark Ingram II
Mark Valentino Ingram II (born December 21, 1989) is an American football running back for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, where he was the first Alabama player to win the Heis ...
to New Orleans in exchange for a 2024 seventh round selection.
* November 1: Denver traded LB
Von Miller
Vonnie B'VSean Miller (born March 26, 1989) is an American football outside linebacker for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). Miller played college football at Texas A&M, where he earned consensus All-American honors and ...
to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for 2022 second and third round selections.
* November 2: Pittsburgh traded LB
Melvin Ingram to Kansas City in exchange for a 2022 sixth round selection.
* November 2: Kansas City traded G
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif to the New York Jets in exchange for TE
Daniel Brown.
Retirements
Notable retirements
* QB
Drew Brees
Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees i ...
– Thirteen-time Pro Bowler, five-time All-Pro (one first-team, four second-team), two-time
Offensive Player of the Year The National Football League Offensive Player of the Year Award is an annual American football award given by various organizations to the National Football League (NFL) player who is considered the top offensive player during the regular season. Or ...
(2008 and 2011),
Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions New Orleans Saints and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Indianapolis Colts to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...
Champion and MVP,
2004 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, and
2006 Walter Payton Man of the Year. Played for the San Diego Chargers and New Orleans during his 20-year career.
* DE
Jurrell Casey
Jurrell Juel Casey (born December 5, 1989) is a former American football defensive lineman. He played college football at USC, and was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
In nine seasons with the Titan ...
– Five-time Pro Bowler and one-time second-team All-Pro. Played for Tennessee and Denver during his 10-year career.
* LB
Thomas Davis – Three-time Pro Bowler, two-time All-Pro (one first-team, one second-team) and
2014 Walter Payton Man of the Year. Played for Carolina, the Los Angeles Chargers, and Washington during his 16-year career.
* WR
Julian Edelman
Julian Francis Edelman (born May 22, 1986) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the New England Patriots. He played college football at Kent State as a Quarterback and ...
– Three-time Super Bowl Champion (
XLIX
49 (forty-nine) is the natural number following 48 and preceding 50.
In mathematics
Forty-nine is the square of seven.
It appears in the Padovan sequence, preceded by the terms 21, 28, 37 (it is the sum of the first two of these).
Along with ...
,
LI, and
LIII) and Super Bowl LIII
MVP
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
. Played for New England during his entire 12-year career.
* LB
Tamba Hali
Tamba Boimah Hali (born 3 November 1983) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), where he earned All-American honors, and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the ...
– Six-time Pro Bowler and two-time second-team All-Pro. Played for Kansas City during his entire 12-year career.
* G
Mike Iupati – Four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro (one first-team, one second-team). Played for San Francisco, Arizona, and Seattle during his 11-year career.
* RB
LeSean McCoy
LeSean Kamel McCoy (born July 12, 1988), nicknamed "Shady", is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the ...
– Six-time Pro Bowler, two-time first-team All-Pro, and two-time Super Bowl Champion (
LIV and
LV). Played for Philadelphia, Buffalo, Kansas City and Tampa Bay during his 12-year career.
* C
Maurkice Pouncey
LaShawn Maurkice Pouncey (born July 24, 1989) is a former American football center who played 11 seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida, where he was a member of a BCS Nat ...
– Nine-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro (three first-team, two second-team). Played for Pittsburgh during his entire 11-year career.
* C
Mike Pouncey
James Michael Pouncey (born July 24, 1989) is a former American football center who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Florida, was a member of a BCS National Championship ...
– Four-time Pro Bowler. Played for Miami and the Los Angeles Chargers during his 10-year career.
* QB
Philip Rivers
Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football at NC State and was se ...
– Eight-time Pro Bowler and
2013 NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Played for the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers and Indianapolis during his 17-year career.
* WR
Demaryius Thomas – Five-time Pro Bowler, two-time second-team All-Pro, and
Super Bowl 50
Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) cha ...
Champion. Played for Denver, Houston, New England, and the New York Jets during his 10-year career.
* K
Adam Vinatieri
Adam Matthew Vinatieri (born December 28, 1972) is an American former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 24 seasons with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Considered one of the greatest ...
– Three-time Pro Bowler, three-time first-team All-Pro, four-time Super Bowl Champion (
XXXVI,
XXXVIII,
XXXIX, and
XLI), and the
NFL's all-time leading scorer. Played for New England and Indianapolis during his 24-year career.
* TE
Jason Witten
Christopher Jason Witten (born May 6, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for 17 seasons, primarily for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Univers ...
– Eleven-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro (two first-team, two second-team), and
2012 Walter Payton Man of the Year. Played for Dallas and Las Vegas during his 17-year career.
Other retirements
Draft
The
2021 NFL Draft
The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 202 ...
was held in
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
from April 29 to May 1.
Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
, by virtue of having the worst record in , held the first overall selection and selected QB
Trevor Lawrence
William Trevor Lawrence (born October 6, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Considered among the highest-touted college football prospects, he won the 2019 National C ...
out of
Clemson.
Officiating changes
The NFL hired
Maia Chaka as its second female official (joining
Sarah Thomas) and first African-American female official.
NFL Senior Vice President of Officiating
Alberto Riveron
Alberto Riveron (born June 5, 1960) is a Cuban-American former American football official and was the Senior Vice President of Officiating of the National Football League (NFL) from 2017 to 2021.
Early life
Alberto Riverón was born in Cuba i ...
retired, leaving two other senior vice presidents,
Walt Anderson and
Perry Fewell
Perry Fewell (born September 7, 1962) is an American football coach. He currently serves as the senior vice president of officiating administration for the National Football League's officiating department. Previously, he served as the defensive ...
, to co-head the NFL's officiating department. Without Riveron, multiple people in the officiating department will be making the final decisions over replay reviews instead of a single person.
Replay official Carl Madsen died on October 24. He was in his 12th season as a replay official, after an extended career as an on-field official.
The following officials were hired:
* Chad Adams (Replay Official)
*
Maia Chaka (Line Judge)
Rule changes
The following rule changes were approved at the NFL Owner's Meeting on April 21:
* The
jersey numbering system was modified as follows:
** Running backs, tight ends, and wide receivers can wear 1–49 and 80–89
** Defensive backs can wear 1–49
** Linebackers can wear 1–59 and 90–99
** The following remained unchanged: offensive linemen (50–79); defensive linemen (50–79, 90–99); and quarterbacks, punters, and kickers (1–19).
** Per the league's existing rules, any player who changed his number this season was required to buy out the inventory of his existing jersey before the change was made. A player who intends to change his number for the 2022 season can do so without cost.
* Overtime in preseason games was eliminated. This was the first season since in which overtime was not used in the preseason.
* All accepted penalties by either team during consecutive extra point or two-point conversion attempts are to be enforced.
* The penalty for a second forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage and for a pass thrown after the ball returns behind the line will now include a loss of down.
* During kickoffs, the receiving team may have no more than nine players in the "set-up zone" (the area between 10 and 25 yards from the kickoff spot).
* An expansion of the booth-to-official communication on replays, allowing replay officials to advise on "specific, objective aspects of a play when clear and obvious video evidence is present and/or to address game administration issues."
COVID-19 protocols
The league introduced
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
protocols intended to encourage
vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...
among players, coaches, and staff. On July 22, the NFL sent a memo warning teams that if a game that had been postponed due to COVID-19 outbreaks among unvaccinated players could not be rescheduled within the 18-week season schedule, the team responsible for the outbreak would be charged with a loss by
forfeit
Forfeit or forfeiture may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Forfeit'', a 2007 thriller film starring Billy Burke
* "Forfeit", a song by Chevelle from ''Wonder What's Next''
* ''Forfeit/Fortune'', a 2008 album by Crooked Fingers
L ...
, and be responsible for financial compensation to the other team, since teams typically do not get paid for cancelled games. On July 24, it was reported that the league will fine players $14,650 for each violation of COVID-19 protocol if they are unvaccinated.
On July 23, the league announced the following temporary rules for would remain in place for 2021, allowing roster flexibility due to uncertainty regarding the pandemic.
*A player on injured reserve could return after missing three games, instead of the normal eight.
*Teams could return an unlimited number of players from injured reserve throughout the year, instead of the normal limit of three.
*Practice squads could include up to 16 players for each team, up from 12.
*After 4:00 p.m. ET on the Tuesday of a game week, a team could designate up to four practice squad players as "protected," meaning they are not allowed to sign with another team until after their current team plays its next game.
*Up to two practice squad players could be elevated to the active roster each game week without removing any current players, 4:00 p.m. ET the day before a game.
On August 30, the league and the
National Football League Players Association
The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director DeM ...
(NFLPA) agreed to COVID testing protocols for the season. Fully vaccinated players were tested at least once per week and could opt for additional testing. Like in 2020, unvaccinated players were tested every day during the regular season and postseason except game days.
2021 deaths
Pro Football Hall of Fame members
;
Curley Culp
Curley Culp (March 10, 1946 – November 27, 2021) was an American football defensive lineman who was a defensive tackle in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona State Unive ...
: Culp played 14 NFL seasons at
defensive tackle for
Kansas City, the
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...
, and
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
, winning
Super Bowl IV with Kansas City. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013. He died on November 27, age 75.
;
Sam Huff
Robert Lee "Sam" Huff (October 4, 1934 – November 13, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. He played college footba ...
: Huff played 13 seasons in the NFL as a linebacker with the
New York Giants and
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, and was inducted into the Hall in 1982. He died November 13, age 87.
;
Claude Humphrey
Claude B. Humphrey (June 29, 1944 – December 3, 2021) was an American professional football player who played as a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles. Humphrey was inducted into t ...
: Humphrey played 14 seasons in the NFL as a defensive end with
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
and
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, and was inducted into the Hall in 2014. He died on December 3, age 77.
;
Floyd Little
Floyd Douglas Little (July 4, 1942 – January 1, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a halfback for the Denver Broncos, initially in the American Football League (AFL) and later the National Football League (NFL). He ...
: Little spent all nine seasons in the NFL as a running back with
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
and was inducted into the Hall in 2010. He died January 1, age 78.
;
John Madden
John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, who he led to eight pl ...
: Madden coached
Oakland for 10 seasons, winning
Super Bowl XI
Super Bowl XI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Minnesota Vikings to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for i ...
. He was inducted into the Hall in 2006. He died December 28, age 85.
;
Mick Tingelhoff
Henry Michael Tingelhoff (May 22, 1940 – September 11, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a center for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) from 1962 to 1978. He was elected to the Pro Football H ...
: Tingelhoff spent all 17 seasons in the NFL as a center with
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
and was inducted into the Hall in 2015. He died September 11, age 81.
Others
Preseason
Training camps were held from late July through August.
The
Pro Football Hall of Fame Game
The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game is an annual National Football League (NFL) exhibition game in Canton, Ohio, held the weekend of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's induction ceremonies. The game is played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, part ...
was played on August 5, as
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
defeated
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
. The two teams were previously scheduled to play the 2020 game before it was canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
Corresponding with the expansion of the regular season to 17 games, the preseason was reduced to three games per team.
NFC teams each hosted two preseason games and AFC teams each hosted one. There was a league-wide bye week the weekend of September 4–5, between the final preseason game and the start of the regular season.
The August 28 game between
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
and
was
canceled due to
Hurricane Ida
Hurricane Ida was a deadly and extremely destructive Category 4 Atlantic hurricane in 2021 that became the second-most damaging and intense hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. state of Louisiana on record, behind Hurricane Katrina in 200 ...
. This was only the second time severe weather canceled a preseason game (a 2017
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
–
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
game was canceled due to
Hurricane Harvey).
Regular season
The NFL released its regular season schedule on May 12. The season was played over an 18-week schedule beginning on September 9. Each of the league's 32 teams plays 17 games, with one bye week for each team. The regular season concluded on January 9, 2022; all games during the final weekend were intra-division games, as it has been since .
The
2020 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) signed by team owners and the NFLPA allowed for an expansion of the regular season from 16 to 17 games. On March 30, 2021, owners approved the expanded schedule.
The extra game was added to the existing
scheduling formula. Each team continues to play the other three teams in its own division twice, one game against each of the four teams from a division in its own conference, one game against each of the four teams from a division in the other conference, and one game against each of the remaining two teams in its conference that finished in the same position in their respective divisions the previous season (e.g., the team that finished fourth in its division would play all three other teams in its conference that also finished fourth in their divisions).
The added game is a fifth interconference matchup between divisions that had played each other two years earlier, based on the position in their respective divisions the previous season (e.g. the team that finished fourth in its division plays a club that finished fourth in a division of the other conference). AFC teams host the extra game in odd-numbered years, including 2021, with NFC teams getting the extra home game in even-numbered years.
The division pairings for 2021 are as follows:
Highlights of the 2021 season include:
*
NFL Kickoff Game
The National Football League Kickoff game, along with related festivities, marks the official start of the National Football League (NFL) regular season. A single game is held, preceded by a concert and other ceremonies. This first game of the se ...
: The 2021 season began with the Kickoff Game on Thursday, September 9 with
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
at defending
Super Bowl LV champion
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater ...
.
Tampa Bay won the game.
*
NFL London Games: Two games were played at
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the home of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in north London, replacing the club's previous ground, White Hart Lane. With a seating capacity of 62,850, it is the third-largest football stadium in England and the ...
in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in 2021:
New York Jets at
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
on October 10 and
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
at
Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
on October 17, with Atlanta and Jacksonville winning. The games started at 9:30 am EDT (2:30 pm
BST). These games marked the return to international play after previous season's international games were canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
and the resulting overseas travel restrictions.
*
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...
: As has been the case since , three games were scheduled for Thursday, November 25:
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
at
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
and
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
at
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
in the traditional daytime doubleheader, and
Buffalo at
for the nightcap, with Chicago, Las Vegas, and Buffalo winning.
*
Christmas Day
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
: Two games were scheduled for Christmas Day, which landed on a Saturday in 2021:
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
at
Green Bay as a late-afternoon game, and
Indianapolis at
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
in primetime, with Green Bay and Indianapolis winning.
Scheduling changes
This section lists games that were moved or canceled because of severe weather, COVID-19 outbreaks, by way of flexible scheduling, or for other reasons, including games that were moved to Saturday. When the entire season schedule was released on May 12, the league announced that in Weeks 15 and 18, two games would be moved to their respective Saturdays.
* Week 1: Due to damage caused by
Hurricane Ida
Hurricane Ida was a deadly and extremely destructive Category 4 Atlantic hurricane in 2021 that became the second-most damaging and intense hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. state of Louisiana on record, behind Hurricane Katrina in 200 ...
in the
New Orleans metropolitan area
The New Orleans metropolitan area, designated the New Orleans–Metairie metropolitan statistical area by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, or simply Greater New Orleans (french: Grande Nouvelle-Orléans, es, Gran Nueva Orleans), is a me ...
, the
Green Bay–
game was moved to Jacksonville's
TIAA Bank Field
TIAA Bank Field is an American football stadium located in Jacksonville, Florida, that primarily serves as the home facility of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) and the headquarters of the professional wrestling prom ...
.
* Week 12: The
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
–
Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
game, originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, was cross-flexed to Fox, remaining at 1:00.
*Week 13:
:*The
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
–
Kansas City game, originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, was flexed into
NBC Sunday Night Football
''NBC Sunday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''SNF'') is an American weekly television broadcast of National Football League (NFL) games on NBC and Peacock in the United States. It began airing on August 6, 2006, with the Pro Football Hall of Fa ...
at 8:20 p.m. ET, replacing the originally scheduled
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
–
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
game, which was flexed to 4:25 p.m. on CBS.
:*The
Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...
–
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
game, originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was cross-flexed to CBS, remaining at 1:00.
:*The Jacksonville–
Los Angeles Rams game, originally scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS was flexed to 4:05 p.m. ET on Fox.
* Week 14:
:*The New Orleans–
New York Jets game, originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was cross-flexed to CBS, remaining at 1:00.
:* The San Francisco–Cincinnati game, originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, was flexed to 4:25 p.m ET, still on CBS.
*Week 15:
:*On November 23, the NFL announced that two games would be moved to Saturday, December 18:
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
–
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
at 4:30 p.m. ET and
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
–
Indianapolis at 8:15 p.m. ET, both exclusively on the NFL Network (though the Las Vegas-Cleveland game was later moved to Monday, December 20 due to a COVID-19 outbreak among Cleveland players
). The three other games that the league had the option of scheduling on Saturday (
Carolina–
Buffalo,
New York Jets–
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, and
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
–
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
), remained on Sunday, December 19 (though the Washington-Philadelphia game was delayed to Tuesday, December 21 due to a COVID-19 outbreak by Washington).
:* The Green Bay–
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
game, originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was flexed to 4:25 p.m ET, still on Fox.
:* The
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
–
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
game, originally scheduled for Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET, was moved to Monday at 5:00 PM ET, remaining on the NFL Network, due to an outbreak of COVID-19 among Cleveland.
:* The
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
–
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was moved to Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. ET, remaining on Fox, due to an outbreak of COVID-19 among Washington.
:* The Los Angeles Rams–
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
game, originally scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox, was moved to Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. ET, remaining on Fox, due to an outbreak of COVID-19 among Los Angeles.
* Week 17:
:* The Los Angeles Rams–Baltimore game, originally scheduled at 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox, was flexed to 1:00 p.m. ET, still on Fox.
:* The
Carolina–New Orleans game, originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was flexed to 4:25 p.m ET, still on Fox.
:* The Arizona-Dallas game, originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was flexed to 4:25 p.m. ET, still on Fox.
:* The Las Vegas-Indianapolis game, originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, was cross-flexed to Fox, remaining at 1:00.
* Week 18:
:*For the first time in league history, two games with playoff implications were moved to the last Saturday of the regular season. This move was announced at the same time as the final ''Sunday Night Football'' game on January 2, 2022. The
Kansas City–
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
, was moved to Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
/
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
, and the
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
–Philadelphia game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
, was moved to Saturday at 8:15 p.m. ET, on ABC/ESPN.
:* The
Los Angeles Chargers–Las Vegas game, originally scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS, was flexed into
NBC Sunday Night Football
''NBC Sunday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''SNF'') is an American weekly television broadcast of National Football League (NFL) games on NBC and Peacock in the United States. It began airing on August 6, 2006, with the Pro Football Hall of Fa ...
at 8:20 p.m. ET.
:* The Cincinnati–Cleveland game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, was cross-flexed to Fox, remaining at 1:00.
:* The
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
–
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, was flexed to 4:25 p.m. ET, still on CBS.
:* The New York Jets–
Buffalo game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, was flexed to 4:25 p.m. ET, still on CBS.
:* The New Orleans–Atlanta game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was flexed to 4:25 p.m. ET, still on Fox.
:* The Carolina–
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater ...
game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was flexed to 4:25 p.m. ET. on CBS.
Regular season standings
Division
Conference
Postseason
The 2021 playoffs began with the wild-card round, with three Wild Card games played in each conference. Wild card weekend took place from January 15–17, 2022. This marks the first time that the wild card games were played over three consecutive days. Two games were played on Saturday, three on Sunday, and one on Monday night,
marking the first Monday playoff game since .
In the divisional round, which was played on the weekend of January 22–23, the top seed in the conference played the lowest remaining seed and the other two remaining teams will play each other. The winners of those games advanced to the Conference Championships, which were played on January 30.
Super Bowl LVI was held on February 13 at 6:30 p.m. EST on NBC at
SoFi Stadium
SoFi Stadium () is a 70,240-seat sports and entertainment indoor stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California, United States. SoFi occupies the former site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack, from Los Angeles International Airport an ...
in
Inglewood, California.
Bracket
Records, milestones, and notable statistics
Week 1
*
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
became the first player to start 300 career games at any position.
*
Jameis Winston
Jameis Lanaed Winston ( ; born January 6, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State, where he became the youngest player to win the He ...
passed for 145 yards and five touchdowns, setting the record for fewest passing yards in a game with at least five passing touchdowns. The previous record of 158 yards was held by
Eddie LeBaron
Edward Wayne LeBaron Jr. (January 7, 1930 – April 1, 2015) was a Korean War veteran and an American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the Col ...
.
Week 2
*
Julio Jones
Quintorris Lopez "Julio" Jones Jr. (; born February 8, 1989) is an American football wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, and was drafted by the Atlanta Falco ...
became the fastest player to reach 13,000 receiving yards, doing so in 137 games. The previous record of 154 games was held by
Jerry Rice
Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. Known primarily as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, winning three championsh ...
.
*
Aaron Rodgers passed
John Elway for tenth place on the
all-time passing yards list.
*
Travis Kelce
Travis Michael Kelce (; born October 5, 1989) is an American football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft and later won Super Bowl LIV ...
became the fastest tight end to reach 8,000 receiving yards, doing so in 113 games. The previous record of 120 contests was held by
Rob Gronkowski
Robert James Gronkowski (born May 14, 1989) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Nicknamed "Gronk", Gronkowski played nine seasons for the New England Patriots, then played h ...
.
Week 3
*
Justin Tucker
Justin Paul Tucker (born November 21, 1989) is an American football placekicker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas and was signed by the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2012 ...
set the NFL record for
longest field goal with a 66-yard kick. The previous record of 64 yards was held by
Matt Prater
Matthew Phillip Prater (born August 10, 1984) is an American football placekicker for
the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Regarded as one of the best long distance kickers in NFL history, he held the NFL record for lon ...
.
*
Jamal Agnew tied the record for the longest play with a 109-yard return of a missed field goal for a touchdown. The record is now shared with
Antonio Cromartie
Antonio Cromartie (born April 15, 1984) is a former American football cornerback and current cornerback coach for the Texas A&M Aggies football team. He played college football at Florida State and was drafted in the first round by the San Diego ...
and
Cordarrelle Patterson
Cordarrelle Patterson ( ; born March 17, 1991), nicknamed "Flash", is an American football player for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). A versatile utility player, he plays running back, wide receiver, return specialist ...
.
*
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
became the second
player to record 80,000 passing yards, joining
Drew Brees
Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees i ...
.
* Brady became the most-sacked quarterback in NFL history, breaking
Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 201 ...
's record of 525 times sacked.
*
Matt Ryan became the 10th
player to record 350 passing touchdowns.
*
Patrick Mahomes
Patrick Lavon Mahomes II (born September 17, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Pat Mahomes, he initially played c ...
became the fastest player to reach 15,000 career passing yards, doing so in 49 games. The previous record of 53 games was held by
Matthew Stafford
John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he was a first-team All-American, and was selected ...
.
Week 4
*
Ben Roethlisberger
Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football ...
became the eighth
player to record 400 passing touchdowns.
* Roethlisberger passed
Dan Marino for sixth place on the
all-time passing yards list.
*
Russell Wilson became the 18th quarterback to
win 100 career starts.
*
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
became the NFL's all-time passing yards leader, breaking
Drew Brees
Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees i ...
' record of 80,358 yards.
* Brady became the fourth quarterback to defeat all 32 teams, joining Brees,
Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 201 ...
, and
Peyton Manning.
*
Patrick Mahomes
Patrick Lavon Mahomes II (born September 17, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Pat Mahomes, he initially played c ...
set the records for most passing yards and passing touchdowns in a player's first 50 games with 15,348 and 125, respectively. The previous record of 14,372 yards was held by
Kurt Warner
Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, which saw him ascend f ...
. The previous record of 116 touchdowns was held by Marino.
*
Andy Reid
Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2012. From 200 ...
became the first head coach to win 100 games (regular season and playoffs combined) with two different franchises.
* The
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...
had at least 100 rushing yards for the 43rd straight game, tying the 1974–77
Pittsburgh Steelers for the most consecutive such games.
Week 5
*
Antonio Brown
Antonio Tavaris Brown Sr. (born July 10, 1988), nicknamed "AB", is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent, and an American rapper. Raised in Liberty City, Miami, Brown attended Miami Norland High School. He played college ...
became the fastest player to reach 900 career receptions, doing so in 143 games. The previous record of 149 games was held by
Marvin Harrison
Marvin Darnell Harrison Sr. (born August 25, 1972) is an American Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver who played 13 seasons for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL), much of it with Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton ...
.
*
Aaron Rodgers passed
Dan Marino and
Philip Rivers
Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football at NC State and was se ...
for fifth place on the
all-time touchdown passes list.
*
Matt Ryan passed
Eli Manning for eight place on the
all-time passing yards list.
*Ryan became the seventh player to reach
5,000 career completions.
* The
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
became the first team in NFL history to lose a game despite scoring 40 or more points and not turning the ball over. Teams with 40+ points and no turnovers had previously been 442–0.
* League-wide, kickers missed 13
point after touchdown
The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...
attempts, breaking the record for a single week. The previous record of 12 misses was set in week 11 of the season.
Week 6
*
Lamar Jackson set the record for most wins by a starting quarterback before his 25th birthday with his 35th win. The previous record of 34 wins was held by
Dan Marino.
Week 7
*
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
became the first player to record
600 career passing touchdowns.
*
Matthew Stafford
John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he was a first-team All-American, and was selected ...
became the 13th player to record 300 career passing touchdowns.
Week 8
*
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
became the second player to
complete 7,000 career passes, joining
Drew Brees
Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees i ...
.
*Brady set the record for most games with at least three touchdown passes and most games with at least four touchdown passes with 98 and 38, respectively. Both records were previously held by Brees.
*
Mike White set the record for most completions in a first career start with 37.
Week 10
*
Bill Belichick
William Stephen Belichick (; born April 16, 1952) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Additionally, he exercises extensive authority over the Patri ...
became the fourth head coach to win at least 250 games with one team, joining
George Halas,
Don Shula, and
Tom Landry
Thomas Wade Landry (September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American professional football player and coach. He was the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL), a position he held for 29 seasons. Dur ...
.
*The
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...
became the second team to win five consecutive games over teams who made the playoffs the previous season, joining the
2003 Philadelphia Eagles.
Week 11
*
Jonathan Taylor tied the record for most consecutive games with at least 100 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown with eight. He shares the record with
Lydell Mitchell
Lydell Douglas Mitchell (born May 30, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) with the Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams from 1972 to 1980.
...
and
LaDainian Tomlinson
LaDainian Tarshane Tomlinson (born June 23, 1979) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. After a successful college career with the TCU Horned Frogs, the San Diego Chargers se ...
.
*
Christian McCaffrey
Christian Jackson McCaffrey (born June 7, 1996) is an American football running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Stanford and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers eighth overa ...
became the fastest player to record 3,000 rushing yards and 3,000 receiving yards, doing so in 57 games. The previous record of 66 games was held by
Alvin Kamara
Alvin Mentian Kamara (born July 25, 1995) is an American football running back for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tennessee after transferring from Hutchinson Community College and wa ...
.
*
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
became the first player to
attempt 11,000 career passes.
Week 12
*
Aaron Rodgers passed
Philip Rivers
Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football at NC State and was se ...
for eighth on the
all-time wins list for a starting quarterback, with 135.
*
Keenan Allen
Keenan Alexander Allen (born April 27, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California before leaving after his junior year. He was draft ...
tied the record for fastest player to reach 700 career receptions, doing so in 111 games. He shares the record with
Antonio Brown
Antonio Tavaris Brown Sr. (born July 10, 1988), nicknamed "AB", is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent, and an American rapper. Raised in Liberty City, Miami, Brown attended Miami Norland High School. He played college ...
.
*
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
passed
Ben Roethlisberger
Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football ...
for the third most career game-winning drives with 51.
*
Ben Roethlisberger
Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football ...
passed
Philip Rivers
Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football at NC State and was se ...
for fifth on the
career pass completions list.
Week 13
*
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
and
Rob Gronkowski
Robert James Gronkowski (born May 14, 1989) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Nicknamed "Gronk", Gronkowski played nine seasons for the New England Patriots, then played h ...
passed
Philip Rivers
Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football at NC State and was se ...
and
Antonio Gates for second place on the list of most touchdowns by a passer-receiver duo, with 90.
[NFL Today - Week 13](_blank)
/ref>
* Adrian Peterson
Adrian Lewis Peterson (born March 21, 1985) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest running backs in football history. He played college football at Oklahoma, where he set the ...
tied Jim Brown for tenth place on the most total touchdowns list, with 126.
* The Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
became the second team in NFL history to win five straight games immediately following a losing streak of seven or more games, joining the 1994 New York Giants.
Week 14
* Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
became the all-time pass completions leader, breaking Drew Brees
Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees i ...
' record of 7,142 completions.
* Brady became the first player to throw 700 passing touchdowns (regular season and playoffs combined).
* Brady with his 13th career 4,000 yard season, moved to second place in the most 4,000 yard seasons.
* Aaron Rodgers became the fifth player to throw at least 60 touchdown passes against a single opponent, doing so against the Chicago Bears.
* Justin Herbert became the first player to record 30 touchdown passes in each of his first two seasons.
*Herbert set the record for most pass completions by a player in his first two seasons. The previous record of 724 was held by Kyler Murray
Kyler Cole Murray (born August 7, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint at Texas A&M, Murray played college football at Oklahoma, where he won the Heisman Trop ...
.
*Josh Allen Josh or Joshua Allen may refer to:
* Josh Allen (offensive lineman) (born 1991), former American football player
* Josh Allen (quarterback) (born 1996), American football quarterback in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills since 2018
* Josh Allen (defensi ...
became the fourth player to pass for 300 yards and run for 100 yards in the same game, joining Lamar Jackson, Cam Newton
Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He has played for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NF ...
, and Russell Wilson.
Week 15
* Ben Roethlisberger
Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football ...
passed Philip Rivers
Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football at NC State and was se ...
for fifth place on the all-time passing yards list.
*Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
became the first player to be selected to 15 Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
s. He previously shared the record of 14 with four other players.
Week 16
* Justin Jefferson set the record for most receiving yards in a player's first two seasons, ultimately with 3,016. The previous record of 2,755 yards was held by Odell Beckham Jr.
Odell Cornelious Beckham Jr. (born November 5, 1992), commonly known by his initials OBJ, is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Beckham played college football at LSU and was drafted by the ...
* Joe Burrow
Joseph Lee Burrow (born December 10, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with Ohio State, Burrow played college football at LSU, where he won the Heisma ...
passed for 525 yards, the fourth most passing yards by a player in a single game in NFL history.[NFL Today, Week 16](_blank)
/ref>
* Josh Allen Josh or Joshua Allen may refer to:
* Josh Allen (offensive lineman) (born 1991), former American football player
* Josh Allen (quarterback) (born 1996), American football quarterback in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills since 2018
* Josh Allen (defensi ...
became the first player to record 100 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing touchdowns in his first four seasons.
* Dak Prescott
Rayne Dakota Prescott (born July 29, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Mississippi State, where he twice received first-team All- SEC honors, a ...
became the first player to throw a touchdown pass to a running back, wide receiver, tight end, and offensive lineman in the same game.
* The Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
- New York Jets game featured two touchdowns scored by offensive linemen. This marked the first time multiple touchdowns were scored by offensive linemen in the same game in NFL history.
* The Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
became the first team in NFL history to win seven straight games immediately following a seven-game losing streak.
Week 17
* Ja'Marr Chase
Ja'Marr Anthony Chase (born March 1, 2000) is an American football wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU, where he won the Fred Biletnikoff Award and the 2020 College F ...
set the record for most receiving yards by a rookie in a single game, with 266. The previous record of 255 yards was held by Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler Jr. (born December 8, 1939) is an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and retired politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame i ...
.
* Chase also set the record for receiving yards by a rookie in a season. The previous record of 1,400 yards was held by Justin Jefferson.[NFL Week 17 stats, stars, milestones](_blank)
/ref>
* Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
became the second player to throw 40 touchdown passes in consecutive seasons, joining Drew Brees
Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees i ...
.
* Josh Allen Josh or Joshua Allen may refer to:
* Josh Allen (offensive lineman) (born 1991), former American football player
* Josh Allen (quarterback) (born 1996), American football quarterback in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills since 2018
* Josh Allen (defensi ...
became the first player to record 100 passing touchdowns and 30 rushing touchdowns in his first four seasons.
* Bill Belichick
William Stephen Belichick (; born April 16, 1952) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Additionally, he exercises extensive authority over the Patri ...
tied the record for most 10-win seasons by a head coach, with 20. He shares the record with Don Shula.
* Matt LaFleur
Matthew Patrick LaFleur ( ; born November 3, 1979) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He has served as the quarterback coach of the Washington Redskins, Notre Dame ...
won his 39th game as a head coach, setting a record for most wins by a head coach in his first three seasons. The previous record of 38 was held by George Seifert
George Gerald Seifert (born January 22, 1940) is an American former football coach and player. He served as the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers and the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Seifert owned the second-grea ...
.
Week 18
* Travis Kelce
Travis Michael Kelce (; born October 5, 1989) is an American football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft and later won Super Bowl LIV ...
became the fastest tight end in NFL history to reach 9,000 receiving yards, doing so in 127 games.
* Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
broke the single season record for pass completions, with 485. The previous record of 471 was held by Drew Brees
Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees i ...
.
* Brady became the oldest player to lead the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns, at 44 years of age. Brady previously set both records at age 40.
* Brady also became the oldest player to pass for 5,000 yards in a single season, and joined Brees as the only quarterbacks in NFL history with multiple 5,000 yard seasons.
*T. J. Watt
Trent Jordan Watt (born October 11, 1994) is an American football outside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin, and was drafted by the Steelers in the first roun ...
tied the record for most sacks in a season, with 22.5. He shares the record with Michael Strahan
Michael T. Strahan ( ; born November 21, 1971) is an American television personality, journalist, and former professional football player. He played his entire 15-year professional career as a defensive end for the New York Giants of the Nation ...
.
*Cooper Kupp
Cooper Douglas Kupp (born June 15, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Washington, where he won the Walter Payton Award as a junior, ...
became the fourth player in NFL history to lead the league in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns in the same season, joining Jerry Rice
Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. Known primarily as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, winning three championsh ...
, Sterling Sharpe, and Steve Smith Sr.
Stevonne Latrall Smith Sr. (born May 12, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for sixteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Carolina Panthers, also playing for the Ba ...
*Jaylen Waddle
Jaylen Waddle (born November 25, 1998) is an American football wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama and was drafted sixth overall by the Dolphins in the 2021 NFL Dr ...
set the record for most receptions by a rookie, with 104. The previous record of 101 was held by Anquan Boldin.
* Mike Evans became the first player in NFL history to have 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first eight seasons.
* Justin Herbert set the record for most touchdown passes in a player's first two seasons, with 69. The previous record of 68 was held by Dan Marino.
*Rob Gronkowski
Robert James Gronkowski (born May 14, 1989) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Nicknamed "Gronk", Gronkowski played nine seasons for the New England Patriots, then played h ...
set the record for most games with 100 receiving yards by a tight end, with 32. The previous record of 31 was held by Tony Gonzalez
Anthony David Gonzalez (born February 27, 1976) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, he is the NFL's all-time leader ...
.
*The Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West div ...
set the record for most wins on the final play of a game, with six.
Wild Card Round
*The Buffalo Bills became the first team in NFL history to complete a game without any punts, turnovers, or field goal attempts.
Divisional Round
*Ja’Marr Chase
Ja'Marr Anthony Chase (born March 1, 2000) is an American football wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Louisiana State University, LSU, where he won the Fred Biletnikoff Aw ...
became the first rookie to have multiple 100-yard receiving games in the postseason.
*Gabe Davis
Gabriel Davis (born April 1, 1999) is an American football wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCF Knights football, UCF and was drafted by the Bills in the fourth round of the ...
set the record for most receiving touchdowns in a playoff game, with four. The previous record of three was shared by 16 players.
*Josh Allen Josh or Joshua Allen may refer to:
* Josh Allen (offensive lineman) (born 1991), former American football player
* Josh Allen (quarterback) (born 1996), American football quarterback in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills since 2018
* Josh Allen (defensi ...
and Patrick Mahomes
Patrick Lavon Mahomes II (born September 17, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Pat Mahomes, he initially played c ...
became the first opposing quarterbacks to each pass for at least 300 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions, and rush for at least 50 yards in the same game.
Conference Championships:
*Evan McPherson
Evan McPherson (born July 21, 1999) is an American football placekicker for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida before being drafted by the Bengals in the fifth round of the 2021 N ...
tied the record for most playoff games with at least four field goals, with three. He shares the record with Adam Vinatieri
Adam Matthew Vinatieri (born December 28, 1972) is an American former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 24 seasons with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Considered one of the greatest ...
.
*McPherson set the record for most field goals by a rookie in the playoffs, ultimately with 14. The previous record of 8 was held by Stephen Gostkowski
Stephen Carroll Gostkowski ( ; born January 28, 1984) is an American football former placekicker who played for 15 years in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the New England Patriots.
He was selected in the fourth round of th ...
.
Super Bowl LVI
*Evan McPherson
Evan McPherson (born July 21, 1999) is an American football placekicker for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida before being drafted by the Bengals in the fifth round of the 2021 N ...
tied the record for most field goals in a single postseason, with 14. He shares the record with Adam Vinatieri
Adam Matthew Vinatieri (born December 28, 1972) is an American former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 24 seasons with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Considered one of the greatest ...
.
*Von Miller
Vonnie B'VSean Miller (born March 26, 1989) is an American football outside linebacker for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). Miller played college football at Texas A&M, where he earned consensus All-American honors and ...
tied the record for most career sacks in the Super Bowl, with 4.5. He shares the record with Charles Haley.
*Sean McVay
Sean McVay (born January 24, 1986) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He became the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era when he was hired by the Rams in 201 ...
became the youngest head coach to ever win a Super Bowl, at 36 years, 20 days of age. The previous record of 36 years, 323 days was held by Mike Tomlin
Michael Pettaway Tomlin (born March 15, 1972) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the Steelers in 2007, he has led the team to ten playoff runs, s ...
.
*The Los Angeles Rams tied the record for most sacks in a Super Bowl, with seven. They share the record with the 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1985 Chicago Bears
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, and 2015 Denver Broncos
The 2015 Denver Broncos season was the franchise's 46th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 56th overall. It was also the fourth season with Peyton Manning as the team's starting quarterback, as well as the final season of Manni ...
.
Regular-season statistical leaders
Awards
Individual season awards
The 11th Annual NFL Honors
The 11th Annual NFL Honors was an awards presentation by the National Football League that honored its players from the 2021 NFL season. It was held on February 10, 2022, at YouTube Theater in the SoFi Entertainment District in Los Angeles. Keega ...
, saluting the best players and plays from 2021 season, was held on February 10, 2022, at the YouTube Theater
YouTube Theater is a 6,000 seat music and theater venue in Inglewood, California, U.S. Located under the same structure that houses SoFi Stadium, the home of the National Football League's Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. It is part o ...
in Inglewood, California.
All-Pro team
The following players were named First Team All-Pro by the Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
:
Players of the week/month
The following were named the top performers during the 2021 season:
Head coaching and front office changes
Head coaches
Off-season
In-season
Front office personnel
Off-season
Stadiums
Stadium changes
* Kansas City sold naming rights to its home stadium to health insurer GEHA, renaming the facility to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. It is the first time in the stadium's 50-year history that it has had a naming rights sponsor.
* Buffalo sold naming rights to its home stadium to Pittsburgh-based health insurer Highmark
Highmark is an American non-profit healthcare company and Integrated Delivery Network based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a large individual not-for-profit health insurer in the United States, which operates several for-pro ...
, resulting in the stadium being renamed Highmark Stadium.
*New Orleans sold naming rights to its home stadium to casino operator Caesars Entertainment, renaming the facility to the Caesars Superdome.
*Carolina changed the playing surface at Bank of America Stadium from natural grass to an artificial FieldTurf surface.
COVID-19 restrictions
Aided by the availability of vaccines
A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified.[< ...]
, by June 29 all 32 NFL teams had received approval to play their games with no restrictions on attendance. This comes after all games in were played with either a greatly reduced audience or no fans at all due to local or state public health orders or by team's ownership discretion. However, after a recent increase in cases due to the Delta variant
The Delta variant (B.1.617.2) was a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It was first detected in India in late 2020. The Delta variant was named on 31 May 2021 and had spread to over 179 countries by 22 November 2021. The ...
, several teams implemented fan restrictions, mainly due to local or state-level public health restrictions for events being re-enacted in response to the increase, however this purely involves requirements for masking, testing, vaccination or any combination thereof and not on attendance.
In addition, mascots
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fic ...
, cheerleaders
Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...
, and sideline reporters that were not allowed to be on the field in 2020 were allowed to return to the field for 2021.
Uniforms
Uniform changes
* Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
unveiled new uniforms on April 19. The uniforms are similar to their previous set, but have removed some features such as colored shoulder pads, TV numbers, side panels and outlined nameplates for a toned-down appearance. The team's trademark stripes were left as the most prominent feature.
* Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
will feature a new white uniform reminiscent of their uniform's 1946 design, commemorating the team's 75th anniversary. Helmet sides are divided with a thin white stripe and have corresponding numbering on either side. Jersey numbers are brown with an orange drop shadow.
* Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
unveiled new white pants on September 20.
* Green Bay revealed a new throwback on August 19. This throwback design is based on their 1950s all-green look, featuring green jerseys and pants, golden stripes, numbers and nameplates, and blank golden helmets with gray facemasks. Prior to the 2020 season, which featured no alternate uniforms for the team, the team used blue jersey based throwbacks as their third uniform from 2010 to 2019.
* Indianapolis will wear a new throwback uniform on November 28. The design pays homage to the 1956 team, featuring a three-stripe shoulder pattern and helmets with rear logo placement. This design is similar to the one found on the helmet worn with their 2010 alternate uniforms.
* Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
made its alternate teal jerseys its primary uniform. The team had previously used teal jerseys as the primary uniform from 1995 to 2011.
* The Los Angeles Rams revealed a modern throwback variation of their away uniforms on July 13. This design incorporates blue and yellow sleeves, similar to the ones worn on team uniforms from 1978 to 1999.
*The New York Giants will wear new white pants, featuring a stripe pattern resembling their sleeve stripe pattern, with their road uniforms replacing the gray pants. However, the gray pants will be retained for their Week 6 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams to commemorate the 10th anniversary of their Super Bowl XLVI win.
* San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
unveiled new red throwback uniforms based on the 1994 Super Bowl team on June 30 in celebration of the franchise's 75th anniversary. The uniforms, which feature white numbers with black drop shadows, are counterpart to the all-white 1994 throwback uniforms used by the team since 2018.
Patches
* Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
and San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
unveiled logos to commemorate the 75th anniversary (from the founding of their first league, the All-America Football Conference) for each franchise.
20th anniversary of September 11th attacks
*The first week of the season coincided with the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
. To commemorate that event, all players wore a stars and stripes ribbon decal bearing the dates "9/11/01" and "9/11/21" on their helmets. Players were also allowed to wear special red, white, and blue gloves and shoes. Furthermore, coaches and league, team, and broadcast personnel were provided ribbon-shaped pins with the same design as the aforementioned decals. In addition, specially designed hats designed by New Era Cap Company
The New Era Cap Company is an American headwear company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1920. New Era has over 500 different licenses in its portfolio. Since 1993 they have been the exclusive baseball cap supplier for Major ...
bearing New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...
, New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
, or Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, or Port Authority Police Department (PAPD), is a law enforcement agency in New York and New Jersey, the duties of which are to protect and to enforce state and city laws at all th ...
insignia were worn by players during the Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
– New York Giants and New York Jets– Carolina games.
Media
Broadcast rights
Television
This was the eighth year under the current nine-year broadcast contracts with CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
, Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
, and NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
; and the eighth and final year under the current contract with ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
/ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
. This included "cross-flexing" (switching) Sunday afternoon games between CBS and Fox before or during the season, regardless of the conference of the visiting team. NBC aired '' Sunday Night Football'', the Kickoff Game, and one Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...
game. ESPN's rights to ''Monday Night Football
''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, A ...
'' were modified this season, allowing ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
to simulcast select games (Weeks 1, 14, and 15), as well as a new Saturday doubleheader in Week 18. ''Thursday Night Football
''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 20 ...
'' aired on NFL Network
NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NF ...
, with Fox and Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
simulcasting 11 games (weeks 5–15, excluding Thanksgiving, plus an afternoon game on Christmas Day).
NBC televised Super Bowl LVI along with Telemundo Deportes
Telemundo Deportes is the programming division of NBC Sports Group, owned by NBCUniversal, that is responsible for the production of sports events and magazine programs that air on NBCUniversal's Spanish language television networks Telemundo an ...
which aired its first super bowl in Spanish on Broadcast Television. CBS was originally scheduled to broadcast the game under the current rotation. However, CBS traded the game to NBC in exchange for Super Bowl LV to avoid counterprogramming (as per an untold gentleman's agreement) by the 2022 Winter Olympics, as this was the first Super Bowl to be scheduled during an ongoing Olympic Games. NBC also holds the U.S. broadcast rights to the Olympics. Due to NBC's coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...
(held 2021), the network sold its broadcast rights to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game
The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game is an annual National Football League (NFL) exhibition game in Canton, Ohio, held the weekend of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's induction ceremonies. The game is played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, part ...
to Fox.
On March 18, the NFL announced its future television deals for 2023–2033, which will see CBS, Fox, and NBC maintain their existing Sunday packages with expanded digital rights for their streaming services (Paramount+
Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media ...
, Tubi
Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly ...
, and Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are r ...
, respectively). ''Thursday Night Football'' will move exclusively to Amazon. ESPN also entered into a new agreement for ''Monday Night Football'' for 2022, adding the aforementioned Week 18 Saturday doubleheader beginning this season. It was later announced in May that Fox and NFL Network had opted out of its final season of ''Thursday Night Football'', so Amazon will take over TNF starting 2022. NBC maintained Spanish-language rights to ''Sunday Night Football'' for Universo
Universo is a Legion of Super-Heroes supervillain in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Comics universe. He was created by Jim Shooter and Curt Swan, and first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #349 (October 1966).
Pre-Zero Hour
Universo first ...
, while its Spanish broadcast network Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by Comcast. It provides content nationally with pr ...
would air selected games, including NBC's primetime Wild Card games and Super Bowl LVI.
On July 19, ESPN announced an agreement with Omaha Productions, the production company of Peyton Manning, to produce '' Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli'', a supplemental telecast of ''Monday Night Football'' with Manning, his brother Eli
Eli most commonly refers to:
* Eli (name), a given name, nickname and surname
* Eli (biblical figure)
Eli or ELI may also refer to:
Film
* ''Eli'' (2015 film), a Tamil film
* ''Eli'' (2019 film), an American horror film
Music
* ''Eli'' (Jan ...
, and guest celebrities for ten games each season on ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%).
ESPN2 was initially fo ...
and ESPN+, from 2021 to 2023.
For the second consecutive season, Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
will simulcast a wild-card playoff game with CBS, using the same youth-friendly broadcast modifications that were in place the previous season. Nickelodeon will also air a weekly NFL magazine program, ''NFL Slimetime'', throughout the season.
On October 13, the league announced that the Monday Night Wild Card playoff game would be aired on ESPN and ABC, with ESPN2 and ESPN+ providing the “Peyton and Eli” broadcast.
Most watched regular season games
*DH = doubleheader; SNF = Sunday Night Football; MNF = Monday Night Football
''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, A ...
; TNF = Thursday Night Football
''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 20 ...
*Note – Late DH matchups listed in table are the matchups that were shown to the largest percentage of the market.
References
{{NFL seasons
*
NFL
National Football League seasons