1974 NFL season

1974 National Football League season
Regular season
Duration September 15 – December 15, 1974
Playoffs
Start date December 21, 1974
AFC Champions Pittsburgh Steelers
NFC Champions Minnesota Vikings
Super Bowl IX
Date January 12, 1975
Site Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana
Champions Pittsburgh Steelers
Pro Bowl
Date January 20, 1975
Site Miami Orange Bowl

The 1974 NFL season was the 55th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl IX when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings. Players held a strike from July 1 until August 10,[1] prior to the regular season beginning;[2] only one preseason game (that year's Chicago College All-Star Game) was canceled, and the preseason contests were held with all-rookie rosters.

Major rule changes

The following changes were adopted to add tempo and action to the game [3][4] (and to help counter the proposed changes announced by the World Football League to their games):

Division races

Starting in 1970, and until 2002, there were three divisions (Eastern, Central and Western) in each conference. The winners of each division, and a fourth "wild card" team based on the best non-division winner, qualified for the playoffs. The tiebreaker rules were changed to start with head-to-head competition, followed by division records, common opponents records, and conference play.

National Football Conference

Week Eastern Central Western Wild Card
1 St. Louis, Washington, Dallas 1–0–0 Chicago, Minnesota 1–0–0 Los Angeles, San Fran. 1–0–0 4 teams 1–0–0
2 St. Louis 2–0–0 Minnesota 2–0–0 Los Angeles, San Fran. 2–0–0 Los Angeles, San Fran. 2–0–0
3 St. Louis 3–0–0 Minnesota 3–0–0 Los Angeles, San Fran. 2–1–0 4 teams 2–1–0
4 St. Louis 4–0–0 Minnesota 4–0–0 Los Angeles 3–1–0 Philadelphia 3–1–0
5 St. Louis 5–0–0 Minnesota 5–0–0 Los Angeles 3–2–0 Philadelphia 4–1–0
6 St. Louis 6–0–0 Minnesota 5–1–0 Los Angeles 4–2–0 Philadelphia 4–2–0
7 St. Louis 7–0–0 Minnesota 5–2–0 Los Angeles 5–2–0 Washington 4–3–0
8 St. Louis 7–1–0 Minnesota 6–2–0 Los Angeles 6–2–0 Washington 5–3–0
9 St. Louis 7–2–0 Minnesota 7–2–0 Los Angeles 7–2–0 Washington 6–3–0
10 St. Louis 8–2–0 Minnesota 7–3–0 Los Angeles 7–3–0 Washington 7–3–0
11 St. Louis 9–2–0 Minnesota 7–4–0 Los Angeles 8–3–0 Washington 8–3–0
12 St. Louis 9–3–0 Minnesota 8–4–0 Los Angeles 9–3–0 Washington 8–4–0
13 St. Louis 9–4–0 Minnesota 9–4–0 Los Angeles 9–4–0 Washington 9–4–0
14 St. Louis 10–4–0 Minnesota 10–4–0 Los Angeles 10–4–0 Washington 10–4–0

American Football Conference

Week Eastern Central Western Wild Card
1 Buffalo, New England 1–0–0 Pittsburgh, Houston, Cincinnati 1–0–0 Kansas City 1–0–0 Denver, Kansas City, San Diego 1–0–0
2 New England 2–0–0 Pittsburgh 1–0–1 Oakland* 1–1–0 8 teams 1–1–0
3 New England 3–0–0 Cincinnati 2–1–0 Oakland* 2–1–0 3 teams 2–1–0
4 New England 4–0–0 Cincinnati 3–1–0 Oakland 3–1–0 Pittsburgh 2–1–1
5 New England 5–0–0 Cincinnati 4–1–0 Oakland 4–1–0 Buffalo 4–1–0
6 Buffalo 5–1–0 Pittsburgh 4–1–1 Oakland 5–1–0 New England 5–1–0
7 Buffalo 6–1–0 Pittsburgh 5–1–1 Oakland 6–1–0 New England 6–1–0
8 Buffalo 7–1–0 Pittsburgh 6–1–1 Oakland 7–1–0 New England 6–2–0
9 Miami 7–2–0 Pittsburgh 6–2–1 Oakland 8–1–0 Buffalo 7–2–0
10 Miami 8–2–0 Pittsburgh 7–2–1 Oakland 9–1–0 Buffalo 7–3–0
11 Miami 8–3–0 Pittsburgh 8–2–1 Oakland 9–2–0 Buffalo 8–3–0
12 Miami 9–3–0 Pittsburgh 8–3–1 Oakland 10–2–0 Buffalo 9–3–0
13 Miami 10–3–0 Pittsburgh 9–3–1 Oakland 11–2–0 Buffalo 9–4–0
14 Miami 11–3–0 Pittsburgh 10–3–1 Oakland 12–2–0 Buffalo 9–5–0

Final standings

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

 x  – clinched wild card berth,  y  – clinched division title

AFC East
TeamWLTPCTPFPA
y-Miami Dolphins 1130.786327216
x-Buffalo Bills 950.643264244
New England Patriots 770.500348289
New York Jets 770.500279300
Baltimore Colts 2120.143190329
AFC Central
TeamWLTPCTPFPA
y-Pittsburgh Steelers 1031.750305189
Houston Oilers 770.500236282
Cincinnati Bengals 770.500283259
Cleveland Browns 4100.286251344
AFC West
TeamWLTPCTPFPA
y-Oakland Raiders 1220.857355228
Denver Broncos 761.536302294
Kansas City Chiefs 590.357233293
San Diego Chargers 590.357212285
NFC East
TeamWLTPCTPFPA
y-St. Louis Cardinals 1040.714285218
x-Washington Redskins 1040.714320196
Dallas Cowboys 860.571297235
Philadelphia Eagles 770.500242217
New York Giants 2120.143195299
NFC Central
TeamWLTPCTPFPA
y-Minnesota Vikings 1040.714310195
Detroit Lions 770.500256270
Green Bay Packers 680.429210206
Chicago Bears 4100.286152279
NFC West
TeamWLTPCTPFPA
y-Los Angeles Rams 1040.714263181
San Francisco 49ers 680.429226236
New Orleans Saints 590.357166263
Atlanta Falcons 3110.214111271

Tiebreakers

Playoffs

Note: Prior to the 1975 season, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly rotation.
Divisional Playoffs Conf. Championship Games Super Bowl IX
December 22 – Three Rivers Stadium        
 Buffalo  14
December 29 – Oakland Coliseum
 Pittsburgh  32  
 Pittsburgh  24
December 21 – Oakland Coliseum
     Oakland  13  
 Miami  26
January 12 – Tulane Stadium
 Oakland  28  
 Pittsburgh  16
December 22 – L.A. Coliseum    
   Minnesota  6
 Washington  10
December 29 – Metropolitan Stadium
 Los Angeles  19  
 Los Angeles  10
December 21 – Metropolitan Stadium
     Minnesota  14  
 St. Louis  14
 Minnesota  30  
 

Awards

Most Valuable PlayerKen Stabler, Quarterback, Oakland
Coach of the YearDon Coryell, St. Louis Cardinals
Offensive Player of the YearKen Stabler, Quarterback, Oakland
Defensive Player of the YearJoe Greene, Defensive End, Pittsburgh
Offensive Rookie of the YearDon Woods, Running Back, San Diego
Defensive Rookie of the YearJack Lambert, Linebacker, Pittsburgh

References

  1. Seppy, Tom (August 12, 1974). "Players halt strike - for 2 weeks". St. Petersburg Times (Florida). Associated Press. p. 1C.
  2. "'Critical stage' for strike talks". St. Petersburg Times (Florida). AP, UPI wires. July 31, 1974. p. 1C.
  3. "NFL rule changes". Toledo Blade (Ohio). Associated Press. April 26, 1974. p. 26.
  4. "NFL rule changes bring mixed reactions". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. April 26, 1974. p. 1, part 2.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, May 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.