The inbounds lines or hashmarks were moved closer to the center of the field, 23 yards, 1 foot, 9 inches from the sidelines. The hashmarks are now 18 feet, 6 inches apart (the same width as the goalposts), cutting down on severe angles for short field goal attempts.
If a legal receiver goes out of bounds, either accidentally or forced out, and returns to touch or catch the pass in bounds, the penalty is a loss of down (but no penalty yardage will be assessed).
If a punt or missed field goal crosses the receivers' goal line, a member of the receiving team may advance the ball into the field of play.
All fouls committed by the offensive team behind the line of scrimmage will be assessed from the previous spot.
Tie games, previously not counted, were made equal to a half-game won and a half-game loss.
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 tiebraker 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
3 teams
1-0-0
2 teams
1-0-0
3 teams
1-0-0
5 teams
1-0-0
2
2 teams
2-0-0
MINNESOTA
1-1-0
LOS ANGELES
1-0-1
2 teams
2-0-0
3
WASHINGTON
2-1-0
2 teams
2-1-0
2 teams
2-1-0
3 teams
2-1-0
4
WASHINGTON
3-1-0
DETROIT*
3-1-0
LOS ANGELES
2-1-1
2 teams
3-1-0
5
WASHINGTON
4-1-0
GREEN BAY
4-1-0
LOS ANGELES
3-1-1
DALLAS
4-1-0
6
WASHINGTON
5-1-0
GREEN BAY*
4-2-0
LOS ANGELES
4-1-1
4 teams
4-2-0
7
WASHINGTON
6-1-0
GREEN BAY*
4-3-0
LOS ANGELES
4-2-1
DALLAS
5-2-0
8
WASHINGTON
7-1-0
GREEN BAY*
5-3-0
LOS ANGELES
5-2-1
DALLAS
6-2-0
9
WASHINGTON
8-1-0
GREEN BAY
6-3-0
LOS ANGELES
5-3-1
DALLAS
7-2-0
10
WASHINGTON
9-1-0
GREEN BAY
7-3-0
LOS ANGELES*
5-4-1
DALLAS
8-2-0
11
WASHINGTON
10-1-0
GREEN BAY*
7-4-0
SAN FRANCISCO
6-4-1
DALLAS
8-3-0
12
WASHINGTON
11-1-0
GREEN BAY
8-4-0
ATLANTA
7-5-0
DALLAS
9-3-0
13
WASHINGTON
11-2-0
GREEN BAY
9-4-0
SAN FRANCISCO
7-5-1
DALLAS
10-3-0
14
WASHINGTON
11-3-0
GREEN BAY
10-4-0
SAN FRANCISCO
8-5-1
DALLAS
10-4-0
American Football Conference
Week
Eastern
! Central
! Western
! Wild Card
|-
1
2 teams
1-0-0
2 teams
1-0-0
DENVER
1-0-0
2 teams
1-0-0
2
2 teams
2-0-0
CINCINNATI
2-0-0
4 teams
1-1-0
2 teams
2-0-0
3
MIAMI
3-0-0
CLEVELAND
2-1-0
KANSAS CITY
2-1-0
4 teams
2-1-0
4
MIAMI
4-0-0
CINCINNATI
3-1-0
KANSAS CITY
3-1-0
SAN DIEGO*
2-1-1
5
MIAMI
5-0-0
CINCINNATI
4-1-0
OAKLAND
3-1-1
N.Y. JETS*
3-2-0
6
MIAMI
6-0-0
CINCINNATI*
4-2-0
OAKLAND
3-2-1
PITTSBURGH*
4-2-0
7
MIAMI
7-0-0
CINCINNATI*
5-2-0
OAKLAND
4-2-1
PITTSBURGH*
5-2-0
8
MIAMI
8-0-0
PITTSBURGH
6-2-0
KANSAS CITY
5-3-0
CLEVELAND*
5-3-0
9
MIAMI
9-0-0
PITTSBURGH
7-2-0
OAKLAND
5-3-1
CLEVELAND*
6-3-0
10
MIAMI
10-0-0
CLEVELAND
7-3-0
OAKLAND
6-3-1
PITTSBURGH
7-3-0
11
MIAMI
11-0-0
CLEVELAND
8-3-0
OAKLAND
7-3-1
PITTSBURGH
8-3-0
12
MIAMI
12-0-0
PITTSBURGH
9-3-0
OAKLAND
8-3-1
CLEVELAND
8-4-0
13
MIAMI
13-0-0
PITTSBURGH
10-3-0
OAKLAND
9-3-1
CLEVELAND
9-4-0
14
MIAMI
14-0-0
PITTSBURGH
11-3-0
OAKLAND
10-3-1
CLEVELAND
10-4-0
Final standings
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against
Green-shaded teams clinched playoff berths x - clinched wild card berth, y - clinched division title
Note: Prior to 1972, the NFL did not include tie games when calculating a team's winning percentage in the official standings
Encyclopedia
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