2003 NFL season
The 2003 NFL season was the 84th regular season of the National Football League.
Regular-season play was held from September 4, 2003, to December 28, 2003. Due to damage caused by the Cedar Fire, Qualcomm Stadium was used as an emergency shelter, and thus the Miami Dolphins–San Diego Chargers regular-season match on October 27 was instead played at Sun Devil Stadium, the home field of the Arizona Cardinals.
The playoffs began on January 3, 2004. The NFL title was won by the New England Patriots when they defeated the Carolina Panthers, 32–29, in Super Bowl XXXVIII at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 1.
This was the last season until the 2016 NFL season where neither of the previous Super Bowl participants made the playoffs.
Draft
The 2003 NFL Draft was held from April 26 to 27, 2003 at New York City's Theater at Madison Square Garden. With the first pick, the Cincinnati Bengals selected quarterback Carson Palmer from the University of Southern California.Referee changes
and Bob McElwee retired in the 2003 off-season. Hantak joined the league as a back judge in 1978, and was assigned Super Bowl XVII in that position. He was promoted to referee in 1986, working Super Bowl XXVII. McElwee joined the NFL in 1976 as a line judge, and became a referee in 1980. He was the referee for three Super Bowls: XXII, XXVIII, and XXXIV. Walt Anderson and Pete Morelli were promoted to referee to replace Hantak and McElwee.Major rule changes
- If an onside kick inside the final five minutes of the game does not go 10 yards, goes out of bounds, or is touched illegally, the receiving team will have the option of accepting the penalty and getting the ball immediately. Previously, the kicking team was penalized, but had another chance to kick again from five yards back.
- League officials encouraged networks to immediately cut to a commercial break if an instant replay challenge review was initiated. Previously networks were generally not permitted to utilize those game stoppages for their prescribed commercial periods.
2003 deaths
- John Butler
- Otto Graham
- Sid Gillman
Final regular season standings
Tiebreakers
- Indianapolis finished ahead of Tennessee in the AFC South based on better head-to-head record.
- Denver clinched the AFC 6 seed instead of Miami based on better conference record.
- Buffalo finished ahead of N.Y. Jets in the AFC East based on better division record.
- Jacksonville finished ahead of Houston in the AFC South based on better division record.
- Oakland finished ahead of San Diego in the AFC West based on better conference record.
- Philadelphia clinched the NFC 1 seed instead of St. Louis based on better conference record.
- Seattle clinched the NFC 5 seed instead of Dallas based on strength of victory.
Playoffs
Bracket
Milestones
The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:| Record | Player or team | Date/Opponent | Previous record holder |
| Most Touchdowns, Season | Priest Holmes, Kansas City | December 28, vs. Chicago | Marshall Faulk, St. Louis, 2000 |
| Most Rushing Yards Gained, Game | Jamal Lewis, Baltimore | September 14, vs. Cleveland | Corey Dillon, Cincinnati vs. Denver, October 22, 2000 |
| Most Consecutive Field Goals | Mike Vanderjagt, Indianapolis | December 28, at Houston | Gary Anderson, 1997–98 |
| Most Consecutive Road Games Lost | Detroit Lions | December 21, vs. Carolina | Houston Oilers, 1981–84 |
| Most consecutive games with a sack | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | November 9, 2003 | Dallas Cowboys |
Statistical leaders
Team
Individual
Awards
Coaching changes
- Cincinnati Bengals – Marvin Lewis; replaced Dick LeBeau who was fired following the 2002 season.
- Dallas Cowboys – Bill Parcells; replaced Dave Campo who was fired following the 2002 season.
- Detroit Lions – Steve Mariucci; replaced Marty Mornhinweg who was fired following the 2002 season.
- Jacksonville Jaguars – Jack Del Rio; replaced Tom Coughlin who was fired following the 2002 season.
- San Francisco 49ers – Dennis Erickson; replaced Steve Mariucci who was fired following the 2002 season.
Stadium changes
- Baltimore Ravens: Ravens Stadium was renamed M&T Bank Stadium after M&T Bank acquired the naming rights
- Chicago Bears: The Bears moved back to a newly renovated Soldier Field after temporarily playing in 2002 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois
- New England Patriots: CMGI Field was renamed Gillette Stadium after Gillette acquires the naming rights
- Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles moved from Veterans Stadium to Lincoln Financial Field, with Lincoln Financial Group acquiring the naming rights
- San Francisco 49ers: After the naming rights deal with 3Com expired, the stadium was officially renamed San Francisco Stadium at Candlestick Point instead of its original Candlestick Park name
- Atlanta Falcons: New FieldTurf surface
- Buffalo Bills: New AstroPlay home turf
- New Orleans Saints: New AstroPlay home turf by mid-season
New uniforms
- The Atlanta Falcons unveiled a new uniform design featuring red trim down the sides of both the jerseys and pants. The pants were switched from gray to white. Black remained the primary jersey color while a red alternate jersey was also introduced. The falcons helmet logo was redesigned to be more aggressive and closely resemble a capital "F".
- The Cleveland Browns added new alternate orange pants last worn during the 1970s-early 1980s Kardiac Kids era of coach Sam Rutigliano.
- The Denver Broncos introduced blue pants with orange streaks to match with their blue jerseys.
- The Detroit Lions introduced a new design that added black trim to their logo and jerseys, and changed their face masks from blue to black.
- The Houston Texans added red third alternate uniforms.
- The Miami Dolphins added orange third alternate uniforms.
- The New England Patriots added silver third alternate uniforms.
- The New Orleans Saints wore gold pants full time, discontinuing using black pants with their white jerseys.
- The Philadelphia Eagles added silver trim to the jersey numbers on uniforms, and black third alternate uniforms.
- The San Diego Chargers wore white pants instead of blue with their white jerseys.
- The Tennessee Titans added powder blue third alternate uniforms.