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 16-6. Players held a strike from July 1 until August 10, prior to the regular season beginning; only one preseason game (that year's College All-Star Game) was canceled, and the preseason contests were held with all-rookie rosters.
The 1974 season was the first played under a major rules reform intended to promote offensive football, including a reduction of the penalty for offensive holding from 15 yards to 10, elimination of unlimited "chucking" of pass receivers and banning low blocks against them, moving the goalposts to the end line to incentivize more aggressive play-calling, and implementing sudden death overtime to reduce tie games.
Draft
The 1974 NFL draft was held from January 29 to 30, 1974, at New York City's Americana Hotel. With the first pick, the Dallas Cowboys selected defensive end Ed "Too Tall" Jones from the Tennessee State University.
New officials
There were two new referees in 1974, Cal Lepore and Gordon McCarter. Lepore replaced the retired John McDonough, the referee for Super Bowl IV and the NFL's longest game, the 1971 Christmas Day playoff between the Dolphins and Chiefs which lasted 82 minutes, 40 seconds. McCarter succeeded Jack Reader, who left the field to become chief lieutenant to NFL Director of Officiating Art McNally at league headquarters in New York.
Rules reform of 1974
The NFL faced growing criticism in the early 1970s that its game had become too conservative — run-centric and field position-oriented.Chuck Benedict, "Let's Open Up the Game," Petersens 14th Pro Football: 1974 Annual. Los Angeles: Petersen Publishing Co., 1974; p. 84. The league's competition committee had worked for several years attempting to craft rules changes that would make long touchdown drives more achievable and reducing the number of possessions ending with long field goal attempts.
Unfortunately, various piecemeal attempts to implement rules changes to open up the game had devolved into arguments and been shot down at the annual meetings of team owners. Ahead of the 1974 a new approach was taken by the competition committee, however, and a broad suite of major rules reforms were presented to the other owners as a package on a take-it-or-leave it basis. With changes implemented by the rival World Football League (WFL) helping to spur action lest the NFL be left behind, this set of rules changes was approved:
Timing
In order to reduce the number of tie games, a single 15 minute sudden death overtime period was added to all preseason (through , there was no exhibition season in the next and abolished hereafter) and regular season games (up to ; since , 10). If no team scored during this period, the game would result in a tie.Ironically, the first regular season overtime, a September 22 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos, ended in a 35–all tie. It was not until November 10, when the New York Jets beat the New York Giants, 26–20, that an overtime game would produce a winner. Since the season teams each get one possession to score unless the team first possessing the ball scores a touchdown or yields safety. Playoff games were to continue to play multiple overtime periods until a result was achieved.
Kicking
Goal posts: moved to the end line from the goal line, where they had been located since the NFL's rule changes of . This was to reduce the number of games being decided on field goals, and to increase their difficulty, as well as to reduce the risk of player injuries on running plays at the goal line.
Missed field goals: the defensive team takes possession at the line of scrimmage or the twenty-yard line (touchback), whichever is farther from their goal line.In , that reference to the line of scrimmage was changed to the kick spot, which is seven to eight yards behind the line of scrimmage. A missed field goal attempt fielded in-bounds and run back into the field of play was to be treated as any normal scrimmage kick.Benedict, "Let's Open Up the Game," pp. 84–85.
Kickoffs: moved to the 35-yard line (from the 40-yard line) to reduce touchbacks and promote more excitement with kickoff returns.From through , the kickoff was moved five more yards back, to the 30-yard line.
Punt returns: all players of a punting team were to be forced to stay onside until after the ball was kicked except the two players at the end of each side of the line ("gunners") — but only one of these was allowed to actually leave.Benedict, "Let's Open Up the Game," p. 85. This was intended to make it easier for the receiving team to block for a punt return, reducing the net field advantage gained by punting the ball away and putting the receiving team in a more advantageous position to score.Bob Oates, "Mastering New Rules and WFL Lame Ducks Will Be Key to the 1974 Season," Street and Smith's Official Pro Football Yearbook, 1974. New York: Conde Nast Publications, 1974, pp. 70–71.
Blocking and receiving
An eligible pass receiver could only be contacted ("chucked") once by defenders after the receiver had gone three yards beyond the line of scrimmage.Benedict, "Let's Open Up the Game," p. 86.
When the defensive team commits an illegal use of hands, arms, or body foul from behind the line of scrimmage, the penalty will be assessed from the previous spot instead of the spot of the foul.
The penalties for offensive holding, illegal use of hands, and tripping were reduced from fifteen to ten yards.
No receiver lining up two or more yards outside the tackles could henceforth be blocked below the waist ("axed").
Wide receivers blocking back towards the ball ("crack-back blocking") within three yards from the line of scrimmage could no longer block below the waist.Benedict, "Let's Open Up the Game," p. 87.
Although the package of rules changes were approved by ownership for the 1974 season, substantial dissent remained, with at least eight owners expressing disapproval off the record.Bob Oates, "A Look at the New Rules," Petersens 14th Pro Football: 1974 Annual. Los Angeles: Petersen Publishing Co., 1974; pp. 86–87. Chief among these was Joe Robbie, owner of the world champion Miami Dolphins, who objected that the changes were "frankly intended to tip the scales toward passing and against running." Robbie asserted that his team had "proved that football fans like to watch a good running game" and that "you aren't making it exciting when you put in a new rule making it harder to block sweeps."
Those favoring passing were more positive, with St. Louis Cardinals head coach Don Coryell enthusiastically declaring, "The new rules definitely encourage offense."
Deaths July 28 - Don McCafferty, age 53. Head coach for the Baltimore Colts in the win over the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V Roster changes
In addition to its sweeping changes to playing rules, the NFL eliminated the "future list" ("taxi squad") of players a team could sign without placing them on an active roster. The future list had been formalized by the league in and had informally existed for over a decade before that. The concept returned in , renamed the practice squad.
Division races From 1970 to 2001, 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, records against common opponents, and records in 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 14St. Louis 10–4–0Minnesota 10–4–0Los Angeles 10–4–0Washington 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 14Miami 11–3–0Pittsburgh 10–3–1Oakland 12–2–0Buffalo 9–5–0
Final standings
Tiebreakers N.Y. Jets finished ahead of New England in the AFC East based on better conference record (5–6 to Patriots' 4–7). Houston finished ahead of Cincinnati in the AFC Central based on head-to-head sweep (2–0). Kansas City finished ahead of San Diego in the AFC West based on better point-differential in head-to-head competition (3 points). St. Louis finished ahead of Washington in the NFC East based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
Playoffs
Awards Most Valuable PlayerKen Stabler, quarterback, OaklandCoach of the YearDon Coryell, St. Louis CardinalsOffensive Player of the YearKen Stabler, quarterback, OaklandDefensive Player of the YearJoe Greene, defensive end, PittsburghOffensive Rookie of the YearDon Woods, running back, San DiegoDefensive Rookie of the YearJack Lambert, linebacker, PittsburghMan of the YearGeorge Blanda, quarterback, OaklandComeback Player of the YearJoe Namath, quarterback, New YorkSuper Bowl Most Valuable PlayerFranco Harris, running back, Pittsburgh
Coaching changes Offseason Detroit Lions: Don McCafferty died on July 28, 1974, after suffering a heart attack. Assistant coach Rick Forzano was promoted to head coach and remained in the position for two and a half seasons. Houston Oilers: This was Sid Gillman's first full season as head coach after replacing Bill Peterson, who was fired after the Oilers lost their first five games in 1973. New York Giants: Alex Webster was replaced by Bill Arnsparger, architect of the Miami Dolphins' "No-Name Defense". New York Jets: After 11 seasons as head coach, Weeb Ewbank resigned and was replaced by Charley Winner, Ewbank's son-in-law and head coach of the Cardinals from 1966 to 1970. San Diego Chargers: Tommy Prothro became the team's new head coach. Harland Svare left the team midway through the 1973 season after going 1–6–1, and Ron Waller served for the last six games.
In-season