| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 10 – December 18, 1966 |
| East Champions | Dallas Cowboys |
| West Champions | Green Bay Packers |
| Championship Game | |
| Champions | Green Bay Packers |
The 1966 NFL season was the 47th regular season of the National Football League, and the first season in which the Super Bowl was played, though it was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The league expanded to 15 teams with the addition of the Atlanta Falcons, making a bye necessary one week for each team.
This was the last season that the NFL was divided only into two separate divisions, and only one postseason round was played, that being between the two division champions. The season concluded with the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game; the NFL champion Green Bay Packers defeated the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs 35–10 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on January 15, 1967. The interleague championship game would eventually be named the Super Bowl, and the 1966 season is now considered the first of the Super Bowl era.
Pat Studstill for the Detroit Lions set a record for consecutive games with more than 125 receiving yards with five, a record which was not tied until Calvin Johnson several decades later. He also became the 3rd ever player to complete a 99-yard pass play.
The highest scoring game in NFL history also took place during this season, with the then Washington Redskins defeating the New York Giants in a week 12 showdown with a final score of 72–41.