1999 NFL season

1999 NFL season
Regular season
DurationSeptember 12, 1999 – January 3, 2000
Playoffs
Start dateJanuary 8, 2000
AFC ChampionsTennessee Titans
NFC ChampionsSt. Louis Rams
Super Bowl XXXIV
DateJanuary 30, 2000
SiteGeorgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
ChampionsSt. Louis Rams
Pro Bowl
DateFebruary 6, 2000
SiteAloha Stadium
1999 NFL season is located in the United States
Colts
Colts
Patriots
Patriots
Bills
Bills
Dolphins
Dolphins
Jets
Jets
Bengals
Bengals
Ravens
Ravens
Titans
Titans
Steelers
Steelers
Jaguars
Jaguars
Browns
Browns
Broncos
Broncos
Chiefs
Chiefs
Raiders
Raiders
Chargers
Chargers
Seahawks
Seahawks
AFC teams: West, Central, East
1999 NFL season is located in the United States
Cowboys
Cowboys
Giants
Giants
Eagles
Eagles
Cardinals
Cardinals
Redskins
Redskins
Bears
Bears
Lions
Lions
Packers
Packers
Vikings
Vikings
Buccaneers
Buccaneers
Falcons
Falcons
Rams
Rams
Saints
Saints
49ers
49ers
Panthers
Panthers
NFC teams: West, Central, East
Photo of the Green Bay vs. Denver preseason game at Camp Randall Stadium on August 23, 1999

The 1999 NFL season was the 80th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). The Cleveland Browns returned to the field for the first time since the 1995 season, while the Tennessee Oilers changed their name to "Tennessee Titans", with the league retiring the name "Oilers".

The return of the Browns increased the number of teams to 31, the first time the league had played with an odd number of teams since 1966. As per the league's agreement with the City of Cleveland, the Browns were placed in the AFC Central, increasing that division to six teams. This also required the NFL to give at least one team a bye each week; previously, barring extreme circumstances, a club never received a bye during the first two weeks or last seven weeks of the season. Under the new system, for ten weeks of the season (Week #1, Week #2 and Week #10 to Week #17), one team received a bye, and for seven weeks of the season (Week #3 to Week #9), three teams received a bye. This format would continue until the Houston Texans joined the NFL in 2002, returning the league to an even number of teams.

The start of the 1999 NFL season was pushed back one week and started the weekend after Labor Day, a change from the previous seasons: due to the Y2K concerns, the NFL did not want to hold the opening round of the playoffs on Saturday, January 1, 2000, and did not want teams traveling on that day. This was also done to avoid competing against college football's New Years Day bowl games.

Week 17 games were held on January 2, 2000, and the opening round of the playoffs would be scheduled for January 8 and 9, with the bye week before the Super Bowl removed to accommodate the one-week adjustment. The start of the season after Labor Day would become a regular fixture for future seasons, beginning in 2001.

The final spot in the NFC playoffs came down to the final day of the regular season. The Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers were both at 7–8, tied for the last spot in the playoffs with the Dallas Cowboys and tied in other tiebreakers. The Packers–Panthers tie would be broken by best net point differential in conference games. With both the Packers and Panthers playing at 1:00 p.m. Eastern on January 2, the two teams tried to outscore the other. The Packers beat the Arizona Cardinals 49–24, and the Panthers beat the New Orleans Saints 45–13, with the result that the Packers finished ahead of the Panthers by 11 points. Nevertheless, Dallas defeated the New York Giants later that night to claim the final playoff spot.

The St. Louis Rams, who had had losing records for each of the past nine seasons dating back to their first tenure in Los Angeles (and had finished in last place in their division the previous season), surprised the entire league by making a Super Bowl run, as seven point favorites, by defeating the Tennessee Titans 23–16 in Super Bowl XXXIV at the Georgia Dome.