2016 NFL season

Player movements and retirements

The 2016 NFL league year began on March 9, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. ET. On March 7 clubs started to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who became unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their 2015 contracts two days later. On March 9, clubs exercised options for 2016 on players who have option clauses in their 2015 contracts, submitted qualifying offers to their restricted free agents with expiring contracts and to whom desire to retain a Right of Refusal/Compensation, submitted a Minimum Salary Tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2015 contracts and who have fewer than three accrued season of free agent credit, and teams were required to be under the salary cap, using the "Top-51" definition (in which the 51 highest-paid players on the team's payroll must have a collective salary cap hit below the actual cap). All 2015 players contracts expired and trading period for 2016 begin.

Free agency

A total of 496 players were eligible for some form of free agency at the beginning of the free agency period. In addition, a number of highly paid players were released after the start of the league year to allow their teams to regain space under the salary cap. Among the high-profile players who changed teams via free agency were cornerbacks Josh Norman (from Panthers to Redskins), Janoris Jenkins (Rams to Giants), Prince Amukamara (Giants to Jaguars), Sean Smith (from Chiefs to Raiders) and Casey Hayward (Packers to Chargers); safeties Eric Weddle (Chargers to Ravens), Rodney McLeod (Rams to Eagles) and Tashaun Gipson (Browns to Jaguars); defensive ends Malik Jackson (Broncos to Jaguars) and Olivier Vernon (Dolphins to Giants); defensive tackles Damon Harrison (Jets to Giants) and Brandon Mebane (Seahawks to Chargers); linebackers Danny Trevathan (Broncos to Bears), Demario Davis (Jets to Browns) and Bruce Irvin (Seahawks to Raiders); offensive tackles Mitchell Schwartz (Browns to Chiefs), Donald Stephenson (Chiefs to Broncos), Bobby Massie (Cardinals to Bears) and Russell Okung (Seahawks to Broncos); guards Kelechi Osemele (Ravens to Raiders), J. R. Sweezy (Seahawks to Buccaneers) and Alex Boone (49ers to Vikings); center Alex Mack (Browns to Falcons); tight ends Benjamin Watson (Saints to Ravens) and Coby Fleener (Colts to Saints); wide receivers Rishard Matthews (Dolphins to Titans) Travis Benjamin (Browns to Chargers), Marvin Jones (Bengals to Lions) and Mohamed Sanu (Bengals to Falcons); running backs Lamar Miller (Dolphins to Texans), Matt Forte (Bears to Jets), Alfred Morris (Redskins to Cowboys), and Chris Ivory (Jets to Jaguars); and quarterbacks Brock Osweiler (Broncos to Texans) and Robert Griffin III (Redskins to Browns).

Trades

On March 9, the Philadelphia Eagles traded cornerback Byron Maxwell, linebacker Kiko Alonso, and a 2016 first-round draft pick to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a 2016 first-round draft pick.

On March 9, the Philadelphia Eagles traded running back DeMarco Murray along with a 2016 fourth-round draft pick to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for a 2016 fourth-round draft pick.

On March 11, the Philadelphia Eagles traded quarterback Mark Sanchez to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a conditional 2017 seventh-round draft pick.

On March 15, the New England Patriots traded Pro Bowl defensive end Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for guard Jonathan Cooper and a 2016 second-round draft pick.

On March 16, the Chicago Bears traded tight end Martellus Bennett along with a 2016 sixth-round draft pick to the New England Patriots in exchange for a 2016 fourth-round draft pick.

On April 9, the Denver Broncos traded offensive tackle Ryan Clady and a 2016 seventh-round draft pick to the New York Jets in exchange for a 2016 fifth-round draft pick.

On August 16, the Tennessee Titans traded wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for G/T Dennis Kelly.

On September 3, the Philadelphia Eagles traded quarterback Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2017 first-round draft pick and conditional 2018 fourth-round draft pick.

On October 31, the New England Patriots traded linebacker Jamie Collins to the Cleveland Browns for a conditional 2017 third-round draft pick.

Draft

The 2016 NFL Draft was held between April 28 − April 30, 2016 in Chicago. By way of a trade with the Tennessee Titans, the Los Angeles Rams held the first overall pick and selected QB Jared Goff.

Notable retirements

Oakland Raiders' defensive back Charles Woodson announced he would retire from professional football at the end of the 2015 season on December 21, 2015. He played eighteen seasons, starting with the Raiders for eight seasons and after spending seven with the Green Bay Packers, he returned to the Raiders for his final three seasons. He was the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the 2009 season and is tied with Rod Woodson and Darren Sharper for most career defensive touchdowns with 13.

Seattle Seahawks' running back Marshawn Lynch announced his retirement from professional football on February 7, 2016. Lynch played nine seasons, four with the Buffalo Bills and the final five with the Seahawks. Lynch was a five-time Pro Bowler, led the league in rushing touchdowns two seasons (2013–2014), co-led in total touchdowns one season (2014), and won a championship title with the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII.

Carolina Panthers' defensive end Jared Allen announced his retirement from professional football on February 18, 2016. Allen played twelve seasons, his first four with the Kansas City Chiefs, then six with the Minnesota Vikings, and spent his last two seasons with the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers. A five-time Pro Bowl and four-time All-Pro selection, Allen tallied 136 quarterback sacks during his career. In 2011, Allen had 22 sacks but fell 0.5 sacks short of the single season NFL record held by former New York Giants' defensive end Michael Strahan.

Denver Broncos' quarterback Peyton Manning announced his retirement from professional football on March 7, 2016, exactly one month after the Broncos defeated the Panthers in Super Bowl 50. Manning played in the NFL for seventeen seasons — the first thirteen with the Indianapolis Colts (1998–2010), before missing the entire 2011 season due to recovery from neck surgery, then played the last four seasons of his career with the Denver Broncos (2012–2015). Manning appeared in four Super Bowls (two with Indianapolis, two with Denver) and won one with each team — Super Bowl XLI and Super Bowl 50.

Detroit Lions' wide receiver Calvin Johnson announced his retirement from professional football, one day after Manning on March 8, 2016. Johnson played his entire nine-year career with the Lions, including six Pro Bowl selections and three First Team All-Pro selections. He also set a single-season record for receiving yards in 2012 with 1,964.

Carolina Panthers' cornerback Charles Tillman announced his retirement from professional football on July 18, 2016. Tillman, nicknamed "Peanut", spent the first twelve years of his NFL career with the Chicago Bears (2003–2014), before signing with the Panthers in 2015. Tillman was a two-time Pro Bowler, and forced 42 fumbles during his first twelve seasons, the most of any defensive back since the statistic was first recorded in 1984.

Miami Dolphins' wide receiver Greg Jennings announced his retirement from professional football on July 25, 2016. Jennings spent his first seven seasons with the Packers and was a member of their 2010 championship team that won Super Bowl XLV. He then spent his remaining three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins, respectively. Jennings was a two-time Pro Bowler.

Miami Dolphins' running back Arian Foster announced his retirement from professional football on October 25, 2016. Foster spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Houston Texans from 2009–2015, but played only four games with the Dolphins in 2016. Foster was plagued by injuries in the last two seasons of his career, including a ruptured Achilles tendon in 2015. Foster is the Texans' franchise leader in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, rushing yards in a single season (a league-leading 1,616 in 2010), most rushing touchdowns in a single season and became the first player in NFL history to have 100+ rushing yards in his first three postseason games.

Tennessee Titans' wide receiver Andre Johnson announced his retirement from professional football on October 31, 2016. Johnson gave the announcement just six days after former Texans' teammate Arian Foster announced his. Johnson spent 12 seasons with the Houston Texans from 2003-2014. He was a 7-time Pro Bowler, 2-time First Team All-Pro, and a 2-time Second Team All-Pro. He led the league in receiving yards in 2008 and 2009 with the Texans before becoming the highest paid wide receiver in NFL history in 2010. Johnson played 16 games with the Indianapolis Colts, catching 41 passes for only 503 yards in 2015. He joined the Titans in 2016 and played in eight games before retiring after Week 8. Johnson is the Texans' franchise leader in career receptions, career receiving yards, career receiving touchdowns, and has the most starts as a Texan at 169.

Regular season

The 2016 regular season featured 256 games which were played out over a seventeen-week schedule beginning on Thursday, September 8, 2016. Each of the league's 32 teams played a 16-game schedule, with one bye week for each team scheduled between weeks 4-13. The slate also featured games on Monday night. There were games played on Thursday, including the National Football League Kickoff game in prime time on September 8 and games on Thanksgiving Day. The regular season concluded with a full slate of 16 games on Sunday, January 1, 2017, all of which were intra-divisional matchups, as it has been since 2010.

Scheduling formula

Under the NFL's current scheduling formula, each team played each of the other three teams in its own division twice. In addition, a team played against all four teams in one other division from each conference. The final two games on a team's schedule were against the two teams in the team's own conference in the two divisions the team was not set to play which finished the previous season in the same rank in their division (e.g. the team which finished first in its division the previous season played each other team in its conference that also finished first in its respective division). The pre-set division pairings for 2016 were:

Highlights of the 2016 schedule included:

NFL Kickoff Game: The 2016 season began on Thursday, September 8, 2016, with a rematch of the previous Super Bowl. The defending Super Bowl 50 champions, the Denver Broncos, hosted the Carolina Panthers at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC. This was the first time since the Kickoff game was established that it was a rematch of the previous Super Bowl and the first such meeting of both Super Bowl participants during the first week of the next season since the 1970 season when the Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs held a rematch of Super Bowl IV to kick off the new post-merger era of the National Football League. The Broncos debuted Trevor Siemian as their new starting quarterback; Siemian had been the Broncos' third-string quarterback and ascended to the starting position after Peyton Manning, their starting quarterback for the 2012 through 2015 seasons, retired following Super Bowl 50, and second-stringer Brock Osweiler left as a free agent for the Houston Texans. The Broncos rallied from a ten-point deficit to win 21–20.

International Series: Four games were played internationally this season. Three of the games were played in London, England and the fourth was played in Mexico City, Mexico. The Jacksonville Jaguars played host to the Indianapolis Colts on October 2 at Wembley Stadium, marking the fourth of at least eight consecutive years in which the Jaguars will host a game in London; the previously winless Jaguars won, 30–27. On October 23, in the first-ever NFL game at Twickenham Stadium also in London, the Los Angeles Rams hosted the New York Giants, with the Giants winning 17–10. The Cincinnati Bengals played host to the Washington Redskins on October 30 at Wembley Stadium in London and the game became the first London game to both go into overtime and end in a tie, with the final score tied at 27. Finally, on Monday, November 21, the Oakland Raiders hosted the Houston Texans at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, in the first-ever Monday night game to be played outside of the United States and the second regular-season contest to be held in Mexico (the first being the 2005 Fútbol Americano contest), with the Raiders winning 27–20.

Thanksgiving Day games: As has been the case since 2006, three games were played on Thursday, November 24, 2016. The Detroit Lions hosted the Minnesota Vikings, the Dallas Cowboys hosted the Washington Redskins, and the evening game, featuring teams from the AFC since 2013, featured the Indianapolis Colts hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Christmas Day games: Christmas Day, December 25, fell on a Sunday in 2016. When that occurs (most recently in 2011), the Sunday afternoon games were moved to Saturday, Christmas Eve. This year, two games were shown nationally on Christmas Day — Ravens at Steelers at 4:30 p.m. EST on the NFL Network, and Broncos at Chiefs at 8:30 p.m. EST on NBC.

New Year's Day Games: The NFL played a full slate of 16 games, all of which were intradivisional matchups, on Sunday, January 1, 2017, to conclude the regular season. The College Football Playoff played its semifinals on Saturday, December 31, 2016, while the other college bowl games were played on Monday, January 2, as is tradition when New Year's Day occurs on a Sunday. In contrast, the National Hockey League, which traditionally held its showcase Winter Classic on New Year's Day afternoon but moved that contest to Monday in 2012, did not cede the afternoon to the NFL in 2017; the NHL had scheduled the Centennial Classic opposite the NFL's regional games for January 1, in addition to the 2017 Winter Classic on January 2. Both host teams for the NHL outdoor games were in markets that did not have an NFL team: Toronto and St. Louis respectively. Toronto has never held an NFL franchise of its own, while St Louis had lost the Rams during the previous offseason when they moved back to Los Angeles.

The complete 2016 schedule was released on Thursday, April 14, 2016.

In-season scheduling changes

Week 8: The Packers–Falcons game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, was switched to 4:25 p.m. ET in place of the originally-scheduled Cardinals–Panthers game, which was originally scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET (both games still on Fox).

Week 12: The Chiefs–Broncos game, originally scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS, was flexed into the 8:30 p.m. ET slot on NBC's Sunday Night Football, in place of the originally-scheduled Patriots–Jets game, which was moved to 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS.

Week 14: The Saints–Buccaneers game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, was switched to 4:25 p.m. ET, still on Fox. The Bears–Lions game was "cross-flexed" from Fox to CBS, still at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Week 15: The Buccaneers–Cowboys game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was flexed into the 8:30 p.m. ET slot on NBC's Sunday Night Football, in place of the originally-scheduled Steelers–Bengals game, which was moved to 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS.

Week 16: The Buccaneers–Saints game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was switched to 4:25 p.m. ET (still on Fox).

Week 17: The Packers–Lions game, which was originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was selected for the final NBC Sunday Night Football game. Also, the Saints–Falcons game and the Giants–Redskins game were moved from 1:00 p.m. ET to 4:25 p.m. ET, with both games still on Fox.

Postseason

The 2016 playoffs began on the weekend of January 7–8, 2017 with the Wild Card playoff round. The four winners of these playoff games visited the top two seeded teams in each conference in the Divisional round games, which were played on the weekend of January 14–15, 2017. The winners of those games advanced to the Conference championship games, which will be held on January 22, 2017. The 2017 Pro Bowl was held at the recently renovated Camping World Stadium (the former Citrus Bowl stadium) in Orlando, Florida on January 29, 2017 and aired on ESPN. Super Bowl LI will be held on February 5, 2017 at NRG Stadium in Houston on Fox.

Clinched playoff berth

Week 13: Dallas Cowboys

Week 15: New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks

Week 16: Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 17: Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers

Clinched division title

Week 15: New England Patriots (AFC East), Seattle Seahawks (NFC West)

Week 16: Atlanta Falcons (NFC South), Dallas Cowboys (NFC East), Houston Texans (AFC South), Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC North)

Week 17: Kansas City Chiefs (AFC West), Green Bay Packers (NFC North)

Clinched first round bye

Week 15: New England Patriots

Week 16: Dallas Cowboys

Week 17: Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Falcons

Clinched homefield advantage throughout the conference playoffs

Week 16: Dallas Cowboys

Week 17: New England Patriots

Eliminated from postseason contention

Week 11: Cleveland Browns

Week 12: San Francisco 49ers

Week 13: Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets

Week 14: Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Rams

Week 15: Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, San Diego Chargers

Week 16: Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans

Week 17: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins

* Indicates overtime victory

Deflategate

On April 25, 2016, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady's four-game suspension for the 2016 regular season related to Deflategate; Brady dropped his appeal shortly thereafter and declined to take his case to the Supreme Court.

2016 deaths

The following people associated with the NFL (or AFL) have died in 2016.

Dennis Green

Dennis Green died July 21. Green was named the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings in 1992, becoming the second full-time black head coach in NFL history (Art Shell, who had been hired for the Los Angeles Raiders three years prior, was the first). Green spent ten years coaching the Vikings, eight of them being playoff seasons, but never made it to the Super Bowl. He then took over the Arizona Cardinals from 2004 to 2006, to much less success, most infamously in the Monday Night Meltdown, in which he let off a tirade after losing a game. Green had also spent time as an assistant coach with the San Francisco 49ers and as a broadcast commentator. Green was 67.

Buddy Ryan

James "Buddy" Ryan died June 28. Ryan, a head coach and defensive coordinator who served with six NFL teams over the course of his career, was credited with inventing the 46 defense. His contributions to the game were considered crucial to helping the New York Jets secure an upset win in Super Bowl III and played a key role in the Chicago Bears' rout in Super Bowl XX. His sons, Rex and Rob, were both coaches with the Buffalo Bills at the time (a team the elder Ryan turned down a coaching offer from in the early years of his career). Ryan was 85.

Other notable deaths

Julius Adams, Caesar Belser, John Binotto, Cary Blanchard, Ron Brace, Clarence Brooks, Fred Bruney, Rudy Bukich, Dennis Byrd, Patrick Cain, Keion Carpenter, Gail Cogdill, Bruce DeHaven, David Douglas, Robert Eddins, Bill Glassford, Ken Gorgal, Quentin Groves, Bob Harrison, Joe Hergert, Winston Hill, Greg Horton, Gary Jeter, Paul Jetton, Curley Johnson, Ted Karras, Johnny Lattner, Jacky Lee, Mike McCoy, Joe McKnight, Ted Marchibroda, Andy Maurer, Lou Michaels, Lawrence Phillips, Chuck Pitcock, Fred Quillan, Konrad Reuland, Willie Richardson, Bill Robinson, Bryan Robinson, Leo Rucka, Rashaan Salaam, Will Smith, Bill Stanfill, Steve Thompson, Zurlon Tipton, Kevin Turner, Bill Wade, Fulton Walker, Tray Walker, Elmer Wingate, Al Wistert, John Wittenborn, George Yarno.

National anthem protests

In 2016, several professional athletes have protested the United States national anthem. The protests began in the NFL after San Francisco 49ers' quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat during the anthem, as opposed to the tradition of standing, before a preseason game.

Rule changes

The following rule changes were approved for the 2016 NFL season at the owners' meeting on March 22:

Allowing the offensive and defensive play callers on the coaching staffs to use the coach-to-player communication system regardless of whether they are on the field or in the coaches' booth.

Permanently adopting the extra-point rules enacted in the 2015 NFL season. Extra point kicks will be from the 15 yard line, and defenses can return blocked PAT's, fumbles or interceptions on two-point tries for a two-point defensive conversion.

Outlaw all chop blocks anywhere on the field. Previously, the chop block was legal when an offensive lineman chops a defensive player "while the defensive player is physically engaged above the waist by the blocking attempt of another offensive teammate".

Expand the definition of a "horse-collar tackle" to include tackles where a player is grabbed by the jersey at or above the name plate and dragged to the ground.

Making the act of calling time-out when not permitted to do so subject to a delay-of-game penalty (5 yards).

Changing from a five-yard penalty to a loss of down when a receiver goes out of bounds and comes back in to illegally touch a forward pass.

Eliminating multiple spots of enforcement for a double foul committed after a change of possession.

The following changes were approved for only the 2016 NFL season at the owners' meeting on March 23. Both are subject to become permanent rules or scrapped for the 2017.

Moving the touchback spot after kickoffs and other free kicks to the 25-yard line, similar to the NCAA rule adopted in the 2012 season (a touchback after a turnover or punt will still be placed on the 20-yard line). The goal for this rule change is to decrease the number of kickoff returns: kick returners may be more reluctant to bring the ball out from the end zone because of the greater risk of being tackled before reaching the 25-yard line. NFL officials concede that this may in fact increase kickoff returns because kickers may instead attempt to pin returners inside the 10-yard line.

Players committing two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the same game will be automatically ejected from the game. This was in response to New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. committing three personal fouls in one game against the Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman without being ejected. This change is being referred to as the "Odell Beckham Rule". NFL officials, however, concede that this new rule would not have ejected Beckham since he committed personal fouls and not unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

The following changes to instant replay rules were approved for the 2016 NFL season at the owners' meeting on May 24:

Refining what is a reviewable play, including the following:

Plays involving possession.

Plays involving touching of either the ball or the ground.

Plays governed by the goal line.

Plays governed by the boundary lines.

Plays governed by the line of scrimmage.

Plays governed by the line to gain (1st down).

Number of players on the field at the snap.

Game administration (which includes correct application of the playing rules, proper down, spot of the foul for penalty application, and game clock status (running clock, not running clock, end of period)

Additional rule updates made for the 2016 season include:

Banning players from wearing hoodies under their uniform shirts. This was adopted in response to Green Bay Packers wide receiver James Jones using that style in the 2015 season, which hid his name plate under the hood.

Banning any coaches except for the head coach from entering the field of play, and then only to check on an injured player. This was in response to the incident involving Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach Joey Porter and several Cincinnati Bengals players, especially Adam Jones, during the 2015–16 NFL playoffs.

If the coin does not flip (as it did during the 2015–16 NFL Playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals), during the pre-game or pre-OT toss, the Referee can re-toss the coin using the captain's original call.

Practice squads can now have up to four players with two seasons of experience, an increase from the two players allowed the previous two years.

Injury reports will no longer include the "probable" designation. The league had discouraged using the designation for anything beyond minor injuries after 2005 (in a game in which Michael Vick, listed as probable on the injury report, was also listed as inactive), to the point where almost all of the players who were being listed as probable ultimately played. The "questionable" category will now be broadened to include any injury that could possibly prevent a player from entering the game, while the "doubtful" category will likewise be generalized to include any player who is more likely to not play than play. Prior to 2016, each designation represented the approximate odds of the player seeing any playing time: 75 percent for probable, 50 percent for questionable and 25 percent for doubtful.

Records, milestones, and notable statistics

Week 1

Cam Newton scored his 44th career rushing touchdown, surpassing Steve Young for the most career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in NFL history. Newton, who had scored a passing touchdown in the first quarter, also surpassed Young for the most career games with both a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown by a quarterback in NFL history, with 32.

Drew Brees tied Peyton Manning for the most 400-yard passing games in a career (17 overall, regular season and postseason combined) by a quarterback.

Week 2

Drew Brees surpassed Dan Marino for third place on the NFL's all-time passing yards list.

Week 4

Frank Gore surpassed Marshall Faulk for 10th place on the NFL's all-time rushing yards list.

Matt Ryan and Julio Jones became the first quarterback/wide receiver duo in NFL history with 500+ passing yards and 300+ receiving yards in a single game.

Matthew Stafford broke the NFL record previously held by Dan Marino for most passing yards in a quarterback's first 100 games, with 27,174.

Week 5

Bill Belichick won his 250th career game (including the post-season). He became the fourth head coach to reach this mark joining Don Shula (347 wins), George Halas (324) and Tom Landry (270).

Week 6

Dak Prescott broke the NFL record for most consecutive pass attempts without an interception to start a career, a record previously held by Tom Brady with 162 passes. He ran his streak to 176 pass attempts before throwing his first interception.

Tom Brady became the fourth quarterback in NFL history to record 5,000 career pass completions, preceded by Brett Favre, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees.

Drew Brees set an NFL record for the most regular season 400-yard passing games in a career by a quarterback with 15. Brees also became the sixth player to record 50,000 passing yards with one team, joining Peyton Manning (Colts), Brett Favre (Packers), Dan Marino (Dolphins), Tom Brady (Patriots) and John Elway (Broncos).

Week 7

Jay Ajayi rushed for 214 yards. With his 204-yard rushing output the week before, Ajayi became the fourth player in NFL history to rush for at least 200 yards in consecutive games, joining O.J. Simpson (who accomplished the feat twice), Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams.

Adam Vinatieri set a new NFL record for most consecutive regular season field-goals made with 43, breaking the record that was held by Mike Vanderjagt. His streak ended at 44 after a miss in Week 11.

Matt Ryan set an NFL record for the most consecutive games with at least 200 passing yards, with 46.

The Seahawks-Cardinals matchup ended in a 6–6 tie, making it the first tie without a touchdown scored by either team since the introduction of the overtime period in 1974.

Week 8

The Redskins–Bengals match ended in a 27–27 tie. It was the first time an International Series game had ended in a tie (and the first ever such game to have gone into overtime). It was also the first time since 1997 where two games ended in a tie in the same season.

The Raiders were penalized 23 times for 200 yards, setting a new NFL record for the most penalties against a team in a single game.

Week 9

The San Francisco 49ers set an NFL record for allowing an opponent’s running back to run for 100 or more yards in seven consecutive games.

Week 10

Stefon Diggs of the Minnesota Vikings became the first player in NFL history to have at least 13 catches in consecutive games after catching 13 balls in the game against the Washington Redskins.

For the first time in NFL history, two different games on the same day, the Cowboys–Steelers matchup and the Seahawks–Patriots matchup, involved at least seven different lead changes.

Week 11

A single-day record twelve point after touchdown attempts were missed, including three in domed stadiums.

The Dallas Cowboys gained 417 total net yards, marking the team’s eighth consecutive game with at least 400 yards, tied for the longest single-season streak in NFL history (2007 New England Patriots and 2013 Denver Broncos).

Antonio Brown reached 600 catches in his 96th career game, the fewest games to reach the milestone in NFL history. Brown surpassed the previous mark held by Anquan Boldin, who reached this mark in 98 career games.

Steve Smith Sr. reached 1,000 catches, becoming the 14th player in NFL history to reach this mark.

Week 12

With the New England Patriots' victory, Tom Brady joined Peyton Manning as the second starting quarterback in NFL history to record 200 combined regular season and postseason wins. The Patriots' victory made them the first former American Football League franchise to record 500 all-time victories, including playoffs. Brady also became only the fifth quarterback to record 60,000 regular season passing yards, joining Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Drew Brees and Dan Marino.

Week 13

With the Patriots' victory, Tom Brady broke Peyton Manning's record of most career wins by a quarterback (regular season and playoffs) in NFL history with his 201st win.

Larry Fitzgerald became the youngest player in NFL history (33 years, 95 days) to reach 1,100 career catches.

Week 14

Matthew Stafford recorded his eighth fourth quarter comeback win of the season with the Detroit Lions' 20–17 win against the Chicago Bears, surpassing the previous record held by Peyton Manning, who led the Indianapolis Colts to seven fourth quarter comeback wins during the 2009 season.

Anquan Boldin moved past Andre Johnson for tenth on the NFL's all-time receptions list.

Week 15

The New England Patriots clinched their eighth consecutive AFC East title. They surpassed the Los Angeles Rams, who won the NFC West division title every year from 1973 to 1979, for the most consecutive division titles won by any franchise in NFL history.

Week 16

The Pittsburgh Steelers recorded the 600th regular-season victory in franchise history, joining the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers and New York Giants as the only teams in NFL history to reach this mark.

Bill Belichick won his 200th career regular-season game as head coach of the New England Patriots. Belichick becomes the fifth coach to reach 200 regular-season wins with one team joining George Halas, Don Shula, Tom Landry and Curly Lambeau.

Week 17

Matthew Stafford surpassed 30,000 career passing yards in his 109th game, surpassing Dan Marino and Kurt Warner for the fastest quarterback to reach that mark.

Postseason

Divisional Round

The Patriots advanced to their sixth consecutive AFC Championship Game, surpassing the 1973–1977 Oakland Raiders for the most consecutive appearances in a conference championship game in history.

Chris Boswell made a postseason record six field goals during the Steelers' win over the Chiefs.

Dak Prescott became the first rookie starting QB to throw three TD passes in a postseason game in the Super Bowl era.

Patriots' RB Dion Lewis became the first player in NFL history to score a rushing, receiving and kickoff return touchdown in a playoff game.

Super Bowl LI

Super Bowl LI marks an NFL record seventh Super Bowl appearance for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick as a QB/head coach duo.

Super Bowl LI also marks the New England Patriots' ninth Super Bowl appearance, breaking a record shared with the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, and Pittsburgh Steelers.

All-Pro team

The following players were named First Team All-Pro by the Associated Press:

Players of the week/month

The following were named the top performers during the 2016 season:

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are playing their 25th and final season at the Georgia Dome, with the team's new home field, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, slated to open in 2017.

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are playing their first season at U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis. Construction on the team's new home field in downtown Minneapolis wrapped up at the start of the 2016 season. The new stadium is built on the site of the Vikings' former home, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, which was demolished after the 2013 season.

Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles

The league scheduled a vote on whether to relocate one or two of its existing franchises to the Los Angeles metropolitan area on January 12, 2016. The league set a relocation fee of $550 million for any team who is approved to relocate. On January 4, three teams filed to relocate to Los Angeles: the Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, and the St. Louis Rams, all three of which had previously resided in the city at various points in their history. Despite the Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities recommending the Raiders' and Chargers' joint proposal for a stadium in Carson, California, on January 12, the league approved the Rams' proposal to relocate to Inglewood after three ballots, also giving the Chargers the option to share the Rams' stadium if they so choose. In the first two rounds of voting, Inglewood led Carson 21–11 and 20–12 respectively; by the third ballot, the Rams proposal had received effectively unanimous support from the other owners, with the final vote reaching 30–2 (the Raiders and Chargers themselves casting the lone opposing votes). The Rams will play the first three seasons at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, while their new stadium is being built in Inglewood. The Rams previously played at the Coliseum during their first stint in Los Angeles from 1946 to 1979.

Rams bid for Los Angeles

The Rams and the St. Louis CVC (Convention & Visitors Commission) began negotiating deals to get the Rams' home stadium, The Dome at America's Center (then known as Edward Jones Dome), into the top 25 percent of stadiums in the league (i.e., top eight teams of the thirty-two NFL teams in reference to luxury boxes, amenities and overall fan experience). Under the terms of the lease agreement, the St. Louis CVC was required to make modifications to the Edward Jones Dome in 2005. However, then-owner, Georgia Frontiere, waived the provision in exchange for cash that served as a penalty for the city's noncompliance. The City of St. Louis, in subsequent years, made changes to the score board and increased the natural lighting by replacing panels with windows, although the overall feel remains dark. The minor renovations which totaled about $70 million did not bring the stadium within the specifications required under the lease agreement.

On February 1, 2013, a three-person arbitral tribunal selected to preside over the arbitration process found that the Edward Jones Dome was not in the top 25% of all NFL venues as required under the terms of the lease agreement between the Rams and the CVC. The tribunal further found that the estimated $700 million in proposed renovations by the Rams was not unreasonable given the terms of the lease agreement. Finally, the city of St. Louis was ordered to pay the Rams attorneys' fees which totaled a reported $2 million.

Publicly, city, county and state officials expressed no interest in providing further funding to the Edward Jones Dome in light of those entities, as well as taxpayers, continuing to owe approximately $300 million more on that facility. As such, if a resolution is not reached by the end of the 2014–2015 NFL season and the City of St. Louis remains non-compliant in its obligations under the lease agreement, the Rams would be free to nullify their lease and relocate.

On January 31, 2014, both the Los Angeles Times and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Rams owner Stan Kroenke purchased 60 acres of land adjacent to the Forum in Inglewood, California. It would be, by the most conservative estimates, sufficient land on which a NFL-proper stadium may be constructed. The purchase price was rumored to have been between US$90–100 million. Commissioner Roger Goodell represented that Mr. Kroenke informed the league of the purchase. As an NFL owner, any purchase of land in which a potential stadium could be built must be disclosed to the league. This development has further fueled rumors that the Rams intend to return its management and football operations to Southern California. The land was initially targeted for a Walmart Supercenter but Walmart could not get the necessary permits to build the center. Kroenke is married to Ann Walton Kroenke who is a member of the Walton family and many of Kroenke's real estate deals have involved Walmart properties. On January 5, 2015, The Los Angeles Times reported that Stan Kroenke and Stockbridge Capital Group are partnering up into developing a new NFL Stadium on property owned by Kroenke. The project will include a stadium of up to 80,000 seats and a performance venue of 6,000 seats while reconfiguring the previously approved Hollywood Park plan for up to 890,000 square feet of retail, 780,000 square feet of office space, 2,500 new residential units, a 300-room hotel and 25 acres of public parks, playgrounds, open space and pedestrian and bicycle access. The stadium is likely to be ready by 2019, In lieu of this the city of St. Louis responded on January 9, 2015, by unveiling an outdoor, open air, riverfront stadium that can accommodate the Rams and an MLS team with the hope that the NFL bylaws can force them to stay. On February 24, 2015, the Inglewood City Council approved the stadium and the initiative with construction on the stadium planned to begin in December 2015. On December 21, 2015, Construction was officially underway at the Hollywood Park site for the stadium. On January 4, 2016, after St. Louis finished last in per-game attendance for the 2015 season, the team filed a relocation application to relocate to Los Angeles and informed the NFL about this and released a statement on their website.

On January 12, 2016, the NFL owners approved the Inglewood proposal and the Rams' relocation by a 30-2 vote; the Rams relocated almost immediately thereafter.

Raiders and Chargers failed stadium bid

On February 19, 2015, the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers announced plans for a privately financed $1.7 billion stadium that the two teams would build in Carson, California if they were to move to the Los Angeles market. Such a move would have marked a return to the nation's second-largest market for both teams; the Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 while the Chargers called LA home for their inaugural season in the American Football League. The Chargers were the only NFL team to play in Southern California at the time (until the Rams moved to Los Angeles in 2016), with San Diego being a 125-mile (201 km) distance from Los Angeles, and the Chargers counted Los Angeles as a secondary market. The Chargers have been looking to replace Qualcomm Stadium (which, like the Oakland Coliseum opened in the late 1960s) since at least 2003, and have had an annual out clause in which it can move in exchange for paying a fine to the city of San Diego for its remaining years on its lease. The Raiders, meanwhile, have been operating on year-to-year leases with Oakland Coliseum, the stadium it has shared with the Oakland Athletics for most of its time in Oakland, California, since the last long-term lease on that stadium ended in 2013.

Due to both television contracts and NFL bylaws, had both of the longstanding division rivals moved to LA, one of the teams would have been required to move to the NFC West, something that Mark Davis volunteered the Raiders to be willing to do. The Raiders moving to the National Football Conference would have been considered ironic seeing that Davis's father Al Davis was a staunch opponent of the NFL during its rivalry and eventual merger with the AFL. If such a scenario happened, a current NFC West team would have taken their spot in the AFC West. The early rumor was that the Seattle Seahawks, who played in the AFC West from 1977 to 2001, would be the favorite to switch conferences with the Raiders. However, that team's growing rivalry with the San Francisco 49ers had pointed to either the Arizona Cardinals or the then-St. Louis Rams switching conferences to take the Raiders' spot in the AFC West. Had the Rams stayed in St. Louis, switching them to the AFC would have allowed for a yearly home-and-home with the cross-state Kansas City Chiefs. As a portion of the Rams' 2016 schedule was already set because of their International Series appearance, the league could not realign until at least 2017.

On October 23, 2015, Mark Fabiani, Chargers spokesperson confirmed that the team planned to officially notify the NFL about its intentions to relocate to Los Angeles in January during the timetable when teams can request to relocate. On January 4, 2016, both teams filed relocation applications for relocation to Los Angeles. On January 12, 2016, the NFL voted to allow the Rams move to Los Angeles and the Inglewood proposal, effectively rejecting and killing the Carson proposal. The Chargers have the option to join the Rams in Inglewood in 2016, with the Raiders having the option in 2017 if the Chargers decline; the Chargers announced on January 29 that they would remain in San Diego for the 2016 season as negotiations continue, but that if negotiations ultimately fail, that they had reached an agreement in principle with the Rams to join them in Los Angeles once the Inglewood stadium is complete. The Raiders reached an agreement on another one-year lease extension with Oakland Coliseum on February 11, 2016, keeping the team in Oakland for one more season.

The Raiders, having previously explored San Antonio, Texas as a potential relocation site in 2014, moved on to other potential relocation sites after the rejection of the Carson proposal, focusing on a stadium plan in the vicinity of Las Vegas, Nevada. On August 25, 2016, the Raiders applied for a trademark for the "Las Vegas Raiders" and unveiled artist renditions of the proposed Las Vegas stadium, given the tentative title "Raiders Stadium."

Buffalo Bills

On August 13, the Buffalo Bills had reached an agreement to sell the naming rights to their stadium to the locally based New Era Cap Company, a major headwear supplier to all of the major North American sports leagues. The stadium had previously been known as Rich Stadium from its opening in 1973, then as Ralph Wilson Stadium since 1998. The sale of naming rights came as somewhat of a surprise, as previous owner Ralph Wilson was firmly against selling the naming rights to the stadium and there were few companies in Western New York believed to have the money to pay the naming rights fee for an NFL stadium.

Miami Dolphins

Canadian-based financial services company Sun Life Financial had held the naming rights to the Miami Dolphins' stadium since 2010, a deal which expired in the offseason. The team already announced that it was not going to renew the license. On August 16, 2016, it was reported that Hard Rock Cafe purchased the naming rights to the stadium, with the venue to be renamed Hard Rock Stadium.

Oakland Raiders

On April 2, the O.co Coliseum, home of the Oakland Raiders, reverted to its previous identity as the Oakland Alameda Coliseum. Online retailer Overstock.com held the naming rights to the Raiders' home field since 2011, but opted out of the naming rights agreement, though it will continue to maintain its corporate sponsorship with the Athletics. The Raiders' home field has undergone numerous name changes in its history, including Network Associates Coliseum (1998–2004) and McAfee Coliseum (2004–2008).

Baltimore Ravens

On December 2, 2015, the Baltimore Ravens announced a change in the surface at M&T Bank Stadium from their previous Shaw Sportexe Momentum 51 artificial turf to natural Bermuda grass for the first time since the 2001 season, by player preference for a natural surface. The field was replaced beginning on February 4, 2016, timed to be installed by the start of the Johns Hopkins lacrosse season.

New uniforms and patches

After a trial run in 2015, the NFL Color Rush program returns for 2016 with all 32 NFL teams required to participate. To prevent issues with color blindness from the previous season, the NFL is being careful to schedule match ups where color blindness will not be an issue. Most of the Color Rush games will be during the Thursday Night Football contests.

The San Francisco 49ers will be wearing a patch to commemorate their 70th season.

The New Orleans Saints will be wearing a patch to commemorate their 50th season.

The New York Giants will wear white pants instead of gray for their primary home jerseys.

The Los Angeles Rams will now join the handful of teams (such as the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins) that primarily wear their white jerseys at home instead of their colored ones. The change comes as a nod to the team's Fearsome Foursome era (they will play in the same stadium as those teams) and to accommodate the warmer, sunnier climate of Los Angeles. The uniform itself will remain the same as it was in the last years in St. Louis.

The Miami Dolphins will wear aqua for some of their home games in 2016 that include daytime. Two of the games will be in a throwback uniform and two games will be in their regular uniform set.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will retire their 1934 throwback uniforms after the 2016 season. The Steelers wore them on October 9, 2016 against the New York Jets.

The Atlanta Falcons will wear their 1966 throwback uniforms against the San Diego Chargers and San Francisco 49ers. The throwback uniforms are an altered version of the ones used from 2009-2012.

The Washington Redskins will wear burgundy pants with their white jerseys and temporarily place gray facemasks on their helmets when wearing the 1937 throwback uniforms.

Media

This was the third season under broadcast contracts with ESPN, CBS, Fox, and NBC. This includes "cross-flexing" (switching) Sunday afternoon games between CBS and Fox before or during the season (regardless of the conference of the visiting team). NBC will continue to air Sunday Night Football, the annual Kickoff game, and the primetime Thanksgiving game. ESPN will continue airing Monday Night Football and the Pro Bowl. Fox will serve as the broadcaster of Super Bowl LI.

A change to the flexible scheduling rule takes effect for the 2016 season: in week 17, any game can be flexed into Sunday Night Football, regardless of how many times a team had been featured on a primetime game that season. This change can, theoretically, allow a game with playoff implications in the final week of the season to be moved to primetime for greater prominence. As in 2015, the NFL will continue the "suspension" of its blackout policy, meaning that all games will be broadcast in their home markets regardless of ticket sales; Goodell stated that the league needed to continue investigating the impact of removing the blackout rules before such a change is made permanent.

The league's contract with CBS for Thursday Night Football expired after the 2015 season and was placed back up for bids. On February 1, 2016, the NFL announced that Thursday Night Football would be shared between CBS, NBC, and NFL Network for the 2016 season. CBS and NBC will each air five games, which will be simulcast by NFL Network, along with an additional eight games exclusively on NFL Network, the production of which will be split between the two networks. Commissioner Roger Goodell that the league was "thrilled to add NBC to the Thursday Night Football mix, a trusted partner with a proven track record of success broadcasting NFL football in primetime, and look forward to expanding with a digital partner for what will be a unique tri-cast on broadcast, cable and digital platforms." On April 5, 2016, it was announced that Twitter had acquired non-exclusive worldwide digital streaming rights to the 10 broadcast television TNF games, including to mobile devices (this is the first time any NFL games have been made available to mobile devices not subscribed to Verizon Wireless, whose NFL Mobile app holds exclusive rights to all other games). This partnership will also include content for Twitter's live streaming service Periscope, such as behind-the-scenes access.

After 2015's Bills–Jaguars International Series contest was a modest success, the league was initially expected to make all three of the 2016 London games exclusive to the Internet. Yahoo! Screen, which carried the 2015 contest, shut down in January 2016; the bidders on the three games (which may or may not go to the same broadcaster) included YouTube and Apple TV, both of which bid on the 2015 game but were passed up in favor of Yahoo!'s bid. Ultimately, the league decided not to make the International Series games Web-exclusive, instead focusing its efforts on the Thursday Night Football partnership with Twitter.

Mike Tirico, the lead play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football, announced his departure from ESPN on May 9, 2016; he joins NBC, where he was originally designated to lead the network's broadcast team for Thursday Night Football telecasts. Replacing Tirico on MNF is Sean McDonough. The move was initially reported in April but not confirmed until the next month. However, shortly before the start of the regular season, the league exercised a clause in its television contract with NBC demanding that any broadcast team that calls Sunday Night Football also call Thursday Night Football as well, effectively forcing Al Michaels to call both packages unless he and Tirico also split Sundays (this was the scenario that was ultimately chosen; on most weeks when Michaels calls a Thursday game, Tirico will call Sundays). This is also the final season Chris Berman serves as a studio analyst for ESPN's NFL programming; Berman has been with ESPN since the network's inception in 1979.

Most watched regular season games

DH = doubleheader; SNF = NBC Sunday Night Football

*Note — Late DH matchups listed in table are the matchups that were shown to the largest percentage of the market.