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The 1986 NFL season was the 67th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXI when the New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos.

Major rule changes

• Players are prohibited from wearing apparel, equipment, or other items that carry commercial names, names of organizations, or any type of personal message unless they get specific permission from the league.
• If the offensive team commits a dead ball foul during the last two minutes of a half, the clock will start at the snap.
• If an offensive player fumbles the ball and it goes forward and out of bounds, the ball is returned to that team at the spot of the fumble.
• If an offensive player fumbles the ball in the field of play and it goes out of bounds in the opponent's end zone, the ball is given to the defensive team at the spot of the fumble (this rule would be changed in 1991 to result in a touchback).
• A limited system of instant replay was adopted to aid officiating. A replay official in a booth would decide what plays to review and make the final ruling, regardless of the current score or the amount of time left in the game. The replay official communicated with the game officials via radio transmitters. However, there was no time limit on how long the replay official could review a play and this led to annoyingly long game delays (this was a major reason why the system was eventually repealed in 1992 and not brought back until time limits for replays were established).

Final standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

   x  - clinched wild card berth,    y  - clinched division title

Tiebreakers

• Denver was second AFC playoff seed ahead of New England based on head-to-head victory (1-0).
• N.Y. Jets was the first AFC Wild Card based on better conference record (8-4) than Kansas City (9-5), Seattle (7-5), and Cincinnati (7-5).
• Kansas City was the second AFC Wild Card based on better conference record (9-5) than Seattle (7-5) and Cincinnati (7-5).
• N.Y. Giants was the top NFC playoff seed based on better conference record than Chicago (11-1 to Bears' 10-2).

Playoffs

Home team in capitals

AFC

• Wild-Card playoff: N.Y. JETS 35, Kansas City 15
• Divisional playoffs: CLEVELAND 23, N.Y. Jets 20 (2OT); DENVER 22, New England 17
• AFC Championship: Denver 23, CLEVELAND 20 (OT) at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio, January 11, 1987

NFC

• Wild-Card playoff: WASHINGTON 19, L.A. Rams 7
• Divisional playoffs: Washington 27, CHICAGO 13; N.Y. GIANTS 49, San Francisco 3
• NFC Championship: N.Y. GIANTS 17, Washington 0 at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, January 11, 1987

Super Bowl

• Super Bowl XXI: N.Y. Giants (NFC) 39, Denver (AFC) 20, at Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California, January 25, 1987

Awards

References

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1981-1990 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
• 1986 season in details
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)