The 1975 NFL season was the 56th regular season

Regular season (NFL)

The National Football League regular season begins the weekend after Labor Day. Each team plays 16 games during a 17-week period. Traditionally, the majority of each week's games are played on Sunday afternoon, with weekly games on Sunday night and Monday night, and occasional games on Thursday...

 of the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. It was also the first time that featured an entire season with no games ending in a tie. The league made two significant changes to increase the appeal of the game:

1. The surviving clubs with the best regular season records were made the home teams for each playoff round. Previously, game sites rotated by division.
2. The league pioneered the use of equipping American football referees with wireless microphones to announce penalties and clarify complex and/or unusual rulings to both fans and the media.

Instead of a traditional Thanksgiving Day game hosted by the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

, the league scheduled a Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 at St. Louis Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 contest. This would be the first season since 1966 that the Cowboys did not play on that holiday.

The season ended with Super Bowl X

Super Bowl X

Super Bowl X was an American football game played on January 18, 1976 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1975 regular season....

 when the Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

 defeated the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

.

Major rule changes

• After a fourth down incomplete pass goes in or through the end zone, the other team will take possession at the previous line of scrimmage. Previously, it resulted in a touchback.
• The penalty for pass interference on the offensive team is reduced from 15 yards to 10.
• If there are fouls by both teams on the same play but one results in a player ejection, the penalties will still offset but the player will still be ejected.

Division races

Starting in 1970, and until 2002, 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, common opponents' records, and conference play.

National Football Conference

Week	Eastern		Central		Western		Wild Card
1	4 teams	1–0–0	(Det, Min)	1–0–0	4 teams	0–1–0	4 teams	1–0–0
2	(Dal, Was)	2–0–0	(Det, Min)	2–0–0	LOS ANGELES	1–1–0	2 teams	2–0–0
3	DALLAS	3–0–0	MINNESOTA	3–0–0	LOS ANGELES	2–1–0	3 teams	2–1–0
4	DALLAS	4–0–0	MINNESOTA	4–0–0	LOS ANGELES	3–1–0	(Was, Det)	2–1–0
5	DALLAS	4–1–0	MINNESOTA	5–0–0	LOS ANGELES	4–1–0	(StL, Det)	2–1–0
6	DALLAS	5–1–0	MINNESOTA	6–0–0	LOS ANGELES	5–1–0	WASHINGTON*	4–2–0
7	DALLAS*	5–2–0	MINNESOTA	7–0–0	LOS ANGELES	6–1–0	WASHINGTON*	5–2–0
8	WASHINGTON*	6–2–0	MINNESOTA	8–0–0	LOS ANGELES	6–2–0	ST. LOUIS	6–2–0
9	ST. LOUIS	7–2–0	MINNESOTA	9–0–0	LOS ANGELES	7–2–0	Dal, Det, Was	6–3–0
10	ST. LOUIS	8–2–0	MINNESOTA	10–0–0	LOS ANGELES	8–2–0	DALLAS	7–3–0
11	DALLAS*	8–3–0	MINNESOTA	10–1–0	LOS ANGELES	9–2–0	ST. LOUIS	8–3–0
12	ST. LOUIS	9–3–0	MINNESOTA	11–1–0	LOS ANGELES	10–2–0	DALLAS	8–4–0
13	ST. LOUIS	10–3–0	MINNESOTA	11–2–0	LOS ANGELES	11–2–0	DALLAS	9–4–0
14	ST. LOUIS	11–3–0	MINNESOTA	12–2–0	LOS ANGELES	12–2–0	DALLAS	10–4–0

American Football Conference

Week	Eastern		Central		Western		Wild Card
1	(Bal, Buf)	1–0–0	3 teams	1–0–0	(Den, Oak)	1–0–0	4 teams	1–0–0
2	BUFFALO	2–0–0	(Cin, Hou)	2–0–0	(Den, Oak)	2–0–0	2 teams	2–0–0
3	BUFFALO	3–0–0	CINCINNATI	3–0–0	OAKLAND	3–0–0	5 teams	2–1–0
4	BUFFALO	4–0–0	CINCINNATI	4–0–0	OAKLAND	3–1–0	PITTSBURGH*	3–1–0
5	BUFFALO*	4–1–0	CINCINNATI	5–0–0	DENVER*	3–2–0	PITTSBURGH*	4–1–0
6	MIAMI	5–1–0	CINCINNATI	6–0–0	OAKLAND	4–2–0	HOUSTON	5–1–0
7	MIAMI	6–1–0	PITTSBURGH*	6–1–0	OAKLAND	5–2–0	CINCINNATI*	6–1–0
8	MIAMI	7–1–0	PITTSBURGH*	7–1–0	OAKLAND	5–2–0	CINCINNATI*	7–1–0
9	MIAMI	7–2–0	PITTSBURGH*	8–1–0	OAKLAND	7–2–0	CINCINNATI*	8–1–0
10	MIAMI	7–3–0	PITTSBURGH	9–1–0	OAKLAND	8–2–0	CINCINNATI	8–2–0
11	MIAMI	8–3–0	PITTSBURGH	10–1–0	OAKLAND	9–2–0	CINCINNATI	9–2–0
12	MIAMI	9–3–0	PITTSBURGH	11–1–0	OAKLAND	10–2–0	CINCINNATI	10–2–0
13	BALTIMORE*	9–4–0	PITTSBURGH	12–1–0	OAKLAND	10–3–0	CINCINNATI	10–3–0
14	BALTIMORE	10–4–0	PITTSBURGH	12–2–0	OAKLAND	11–3–0	CINCINNATI	11–3–0

Final standings

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

– clinched wild card

Wild card (sports)

The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...

 berth, – clinched division title

Tiebreakers

• Baltimore finished ahead of Miami in the AFC East based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
• N.Y. Jets finished ahead of New England in the AFC East based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
• Minnesota was the top NFC playoff seed based on point rating system (Vikings were 1st in NFC in points scored and 2nd in NFC in points allowed for a combined rating of 3 while Rams were 5th in NFC in points scored and 1st in NFC in points allowed for a combined rating of 6).
• Chicago finished ahead of Green Bay in the NFC Central based on better division record (2–4 to Packers' 1–5).

Playoffs

*Pittsburgh (the AFC 1 seed) did not play Cincinnati (the 4 seed) in the Divisional playoff round because both teams were in the same division.

Awards

Most Valuable Player NFL Most Valuable Player Award The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award is given by various entities, most notably the Associated Press , to the player who is considered most valuable in the league. When the award is referred to without mentioning the organization, it generally means the AP award. The AP NFL MVP...	Fran Tarkenton Fran Tarkenton Francis Asbury "Fran" Tarkenton is a former professional football player, TV personality, and computer software executive.... , Quarterback Quarterback Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line... , Minnesota
Coach of the Year NFL Coach of the Year Award The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the NFL head coach who has done the most outstanding job of working with the talent he has at his disposal. Currently, the most widely recognized award is presented by the...	Ted Marchibroda Ted Marchibroda Theodore "Ted" Joseph Marchibroda is a former American football quarterback and head coach in the National Football League.-Player:... , Baltimore Colts
Offensive Player of the Year NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award The NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award is given annually by the Associated Press to the offensive player of the National Football League believed to have had the most outstanding season...	Fran Tarkenton Fran Tarkenton Francis Asbury "Fran" Tarkenton is a former professional football player, TV personality, and computer software executive.... , Quarterback Quarterback Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line... , Minnesota
Defensive Player of the Year NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award The NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award is given by the Associated Press to the league's most outstanding defensive player at the end of every NFL season since 1971. Multiple-award winners include Lawrence Taylor, who won it three times, and Joe Greene, Mike Singletary, Bruce Smith, Reggie...	Mel Blount, Cornerback Cornerback A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position... , Pittsburgh
Offensive Rookie of the Year	Mike Thomas, Running Back Running back A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running... , Washington
Defensive Rookie of the Year	Robert Brazile Robert Brazile Robert Lorenzo Brazile, Jr. is a former professional American football linebacker in the National Football League. Nicknamed "Dr. Doom", Brazile played from 1975-1984 for the Houston Oilers.-Professional career:... , Linebacker Linebacker A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen... , Houston Oilers