The 2013 NFL season was the 94th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 48th of the Super Bowl era. The season saw the Seattle Seahawks capture the first championship in the franchise's 38 years in the league with a lopsided victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII, the league's championship game. The Super Bowl was played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday, February 2, 2014. It was the first Super Bowl hosted by New Jersey and the first to be held outdoors in a cold weather environment. The Seahawks scored 12 seconds into the game and led the rest of the way on the back of their Legion of Boom defense. The Seahawks ultimately defeated the Broncos 43–8.
Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was named the regular season's Most Valuable Player (MVP) by the voters of the Associated Press (AP) for a record fifth time after compiling passing stats including regular-season records for passing yards and passing touchdowns. Manning also was named the Offensive Player of the Year for the second time in his career. Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly earned Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Scoring reached historic levels throughout the league in 2013. As a whole, the league set records for total points scored, points scored per game, and touchdowns and field goals scored. The Broncos set a new standard for team scoring in the regular season with 606 points. Ten other teams each scored over 400 points, the greatest number to surpass that benchmark in a single year until 2020.
The regular season got underway on Thursday, September 5, 2013, with the Broncos hosting the defending Super Bowl XLVII champion Baltimore Ravens in the annual kickoff game. The game presaged the Broncos' historic offensive production with a strong performance by Peyton Manning in which he tied a league record in throwing seven touchdown passes and led the Broncos to a win. The game was the start of a disappointing season for the Ravens in which they would finish out of the playoffs with an , thus ensuring there would be no repeat Super Bowl winner for a record-tying ninth straight season. The regular season wrapped up on Sunday night, December 29.
The playoffs began with the wild card round which took place the first weekend of January 2014. The league's propensity for scoring did not abate in the post-season, as exemplified by the Indianapolis Colts' wild come-from-behind victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs' opening game. The Conference Championship games featured the top seeded teams in each conference, the Seahawks in the NFC and the Broncos in the American Football Conference (AFC), hosting the San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots respectively. Both home teams prevailed to set up just the second Super Bowl matchup of No. 1 seeds in the past 20 seasons.
Player movement The 2013 league year began at 4 pm EST on March 12, which marked the start of the league's free agency period. The per-team salary cap was set at . For the first time the league instituted a negotiating period prior to the start of free agency during which time agents representing prospective unrestricted free agent players (though not the players themselves) were allowed to have contact with team representatives with the purpose of determining a player's market value and to begin contract negotiations. This period, which was referred to by some as the "legal tampering" period, began at midnight on March 9.
Free agency A total of 524 players were eligible for some form of free agency. Among the high-profile players who changed teams via free agency included:
Quarterbacks Matt Cassel (Kansas City to Minnesota), Ryan Fitzpatrick (Buffalo to Tennessee), Matt Hasselbeck (Tennessee to Indianapolis), Brian Hoyer (Arizona to Cleveland) and Kevin Kolb (Arizona to Buffalo) Running backs Ahmad Bradshaw (New York Giants to Indianapolis), Reggie Bush (Miami to Detroit), Shonn Greene (New York Jets to Tennessee), Steven Jackson (St. Louis to Atlanta) and Rashard Mendenhall (Pittsburgh to Arizona) Wide receivers Danny Amendola (St. Louis to New England), Darrius Heyward-Bey (Oakland to Indianapolis), Greg Jennings (Green Bay to Minnesota), Mike Wallace (Pittsburgh to Miami) and Wes Welker (New England to Denver) Tight ends Martellus Bennett (New York Giants to Chicago), Jared Cook (Tennessee to St. Louis), Dustin Keller (New York Jets to Miami) and Delanie Walker (San Francisco to Tennessee) Offensive tackles Jermon Bushrod (New Orleans to Chicago), Gosder Cherilus (Detroit to Indianapolis) and Jake Long (Miami to St. Louis) Guards Andy Levitre (Buffalo to Tennessee) and Louis Vasquez (Denver to San Diego) Defensive ends Cliff Avril (Detroit to Seattle), Michael Bennett (Tampa Bay to Seattle), Elvis Dumervil (Denver to Baltimore), Dwight Freeney (Indianapolis to San Diego) and Osi Umenyiora (New York Giants to Atlanta) Defensive tackles Desmond Bryant (Oakland to Cleveland), Ricky Jean-Francois (San Francisco to Indianapolis), Jason Jones (Seattle to Detroit) and Sammie Lee Hill (Detroit to Tennessee) Linebackers Connor Barwin (Houston to Philadelphia), James Harrison (Pittsburgh to Cincinnati), Paul Kruger (Baltimore to Cleveland) and Philip Wheeler (Oakland to Miami) Cornerbacks Brent Grimes (Atlanta to Miami), Keenan Lewis (Pittsburgh to New Orleans), Dunta Robinson (Atlanta to Kansas City), Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (Arizona to Denver) and Sean Smith (Miami to Kansas City) Safeties Patrick Chung (New England to Philadelphia), Dashon Goldson (San Francisco to Tampa Bay), LaRon Landry (New York Jets to Indianapolis) and Glover Quin (Houston to Detroit).
Eight players were assigned the non-exclusive franchise tag by their teams, which ensured that the team would receive compensation were the player to sign a contract with another team. These players were Brandon Albert (Chiefs), Jairus Byrd (Bills), Ryan Clady (Broncos), Michael Johnson (Bengals), Pat McAfee (Colts), Henry Melton (Bears), Anthony Spencer (Cowboys) and Randy Starks (Dolphins). None of these players changed teams.
Major trades The following trades are notable as they involved Pro Bowl-caliber players and/or draft picks in the first three rounds:
Offseason February 27 – The Chiefs acquired quarterback Alex Smith from the 49ers for the Chiefs' second-round pick in the 2013 draft, 34th overall (which the 49ers later traded to the Titans) and a conditional pick in the 2014 draft (which turned out to be another second-rounder, #56 overall). Smith had been the first overall selection of the 2005 NFL draft, but had been supplanted as the 49ers starting quarterback in mid-2012 by Colin Kaepernick.
March 11 – Wide receiver Percy Harvin was traded by the Vikings to the Seahawks for the Seahawks' 2013 first-round (#25 overall, with which the Vikings selected Xavier Rhodes) and seventh-round (pick No. 214) selections as well as the Seahawks' third-round pick in 2014 (the 96th selection). Harvin is an All-Pro and former Offensive Rookie of the Year, but he has also suffered a series of injuries throughout his career and had become disgruntled with the Vikings to the point that he asked the team to trade him. The Seahawks subsequently signed Harvin to a 6-year, $67 million contract extension which includes $25.5 million in guaranteed money. March 11 – The 49ers acquired wide receiver Anquan Boldin from the Ravens for a sixth-round selection in the 2013 draft (the 199th overall pick). Boldin, a three-time Pro Bowler and former Offensive Rookie of the Year, had refused to accept a pay cut that the Ravens had requested.
April 21 – Cornerback Darrelle Revis was traded by the Jets to the Buccaneers. The Jets received the Bucs' first round draft pick in 2013, the 13th overall selection (which the Jets used to select Sheldon Richardson) and a conditional pick which would become the Bucs' fourth-round selection in 2014, the 104th overall pick. Revis, a three time All-Pro, was widely considered to be among the league's top defensive players, but he was coming off a knee injury and the Jets did not feel they would be able to retain him after the 2013 season. The Bucs signed Revis to a 6-year, $96 million contract.
In-season
September 18 – In a bit of a shocking mid-season move the Browns traded running back Trent Richardson to the Colts in exchange for the Colts' first-round pick (26th overall) in the 2014 draft. The Browns had moved up in the previous year's draft to grab Richardson with the third overall selection and he was presumed to be a cornerstone of the team. October 2 – Offensive tackle Eugene Monroe was traded by the Jaguars to the Ravens in exchange for fourth- and fifth-round selections in the 2014 draft (picks #114 and #159 overall). The Jaguars had selected Monroe eight overall in the 2009 draft.
Draft
The 2013 NFL draft was held April 25–27, 2013, in New York City. Prior to the draft the NFL Scouting Combine, where draft-eligible players were evaluated by team personnel, was held in Indianapolis on February 20–26. In the draft, the Kansas City Chiefs made Central Michigan University offensive tackle Eric Fisher the first overall selection.
Officiating changes Dean Blandino was named as the league's new Vice President of Officiating, succeeding Carl Johnson. Referee Alberto Riveron was then promoted to the league's Senior Director of Officiating, a newly created position as a second-in-command under Blandino. Bill Vinovich, who worked the previous season as a substitute referee, was then assigned to head Riveron's former on-field officiating crew.
Rule changes The following rule changes were approved at the NFL owners' meeting on March 20, 2013: The "no-challenge" rule adopted prior to the season was modified to eliminate the automatic "no-review" penalty when a coach challenges a play that is subject to automatic review by the replay booth (turnovers, scoring plays, and any play inside of the two-minute warning). This change was prompted after last season's Thanksgiving Day game when Detroit Lions' head coach Jim Schwartz threw a challenge flag on a play where replay clearly showed Houston Texans' running back Justin Forsett's knee touched the ground, but was able to get up and score a touchdown. Due to the way the rule was written at the time the penalty for the errant challenge prevented the play from being reviewed. Under the revised rule teams will be charged a time-out (or an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty if the team is out of time-outs) when a coach throws a challenge flag on a booth-reviewable play, but the play will still be reviewed if the replay booth believes a review is necessary. This change has been referred to as the "Jim Schwartz rule". Making it a fumble when a player loses possession of the football while in the act of trying to bring it back to his body. This abolishes the so-called "tuck rule" which was adopted prior to the season. Under the revised rule it will be ruled a fumble when a quarterback loses possession of the ball after a pump fake while bringing the ball back to his body. Tight ends and H-backs will now be permitted to wear uniform numbers 40–49 as well as 80–89. Previously the two positions were treated separately with tight ends allowed to wear only 80–89 and H-backs limited to wearing 40–49. "Peel-back" blocks will now result in 15-yard personal foul penalties anywhere on the field. Previously, these types of blocks were permitted within the tackle box. On field goal and extra point attempts, long snappers will now be considered defenseless players. In addition, defensive players are prohibited from blocking low at the snap of a scrimmage kick. For field goal and extra point attempts the defensive team can have no more than six players on either side of the ball at the snap (5 yard penalty), and players cannot push teammates into blockers (15 yard penalty).