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
  1991 NFL season
  The 1991 NFL season was the 72nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXVI when the Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills....
  
   to result in a touchback).
• A limited system of instant replay
  Instant replay
  Instant replay is the replaying of video footage of an event or incident very soon after it has occurred. In television broadcasting of sports events, instant replay is often used during live broadcast, to show a passage of play which was important or remarkable, or which was unclear on first...
  
   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official could review a play and this led to long game delays (this was a major reason why the system was eventually repealed in 1992
  1992 NFL season
  The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League.Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots–Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was rescheduled to October 18. Both teams originally had that...
  
   and not brought back until time limits for replays were established).

Final standings

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).

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 Stadium
  Cleveland Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in Cleveland, Ohio. In its final years, the stadium seated 74,438, for baseball and 81,000, for football. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and football...
  
  , Cleveland, Ohio
  Ohio
  Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
  
  , January 11, 1987 (This game is best remembered for "The Drive
  The Drive
  The Drive refers to an offensive series in the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship Game played on January 11, 1987, between the Denver Broncos and the Cleveland Browns. Broncos quarterback John Elway, in a span of 5 minutes and 2 seconds, led his team 98 yards to tie the game with 37 seconds...
  
  ".)

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
  Giants Stadium
  Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...
  
  , East Rutherford, New Jersey
  New Jersey
  New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
  
  , January 11, 1987

Super Bowl

• Super Bowl XXI
  Super Bowl XXI
  Super Bowl XXI was an American football game played on January 25, 1987 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1986 regular season. The National Football Conference champion New York Giants won their first Super Bowl by defeating...
  
  : N.Y. Giants (NFC) 39, Denver (AFC) 20, at Rose Bowl
  Rose Bowl (stadium)
  The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...
  
  , Pasadena, California
  Pasadena, California
  Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
  
  , January 25, 1987

Awards