Detroit Lions going 0–16 The
2008 Detroit Lions would mark the capstone of the ill decisions of President/General Manager
Matt Millen since arriving on the job in 2001. After an 0–3 start, the Lions fired Millen on September 23 after seven seasons, during the team's bye week. During that time, the Lions compiled the worst record in the league (31–84, .270 percentage) and had many questionable draft choices. However, by that point, the damage had been done. The Lions went on to lose every game and finished 0–16,
the first winless season in the NFL since the strike-shortened
1982 NFL season saw the
Baltimore Colts finish 0–8–1, and the first full-season imperfect season since the
expansion 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished 0–14. It marked the first time that a non-expansion team, non-strike shortened team, non-merged team finished winless since the
1944 Brooklyn Tigers finished 0–10. It was the second winless season for the Lions, who finished 0–11 in
1942. The 0–16 record would be later matched by the
2017 Cleveland Browns.
Retirement/Unretirement of Brett Favre The 2008 season marked the first time since September 20, 1992, that someone other than
Brett Favre started at quarterback for the
Green Bay Packers, as
Aaron Rodgers became the new offensive "Leader of The Pack". At first, this was given Favre's announcement on March 4, 2008, that he would retire from the league after seventeen seasons. He owns many NFL records, including most wins as a quarterback, most
touchdowns thrown, (broken by Peyton Manning in 2014) and most consecutive starts at quarterback, as well as most interceptions. He started every Packers game, regular season and postseason, for nearly sixteen full seasons (September 27, 1992 – January 20, 2008). The Packers were scheduled to retire Favre's #4 jersey in a ceremony during the first week of the season. However, on July 2, 2008, he publicly indicated that he wanted to play again as the starting quarterback. On July 11, 2008, Favre sent a letter to the Packers management asking for an unconditional release which will allow him to play for another team. The Packers did not give it to him, but they were unwilling to release him for fear that he would sign with division rival Minnesota Vikings (Favre's choice for an alternate team). Also, the Packers would not start him as quarterback if he came back to the team, and named the other Packers quarterback
Aaron Rodgers as the starting quarterback and Favre as the backup. From July 14 to 15, Favre did TV interviews discussing his comeback, Rodgers taking his place, and frustrations on the Packers for not being honest with him, personally and publicly. On July 16, 2008, the Packers filed tampering charges against the Vikings for alleged improper communication between Favre, Vikings head coach
Brad Childress and Vikings offensive coordinator
Darrell Bevell. Favre filed for reinstatement on July 29, 2008, and by August 4, NFL Commissioner
Roger Goodell reinstated Favre. Three days later on August 7, the Packers traded Favre to the
New York Jets for a conditional draft pick. He played well for most of the year, but entering December he suffered a shoulder injury which dropped the Jets out of playoff contention. Favre again retired following the 2008 season. The Jets then released Favre in favor of moving in the direction of getting a star college quarterback in the draft, eventually landing
Mark Sanchez. Another protracted "will he/won't he retire" saga emerged in 2009 which concluded in August of that year when Favre signed with, as expected, the Minnesota Vikings.
Hurricane Ike Hurricane Ike forced several changes to the 2008 schedule. The
Houston Texans' Week 2 home game against the
Baltimore Ravens was first postponed to Monday, September 15, before Ike made landfall; damage to
Reliant Stadium forced a further postponement, to Week 10, on Sunday, November 9, giving the Texans and the Ravens their bye weeks in Week 2. Furthermore, to accommodate this move, the Texans' home game against the
Cincinnati Bengals was moved forward from November 9 to Sunday, October 26, pushing the Bengals' bye week from Week 8 to Week 10. Although no other games were postponed, Ike and its remnants also impacted several other Week 2 games on September 14. The Texans ended up having to wait until Week 5 against the
Indianapolis Colts to have their home opener, the latest an NFL team went into the season before playing at home since the
New Orleans Saints played their entire schedule on the road in 2005
due to the damages of the city of
New Orleans as a result of
Hurricane Katrina. (Every other NFL team had at least one home game by the end of Week 2.) With the Ravens eventually advancing to the AFC Championship Game against the rival
Pittsburgh Steelers (and having to enter the playoffs as a
wild card team), the impromptu decision to give the Ravens and Texans their bye week so early in the season ended up having the unintended effect of the Ravens playing in an NFL-record 18 consecutive weeks without a break in the schedule.
New formations result in high scores The 2008 season saw a marked increase in the use of two new offensive philosophies (at least for the NFL, these offenses previously saw extensive use in
college or
Canadian football for a few years): the "
wildcat formation", a formation based on the
halfback option play, the "
spread offense", which uses multiple wide-receiver sets and the quarterback frequently in
shotgun, and the "Suggs package", which features two quarterbacks on the field at once. In week 3 of the season, the wildcat formation, used up until this point primarily as a
trick play, was used eight times, including four times in a
Miami Dolphins game and three times in a game between the
Oakland Raiders and
Buffalo Bills. Season-ending injuries to the starting and backup quarterbacks for the Chiefs prompted the team's offensive coordinator
Chan Gailey to switch to a spread offense after six games. In Baltimore, the Ravens, led by rookie head coach
John Harbaugh, implemented the "Suggs package", which places two quarterbacks on the field at once,
Joe Flacco and
Troy Smith. Due mainly to the new formations, 837 points were scored league wide in Week 12, the most ever for one NFL weekend. and four of the top ten plays ranked by NFL.com were directly based on the wildcat (two others featured wide receivers throwing passes). Ironically, the tie game ultimately helped the Eagles make the playoffs, as it was the deciding tiebreaker for the #6 seed in the NFC; the Eagles went on to lose to the Cardinals in the
NFC Championship Game. No more games would end in a tie until
2012.
Tributes St. Louis Rams and Georgia Frontiere On January 18, 2008,
Georgia Frontiere, owner of the
St. Louis Rams died due to complications with
breast cancer. The Rams wore a commemorative patch in her honor, with her signature on their left shoulder.
Kansas City Chiefs and Lamar Hunt On January 31, 2008,
Clark Hunt, chairman of the board for the
Kansas City Chiefs announced that henceforth the team's
Lamar Hunt/
American Football League tribute patch that was introduced in the 2007 season will be a permanent part of the Chiefs' uniform. joining the
Chicago Bears (with
George Halas) and the
Cleveland Browns (with
Al Lerner) with such a patch.
Tim Russert The stretch of highway outside
Ralph Wilson Stadium along
U.S. Route 20A in
Orchard Park, New York, has been named the
Timothy J. Russert Highway. Russert, who was
NBC News's chief Washington bureau correspondent and the host of
Meet the Press, was a Buffalo native and noted Buffalo Bills fan. He died of a heart attack in June 2008.
Gene Upshaw The league honored
National Football League Players Association leader
Gene Upshaw, who died suddenly at age 63 on August 20 just three days after being diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer. For the entire season, the Oakland Raiders wore a patch on the left chest of the jerseys with the initials "GU" and his number 63, his jersey number with the Raiders. All NFL teams also honored Upshaw with a video tribute and a replica of the uniform patch painted onto the field during the opening weekend. Originally, the patch on the field and the video tribute were only going to be done in Oakland at the Raiders' home opener against the
Denver Broncos as Upshaw played his entire 15-year Hall of Fame career with the Raiders, and at
Giants Stadium, when the Giants and Redskins opened the NFL season on September 4. All players wore the same patch during Week One, and later changed to a smaller helmet decal. The Raiders wore the patch through the remainder of the season.
Sean Taylor The
Washington Redskins honored the anniversary of death of
Sean Taylor this season in a home game against the visiting
New York Giants.
Steelers ownership restructure ) in week 4 against Baltimore, the eventual AFC runner-up On July 7, 2008, owners of the
Pittsburgh Steelers, including
Art Rooney's five sons who own 80% of the franchise, Current Steelers Chairman,
Dan Rooney, and his son, Art Rooney II, President of the franchise, wished to stay involved with the franchise, while the remainder of the brothers – Art Jr., Timothy, Patrick and John – wished to further pursue
racetracks that they own in Florida and New York. Since 2006, many of the racetracks have added
video slot machines, causing them to violate "NFL policy that prohibits involvement with racetrack and gambling interests". On July 11, it was confirmed that investor
Stanley Druckenmiller had been in discussion with the five Rooney brothers. A Steelers fan for many years, Druckenmiller "has been known to paint his face black and gold" during games. Coach
Mike Tomlin stated that the situation could become a distraction, but "I'm here to coach, they're [the players] here to play. Those questions will be answered by the Rooneys." On September 18, Druckenmiller withdrew his bid to purchase the team. NFL owners unanimously approved the restructuring of ownership on December 17, 2008, with Dan and Art II getting the mandated 30% stake. Meanwhile, brothers Timothy and Patrick (the ones who own race tracks with slot machines, which violate NFL ownership rules) sold their shares outright, while Art Jr., John, and the McGinley family sold some shares but retained smaller ownership roles, with the brothers reducing their shares from 16% to 6% and the McGinley family reducing their shares from 20% to 10%. Joining the ownership group were
Pilot Travel Centers president
Jim Haslam III,
Legendary Pictures president and CEO Thomas Tull, and the
Paul family each getting a 16% stake in the team. Dan Rooney mentioned he has no ill will towards Druckenmiller, mentioning he's a great Steelers fan and wishes he remains one. ==Milestones==