2008 American Football Season

The 2008 American football season was a rollercoaster of historic firsts, devastating injuries, and dramatic finishes. From a winless NFL campaign to a college football season defined by high-powered offenses and intense BCS debate, 2008 left an indelible mark on the sport’s history.

The NFL: A Historic Super Bowl and the Winless Lions

• Super Bowl XLIII: The Pittsburgh Steelers secured an NFL-record sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy, defeating the Arizona Cardinals 27–23 in one of the most thrilling Super Bowls ever. The game featured James Harrison’s 100-yard interception return before halftime and Santonio Holmes’ incredible toe-tapping game-winning touchdown catch in the final minute.
• The 0-16 Lions: The Detroit Lions made the wrong kind of history, becoming the first team in NFL history to finish a 16-game regular season completely winless (0–16).
• The “Wildcat” Emerges: The Miami Dolphins revolutionized NFL offenses by frequently utilizing the “Wildcat” formation. Using this direct-snap package, they engineered an incredible turnaround, going from 1–15 in 2007 to an 11–5 record and an AFC East division title in 2008.
• Brady Goes Down: The NFL season shifted seismically in Week 1 when reigning MVP Tom Brady suffered a season-ending ACL tear. Backup Matt Cassel stepped in and led the New England Patriots to an 11–5 record, though they famously became only the second team in NFL history to win 11 games and still miss the playoffs.
• Favre in Green: Brett Favre officially unretired for the first time, leading to a messy divorce with the Green Bay Packers. He was traded to the New York Jets, officially paving the way for Aaron Rodgers to take over as the starter in Green Bay.
• Crabtree’s Catch: One of the defining moments of the college football season occurred when No. 7 Texas Tech upset No. 1 Texas. With just one second left on the clock, Red Raiders receiver Michael Crabtree caught a sideline pass, broke a tackle, and tip-toed into the end zone for a 39–33 victory that completely upended the Big 12 and national title races.

College Football: The BCS, Tebow, and the Undefeated Utes

• Florida Takes the Crown: The Florida Gators, led by quarterback Tim Tebow and head coach Urban Meyer, captured the BCS National Championship. They defeated the high-flying Oklahoma Sooners 24–14 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami.
• Heisman Winner: Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford won the Heisman Trophy in a highly competitive race, beating out Tim Tebow and Texas quarterback Colt McCoy after orchestrating the highest-scoring offense in NCAA history up to that point.
• The Utah Utes: The Utah Utes went a perfect 13–0, capping off their undefeated season by decisively defeating the heavily favored Alabama Crimson Tide 31–17 in the Sugar Bowl. Despite their perfection, they were left out of the BCS title game, sparking intense debate about the fairness of the BCS system and paving the way for eventual playoff discussions.

A Deep Dive into 2008 Football History and Highlights

• January 1, 2008 – The Big Ten vs. Pac-10 matchup returned to the Rose Bowl in early 2008. Coach Pete Carroll’s USC Trojans took on the Illinois Illini of Coach Ron Zook. Southern Cal was too much for the Illini as USC won 49-17, as the game MVPs were USC QB John David Booty and Trojan LB Rey Maualuga.
• January 7, 2008 – Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans – The game was the Allstate Sugar Bowl to be played for the 2008 BCS National Championship. The Top team in the country, the Ohio State Buckeyes, was challenged by the number 2 team in the nation, the LSU Tigers, according to the allstatesugarbowl.com website. The game started off strong for Ohio State as they led 10-3 at the end of the first quarter. The Tigers had something else in mind as they rattled off 21 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a lead that they would not once again relinquish. Louisiana State became the national champs as they stunned the Buckeyes 38-24.
• January 8, 2008 – Joe Gibbs retired, for the second time, as head coach of the Washington Redskins. Gibbs held the same position with the club from 1981 through the 1992 season. During that span, he led the Redskins to eight playoff appearances, four NFC Championship titles, and three Super Bowl titles. He did it with three different starting quarterbacks! The second tenure lasted three solid years but did not reach the heights of the first.
• January 20, 2008, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough. The New England Patriots defeated the San Diego Chargers, 21-12, in the AFC Championship game. According to Pro-Football-Reference, Tom Brady tossed two touchdown passes, and Laurence Maroney rushed in another to power the scoring for the Patriots to advance them to Super Bowl XLII with an unblemished 18-0 record.  
• January 20, 2008 – Lambeau Field, Green Bay – The NFC Championship was a great quarterback matchup as Eli Manning and his Giants would run their offense, and Brett Favre would do likewise for the Packers team, according to Pro-Football-Reference. Favre got the better of the quarterback battle as he passed for 236 yards and two touchdowns, but his two picks were costly as the New York Giants beat Green Bay 23-20 in Overtime to earn the right to face the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.
• February 3, 2008 – University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale – Super Bowl XLII produced one of the greatest upsets in sports history. The undefeated (18-0) New England Patriots faced the 10-6 New York Giants. The Giants’ pass rush harassed Tom Brady all day, but the game is immortalized by the “Helmet Catch.” While Eli Manning moved to evade the unrelenting Patriots’ defense, the unified gasp of the crowd filled the stadium. Manning hurled the ball downfield, and David Tyree, with his eyes focused on the descending football, jumped into the air. The ball, almost slipping out of his grasp, was pinned securely against his helmet, provoking a roar from the stands. This miraculous catch, frozen in time, was followed moments later by Manning finding Plaxico Burress for the game-winning touchdown, ending the Patriots’ perfect season with a 17-14 final. Eli Manning took home the MVP.
• April 26, 2008 – The 2008 NFL Draft saw University of Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long go to the Miami Dolphins as the first pick.

The 2008 NFL Draft: A Turning Point for Franchise Foundations

• October 3, 2008 – 13 years to the day he was found not guilty of murder above, the former NFL running back O.J. Simpson is found guilty of unrelated charges of kidnapping and armed robbery.
• November 8, 2008 – Tiger Stadium, Louisiana State University –  The University of Alabama had just become the number one-ranked team in the nation the week before, when Texas Tech upset top-ranked Texas. The Crimson Tide had not held the top spot in the rankings since 1980, and their Head Coach, Nick Saban, who had coached at LSU before a short stint in the NFL, walked into Tiger Stadium for the first time on the visitors’ sideline. Al.com has an article on its website that describes the situation Alabama found itself in, positioned to seal the win with a 29-yard field goal as time ran out. LSU blocked the attempt, however, and took the game to overtime. LSU’s second chance at defeating the Tide didn’t last long. On third down of LSU’s possession, Lee’s pass into the end zone was picked off. Alabama finished off the victory with a touchdown run that clinched the 27-21 win and the Western Division title for the Tide.
• November 8, 2008 – Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts –  Per onthisday.com, In the 18th installment of the College Football Holy War, Boston College defeated Notre Dame 17-0.
• November 23, 2008 – Olympic Stadium, Montreal – The second-highest attendance at a Grey Cup game in CFL history took place as 66,308 put their butts in the stands. According to the greycup.com website, the Calgary Stampeders reigned as Champs, beating the Montreal Alouettes 22-14.  Calgary QB Henry Burris was named the game’s Grey Cup Most Valuable Player as he threw for 328 yards and one touchdown, leading the game’s rushing with 79 yards. Stampeders kicker Sandro DeAngelis won the Grey Cup’s Most Valuable Canadian award as he kicked five field goals.
• December 6, 2008 – #2 Florida overcame the challenge of #1 Alabama with a stunning 31-20 final score in the SEC Championship Game, a key victory in the national championship picture.
• December 15, 2008 – the 74th Heisman Trophy was awarded to Sam Bradford, the quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners. According to Heisman.com, Sam’s combined 53 touchdowns from the run and the pass are tied with Oregon’s Marcus Mariota for most in Heisman history. Sam Bradford and his Sooners teammates were the highest-scoring offense ever in NCAA history. Passing for 4,464 yards with 48 touchdowns and just six interceptions was a monumental feat as Bradford again led the nation in passing and added five rushing touchdowns as the Sooners went 12-1 and qualified for the BCS national title game.
• December 28, 2008 – Lambeau Field, Wisconsin – The Detroit Lions, as the visiting team, lost to the Green Bay Packers, 31-21. With this defeat, Detroit became the first team in NFL history to finish a sixteen-game regular season with a winless 0-16 record.
• December 30, 2008, NFL head coach Mike Shanahan was fired by the Denver Broncos. Just five years later, another major coaching move unfolded involving Shanahan.