50 Fun Facts About 2020 NFL Season

What did Tampa Bay's quarterback throw from boat to boat during the Super Bowl LV victory parade?

The Lombardi Trophy flew across open water during the boat parade in Tampa and was caught by tight end Cameron Brate.

Which children's network aired its first NFL game in January 2021, a kid-friendly Saints–Bears playoff?

Nickelodeon marked every touchdown with augmented-reality green slime cannons in the end zone, and Saints coach Sean Payton volunteered to be slimed after the win.

Which quarterback was named MVP of Super Bowl LV in his first season with a new team?

Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes in the 31–9 win and took the award for a fifth time, the first player to win it with two different franchises.

What did the NFL sell to fans by the thousand to fill empty seats at Super Bowl LV?

Cardboard cutouts, 30,000 of them, sat among a crowd capped at 25,000, which included thousands of vaccinated health care workers invited by the league.

From where did Roger Goodell announce the early picks of the 2020 NFL Draft during the pandemic?

His own home in Bronxville, New York, served as the stage, while team coaches and general managers made their selections by videoconference.

Which NFL franchise dropped its nickname before the 2020 season and played as simply the Football Team?

Washington kept the placeholder name for two seasons after decades of controversy over its old one, then rebranded as the Commanders in 2022.

Which Canadian singer headlined the Super Bowl LV halftime show among dancers with bandaged faces?

The Weeknd put $7 million of his own money into the production, and the halftime show attracted slightly more television viewers than the game itself.

The Raiders left Oakland in 2020 to play NFL home games at Allegiant Stadium in which city?

Las Vegas welcomed the Raiders to a $1.9 billion indoor stadium beside the Strip, but no spectators were admitted to any of their home games in 2020.

With the 2021 Pro Bowl cancelled, which video game did NFL players use to stage a virtual version?

Madden NFL 21 stood in for the real game, with teams of players, alumni and celebrity guests controlling the Pro Bowl rosters, and the NFC won 32–12.

Which quarterback signed a ten-year contract extension worth up to $503 million in July 2020?

Patrick Mahomes signed the deal five months after winning his first Super Bowl, and it ranked among the largest contracts in sports history.

Which poet recited an original poem before Super Bowl LV, weeks after reading at a presidential inauguration?

Amanda Gorman became the first poet to perform at a Super Bowl, with a piece honoring the three essential workers chosen as honorary captains for the coin toss.

Which quarterback threw 48 touchdown passes in 2020 to win his third NFL Most Valuable Player award?

Aaron Rodgers threw only five interceptions all season and collected 44 of the 50 votes for the award.

Which Heisman-winning LSU quarterback did the Cincinnati Bengals select first overall in the 2020 NFL Draft?

Joe Burrow was the third straight Heisman-winning quarterback taken first overall, following Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.

Which running back rushed for 2,027 yards in 2020, becoming the eighth NFL player to top 2,000?

Derrick Henry had already rushed for 2,000 yards in a season in both high school and college before doing it as a professional.

Which team ended the NFL's longest active playoff drought in 2020, its first postseason trip since 2002?

Cleveland Browns fans then watched a 48–37 wild card victory, the franchise's first road playoff win since 1969.

Which Dallas Cowboys quarterback's 2020 season ended in Week 5 with a compound fracture of his right ankle?

Dak Prescott was carted off the field against the New York Giants and had surgery the same night, yet Dallas still won the game 37–34.

Which New Orleans Saints quarterback played his final NFL game in January 2021, a playoff loss to Tampa Bay?

Drew Brees announced his retirement on March 14, 2021, exactly 15 years to the day after he signed his first contract with New Orleans.

Which former NFL MVP signed a one-year deal with New England in July 2020 to take over at quarterback?

Cam Newton spent more than three months unsigned after Carolina released him, and New England went on to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Which coach of the 1972 Miami Dolphins' perfect NFL season died in May 2020 at the age of 90?

Don Shula's 1972 team finished 17–0, sealing the NFL's first perfect season with a 14–7 win in Super Bowl VII.

Which down judge, hired in 2015 as the NFL's first full-time female official, worked Super Bowl LV?

Sarah Thomas became the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl, having earlier been the first to officiate a major college football game and a bowl game.

Why did the NFL fine Raiders coach Jon Gruden $100,000 after a Week 2 game in September 2020?

Not wearing a face mask properly on the sideline broke the pandemic rules for coaches, and further protocol violations cost him another $150,000 that November.

A COVID-19 outbreak delayed the Ravens' Thanksgiving 2020 game three times until it was played on which day?

Wednesday afternoon, December 2, was the fourth date set for the game, which had already been moved from Thursday to Sunday and then to Tuesday.

Which Inglewood venue opened in 2020 as the shared home of the NFL's Rams and Chargers?

SoFi Stadium became only the fourth venue since the 1970 merger to be the regular home of two NFL teams; the other three were all shared by the Jets and Giants.

Which NFL team played its final three 2020 home games in Arizona after its home county banned contact sports?

San Francisco 49ers home games moved to State Farm Stadium in Glendale after Santa Clara County suspended contact sports during a local rise in COVID-19 cases.

Which NFL team had to start a practice-squad wide receiver at quarterback against New Orleans in November 2020?

Denver Broncos receiver Kendall Hinton completed one of nine passes for 13 yards and threw two interceptions in a blowout loss.

Which team won the AFC East in 2020 for the first time since 1995?

Buffalo Bills players clinched the division with a 48–19 win in Week 15, then beat Indianapolis for the franchise's first playoff victory in 25 years.

Which division was won in 2020 by a 7–9 team, the third losing champion of a full NFL season?

The NFC East winner was only the third division champion with a losing record in a full season, after the 2010 Seattle Seahawks and 2014 Carolina Panthers.

Which team won its first 11 games of the 2020 NFL season, then lost four of its last five?

Pittsburgh Steelers players made the best start in franchise history, then joined the 1969 Los Angeles Rams as the only 11–0 teams to lose their next three games.

Which team won its 2020 opener, then lost its other 15 games to earn the first pick of the 2021 NFL Draft?

Jacksonville Jaguars losses made them the fourth team to win an opener and drop every other game, and brought the top pick for the first time in franchise history.

Which team's offense led the NFL with 509 points in 2020 but lost the NFC Championship Game at home?

Green Bay Packers players held the NFC's top seed and beat the Rams 32–18, then fell 31–26 to Tampa Bay one game short of the Super Bowl.

The labor deal NFL owners and players agreed in March 2020 cleared the way for which schedule change?

A 17th game arrived in 2021, with the preseason cut from four games to three to make room, which made 2020 the last 16-game season.

Which country star sang the national anthem at Super Bowl LV as a duet with R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan?

Eric Church and Sullivan gave the Super Bowl only its second anthem duet, the first having been performed in 2006.

Which reigning league MVP did fellow players vote No. 1 on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020 list?

Lamar Jackson earned the players' vote after leading the NFL in touchdown passes and setting a single-season rushing record for a quarterback in 2019.

Which rookie became the Chargers' quarterback in 2020 after a team doctor accidentally punctured Tyrod Taylor's lung?

Justin Herbert kept the job for the rest of the season, threw 31 touchdown passes and was named AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Which quarterback won 2020 NFL Comeback Player of the Year after a 2018 leg injury that nearly led to amputation?

Alex Smith missed the whole 2019 season, returned as a midseason starter in 2020 and led his team to a division title.

Which Ohio State pass rusher, the second pick of the 2020 draft, was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year?

Chase Young had broken his college's single-season sack record with 16.5 the year before, when he was also a Heisman Trophy finalist.

Which tight end ended a one-year retirement in 2020 and caught two touchdown passes in Super Bowl LV?

Rob Gronkowski's rights still belonged to New England, which traded him to Tampa Bay along with a seventh-round pick for a fourth-rounder.

Which hymn, often called the Black national anthem, did the NFL feature before all Week 1 games in 2020?

Lift Every Voice and Sing opened the season in a filmed performance by Alicia Keys, which was replayed before Super Bowl LV.

Which defensive tackle won his third NFL Defensive Player of the Year award for 2020?

Aaron Donald had been ranked third overall by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 list that summer, and the award was his third in four seasons.

Which receiver, traded by Minnesota in March 2020, led the NFL in catches and receiving yards that season?

Stefon Diggs caught 127 passes for 1,535 yards in his first year with his new team, which had given up a first-round pick to get him.

Which receiver, traded from Houston to Arizona in 2020, caught the last-second touchdown known as the Hail Murray?

DeAndre Hopkins pulled in the 43-yard heave from Kyler Murray with one second left to seal a 32–30 win that November.

Which Seattle receiver chased down Arizona's Budda Baker to stop an interception-return touchdown in Week 7 of 2020?

DK Metcalf caught Baker at the Seattle 8-yard line after the safety had picked off a pass inside his own 5 with a clear path ahead of him.

Which New Orleans Saints running back tied an NFL record with six rushing touchdowns on Christmas Day 2020?

Alvin Kamara ran for 155 yards in the 52–33 win over Minnesota and matched a single-game mark that Ernie Nevers had held alone.

Chiefs guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, the first NFL player to opt out of 2020, spent the season doing what?

Working in a care home in Canada put his McGill University medical training to use just months after he had won Super Bowl LIV.

Which quarterback led the NFL with 4,823 passing yards in 2020 even though his team finished 4–12?

Deshaun Watson also threw 33 touchdown passes against only seven interceptions, a year after guiding Houston to a second straight division title.

Which running back, signed days before the 2020 NFL season, ran in a 27-yard Tampa Bay touchdown in Super Bowl LV?

Leonard Fournette finished the title game with 89 rushing yards after spending the regular season behind Ronald Jones II in the backfield.

Which linebacker led the NFL with 15 sacks in 2020 but finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting?

T.J. Watt also led the league that season with 23 tackles for loss and 41 quarterback hits.

Which network aired Super Bowl LV after a swap with NBC, which wanted Super Bowl LVI beside its Winter Olympics?

CBS took the game in exchange for Super Bowl LVI, echoing a swap three decades earlier that gave CBS a lead-in to its own 1992 Winter Olympics coverage.

Which replay rule, tried for the 2019 season only, did the NFL decline to renew for 2020?

Reviewing pass interference had applied to every pass play, even a Hail Mary, but a ruling was changed only on clear and obvious evidence.

Which LSU receiver, drafted 22nd overall in 2020, set a Super Bowl-era rookie record with 1,400 receiving yards?

Justin Jefferson passed Anquan Boldin's 2003 mark of 1,377 yards, and his Griddy touchdown dance was later added to the video game Fortnite.