2006 NFL season The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League . Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31 , 2006 . The NFL title was eventually won by the Indianapolis Colts when they defeated the Chicago Bears ; the Super Bowl championship game , at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens , Florida on February 4 . Flexible - scheduling . The was the first season that the NFL used a " flexible - scheduling " for the last few weeks of the season , allowing the league flexibility in selecting games to air on Sunday night , in order to feature the current hottest , streaking teams . This was implemented to prevent games featuring losing teams from airing during primetime late in the season , while at the same time allowing NBC to rake in more money off of the higher ratings from surprise , playoff - potential teams that more fans would enjoy watching . Under the flexible - scheduling system , all Sunday games in the affected weeks tentatively had the start times of 1 p . m . ET / 10 a . m . PT , except those played in the Pacific or Mountain time zones , which will have a tentative start time of 4 p . m . ET / 1 p . m . PT ( or 4 : 15 p . m . ET / 1 : 15 p . m . PT if it is a doubleheader weekend ) . On the Tuesday 12 days before the games , the league moved one game to the primetime slot , and possibly one or more 1 p . m . slotted games to the 4 p . m . slots . During the last week of the season , the league could re - schedule games as late as six days before the contests so that all of the television networks will be able to broadcast a game that has playoff implications . Television . This was the first season that NBC held the rights to televise " Sunday Night Football " , becoming the beneficiaries by negotiating the new flexible - scheduling system . ESPN became the new home of " Monday Night Football " , replacing sister network American Broadcasting Company , who chose to opt out of broadcasting league games . Meanwhile , CBS and Fox renewed their television contracts to the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference packages , respectively . Final regular season standings . " W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , PCT = Winning Percentage , PF = Points For , PA = Points Against " " Clinched playoff seeds are marked in parentheses and shaded in green " News and notes . Officials ' uniform makeover . The 2006 season marked the debut of new officiating uniforms which are supposed to be more comfortable for officials to wear in extreme weather over the old polyester uniforms . The uniforms were designed by Reebok using a proprietary material technology to keep officials both warm and dry during the winter months of the season . On the shirt , the position and number are removed from the front pocket and the lettering and numbers on the back side were black - on - white and are smaller print and the sleeve shows the uniform number . Officials also wore full - length black pants with white stripe during the winter months to stay warm , which was criticized by media and internet board posters . This was the first major design overhaul since 1979 , when the position name was added to the shirt , but later abbreviated in 1982 . New NFL commissioner . On March 20 , 2006 , Paul Tagliabue announced his plans to retire as NFL commissioner . During an NFL meeting in Northbrook , Illinois , on August 8 , league team owners selected Roger Goodell , the NFL ' s then - current chief operating officer , as the new commissioner . Tagliabue continued to serve as commissioner until Goodell officially replaced him on Friday September 1 . Tagliabue became NFL commissioner on October 26 , 1989 . During his tenure , the league has added four new teams ; saw four franchises move ( including two franchises - - - the Rams and Raiders - - - from Los Angeles , the second - largest television market in the U . S . ) ; the construction of seventeen new stadiums ; began its own in - house television specialty cable network , the NFL Network ; has greatly increased television rights fees with its broadcasters , including the addition of the Fox network ; and has maintained labor peace with the players ' union . Return of " The Duke " football . For the first time since Super Bowl IV at the conclusion of the 1969 season , the official NFL game ball was known as " The Duke " in honor of Wellington Mara , whose family owns the New York Giants . Son John is the current CEO of the team . The NFL first used " The Duke " ball in honor of Mara in 1941 after then - Chicago Bears owner George Halas and then - Giants owner Tim Mara ( Wellington ' s father ) made a deal with Wilson Sporting Goods to become the league ' s official supplier of game balls , a relationship that continued into its sixty - fifth year in 2006 . " The Duke " ball was discontinued after the 1970 AFL - NFL Merger , and the merged league began using a different standardized ball made by Wilson . The only other time that " The Duke " ball name was used was during the two Thanksgiving Classic games in 2004 . One side of the new 2006 " Duke " football featured the NFL shield logo in gold , the words " The Duke " , and the NFL commissioner ' s signature . The obverse side has a small NFL logo above the needle bladder hole , the conference names between the hole , and the words " National Football League " in gold . As per the custom , specially branded balls were used for the first week of the 2006 season ( " Opening Kickoff " ) , Thanksgiving Classic , conference championships , Super Bowl XLI and Pro Bowl games . Unprecedented sell - outs . Through week 11 of the season , all NFL games had been sold out , and for the 24th time , all blackout restrictions had been lifted . The streak was ended by the Jacksonville at Buffalo game in Week 12 . Saints go home . The New Orleans Saints returned to their home at the Louisiana Superdome in Week Three . The Saints played home games during the 2005 NFL Season in San Antonio , TX , Baton Rouge , LA , and East Rutherford , NJ , due to the damage to the Superdome caused by Hurricane Katrina . The Saints finished the regular season 10 – 6 , clinched a 1st Round Bye , and beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round of the playoffs . The Chicago Bears defeated the Saints in the NFC Championship , 39 – 14 . Game highlights on iTunes . Starting September 18 , fans were able to download highlights of their teams ' games through Apple ' s iTunes Store . Each video costs US $ 1 . 99 each but fans have the chance of buying a " Follow Your Team season ticket " which brings every game of that team to the fan for $ 24 . 99 . Also available will be " NFL GameDay " , the NFL Network ' s comprehensive Sunday night review which features post - game reactions and game analysis , all for $ 1 . 99 a show or $ 19 . 99 for the full season . Death of Lamar Hunt . Lamar Hunt died in Dallas , Texas on December 13 from complications from prostate cancer at the age of 74 . He is credited with challenging the NFL with the formation of the American Football League , which led to the subsequent merger of the two leagues . Death of two Broncos . At 3 a . m . on January 1 , 2007 , Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was shot and killed in Denver , within hours after the last regular season game against the San Francisco 49ers . Less than two months after , on February 24 , 2007 , Broncos running back Damien Nash collapsed and died after a charity basketball game at a high school . Both players died at the age of 24 . Milestones . The following teams and players set all - time NFL records during the regular season :