their goal line. (In , that reference to the line of scrimmage was changed to the kick spot, which is seven to eight yards behind the line of scrimmage.) Kickoffs: moved to the 35-yard line (from the forty-yard line) to reduce touchbacks, promoting more excitement with kickoff returns, through and since . From through , the kickoff was five yards back, at the thirty-yard line. Punt returns: members of the kicking team cannot go beyond the line of scrimmage until the ball is kicked, except the player at the farthest end of each side of the snapper ("gunners"). The original rule change would have prohibited any player from crossing the line of scrimmage prior to the ball being kicked. The penalty is the same as that for an ineligible player downfield on a pass play. An eligible pass receiver could only be contacted once by defenders after the receiver has gone three yards beyond the line of scrimmage. When the defensive team commits an illegal use of hands, arms, or body foul from behind the line of scrimmage, the penalty will be assessed from the previous spot instead of the spot of the foul. The penalties for offensive holding, illegal use of hands, and tripping were reduced from fifteen to ten yards. Wide receivers blocking back towards the ball within three yards from the line of scrimmage may not block below the waist. In addition to the on-field rule changes, the league eliminated the "future list" of players a team could sign without placing them on an active roster. The future list had been formalized by the league in and had informally existed for over a decade before that. The concept returned in , renamed the practice squad. Division races From 1970 to 2001, there were three divisions (Eastern, Central and Western) in each conference. The winners of each division, and a fourth “wild card” team based on the best non-division winner, qualified for the playoffs. The tiebreaker rules were changed to start with head-to-head competition, followed by division records, records against common opponents, and records in conference play. National Football Conference American Football Conference Final standings Tiebreakers N.Y. Jets finished ahead of New England in the AFC East based on better conference record (5–6 to Patriots’ 4–7). Houston finished ahead of Cincinnati in the AFC Central based on head-to-head sweep (2–0). Kansas City finished ahead of San Diego in