Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers formed the core of the newly created AFC North alongside the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars. This realignment resulted from a legal settlement regarding the 1995 Cleveland Browns relocation controversy.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Oakland Raiders 48 to 21 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California on the 26th of January 2003. Dexter Jackson earned Super Bowl Most Valuable Player honors for his performance as a safety for the winning team.
Twelve teams advanced to the playoffs with four division winners and two wild cards advancing from each conference instead of three division winners and three wild cards. Division winners received seeds one through four while wild cards took seeds five and six.
Hitting a quarterback helmet-to-helmet anytime after a change of possession was declared illegal along with making chop-blocks illegal on kicking plays. The game clock also started when the ball was touched legally in the field of play rather than immediately upon being kicked after a kickoff.
Reliant Stadium opened as the league's first stadium with a retractable roof for the Houston Texans home games. Home teams had to decide whether to open or close their roofs ninety minutes before kickoff unless weather conditions became severe.