1991 National Football League season | |||
---|---|---|---|
Regular season | |||
Duration | September 1 – December 23, 1991 | ||
Playoffs | |||
Start date | December 28, 1991 | ||
AFC Champions | Buffalo Bills | ||
NFC Champions | Washington Redskins | ||
Super Bowl XXVI | |||
Date | January 26, 1992 | ||
Site | Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota | ||
Super Bowl Champion | "To be determined" | ||
NFL Champions: | Washington Redskins | ||
Pro Bowl | |||
Date | February 2, 1992 | ||
National Football League seasons
|
The 1991 NFL season was the 72nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXVI when the Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills.
Major rule changes[]
- Source: Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6). pp 1583–1592.
- The definition of a drop kick, field goal, and punt is modified: all three can only be attempted from behind the line of scrimmage.
- If a foul by a player causes an injury to an opponent, a team time out will not be charged to the penalized team anytime during the game instead of only during the last two minutes of a half.
- The game clock will not start until the next snap following any change of possession, even if the player went out of bounds.
- Officials will immediately blow the play dead when a defensive player is offsides before the snap and clearly rushes beyond the offensive line in such a way that he becomes an unabated threat to the quarterback.
- A touchback will be ruled when a player fumbles the ball in the field of play and it goes out of bounds in the opponent's end zone.
- A touchback, not a safety, will also be ruled when a player fumbles the ball in his own end zone and the opponent is the one that knocks the fumble out of bounds in the end zone.
- An offensive player cannot deliberately bat a backward pass forward.
- The NFL shield was added to the yoke of the jerseys and the left thigh of the pants.
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
AFC East | ||||||
Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) Buffalo Bills | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 458 | 318 |
(6) New York Jets | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 314 | 293 |
Miami Dolphins | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 343 | 349 |
New England Patriots | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 211 | 305 |
Indianapolis Colts | 1 | 15 | 0 | .063 | 143 | 381 |
AFC Central | ||||||
Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
(3) Houston Oilers | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 386 | 251 |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 292 | 344 |
Cleveland Browns | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 293 | 298 |
Cincinnati Bengals | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 263 | 435 |
AFC West | ||||||
Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
(2) Denver Broncos | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 304 | 235 |
(4) Kansas City Chiefs | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 322 | 252 |
(5) Los Angeles Raiders | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 298 | 297 |
Seattle Seahawks | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 276 | 261 |
San Diego Chargers | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 274 | 342 |
NFC East | ||||||
Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) Washington Redskins | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 485 | 224 |
(5) Dallas Cowboys | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 342 | 310 |
Philadelphia Eagles | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 285 | 244 |
New York Giants | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 281 | 297 |
Phoenix Cardinals | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 196 | 344 |
NFC Central | ||||||
Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
(2) Detroit Lions | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 339 | 295 |
(4) Chicago Bears | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 299 | 269 |
Minnesota Vikings | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 301 | 306 |
Green Bay Packers | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 273 | 313 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 199 | 365 |
NFC West | ||||||
Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
(3) New Orleans Saints | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 341 | 211 |
(6) Atlanta Falcons | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 361 | 338 |
San Francisco 49ers | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 393 | 239 |
Los Angeles Rams | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 234 | 390 |
Tiebreakers[]
- N.Y. Jets finished ahead of Miami in the AFC East based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
- Chicago was the first NFC Wild Card based on better conference record than Dallas (9–3 to Cowboys' 8–4).
- Atlanta finished ahead of San Francisco in the NFC West based on head-to-head sweep (2–0), and was the third NFC Wild Card ahead of Philadelphia based on better conference record (7–5 to Eagles' 6–6).
Playoffs[]
- Main article: 1991–92 NFL playoffs
- Home team in capitals
AFC[]
- Wild-Card playoffs: KANSAS CITY 10, L.A. Raiders 6; HOUSTON 17, N.Y. Jets 10
- Divisional playoffs: DENVER 26, Houston 24; BUFFALO 37, Kansas City 14
- AFC Championship: BUFFALO 10, Denver 7 at Rich Stadium, Buffalo, New York, January 12, 1992
NFC[]
- Wild-Card playoffs: Atlanta 27, NEW ORLEANS 20; Dallas 17, CHICAGO 13
- Divisional playoffs: WASHINGTON 24, Atlanta 7; DETROIT 38, Dallas 6
- NFC Championship: WASHINGTON 41, Detroit 10 at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C., January 12, 1992
Super Bowl[]
- Super Bowl XXVI: Washington (NFC) 37, Buffalo (AFC) 24, at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 26, 1992
Awards[]
Most Valuable Player | Thurman Thomas, Running Back, Buffalo |
Coach of the Year | Wayne Fontes, Detroit |
Offensive Player of the Year | Thurman Thomas, Running Back, Buffalo |
Defensive Player of the Year | Pat Swilling, Linebacker, New Orleans |
Offensive Rookie of the Year | Leonard Russell, Running Back, New England |
Defensive Rookie of the Year | Mike Croel, Linebacker, Denver |
References[]
- NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
- NFL History 1991–2000 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
- 1991 season in details
- Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
- 1991 NFL season at Pro Football Reference
Template:1991 NFL season by team
NFL seasons
Early Era (1920-1969) |
---|
1920 • 1921 • 1922 • 1923 • 1924 • 1925 • 1926 • 1927 • 1928 • 1929 1930 • 1931 • 1932 • 1933 • 1934 • 1935 • 1936 • 1937 • 1938 • 1939 |
Modern Era (1970-present) |
1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 |