1991 NFL 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 |
Champions | Washington Redskins |
Pro Bowl | |
Date | February 2, 1992 |
Site | Aloha Stadium |
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 37-24 at the Metrodome in Minnesota. This was the second of four Super Bowl losses for Buffalo.
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, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against
Clinched playoff seeds are marked in parentheses and shaded in green. No ties occurred this season.
AFC East | ||||||
Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) Buffalo Bills | 13 | 3 | .813 | 458 | 318 | |
(6) New York Jets | 8 | 8 | .500 | 314 | 293 | |
Miami Dolphins | 8 | 8 | .500 | 343 | 349 | |
New England Patriots | 6 | 10 | .375 | 211 | 305 | |
Indianapolis Colts | 1 | 15 | .063 | 143 | 381 | |
AFC Central | ||||||
Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | |
(3) Houston Oilers | 11 | 5 | .688 | 386 | 251 | |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 7 | 9 | .438 | 292 | 344 | |
Cleveland Browns | 6 | 10 | .375 | 293 | 298 | |
Cincinnati Bengals | 3 | 13 | .188 | 263 | 435 | |
AFC West | ||||||
Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | |
(2) Denver Broncos | 12 | 4 | .750 | 304 | 235 | |
(4) Kansas City Chiefs | 10 | 6 | .625 | 322 | 252 | |
(5) Los Angeles Raiders | 9 | 7 | .563 | 298 | 297 | |
Seattle Seahawks | 7 | 9 | .438 | 276 | 261 | |
San Diego Chargers | 4 | 12 | .250 | 274 | 342 |
NFC East | ||||||
Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) Washington Redskins | 14 | 2 | .875 | 485 | 224 | |
(5) Dallas Cowboys | 11 | 5 | .688 | 342 | 310 | |
Philadelphia Eagles | 10 | 6 | .625 | 285 | 244 | |
New York Giants | 8 | 8 | .500 | 281 | 297 | |
Phoenix Cardinals | 4 | 12 | .250 | 196 | 344 | |
NFC Central | ||||||
Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | |
(2) Detroit Lions | 12 | 4 | .750 | 339 | 295 | |
(4) Chicago Bears | 11 | 5 | .688 | 299 | 269 | |
Minnesota Vikings | 8 | 8 | .500 | 301 | 306 | |
Green Bay Packers | 4 | 12 | .250 | 273 | 313 | |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3 | 13 | .188 | 199 | 365 | |
NFC West | ||||||
Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | |
(3) New Orleans Saints | 11 | 5 | .688 | 341 | 211 | |
(6) Atlanta Falcons | 10 | 6 | .625 | 361 | 338 | |
San Francisco 49ers | 10 | 6 | .625 | 393 | 239 | |
Los Angeles Rams | 3 | 13 | .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
Dec. 29 – Astrodome | Jan. 4 – Mile High Stadium | |||||||||||||||||
A6 | NY Jets | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
A3 | Houston | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
A3 | Houston | 17 | Jan. 12 – Rich Stadium | |||||||||||||||
A2 | Denver | 26 | ||||||||||||||||
AFC | ||||||||||||||||||
Dec. 28 – Arrowhead Stadium | A2 | Denver | 7 | |||||||||||||||
Jan. 5 – Rich Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
A1 | Buffalo | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
A5 | LA Raiders | 6 | AFC Championship | |||||||||||||||
A4 | Kansas City | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
A4 | Kansas City | 10 | Jan. 26 – Humphrey Metrodome | |||||||||||||||
A1 | Buffalo | 37 | ||||||||||||||||
Dec. 29 – Soldier Field | A1 | Buffalo | 24 | |||||||||||||||
Jan. 5 – Pontiac Silverdome | ||||||||||||||||||
N1 | Washington | 37 | ||||||||||||||||
N5 | Dallas | 17 | Super Bowl XXVI | |||||||||||||||
N5 | Dallas | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
N4 | Chicago | 13 | Jan. 12 – RFK Stadium | |||||||||||||||
N2 | Detroit | 38 | ||||||||||||||||
NFC | ||||||||||||||||||
Dec. 28 – Louisiana Superdome | N2 | Detroit | 10 | |||||||||||||||
Jan. 4 – RFK Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
N1 | Washington | 41 | ||||||||||||||||
N6 | Atlanta | 27 | NFC Championship | |||||||||||||||
N6 | Atlanta | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
N3 | New Orleans | 20 | ||||||||||||||||
N1 | Washington | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
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 |
External links
References
- NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
- NFL History 1991–2000
- Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
- 1991 NFL season at Pro Football Reference
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