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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