1991 NFL season

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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
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

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Dec. 29 – Soldier Field   Jan. 5 – Pontiac Silverdome          
 5  Dallas  17
 5  Dallas  6
 4  Chicago  13     Jan. 12 – RFK Stadium
 2  Detroit  38  
NFC
Dec. 28 – Louisiana Superdome  2  Detroit  10
Jan. 4 – RFK Stadium
   1  Washington  41  
 6  Atlanta  27 NFC Championship
 6  Atlanta  7
 3  New Orleans  20   Jan. 26 – Humphrey Metrodome
 1  Washington  24  
Wild Card Playoffs  
Divisional Playoffs
Dec. 29 – Astrodome  N1  Washington  37
Jan. 4 – Mile High Stadium
   A1  Buffalo  24
 6  N.Y. Jets  10 Super Bowl XXVI
 3  Houston  24
 3  Houston  17     Jan. 12 – Rich Stadium
 2  Denver  26  
AFC
Dec. 28 – Arrowhead Stadium  2  Denver  7
Jan. 5 – Rich Stadium
   1  Buffalo  10  
 5  L.A. Raiders  6 AFC Championship
 4  Kansas City  14
 4  Kansas City  10  
 1  Buffalo  37  

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