1991 NFL season

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. It was the final season for legendary coach Chuck Noll. 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 consecutive 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. The NFL shield was also added to the right breast of the officiating uniforms.

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).


Dec. 29 – Astrodome			Jan. 4 – Mile High Stadium



6	NY Jets	10
			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	LA Raiders	6				AFC Championship
			4	Kansas City	14
4	Kansas City	10							Jan. 26 – Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
			1	Buffalo	37
Wild card playoffs
			Divisional playoffs
Dec. 29 – Soldier Field									A1	Buffalo	24
			Jan. 5 – Pontiac Silverdome
									N1	Washington	37

5	Dallas	17							Super Bowl XXVI
			5	Dallas	6
4	Chicago	13				Jan. 12 – Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
			2	Detroit	38

			NFC
Dec. 28 – Louisiana Superdome						2	Detroit	10
			Jan. 4 – Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
						1	Washington	41

6	Atlanta	27				NFC Championship
			6	Atlanta	7
3	New Orleans	20
			1	Washington	24

Cleveland Browns: Bill Belichick was named the permanent replacement, after Bud Carson was fired after the first nine games of 1990, and Jim Shofner served as interim for the final seven games.
New England Patriots: Dick MacPherson replaced the fired Rod Rust.
New York Giants: Bill Parcells resigned following the team's Super Bowl XXV victory, and was replaced by Ray Handley.
Philadelphia Eagles: Rich Kotite was hired after the team opted to not renew Buddy Ryan's contract.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Richard Williamson became the permanent head coach, after serving as interim for the final three games of 1990 following the firing of Ray Perkins.

Indianapolis Colts: Ron Meyer was fired after five games, and Rick Venturi then served as interim for the final 11 games.

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
NFL Comeback Player of the Year	Jim McMahon, Quarterback, Philadelphia
NFL Man of the Year	Anthony Munoz, Offensive Tackle, Cincinnati
Super Bowl Most Valuable Player	Mark Rypien, Quarterback, Washington

The 1991 NFL Draft was held from April 21 to 22, 1991 at New York City's Marriott Marquis. With the first pick, the Dallas Cowboys selected defensive tackle Russell Maryland from the University of Miami.

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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