1991 Washington Redskins season
The 1991 season was the Washington Redskins' 60th in the National Football League, their 55th representing Washington, D.C. and the eleventh under head coach Joe Gibbs.
1991 Washington Redskins season | |
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Head coach | Joe Gibbs |
General manager | Charley Casserly |
Owner | Jack Kent Cooke |
Home field | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium |
Local radio | WMAL |
Results | |
Record | 14–2 |
Division place | 1st NFC East |
Playoff finish | Won Divisional Playoffs (Falcons) 24–7 Won NFC Championship (Lions) 41–10 Won Super Bowl XXVI (Bills) 37–24 |
The Redskins were coming off two consecutive 10–6 seasons and looking to return to the playoffs for a second straight season. Not only did the Redskins improve their position, but they also put together a season that is considered by some to be one of the best any team has ever played. Washington won a franchise-record 14 games, the best record in the league, and their two losses (to two of their division rivals) were by a combined five points. The Redskins ended their campaign as world champions, knocking off the defending AFC Champion Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVI.
The Redskins led the league in scoring with 485 points and allowed the second-fewest points (224) in the league in 1991.[1] (As of the 1991 season, this was the third-highest total in NFL history, and still ranks in the top 20 all-time.) They had a +18 turnover ratio, also best in the NFL. In 2016, Chris Chase of USA Today ranked the team as the greatest to ever win a Super Bowl.[2] To date, this is the Redskins' most recent appearance in the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl.
Statistics site Football Outsiders ranks the 1991 Redskins as the best team they have measured (from 1986 to present).[3][4]
The season
Quarterback Mark Rypien had an outstanding year. His 8.5 yards per pass attempt was second in the league, and his 3,564 passing yards were best in the NFC and fourth in the league. Running back Earnest Byner's 1,048 rushing yards were 5th best in the NFL.[5] The Redskins had two wide receivers who went over 1,000 yards receiving in 1991: Gary Clark (1,340) and Art Monk (1,049).[6]
The Redskins beat the Buffalo Bills 37–24 to win Super Bowl XXVI. The team is the last Super Bowl champion to never trail in any of their playoff victories.[7] The Redskins' Super Bowl XXVI win was their first in a non-strike season.[8] With the championship, coach Joe Gibbs also became the first head coach to win three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks.[9]
In 2007, ESPN.com ranked the 1991 Redskins as the 4th greatest team in NFL history,[10] noting, "you can look at two stats to get a pretty good idea of just how great a team is: yards gained per pass attempt, and yards allowed per pass attempt. The 1991 'Skins topped the NFL in each category, with Mark Rypien averaging 8.5 yards per attempt, while his colleagues on Washington's defense allowed only 6 yards per attempt.... The 'Skins outscored their opponents 485–224, and they had a tough schedule. After going 14–2, they romped through the NFC playoffs, beating the Falcons 24–7 and demolishing the Lions 41–10 on their way to the Super Bowl. In the Big Game, the 'Skins beat the cursed early-1990s Bills 37–24."
Statistics site Football Outsiders has ranked the 1991 Redskins as the greatest team in their ratings history,[11] stating that the team "may have been the most well-rounded team in NFL history. [...] A lot of the best teams in NFL history got a little extra boost by picking on an easy schedule, but not Washington. They had an average schedule, and a harder-than-average schedule of opposing defenses. One reason for that: 1991 was not only the year of the best overall team in [their rating system's] history. It was also the year of the best defense in [their system's] history, which showed up on Washington's schedule twice: the 1991 Philadelphia Eagles."
Personnel
Staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
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Roster
Preseason
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | NFL.com recap |
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1 | August 4 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 7–16 | 0–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | Recap |
2 | August 10 | New England Patriots | W 27–6 | 1–1 | Foxboro Stadium | Recap |
3 | August 16 | Cleveland Browns | L 21–24 (OT) | 1–2 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | Recap |
4 | August 24 | New York Jets | L 9–13 | 1–3 | Williams–Brice Stadium | Recap |
Regular season
Schedule
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | NFL.com recap |
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1 | September 1 | Detroit Lions | W 45–0 | 1–0 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | Recap |
2 | September 9 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 33–31 | 2–0 | Texas Stadium | Recap |
3 | September 15 | Phoenix Cardinals | W 34–0 | 3–0 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | Recap |
4 | September 22 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 34–27 | 4–0 | Riverfront Stadium | Recap |
5 | September 30 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 23–0 | 5–0 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | Recap |
6 | October 6 | at Chicago Bears | W 20–7 | 6–0 | Soldier Field | Recap |
7 | October 13 | Cleveland Browns | W 42–17 | 7–0 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | Recap |
8 | Bye | |||||
9 | October 27 | at New York Giants | W 17–13 | 8–0 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
10 | November 3 | Houston Oilers | W 16–13 (OT) | 9–0 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | Recap |
11 | November 10 | Atlanta Falcons | W 56–17 | 10–0 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | Recap |
12 | November 17 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 41–14 | 11–0 | Three Rivers Stadium | Recap |
13 | November 24 | Dallas Cowboys | L 21–24 | 11–1 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | Recap |
14 | December 1 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 27–6 | 12–1 | Anaheim Stadium | Recap |
15 | December 8 | at Phoenix Cardinals | W 20–14 | 13–1 | Sun Devil Stadium | Recap |
16 | December 15 | New York Giants | W 34–17 | 14–1 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | Recap |
17 | December 22 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 22–24 | 14–2 | Veterans Stadium | Recap |
Game summaries
Week 1
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Lions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Redskins | 21 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 45 |
at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C.
- Date: September 1, 1991
- Game time: 8:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: Clear; 76°F
- Game attendance: 52,958
- Referee: Gordon McCarter
- TV announcers (TNT): Skip Caray (play-by-play) and Pat Haden (color commentator)
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
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Week 2
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Redskins | 7 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 33 |
Cowboys | 14 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 31 |
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
- Date: September 9, 1991
- Game time: 8:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: Clear; 81°F; wind 11
- Game attendance: 63,025
- Referee: Jerry Markbreit
- TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels (play-by-play), Dan Dierdorf and Frank Gifford (color commentators)
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
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Week 3
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Redskins | 7 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 34 |
at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C.
- Date: September 15, 1991
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: Clear; 76°F
- Game attendance: 54,662
- Referee: Tom White
- TV announcers (CBS): James Brown (play-by-play) and Randy Cross (color commentator)
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
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Week 4
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Week 5
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Week 6
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Week 7
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Week 9
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Week 10
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Week 11
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Falcons | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 17 |
Redskins | 7 | 21 | 7 | 21 | 56 |
at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium • Washington, D.C.
- Date: November 10, 1991
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Cloudy; 39°F
- Game attendance: 52,641
- Referee: Dale Hamer
- TV announcers (CBS): James Brown (play-by-play), Randy Cross (color commentator) and Lesley Visser (sideline reporter)
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
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Scoring summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Week 12
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Week 13
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Week 14
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Week 15
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Week 16
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Week 17
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Standings
NFC East | |||||||||
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W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
(1) Washington Redskins | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 6–2 | 10–2 | 485 | 224 | L1 |
(5) Dallas Cowboys | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 5–3 | 8–4 | 342 | 310 | W5 |
Philadelphia Eagles | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–3 | 6–6 | 285 | 244 | W1 |
New York Giants | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–5 | 5–7 | 281 | 297 | W1 |
Phoenix Cardinals | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 1–7 | 3–11 | 196 | 344 | L8 |
Playoffs
Schedule
Week | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | NFL.com recap | |||||
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Wild Card | Bye | ||||||||||
Divisional | January 4 | Atlanta Falcons (6) | W 24 –7 | 1–0 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | Recap | |||||
Championship | January 12 | Detroit Lions (2) | W 41–10 | 2–0 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | Recap | |||||
Super Bowl XXVI | January 26 | Buffalo Bills (A1) | W 37–24 | 3–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | Recap |
Game summaries
NFC Divisional Playoffs: vs Atlanta Falcons
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Falcons | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Redskins | 0 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium • Washington, D.C.
- Date: January 4, 1992 (Sat)
- Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Heavy rain with strong winds; 49°F
- Game attendance: 55,181
- Referee: Red Cashion
- TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist (play-by-play), Dan Fouts (color commentator) and Lesley Visser (sideline reporter)
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
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NFC Championship Game: vs Detroit Lions
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Lions | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Redskins | 10 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 41 |
at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C.
- Date: January 12 (Sun)
- Game time: 4 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Clear skies; 40°F
- Game attendance: 55,858
- Referee: Bob McElwee
- TV announcers: Pat Summerall (play-by-play), John Madden (color commentator)
- Box Score
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Super Bowl XXVI: vs Buffalo Bills
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Redskins | 0 | 17 | 14 | 6 | 37 |
Bills | 0 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 24 |
at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Date: January 26
- Game time: 6:18 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Played indoors, domed stadium
- Referee: Jerry Markbreit
- TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall (play-by-play), John Madden (color commentator), and Lesley Visser (sideline reporter)
- Box Score
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Statistics
Passing
Player | G | Comp. | Att. | Pct. | Yds. | TD | INT |
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Mark Rypien | 16 | 249 | 421 | 59.1 | 3,564 | 28 | 11 |
Jeff Rutledge | 16 | 11 | 22 | 50.0 | 189 | 1 | 0 |
Rushing
Player | G | Att. | Yards | Avg. | TD |
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Earnest Byner | 16 | 274 | 1,048 | 3.8 | 5 |
Ricky Ervins | 15 | 145 | 680 | 4.7 | 3 |
Gerald Riggs | 16 | 78 | 248 | 3.2 | 11 |
Receiving
Player | G | Rec. | Yards | Y/G | Avg. | TD |
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Art Monk | 16 | 71 | 1,049 | 65.6 | 14.8 | 8 |
Gary Clark | 16 | 70 | 1,340 | 83.8 | 19.1 | 10 |
Ricky Sanders | 16 | 45 | 580 | 36.3 | 12.9 | 5 |
Earnest Byner | 16 | 34 | 308 | 19.3 | 9.1 | 0 |
Ricky Ervins | 16 | 16 | 181 | 11.3 | 11.3 | 1 |
Terry Orr | 16 | 10 | 201 | 12.6 | 20.1 | 4 |
Kicking
Player | FGM | FGA | Pct. | XPM | XPA | Pct. |
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Chip Lohmiller | 31 | 43 | 72.1 | 56 | 56 | 100.0 |
Awards and records
- Mark Rypien, Super Bowl Most Valuable Player
- Mark Rypien, UPI NFC Player of the Year
- Mark Rypien, Pro Bowl Selection
Milestones
- November 10, 1991 – Mark Rypien threw for 442 yards and 6 touchdowns against the Atlanta Falcons, despite being taken out of the game in the middle of the 4th quarter;[15] when Atlanta did the same, their third-string quarterback, a rookie named Brett Favre, made his NFL debut – and his first pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. On that same day, Warren Moon of the Houston Oilers threw for over 400 yards as well in an overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Best team ever
In 2010, ESPN conducted a "super league," consisting of the best Super Bowl winning teams of all time; the 1991 Redskins finished the regular season in first place with record of 10-5 and beat the 1992 Dallas Cowboys in the league finals to be named the greatest team of all time.[16] Football Outsiders also has them ranked as the best team in NFL history based on their advanced analysis.[17]
References
- Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1991 Washington Redskins
- Chase, Chris. "Ranking all 49 Super Bowl champions, from best to worst". USA Today. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- Football Outsiders: 1991 DVOA Ratings and Commentary, published July 16, 2012, spanning 1991–2011 seasons.
- Team Efficiency Ratings 1991
- Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1991 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards
- Pro-Football-Reference: 1991 Washington Redskins
- As of 2011 season
- The Redskins previously won the Super Bowl after the 1982 and 1987 seasons, both shortened by strikes
- Joe Theismann, Doug Williams and Mark Rypien
- ESPN.com, Page 2 – The List: Greatest NFL teams of all time, 2007
- Football Outsiders: 1991 DVOA Ratings and Commentary, published July 16, 2012, spanning 1991–2011 seasons.
- Washington Redskins 1991 Press Guide. pp. 3–36.
- Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-May-18.
- Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-May-18.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKc36GyGS0E
- http://promo.espn.go.com/espn/promotions/nfl/superleague/?gameId=121 Archived 2011-01-30 at the Wayback Machine "Redskins win on dramatic final play"
- http://www.footballoutsiders.com/dvoa-ratings/2014/historical-dvoa-estimates