The city of Atlanta had seen playoff football only four times in their NFL history, and the most recent was 1991. June Jones, the architect of a spread-the-field passing game that is commonplace today, but was innovative back then, was hired as head coach in 1994. One year later, the 1995 Atlanta Falcons made the […]
The city of St. Louis had been without professional football since the Cardinals left for Arizona in 1988. In 1995, the Rams filled the void and began a 31-season journey as a Midwest franchise. The first edition of the St. Louis Rams started strong and gave the fan base hope. But a hard fall foreshadowed […]
The four years since Buddy Ryan’s dismissal following the 1990 season had been frustrating ones in Philadelphia. The Eagles played competitive football, going 36-28 in that span, but they had missed the playoffs three of the four years. Ray Rhodes was hired as the new head coach and the 1995 Philadelphia Eagles returned the postseason, […]
The 1995 San Francisco 49ers were coming off a breakthrough Super Bowl championship for quarterback Steve Young. Big personnel losses and an injury to Young represented some significant adversity, but the 49ers reached the season’s stretch drive in prime position to repeat. But disappointing losses ended those hopes and ushered in an era where the […]
There was optimism abounding in Green Bay. While it taken the Bart Starr era several years to find its footing, the Packers had contended to the last week of the regular season in 1981, then made the playoffs in the strike-shortened year of 1982. They had a dynamic passing game. The 1983 Green Bay Packers […]
Bart Starr’s coaching tenure wasn’t going well. The Hall of Fame quarterback took over his old team in 1975. The team appeared to turn a corner in 1978, when they nearly made the playoffs. But they plummeted to five-win campaigns in 1979 and 1980. The 1981 Green Bay Packers started much the same way and […]
For four straight seasons, the Buffalo Bills had been the gold standard of the AFC—four straight conference championships, a feat unparalleled in the Super Bowl era. They hadn’t won that final game of the year, but they were winning most everything else. All good things come to an end though, and the 1994 Buffalo Bills […]
The 1994 Miami Dolphins were feeling the urgency of the moment. Even with the great Dan Marino at quarterback and the legendary Don Shula on the sidelines, the Fish hadn’t been to a Super Bowl since Marino’s MVP year of 1984, and they had yet to win one with the future Hall of Fame quarterback. […]
Bill Belichick became a staple of the NFL playoffs during his legendary 21st century tenure in New England. But his first trip to the postseason came with the 1994 Cleveland Browns. Following a 3-13 disaster in 1990, the Browns tapped Belichick, fresh off coordinating the defense of the Super Bowl champion New York Giants. At […]
The city of Detroit hasn’t seen too many sustained stretches of good pro football. But the 1990s were an exception. The Lions had the great Barry Sanders in the backfield and were a consistent contender for the playoffs throughout the decade. The 1994 Detroit Lion team that got into the postseason was one part of […]
The Chicago Bears were only two years removed from the end of the Mike Ditka era, and just three years removed from that era’s last playoff appearance. In the mid-1990s, this was still a fan base that was accustomed to success. Dave Wannstedt had been hired to replace Ditka. And in Wannstedt’s second year, he […]
Dennis Green had come to Minnesota in 1992 and immediately returned the Vikings to the playoffs after a two-year absence. In 1993, Green did it again. Both of those teams lost in the first round, but Minnesota was back on everyone’s radar. The 1994 Minnesota Vikings continued the pattern—they got their third straight playoff appearance […]