The Dallas Cowboys were the NFL’s gold standard in the first half of the 1990s. From 1991 through 1996, they made the playoffs every year, won five NFC East titles and captured three Super Bowl trophies. But all runs come to an end eventually and 1997 was the year the Cowboys fell out of the […]
After missing the postseason, the 1997 Detroit Lions got back on track and Barry Sanders won a co-MVP award. Read the game-by-game narrative of how it unfolded.
Everything was about redemption for the 1997 Denver Broncos, both short-term and long-term. In the short-term, this was a team that had the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs in 1996 and lost in a big upset at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars. In the long-term, 37-year-old quarterback John Elway had yet to win a […]
The 1996 Jacksonville Jaguars were in just their second season of existence. To no one’s surprise, they had gone 4-12 in their first year. To everyone’s surprise, they made a stunning late season push in 1996 to sneak into the playoffs. And to everyone’s shock, Tom Coughlin’s Jags then made it all the way to […]
After a surprise run to the AFC Championship Game in 1995, the Colts had to find a new coach. Ted Marchibroda, who had led this franchise to the postseason in both its Baltimore and Indianapolis iterations, called it a career. The front office tapped offensive coordinator Lindy Infante. While Infante had flamed out in a […]
Jim Kelly came to the Buffalo Bills in 1986, after a brief stint in the defunct United States Football League (USFL) out of college. Kelly’s tenure in Buffalo was the greatest in franchise history. By 1988, the Bills were a perennial contender. They won a historic four straight AFC crowns from 1990-93. Even though they […]
The Houston Oilers came into existence in 1960 with the rest of the old American Football League. They won the first two AFL championships. In the late 1970s, they had the “Luv Ya Blue” teams of Earl Campbell that reached a pair of AFC Championship Games. In the late 1980s and early 1990s there was […]
The 1996 Miami Dolphins were starting a new era in franchise history. The 26-year run of the legendary Don Shula ended after the 1995 season. Shula had won two Super Bowls, five AFC titles and made the playoffs in four of his final six years. But with the great quarterback Dan Marino getting older, the […]
The 1989 Montreal Canadiens were three years removed from winning the Stanley Cup. Over those ensuing seasons, they had gone out in the second round of the playoffs each time. Pat Burns took over as head coach for ’89, and Montreal made a run all the way to the Finals. Tough defense—the stingiest in the […]
The Miami Heat were a franchise back on the ascent in 2005. After a string of playoff seasons under Pat Riley (1996-2001), the Heat had slipped in 2002-03. Riley moved up to the front office, Stan Van Gundy became the head coach and Miami got in position to draft Dwayne Wade out of Marquette. In […]
After making the playoffs their first three seasons under Dennis Green, the Minnesota Vikings slipped to .500 in 1995. In 1996, they only modestly improved—but it was enough to get back into the playoffs and start another streak of postseason trips. The franchise was going through some tumult at quarterback. They had acquired the veteran […]
The Philadelphia Eagles came into 1996 building off a season where they won 10 games and advanced to the Divisional Round of the playoffs. That 1995 run was in the first year under head coach Ray Rhodes, who took over a team that had been around .500 the previous couple of seasons. In 1996, even […]