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1992 NFL

1992 New Orleans Saints: Contention & Collapse

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Consistent winning football was still a pretty new thing in the New Orleans of the early 1990s. It took the arrival of Jim Mora to finally put the Saints into the playoffs for the first time in 1987. They made it back in 1990, with two winning seasons in between. In 1991, the franchise won its first division title. There was still one thing they hadn’t done—win a playoff game. The 1992 New Orleans Saints spent all season looking very much the part of a Super Bowl contender…until those January problems came back and bit Mora one more time.

Mora’s success was built around the defense, specifically some great linebacker play. Pat Swilling was as good as it got at the outside linebacker position. In ’92, Swilling was 1st-team All-NFL and got 10 ½ sacks. Rickey Jackson was the other side in the 3-4 defensive scheme and recorded 13 ½ sacks in a Pro Bowl season. Veteran Sam Mills was another Pro Bowler on the inside.

The quality of the linebacking corps freed up defensive end Wayne Martin to get 15 ½ sacks of his own. The pressure on opposing quarterbacks led to six interceptions for cornerback Toi Cook. And the New Orleans defense ranked first in the NFL for points allowed.

Bobby Hebert was at quarterback and had a big-play arm. He was modestly above average with his 59 percent completion percentage, and his 19-16 TD/INT ratio. But when it came to bang for your buck, Hebert’s 7.8 yards-per-attempt was outstanding and second-best among starting QBs.

Eric Martin was the prime beneficiary of Hebert’s arm, catching 68 passes for over 1,000 yards. Quinn Early caught thirty balls, and at nearly 19 yards a pop, he could stretch the field. Dalton Hilliard was a versatile running back who caught 48 more passes out of the backfield.

The running game had problems. Even though Joel Hilgenberg was a Pro Bowl center and there were three viable runners in Hilliard, big Craig Heyward and young Vaughn Dunbar, the running game had a tendency to come and go—and to disappear at the most crucial moments. But even allowing that, this New Orleans offense was still a solid 10th in what was then a 28-team league for points scored.

A road game at Philadelphia opened the season. The Eagles were a perennial contender and known for their physical defensive front. The Saints were outrushed 184-55 and lost a tough game 15-13. Then they trailed Mike Ditka’s Chicago Bears 6-0 at home in the third quarter of Week 2. The offense needed to step it up.

Hebert found Martin a 52-yard touchdown pass to get the lead. Then the quarterback hit Wesley Carroll on a 72-yard strike to make it 14-6. The avalanche had started. The defense scored two more touchdowns. The Saints rolled to a 28-6 win.

Dunbar had a solid game against Atlanta, rushing for 85 yards, and that was enough to pull out a 10-7 home win against the Falcons. It wasn’t a particularly inspiring win, but it did get New Orleans to 2-1 before San Francisco came to town.

Prior to the realignment of 2002, the 49ers were a divisional rival of the Saints. Both teams were in the NFC West, along with the Los Angeles Rams and the Falcons. What’s more, San Francisco had been the pre-eminent team in all of football for over a decade. With MVP quarterback Steve Young coming into his own, the 49ers were a powerhouse.

New Orleans’ defense cold hold its own and the Sunday Night game at the Superdome was in a 10-10 tie after three quarters. But the Saints were being outrushed, 154-77. Hebert threw three interceptions, while Young threw none. The Niners got a couple field goals in the fourth quarter and sent New Orleans to a 16-10 loss.

At 2-2, the Saints had a six-week soft spot on the schedule coming up, five bad opponents sandwiched around a bye. They took full advantage of the opportunity to get some wins and get the running game moving.

New Orleans enjoyed a 133-42 edge in rush yardage at Detroit, with the defense shutting down the great Barry Sanders. Hebert played an efficient, mistake-free game and New Orleans won a tough 13-7 decision.

The Saints were a solid nine-point favorite when the Rams came to town. The passing game never really got untracked and the game stayed tight. But New Orleans won the rushing battle 135-43 and with Jackson picking up three sacks, they got a 13-10 win. 

A road trip to Phoenix to face the Cardinals proved to be what Hebert needed. He lit up the desert to the tune of 19/26 for 355 yards and three touchdowns. Eric Martin caught eight balls for 151 yards. A 30-21 win sent the Saints into their bye week at 5-2.

A home game with lowly Tampa Bay was on the far side of the bye. New Orleans continued to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football, winning rush yardage 145-84. But four turnovers, including three interceptions by Hebert kept this one tight. It took a 50-yard field goal from the Saints’ Hall of Fame kicker Morten Andersen to escape with a 23-21 win.

New Orleans went up to Foxboro to face a bad New England Patriots team. Hebert and Early hooked up on a couple of first-quarter TD passes. The defense teed off and picked up five sacks. A 31-14 win pushed the Saints to 7-2 and set up the next big showdown. The 49ers were also 7-2 and it was time for the annual trip to the Bay Area.

Hebert was ready and he went 22/35 for 301 yards. There were no mistakes. With a 20-7 lead after three quarters, New Orleans was poised to push into first place.

But they weren’t running the ball and couldn’t salt this one away. They were outrushed 176-43. San Francisco’s ability to run the ball freed up Young to win the game with a couple of fourth quarter touchdown passes. The crushing 21-20 loss put the Saints in a huge bind for the NFC West race. They were only one game back in the standings, but had already lost the tiebreaker.

New Orleans came back home to face the Washington Redskins. The defending Super Bowl champion, the Redskins would make the playoffs again this year, but were more of a fringe postseason team rather than a true contender. The Saints defense dominated, Hebert played an efficient game and a 20-3 win got the bad taste from San Francisco washed out.

A tough home date with Miami, a team destined for the AFC Championship Game, was next. This one was tied 10-10 in the third quarter. Then defensive tackle Robert Goff scooped up a fumble and raced 28 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Holding a 17-13 lead in the fourth quarter, defensive back Vince Buck picked off Dan Marino and raced 34 yards to the house. The 24-13 win pushed New Orleans to 9-3.

The Saints were still a game back of the 49ers and expecting San Francisco to lose twice in the final four weeks was more than a longshot. The alignment and playoff structure of the time had three wild-cards joining three division champs. That meant earning the top wild-card spot got you the 4-seed and a home game. The Saints were in control of that race, with the Eagles and Redskins giving chase at 7-5.

Thursday Night Football was not the norm at this time, so the prime-time home game with Atlanta was a treat for NFL fans. New Orleans drove the ball consistently, but kept having to settle for field goals. They clung to a 15-14 lead in a game they had complete control off. Cook finally put this one away with a 48-yard interception return to secure the 22-14 win.

Everything clicked ten days later in Los Angeles. Hebert was 15/25 for 238 yards, no mistakes and he spread the ball around. Dunbar ran for 91 yards, while Heyward chipped in 50 on eleven carries. The Saints were ahead 37-zip and closed out the 37-14 win.

Buffalo, the two-time defending AFC champ and headed back to another Super Bowl this year, came to the Superdome for a marquee game in the early afternoon TV window. San Francisco had formally clinched the NFC West the day before, but this was still a chance for New Orleans to secure the 4-seed.

The Saints led 16-10 going into the fourth quarter. But again, they were not running the ball and they were being gashed by the running game of a top opponent. The final rush yardage deficit was 181-48. The Bills took over the fourth quarter and won 20-16.

Meanwhile, the Eagles were playing the Redskins. The winner would move to within one game of the Saints for the top wild-card and home game. The fact it was Philadelphia was bad luck—New Orleans would lose the head-to-head tiebreaker to Philly, whereas they had it with Washington. So there was still something to play for in the final week.

In an early Saturday afternoon kick, the Saints went up the Meadowlands to face a terrible New York Jets team. New Orleans did not play particularly well. Hebert threw three interceptions. But the defense was dominant and that included a 76-yard fumble return from Mills to start the scoring in the first quarter. The 20-0 whitewashing ensured that the Eagles-Saints wild-card game would be played at the Superdome.

For three quarters, New Orleans looked comfortably in control. With a 20-10 lead, they were set to finally give the city its first playoff victory. But there’s a saying in any sport and it’s that in the postseason, your weaknesses find you. Never did that unfold more dramatically than in the fourth quarter of this final game of Wild-Card Weekend.

The Saints again couldn’t run the ball against a quality opponent and gained only 76 yards. Hebert again made mistakes, with another three-interception game. Just like against the 49ers and Bills, a fourth-quarter lead disappeared. In fact, this time it collapsed. New Orleans allowed 26 points in the final period. The stunning meltdown led to a 36-20 loss.

It was an incredibly bitter way for such a fine season to end. And in retrospect, it was the effective end of this period of ascendancy led by Mora. Three mediocre seasons followed. Mora eventually left for Indianapolis. The hiring of Mike Ditka later in the 1990s was a bust. It was not until 2000 that the Saints finally returned to the playoffs—and won a game. And not until Sean Payton arrived in 2006, did the franchise again see a consistent contender.

1992 Houston Oilers: The Heartbreak Keeps Growing

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The city of Houston saw good football in the seven-year stretch from 1987-93. The Oilers made the playoffs each season. There were also some tough playoff losses, like the endings to 1989 and 1991. But the 1992 Houston Oilers edition took the cake, getting into the postseason with real prospects of reaching a Super Bowl…and then suffering one of the most devastating playoff losses of all time.

Houston was in its third year under head coach Jack Pardee, who had kept the playoff train rolling after Jerry Glanville was at the helm the first three years of the run. The thread of consistency was the presence of Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon.

In 1992, Moon would miss five games with injuries and be limited in three others. But he still finished third in the NFL in completion percentage, eighth in yards-per-attempt and his 18-12 TD/INT ratio was above average for this era. It was another Pro Bowl year for Moon.

Moon was at the helm of an offense called the “run and shoot”, the forerunner of today’s spread. The field was spread with speedy receivers in Haywood Jeffires, Curtis Duncan and Ernest Givins. All three made the Pro Bowl, averaging in the neighborhood of 10-12 yards-per-catch.

And the Oilers weren’t all about the passing game. The offensive line had two future Hall of Fame inductees in center Bruce Matthews and guard Mike Munchak (who later coached this organization after it relocated to Tennessee and became the Titans). They paved the way for Lorenzo White to clear 1,200 yards and finish fifth in the NFL in rushing.

It was enough to finish sixth in the league in points scored and the defense wasn’t far behind, ranking ninth. The key was a veteran defensive front, where the best players were all 30-years-old. Sean Jones and William Fuller each had eight sacks off the opposite edges. Defensive tackle Ray Childress had 13 sacks and was 1st-team All-NFL. Middle linebacker Al Smith was another 1st-team All-NFL player and corner Jerry Gray picked off six passes in 1992.

The season opened in Pittsburgh where the Steelers were beginning a new era under first-year coach Bill Cowher. The Steelers were also a divisional rival, sharing the old AFC Central with the Oilers, Bengals and Browns.

Pittsburgh was coming off a bad year in ‘91 and had few expectations for this year. When Houston linebacker Johnny Meads returned a fumble for a touchdown and helped build a 14-0 lead, it looked par for the course. But the Oilers bogged down. Moon was intercepted five times. A 24-16 lead in the fourth quarter disappeared and Houston lost 29-24.

They went on to Indianapolis, another team coming off a forgettable 1991 campaign. Moon made amends for Week 1. He threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to White to get the scoring going and finished the day 29/39 for 360 yards and no interceptions. The Oilers won 20-10 in a game they were in command of throughout.

That set up a good early showdown at home with the Kansas City Chiefs, another team of this era that consistently made the playoffs and consistently lost. Houston was beaten in the trenches, losing rush yardage 187-77 and they trailed 13-6 in the fourth quarter. But Moon threw a couple fourth-quarter TD passes, the game ended up in overtime and the Oilers ultimately won 23-20.

The defense stood up in a home date with winless San Diego, intercepting three passes and holding the Chargers to 52 rush yards in an easy 27-0 win. On the surface, it appeared the Oilers had played an easy September schedule, with Pittsburgh, Indy and San Diego all coming off bad years. But it turned out the Steelers and Chargers—along with the Chiefs—would make the playoffs in 1992. And the Colts got close, going 9-7. In retrospect, a 3-1 start against this slate wasn’t too bad.

After a bye week, Moon came out in Cincinnati and threw three TD passes to Jeffires, two more to Givins, while White ran for 149 yards in an easy 38-24 win. Two weeks later the Bengals paid the return visit to Houston. Moon went 27/40 for 342 yards, with Givins and Duncan combining for 17 catches and 184 yards. The final of that game was 26-10.

In between these routs of Cincinnati, Houston went to Denver, site of their playoff misery the year before. Moon played well and went 23/39 for 321 yards, with Duncan catching five of the passes for 133 yards. But the Oilers kept getting penalties—thirteen in all—and they couldn’t stop the run, allowing 170 yards on the ground to a team that would struggle all year to run the football. Appropriately, it was a 20-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter that beat Houston 27-21.

The Oilers were still 5-2 and primed for a visit from Pittsburgh that would open November and shape the divisional race for the rest of the season. Just like in the season opener, Houston got a defensive touchdown, this one when Childress brought a fumble to the house. Just like in the season opener, the Oilers had a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter, this time 20-7. And just like in the season opener, Houston lost the game. This time it was 21-20.

Making matters worse was that Moon had suffered a concussion and had to be replaced by Cody Carlson. Moon was start the next two games, but recurring symptoms meant that Carlson would continue to get a significant amount of playing time in each game.

Perhaps then it’s not surprising that Moon played poorly against the Cleveland Browns, making improvement in their second year under Bill Belichick. The Oilers fell behind 17-0 and lost 24-14. The offense continued to struggle in Minnesota, losing three fumbles. But Houston played well defensively and got a 17-13 win against another eventual playoff team.

But now Moon had suffered a broken arm. It was his non-throwing left arm, so it wasn’t complete disaster. But there was no doubt that Carlson was the man who would have to push the Oilers over the finish line and into the playoffs. He had experience doing this, stepping in for an injured Moon to lead Houston to past Pittsburgh in a win-or-go-home season finale in 1990. But now the backup would have to lead the way for six weeks.

It didn’t start well in Miami. Carlson played respectably, but the Dolphins were bound for the playoffs and got the Oilers in overtime, 19-16. Houston was 6-5 and their Thanksgiving Day visit to Detroit had must-win overtones.

The run defense stepped up and contained the great Lion running back Barry Sanders. Carlson was brilliant, going 24/33 for 338 yards. The 24-21 win kept the Oiler season alive. They went on to host the collapsing Chicago Bears on Monday Night and used a 175-99 edge in rush yardage to get an easy 24-7 win.

But a third consecutive nationally televised game with an NFC Central foe—this one at home on Sunday Night against the Green Bay Packers and first-year starter Brett Favre—didn’t go as well. Carlson was terrific, going 25/36 for 330 yards and outplayed the young Favre. But Houston did not run the ball, Carlson threw a couple interceptions, and the Oilers lost 16-14.

The loss ended their hopes of winning the AFC Central. Houston was 8-6 and two games back of Pittsburgh with two to play, with the Steelers holding the head-to-head tiebreaker. At this time the NFL format had three divisions per conference and the playoffs were filled out with three wild-cards.

You could realistically book the Buffalo-Miami runner-up in the AFC East for one of those. Kansas City and San Diego were both 9-5 and tied in the AFC West, meaning the runner-up likely took the second wild-card. That left Houston at 8-6 , with fading Denver, improving Cleveland and surprising Indianapolis at 7-7 all racing for the third and final wild-card spot.

Houston would play Cleveland in the Dawg Pound on December 20. The Saturday prior to that saw the Oilers get some surprising help. The Chiefs lost to the mediocre New York Giants. To make a long story short, the tiebreaker situation—wins over KC and Indianapolis—meant that Houston would be in the playoffs if they could beat the Browns.

That didn’t come easily, as they trailed 14-3 in the fourth quarter. Carlson would deliver a great moment in a backup career that has a surprising number of them. He threw a couple fourth quarter TD passes, got the 17-14 win and put the Oilers into the postseason.

From Houston’s perspective, the steam for their Sunday Night home finale against Buffalo was reduced. The Bills were playing to win the AFC East. But the Oilers still brought it. They knocked Jim Kelly out of the game and got seven sacks—three from Lee Williams and two more by Childress—in an easy 27-3 win.

The win meant that Houston got the 5-seed, while Kansas City settled for the 6-spot. But that also meant the Oilers had to rematch with the Bills a week later on the road. If nothing else, Moon was back while Kelly was still out of commission for the start of the postseason.

And Houston came out on the early Sunday afternoon of wild-card weekend and picked up where they left off. Moon, who finished the day 36/50 for 371 yards and four touchdowns, led the way to a 28-3 lead at halftime. When Bubba McDowell picked off Buffalo backup Frank Reich and went 58 yards to the house, it was 35-3 in the third quarter and the game seemed all but over by any reasonable—or even unreasonable measure.

A Houston fan couldn’t be blamed if they started thinking big picture. The AFC bracket was extremely balanced in 1992, with everyone finishing 11-5 or 10-6. Closing out this game would send Houston on to Pittsburgh. The Steelers were a young team and there was every reason for the Oilers to believe the third time would be the charm.

A win there and the Dolphins or Chargers would await in the AFC Championship Game. The Oilers had to believe they could beat San Diego and Miami (the team that ultimately advanced) had barely survived Houston without Moon in November.

In short, the path to the Super Bowl was wide open. Then Frank Reich happened.

Maybe Houston should have been forewarned. As a college quarterback at Maryland, Reich had authored the greatest comeback in college football history in a 1984 win over Miami. Now he was about to do the same at the professional level.

The Oiler defense collapsed rapidly, as the Buffalo ripped off five straight touchdown drives—the last four ending on relatively long TD passes from Reich on a typically cold day in this part of the country. The collapse came so fast, that it was Moon who had to author one more drive of his own, racing the Oilers down for a field goal that tied the game 38-38 and sent it to overtime.

But you only have to ask the 2016 Atlanta Falcons how stories like this end in overtime. There was no way Buffalo was losing this game now. The Bills got a field goal and the Oiler season ended in misery—again.

Houston had one more run left in them and their 1993 team was very good. But the path to the Super Bowl may never have been wider than those brief moments early in the second half at Buffalo at the end of the 1992 season.

1992 Denver Broncos: A Disappointing Finale For Dan Reeves

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The Dan Reeves era of Denver Broncos history had been an unquestionable success. Reeves, backed by the powerful right arm of John Elway, had taken the team to the playoffs six times from 1983-91, including three trips to the Super Bowl. But tensions between the coach and quarterback were mounting and when a promising season fell apart, the 1992 Denver Broncos proved to be Reeves’ last run in the Rocky Mountains.

Change was already afoot in the coaching staff. Mike Shanahan had left as offensive coordinator to take the same job with the powerful San Francisco 49ers. Elway did not have a good year post-Shanahan. He struggled to a 55% completion rate, which ranked 20th among starting quarterbacks. His 7.1 yards-per-attempt was above the league average, but nothing spectacular. And the mistakes piled up. Elway’s 10-17 TD/INT ratio was awful and the 5.4% of passes he had picked off were among the league’s worst.

It wasn’t for a lack of targets. The tight end was a 24-year-old named Shannon Sharpe who caught 53 balls, made the Pro Bowl and ultimately the Hall of Fame before assuming his place across the debate table from Skip Bayless every morning on FS1. Mark Jackson, a veteran of the Super Bowl teams, caught 48 passes and averaged 15.5 yards-per-catch. Reggie Rivers, a young running back, made a nice addition to the passing game out of the backfield.

But between Elway’s struggles, his missing of four games with a shoulder injury and the utter lack of a running game, Denver’s offense only ranked 22nd in the NFL in points scored.

Wade Phillips was back in the fold as defensive coordinator and his career, both then and subsequently, have given him a well-deserved good reputation. But 1992 wasn’t one of his big moments.

The Bronco defense had talent—free safety Steve Atwater was the best in the league at his position and veteran strong safety Dennis Smith was a perennial Pro Bowler. Tyrone Braxton at the corner was emerging and would ultimately start on the 1997 Denver Broncos team that finally won it all.

Inside linebacker Michael Brooks made the Pro Bowl and 30-year-old outside linebacker Simon Fletcher had a big year rushing the quarterback, getting 16 sacks. In spite of all this, the Broncos only ranked 19th in a 28-team league in points allowed.

The warning signs were there early, at least for the offense, even as Denver won their first two games. They hosted the mediocre Los Angeles Raiders and were outrushed 152-47. The Broncos survived 17-13 because of a 54-yard fumble return for a TD by Brooks. The San Diego Chargers were next in old Mile High Stadium and a five-sack performance by the defense—including 2 ½ from Mike Croel—keyed a 21-13 win.

A visit to the contending Philadelphia Eagles was next and the flaws were exposed. Elway was held to an atrocious 8/18 for 59 yards. There was no running game, no pass defense and no points in a 30-0 loss. A 12-0 victory at Cleveland got the defense back on track and a balanced running game produced 188 yards. But it was still a win achieved without finding the end zone.

All of that made it less than surprising that Denver dug themselves a 19-6 hole in the fourth quarter at home against a good Kansas City Chiefs team. But it wouldn’t be Elway against KC coach Marty Schotteneheimer if Big John didn’t have something up his sleeve. He threw touchdown passes to Jackson and Vance Johnson late and stole a 20-19 win in front of a late Sunday afternoon national TV audience.

The Broncos again went on the road to face an NFC East power, this time the defending Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins. Again it was a disaster. They turned it over four times, Elway was sacked five times, lost rush yardage 117-26 and the football game by an embarrassing 34-3.

Denver might have been 4-2, but they weren’t seen as anything special. Oddsmakers made them a three-point home underdog to the Houston Oilers—a playoff team to be sure, but one that Denver had beaten on this very field the previous January in the AFC divisional round.

And they did it again. Reeves was able to find the running game. The Broncos rushed for 170 yards and Rivers’ 20-yard jaunt to the end zone was the difference in the 27-21 win.

Denver went on the road to San Diego where the Chargers were finding their footing after an 0-4 start. Elway made plays, going 21/39 for 260 yards, including nine balls to Rivers. Mark Jackson caught five passes for 113 yards. But Elway also made the plays going the other way, throwing three interceptions. The Bronco pass defense was shredded by San Diego’s Stan Humphries and the result was a 24-21 loss going into the bye week.

Back-to-back visits from the New York teams, both heading for sub-.500 campaigns were waiting on the far side of the bye and a rested Denver team took advantage. In the second quarter against the Jets, Elway hit Arthur Marshall with an 80-yard touchdown strike. Wyman Henderson added a Pick-6 and the Broncos cruised home 27-16. A 51-yard TD pass from Elway to Jackson got Denver off and rolling against the Giants, a game they won 27-13.

But Elway was only around long enough to give the Broncos a 14-zip lead in the game against the Giants. He injured his right shoulder. Denver was still 7-3 and in good shape for the playoffs, but now their quarterback would miss the next four games.

Tommy Maddox, a 23-year-old out of UCLA got the call. If we fast-forward almost a decade, Maddox would save the 2002 Pittsburgh Steelers season with an improbably great year. And he wasn’t awful as a young gun in Denver. But he wasn’t Elway, even Elway on a bad year.

Maddox’s 18/26 for 207 yards performance at the Raiders was negated by a couple interceptions, the usual lack of a running game and it led to a 24-0 loss. The young backup was worse on Monday Night at woeful Seattle. Even though the Broncos scored the first ten points, Maddox finished 11/26 for 127 yards and two more picks. The running game was its usual non-existent self and the result was a humiliating 16-13 overtime loss.

At 7-5, the schedule was about to get tougher. The two teams that would ultimately make the Super Bowl, Dallas and Buffalo were on deck. Reeves opted to split the snaps between Maddox and Shawn Moore for these games.

It nearly worked against the Cowboys. Maddox went 10/17 for 104 yards and three touchdowns against Dallas. Denver also got an 81-yard scoring pass of a trick play when Arthur Marshall hit Cedric Tillman. They led 27-24 in the fourth quarter. But Troy Aikman led a game-winning drive that stole a game the Broncos desperately needed.

The split-QB system didn’t work out the following Saturday afternoon in Buffalo. Moore was picked off three times, Denver dug themselves a 21-0 hole and lost 27-17. Elway was coming back for the final two games, but the record was 7-7 and the division title was all but gone, with both the Chargers and Chiefs at 9-5. The most promising route to the playoffs looked to be catching the Oilers, who were 8-6, but the Broncos had the head-to-head win over Houston.

But Denver got unlikely help on the Saturday afternoon of the season’s penultimate week. Kansas City showed up flat in the Meadowlands and lost to the Giants. Denver would travel to KC for the final week of the season, meaning if they could win out, they would pass the Chiefs and make the postseason.

There was still the matter of winning football games and that again didn’t come easily, even with Elway and even with playing the Seahawks at home (Seattle was an AFC West team prior to the realignment of 2002). Elway threw three interceptions and—stop if you’ve heard this before—there was no running game. But the defense bailed them out with eight sacks, two apiece from Fletcher and veteran linebacker Karl Mecklenburg. Denver avoided embarrassment and elimination with a 10-6 win.

It set up a winner-take-all showdown for a playoff berth in Kansas City. If this happened today, this game would surely have gotten flexed to Sunday Night, the stakes and the Elway-Marty storyline too good to pass up. In 1992, the schedule was set in advance so it kicked off in the 1 PM ET window.

That was just as well for the Broncos. They started out well enough, with Elway throwing an early touchdown pass and taking a 7-0 lead into the second quarter. But with the score tied 7-7, Elway threw two interceptions in his own end and both were taken to the house. Denver was suddenly in a 21-7 hole. They gave up another defensive TD and fell behind 35-13 in the fourth quarter, ultimately losing 42-20.

The tensions between the coach and QB were no secret and the Reeves era was quickly ended when the season was over. Everyone would end up okay—Denver would be back in the playoffs in 1993, as would Reeves with the New York Giants. The Broncos would win a couple Super Bowls later in the decade. One of them was against an Atlanta Falcons team that Reeves took to their first Super Bowl.

But 1992 was a tough year for Reeves, Elway and everyone in Denver, opening with promise, but marked by disappointment throughout.

Another Playoff Run For The 1992 Kansas City Chiefs

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Marty Schottenheimer had turned the Kansas City Chiefs fortunes around with a winning season upon his arrival in 1989. Schottenheimer followed that up with playoff trips in 1990 and 1991. With expectations on the rise, the 1992 Kansas City Chiefs season ended up being a bit of a disappointment. But they still made the playoffs—and got one very notable win to get there.

The Chiefs were built on defense and the running game, but both areas faced challenges in 1992. Christian Okoye, the top rusher, only played five games as knee injuries brought his career to a premature end. Barry Word’s 607 yards ended up leading the team. While the offensive line had a pro Bowl left tackle in John Alt, the rest of the unit was plagued by injuries throughout the season and wasn’t able to generate continuity.

Defensively, Kansas City still had some excellent individual talent. Neil Smith was a Pro Bowl defensive end, and Derrick Thomas the same at linebacker. Each player finished with 14 ½ sacks. Dale Carter, a playmaking rookie corner, picked off seven passes. But the defense as a whole wasn’t consistent and finished 13th in the league in points allowed.

Amidst all this, KC was going through a transition at quarterback from one so-so veteran (Steve DeBerg) to another in a 34-year-old Dave Krieg. Formerly of the Seattle Seahawks, Krieg stepped up and finished fifth in the league in yards-per-attempt, tied with future Hall of Famers Jim Kelly and Dan Marino. Krieg’s 15-12 TD-INT ratio might look bad by the standards of today, but by only throwing interceptions on 2.9% of his passes,

Krieg ranked seventh in avoiding mistakes. His only weakness was a 56% completion rate that was 19th in the NFL. J.J. Birden and Willie Davis were his two primary targets and together, they produced enough that the Chiefs would finish seventh in the league in points scored.

The Chiefs opened the season in San Diego. They led 10-3 in the third quarter, but the Chargers were driving. Cornerback Kevin Ross intercepted a pass and went 99 yards to the house. It was one of three interceptions on the day for the KC defense and they also got five sacks. The 24-10 win would loom larger than anyone thought might be the case in Week 1.

Krieg hosted his old team in Seattle for Week 2. The Seahawks were an AFC West team prior to the divisional realignment of 2002, so the quarterback shift was a big deal. Krieg went 13/19 for 231 yards ,including a 72-yard touchdown pass to Birden that started the scoring and led to a 26-7 win.

A trip to Houston against another playoff perennial in the Oilers was up next. While Krieg played efficiently and the Chiefs ran the ball fairly well, they couldn’t pressure Houston’s Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon, who threw for 279 yards. The game went to overtime, but KC took their first loss, 23-20.

Kansas City returned home for a Monday Night date with the Los Angeles Raiders and Word had his coming out party. He ran for 125 yards on 27 carries, as the Chiefs dominated the line of scrimmage in a 27-7 win. KC was set for a showdown in Denver where the Broncos were also 3-1.

The Chiefs took a 19-6 lead into the fourth quarter. But anyone who knew the history of Schottenheimer against Denver quarterback John Elway couldn’t feel comfortable. Elway had rallied his teams to beat Marty’s outstanding Cleveland Browns teams in the 1986 and 1987 AFC Championship Game. And Big John did it again. He threw two fourth-quarter TD passes, negated a 22/31 for 301-yards performance from Krieg and stole a 20-19 win from Kansas City.

KC had no time to lick their wounds, because another consistent playoff contender, the Philadelphia Eagles, were on their way to Arrowhead. Willie Davis broke through against the Eagle secondary, catching five passes for 167 yards. Kansas City led 24-3 in the fourth quarter and hung on to win 24-17. Another battle with an NFC East playoff contender, the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys, didn’t end as well. The Chiefs lost a defensive battle in Dallas, 17-10.

A Sunday Night home game with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who would end up the #1 seed in the AFC, was an utter disaster. Word injured his foot early in the game, and that might have been the high point. Krieg went 9/27 for 82 yards and threw three picks. The special teams gave up a punt return for a touchdown. Kansas City lost 27-3 and went into their bye week a .500 team, at 4-4.

The Chargers were coming to Arrowhead on November 8 and after an 0-4 start, San Diego was gaining team and getting back into the AFC West race with KC and Denver. The Chiefs needed this game and in spite of another shaky performance from Krieg, they got it. A four-zip edge in turnovers was the difference in a 16-14 win.

A fifth straight game against an eventual 1992 playoff team was up next against the Washington Redskins. The defending Super Bowl champs were having to fight for their lives this season and this game showed why. Krieg got rolling again, 19/29 for 302 yards and two touchdowns. Birden caught seven balls for 60 yards, while Tim Barnett was the big-play man, his six catches going for 148 yards. The result was an easy 35-16 win.

Kansas City had a three-game road swing ahead, but the schedule was getting easier, with non-playoff teams in the Seahawks, Jets and Raiders on the docket. KC broke open a 10-7 game in Seattle with a punt return from Carter and an improbable 22-yard Pick-6 from Neil Smith, and they won 24-7. Krieg was sharp the next week in the Meadowlands, going 17/21 for 222 yards and no mistakes in a 23-7 win But the Chiefs played poorly on special teams and on the line of scrimmage in losing 28-7 at Los Angeles.

There were three weeks left and the AFC West was up for grabs. Kansas City and San Diego were both 8-5, but the Chiefs head-to-head sweep gave them the edge. Denver was in hot pursuit at 7-6.

KC came home to play New England, a lousy team in this era and on their way to the worst record in the league. Perhaps it was an omen that the Chiefs didn’t play well. The game was sloppy, four turnovers apiece. Okoye played his best game of the year and his last notable game as a pro, rushing for 86 yards and keying the 27-20 survival. The Chargers held serve, while the Broncos lost in Buffalo.

The Denver loss meant that Kansas City could clinch a playoff berth when they made another trip to the Meadowlands, this time to face the mediocre New York Giants. KC could also retain control of the division race. A lot was on the line in this early Saturday afternoon kickoff for the national audience. But the Chiefs seemed unaware. They were flat, crushed in the line of scrimmage and lost 35-21.

San Diego beat the Raiders the following day and took control of the AFC West. Denver won and stayed alive. The Chiefs were 9-6, the Broncos were 8-7…and they were set to go head-to-head for the final playoff spot at Arrowhead. Marty and Elway in another big game. No one in Kansas City could feel remotely good about this and they didn’t even know about the heartbreak of 1997 that was still in their future.

But today would be different. In a 7-7 game, KC defensive back Charles Mincy picked off Elway and waltzed 32 yards to the house. Carter intercepted another pass and turned it into a 36-yard Pick-6. Thomas recovered a fumble in the end zone. Three defensive touchdowns cures a lot of ills and Kansas City never gave Elway a chance at any late heroics, sealing this one 42-20.

While this was going on, the Chargers were taking care of business against the Seahawks and clinching the division. It set up a third matchup between the Chiefs and Bolts in the first round of the playoffs.

Beating any good team three times in a year is hard and it’s even harder when you’re theoretically the worst of the two teams and playing on the road while your rival is red-hot. San Diego’s turnaround from the 0-4 start into a playoff team was historic and the talk of the league. After a scoreless first quarter, the Chargers got their running game rolling and piled up 192 yards on the ground. The Chiefs never could run the ball and the season ended with a 17-0 whitewash.

The joy of simply making the playoffs was wearing off in Kansas City, but this 1992 team still overcame a lot of adversity to get there and has the season-ending win over Denver to hang their hat on. That’s not a bad legacy and another veteran quarterback was on the way. By 1993, the legendary Joe Montana would be in Kansas City and author the high point of the Schottenheimer era.

1992 Chicago Bears: The End Of The Ditka Era

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The Chicago Bears were the gold standard of the NFC Central from 1984 thru 1991. In that eight-year stretch, the Bears made the playoffs seven times, won the division six times and were a memorable Super Bowl champion in 1985. With Mike Ditka at the helm, the franchise was colorful and successful. The 1992 Chicago Bears season marked the end of the good times, with a second-half collapse and the departure of Ditka.

Defense was the foundation of Ditka’s teams, but the 1992 unit slipped to 22nd in the league in points allowed. There were still some notable players—defensive tackle Steve Michael and end Richard Dent, holdovers from the Super Bowl team, combined for 19 sacks. They were joined by a good young defensive end in Trace Armstrong and a ball-hawking corner in Donnell Woolford. But the legendary Mike Singletary at middle linebacker was the only player to get Pro Bowl recognition in ‘92.

The running game typically defined Ditka’s offenses, but Neal Anderson and Brad Muster combined couldn’t quite get to 1,000 yards this season. There was a decent receiving combination, between Wendell Davis (54 catches/734 yards) and Tom Waddle (46/674) and Darren Lewis a respectable third running back.

But quarterback play was mediocre. Even though Jim Harbaugh had led this team to the playoffs before and though he might become a big name in later years as a head coach, he wasn’t very good in ‘92. He was below the league average in both completion percentage and yards-per-attempt. Only the fact he ranked a strong ninth in interception percentage kept him as a viable NFL signal-caller.

The bottom line for the offense—no Pro Bowl players and they ranked 16th in what was then a 28-team league in points scored.

Chicago had been edged out for the division title the previous year by Detroit, so it was a high-profile game in the early afternoon window when the Lions came to Soldier Field to open the season. In a great back-and-forth game, Detroit’s Barry Sanders ran for 109 yards. Harbaugh played well, going 19/30 for 227 yards and a couple touchdowns. The QB eventually won a back-and-forth game with a six-yard TD toss to Davis that delivered the 27-24 win.

A week later, on the road against a good New Orleans Saints team, Chicago led 6-0 at the half. Then the roof fell in. They gave up a couple defensive scores and the secondary was burned for a couple long touchdown passes. The result was a 28-6 loss. A week later on Monday Night against the New York Giants, the Bears continued their second half struggles for the home crowd, turning a 14-7 halftime lead into a 27-14 loss.

The Atlanta Falcons had made the playoffs in 1991 and their visit to Chicago suddenly loomed as important if the Bears were to avoid digging an early hole. Harbaugh responded, going 18/24 for 280 yards and no mistakes. The running backs were productive, Anderson getting 80 yards receiving and Muster rushing for 96. Chicago won 41-31 and got back to .500.

Minnesota had a new head coach in Dennis Green and was off to a 3-1 start when the Bears paid a visit on the first weekend of October. The Chicago defense seemed in control, forcing four turnovers and holding a 20-0 lead after three quarters. All the Bears needed to do was play smart football and they had a quarterback who at least knew how to avoid the big mistake.

Until today that is. Harbaugh threw a Pick-6 in his own end, the momentum turned and Chicago lost 21-20. They went into the bye week at 2-3 and two games back of the Vikings.

The two weeks out of the bye made it seem like everything was settled down, as Chicago dismantled a couple divisional foes in Tampa and Green Bay (the Buccaneers were in the NFC Central prior to 2002, joining the four current teams of the NFC North).

Harbaugh made big plays at home against Tampa, turning 13 completions into over 300 yards, including an 83-yard TD strike to Anthony Morgan. The result was a 31-14 win. And a visit to Green Bay saw Chicago seem to quell some early momentum the Packers were showing with first-year quarterback Brett Favre. Harbaugh went 16/23 for 194 yards, spread the ball around and the Bears pulled away to a 30-10 win.

Chicago was back up to 4-3 and ready for a Monday Night date at home with Minnesota. This was a game the Bears had to have if they were going to stay in the division race. But this game picked up where the previous matchup left off. That’s with Harbaugh throwing Pick-6’s (two on the night) , the offense committing four turnovers and the Bears losing 38-10. Over the final five quarters of Bears-Vikings football in 1992, Chicago was outscored 59-10.

Even if the division race had gotten away from them, the playoffs were still a strong possibility at 4-4. The Bears hosted another .500 team in the Cincinnati Bengals for a must-win Sunday Night Game. Holding a 21-14 lead in the third quarter, Chicago got a kickoff return for a touchdown from Lewis and seemed in control. But they turned the ball over four times and ultimately lost 31-28 in overtime.

The meltdown continued against a woeful Tampa team, in Chicago no less. The Bears dug themselves a 20-0 hole as kicker Kevin Butler missed a couple field goals. Those proved costly when a fourth quarter rally came up short in a 20-17 loss.

Green Bay was coming into town next and Chicago fans got a taste of what the next 16 years of their football life would be like—getting tormented by Favre’s Packers. He threw an early TD pass to Sharpe, the Bears couldn’t run the ball and the 17-3 loss never seemed in doubt.

The losing continued against two AFC teams, the Cleveland Browns and Houston Oilers (today’s Tennessee Titans). The Browns were an improving team under second-year coach Bill Belichick and they shut down the Chicago run, forced four turnovers and sent the Bears to a 27-14 loss. The Oilers were bound for the playoffs with Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon. For the second straight game, Chicago’s own defense couldn’t get any turnovers and lost 24-7.

No one was under any illusions that the season was shot when the 4-9 Bears hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers, who would end up as the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs. For one brief moment on a December day, Chicago woke up the echoes of the Ditka glory years.

The Bears pounded the ball on the ground and ran for 212 yards, with balanced contributions from the entire backfield. They held a potent Steeler running attack to 35 yards. Chicago got five sacks, including two from McMichael and they won the turnover battle four-zip.

The end result was a 30-6 win. At least this lost season had a fitting end to the home schedule. And it would prove to be a fitting final win for Mike Ditka as Chicago Bears head coach.

Chicago’s offense didn’t score a touchdown for seven quarters on the road in Detroit and eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas to wrap up the year. They lost 16-3 to the Lions and trailed the Cowboys 27-0 in the fourth quarter before scoring a couple cosmetic touchdowns. They ended the year at 5-11.

It was time for a change in Chicago. Ditka stepped down and though he briefly resurfaced for an unsuccessful tenure in New Orleans, he’ll always be remembered for his work on the Bears sidelines. Even though Chicago has had some good teams since then, including going to a Super Bowl in 2006, those have been sporadic and unsustained. Chicago is still seeking the sustained consistency of the Ditka Era.

Dennis Green Returns The 1992 Minnesota Vikings To The Playoffs

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After a nice run of playoff teams from 1987 through 1989, the Vikings had slipped to .500 and then to 6-10 the past two seasons. Dennis Green, the head coach at Stanford, was hired to put the franchise back on track. He did exactly that. The 1992 Minnesota Vikings won a division title and set the stage for a decade of success.

A physical running game was the focal point of the offense. The Vikes had Hall of Fame offensive lineman in guard Randall McDaniel and tackle Gary Zimmerman. They paved the way for running back Terry Allen to clear the 1,200-yard mark. Minnesota also added Roger Craig, a veteran of the great championship teams with the San Francisco 49ers, and the 32-year-old Craig chipped in over 400 yards.

There was no shortage of weaponry on the outside, with another future Hall of Famer, Cris Carter, catching 53 passes for 681 yards. Anthony Carter didn’t make it to Canton, but he was an explosive target and at age 32 still hauled in 41 passes for 580 yards. Tight end Steve Jordan was a reliable third option.

The offense finished fourth in the league in points scored, and the defense wasn’t far behind at seventh. Chris Doleman led the way on D, getting 14 ½ sacks and making 1st-team All-NFL at defensive end. Al Noga on the other side got nine sacks. The interior of the defensive line was disruptive, with Henry Thomas going to the Pro Bowl and John Randall racking up 11 ½ sacks.

That defensive front four woke up echoes of the old Purple People Eater units of the 1970s and keyed a D that included 1st-team All-NFL corner Audrey McMillan, Pro Bowl strong safety Todd Scott and a future head coach, Jack Del Rio, calling the shots at middle linebacker. And the coordinator who oversaw this unit? Tony Dungy didn’t do badly for himself.

In this litany of talent, you have no doubt noted an important omission. We haven’t discussed quarterback play. As seems to have been the case so often in Minnesota Vikings history, a talented team had trouble behind center.

The day would come when Rich Gannon would win an MVP award, but that was still ten years off and in Oakland. As a 27-year-old who started most of the season, Gannon was erratic in 1992. He ranked in the lower half of starting quarterbacks for completion percentage, yards-per-attempt and interception percentage. Gannon had an uneasy relationship with the starting job and eventually lost it to Sean Salisbury down the stretch.

It was a humid day in September when Minnesota opened the season at Green Bay. Green sent an early message about the kind of offense he would run, as Allen ran for 140 yards. Doleman’s two sacks keyed the defense. The Vikes made some mistakes with penalties and turnovers that kept the game close and sent it to overtime, but they eventually won 23-20.

A Week 2 visit to Detroit was a disaster, with Gannon throwing three interceptions and a non-existent running game at fault for a 31-3 deficit and eventual 31-17 defeat. But Minnesota bounced back in the home opener a week later against Tampa Bay. Gannon tosses an early 30-yard TD pass to Carter. Allen ran for 187 yards. Gannon was knocked out, but Salisbury came on and went 12/22 for 162 yards in the 26-20 win.

Gannon returned in Cincinnati and played excellent football against a bad team, going 25/32 for 318 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Doleman again picked up a couple sacks and Scott intercepted Bengal quarterback Boomer Esiason three times. The result was a 42-7 rout and set up a big home game with the Chicago Bears.

Mike Ditka’s Bears were the gold standard of the old NFC Central (the four current teams of the NFC North, plus Tampa Bay) from 1984-91. Minnesota needed to go through Chicago if they wanted to get to the top of the division. And when the Vikings fell behind 20-0 after three quarters, things weren’t looking too promising.

Then Scott picked off a Jim Harbaugh pass, took it 35 yards to the house and the comeback was on. Gannon’s efficient football, 20/25 for 187 yards eventually paid off and Minnesota rallied with a 21-20 win. The Vikes rolled into their bye week at 4-1 and in first place.

The Vikings came back with a Thursday Night home date against the Lions. Gannon threw a couple long early TD passes, 47 yards to Carter and 43 to Hassan Jones. Minnesota got some revenge with a 31-14 win that was never close.

A 15-13 loss to the Washington Redskins was no big deal at this time, even at home. The Redskins were the defending Super Bowl champs. Minnesota was still 5-2 and it was time for another big game with the Bears, this time in Soldier Field and on Monday Night.

The Vikings held a 14-3 lead at halftime, but the Bears were driving into the red zone, poised to get back in the game. Once again, a Pick-6 of Harbaugh did the trick. Del Rio intercepted a pass and went 84 yards for the score. Carlos Jenkins took another pick to the house later in the game. The rout was on and the game ended 38-10. The Ditka Era was over and Chicago collapsed to a 5-11 finish.

Opportunistic defense continued to lead the way in Tampa. Jenkins took a fumble to the house and even Doleman got in on the Pick-6 act. It was 28-0 by halftime and ended 35-7. Minnesota was running away with the NFC Central, three games ahead of the Bears and four games ahead of a Green Bay Packer team that hadn’t been relevant for twenty-five years.

Regard for the Vikings among oddsmakers was also rising. They were a comfortable 7 ½ favorite over the Houston Oilers, a playoff perennial and on their way back to the postseason in 1992. Minnesota’s defense again delivered points, this time a fumble return by defensive back Anthony Parker that gave an early 10-3 lead. But Gannon played poorly, the running game didn’t get going and that was the only Viking touchdown in a 17-13 loss.

The offensive doldrums continued for three quarters in Cleveland, against Bill Belichick’s improving Cleveland Browns. Minnesota trailed 13-3 after three quarters. Salisbury came into the game. He threw a short TD pass and another Pick-6, this one from McMillan, gave the Vikes a 17-13 win.

Salisbury played very well at the mediocre Los Angeles Rams, going 23/34 for 238 yards. The defense’s ability to make plays continued to amaze, with Parker intercepting two passes and a 31-17 lead bringing November to a close. Minnesota was 9-3 and even though Green Bay was starting to get some momentum, the Packers were still 6-6.

But a tough schedule was ahead, with road trips to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh sandwiched around a home date with San Francisco. Salisbury was sacked five times by a tough Eagles defense in a 28-17 loss. Gannon got a chance against the powerful 49ers, on their way to a 14-2 season, but he struggled to 9/21 for 102 yards, while Allen was held to 39 yards. Minnesota’s defense contained Steve Young, who was on his way to the MVP award, but they still lost, 20-17.

There was no shame in losing either game, but Green Bay was coming. When the Packers upset the Oilers in Houston that Sunday Night, the Pack was 8-6. Even though Minnesota held the tiebreaker, the teams still had to play in the final week of the season. And if the Vikes didn’t want that to be a division title showdown, they needed to find a way to win in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers would end up the 1-seed in the AFC playoffs and as nice as Minnesota’s season had been, they still hadn’t beaten an opponent of note. The playoff contenders they faced—Redskins, Oilers, Eagles and 49ers—resulted in defeats.

Even the Week 1 win over the Packers had come two weeks before Green Bay changed the fortunes of their season and the entire trajectory of the NFL by going with 23-year-old Brett Favre at quarterback. There was considerable doubt about Minnesota’s ability to compete with the league’s best teams and with the Packers surging, and the Eagles and Redskins in position to secure wild-card spots, the room for error was rapidly vanishing.

The defenses came to play in the Vikings-Steelers game, a war so fierce that it called to mind the struggle these teams waged in the Super Bowl following the 1974 season. That one didn’t end well for Minnesota, but this one did. With Allen rushing for 172 yards, the Vikings won 6-3 and clinched the division crown.

Minnesota was locked into the 3-spot for the NFC playoffs and would play either the Packers or Redskins. The Vikes would have a direct say in who that would be—if Green Bay could win in Minnesota, it set up a playoff rematch the following week. If the Vikings won, they would host the Redskins.

You could hardly have blamed Green if he had just mailed in the regular season finale, gotten the defending champs out of the picture and just prepared for a Packer rematch. As a Redskins fan, I feared he would do precisely that. But that’s not what happened. The Vikes picked off Favre three times, Allen ran for 100 yards and Salisbury delivered a 20/33 for 292 yards with no mistakes performance. The result was a 27-7 win.

And how did Washington repay Minnesota for their generosity? Well, after spotting the Vikings a 7-0 lead behind an early touchdown from Allen, the Redskins took over the football game. Minnesota was outrushed 196-73 and gave up four sacks. Salisbury went 6/20 for 113 yards. The final was 24-7 and the season was over.

The 1992 campaign was still a success by any reasonable measurement and the winning under Green was just beginning. He made the playoffs eight times in nine seasons. And while the Super Bowl continued to be an elusive prize for this franchise in the post-Bud Grant era, Green took them to NFC Championship Games in 1998 and 2000. It all began in 1992.

1992 Green Bay Packers: The Favre Era Begins

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It had been a long quarter-century in Wisconsin since the Vince Lombardi glory years ended following the 1967 season. There had been just a couple scattered playoff seasons, in 1972 and 1982. There were only four winning seasons. A new management team of general manager Ron Wolf and head coach Mike Holmgren had come on board. And when they found their quarterback, a 23-year-old named Brett Favre, they were on their way. The 1992 Green Bay Packers represented a turning point into a new glory run for the franchise.

Favre’s reputation is that of The Gunslinger, but in his first year as a starter, he was much more of a game manager. His 64% completion rate was fourth in the league and even though he threw 13 interceptions, that represented less than three percent of his throws—which made him the third-safest quarterback in the league. Conversely, there weren’t a ton of big plays—Favre was middle-of-the-pack in yards-per attempt.

The offense in 1992 was really carried by the great wide receiver Sterling Sharpe. A physical mix of speed and strength, Sharpe caught balls down the field and he caught simple throws down the line of scrimmage and made his own yardage. He set a new NFL record with 108 receptions. He racked up over 1,400 yards and he was 1st-team All-NFL.

Jackie Harris at tight end was a good target and caught 55 passes. The Packer running game was mediocre and backs Vince Workman and Harry Sydney were more renowned for catching passes, nearly 50 apiece for both.

Overall the limitations on the Packer offense—particularly on the line kept them at 17th in the league in points scored. The defense had some Pro Bowl talent that included a pass-rushing outside linebacker in Tony Bennett (obviously a different person from the current Virginia basketball coach, but oddly enough that Tony Bennett was playing college basketball at UW-Green Bay in the early 1990s).

Bennett finished with 13 ½ sacks, free safety Chuck Cecil made the Pro Bowl and third-year strong safety started to come into his own and would be 1st-team All-NFL four times before the 1990s were complete. The Green Bay defense was 15th in the league in points allowed.

When the season began, the Packer faithful still hoped for the career revival of Don Majikowski, the quarterback who electrified them in 1989 on a near-run to the playoffs. Favre was still the backup, but “Majik” was on a short leash.

That leash got shorter in an opening day home loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Even though the 23-20 defeat came in overtime, Green Bay was outplayed and needed Viking mistakes to keep them in the game. When the Packers were horrible on both sides of the ball the following week in a 31-3 embarrassment at Tampa Bay, Favre got significant playing time in mop-up duty.

Even so, Majikowski got the call for a Week 3 home date with a poor Cincinnati Bengals team. But he was knocked out early in the game. Number 4 would come onto the field and wouldn’t leave for another sixteen years.

Green Bay still trailed into the fourth quarter. At the time I was a bartender for UW-Milwaukee and recall listening to the game at some posh affair the school president was throwing. It looked like another typically long season for the local NFL team. But then Favre threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes, the last one a 35-yarder to Kitrick Taylor down the right sideline. The Packers pulled out a 24-23 win and there was no turning back.

Favre came out the next week in the late Sunday afternoon slot against a good Pittsburgh Steelers team. He went 14/19 for 210 yards, no mistakes and a 76-yard touchdown pass to Sharpe. The 17-3 win got the Packers back to .500. Even when they lost 24-10 the next week in Atlanta after digging themselves an early hole, there were plenty of reasons to feel good going into the bye week.

But the good feeling started to dissipate in the latter part of October. The Packers were crushed on the ground in consecutive losses to Bill Belichick’s improving Cleveland Browns and Mike Ditka’s Chicago Bears, who were the gold standard in this division going back to 1984.

Favre and Sharpe got untracked the following week in Detroit. Favre went 22/37 for 212 yards, no mistakes and a 30-yard TD strike to Sharpe in the fourth quarter sealed the 27-13 win. But the young quarterback was exposed the next week on the road by a weak New York Giants team. He threw three interceptions, including a 69-yard Pick-6 early in the fourth quarter when the Packers only trailed 13-7. The final ended up 27-7 and Green Bay was staring at a 3-6 record.

There were no expectations the following Sunday when Green Bay played the first of what used to be the three games a year they played at old Milwaukee County Stadium. I was going out to the game with a couple friends and as a Redskins fan, was just hoping the Pack could help out the ‘Skins by knocking off the Philadelphia Eagles today.

I didn’t know we were going to see another threshold moment in the journey of this quarterback and franchise. Favre used both of his top receivers, with Sharpe catching seven passes for 116 yards and Harris getting eight balls that went for 98 yards. Even when Green Bay coughed up a second half lead and trailed 24-21 in the fourth quarter, Favre rallied them.

The Packers tied the game with a late field goal. With overtime looming, the Eagles turned it over and Green Bay turned the gift into a stunning field goal that won it 27-24. The 4-6 record was nothing special, but this team felt different and the players knew it. They talked openly in the locker room about getting on a late run to the playoffs. And they nearly did it.

A revenge trip to collapsing Chicago saw Favre break an early 3-3 tie with a 49-yard touchdown pass to Sharpe. This time, the Packer defense dominated against the run, while Edgar Bennett emerged and ran for 107 yards. The 17-3 road win hastened the Bear demise.

Green Bay was playing divisional games in Milwaukee the next two weeks against the Buccaneers and Lions (Prior to 2002, Tampa was in NFC Central team along with the four current teams of the NFC North).

The Pack looked ready to let down against the woeful Bucks, failing to run the ball and trailing 14-12 in the fourth quarter. Favre threw a nine-yard TD pass to Harris that pulled it out. Favre opened the Detroit game by hitting Sharpe on a 65-yard scoring play and that set the tone for an early 28-0 lead. Green Bay’s 38-10 rout nudged their record above .500, to 7-6.

They paid a visit to the Houston Oilers on Sunday Night. Houston (today’s Tennessee Titans) were a playoff perennial that was going back to the postseason in 1992 and had a Hall of Fame quarterback in Warren Moon. It was expected the Green Bay surge would finally crest here and they could start focusing on 1993.

Instead, the Packer defense forced four turnovers. Favre tossed a short TD pass to Sharpe and an improbable 16-14 upset put Green Bay squarely in the playoff race. There were part of a three-team joust with the Eagles and Redskins for two wild-card spots. And they still harbored hope of a final week showdown in Minnesota for the NFC Central crown if they could get some help.

In the meantime, the Packers had their own business to take care of. The home finale in Lambeau started with a bad Los Angeles Rams team being spotted a 10-0 hole. Then corner Terrell Buckley delivered a Pick-6. Favre threw two touchdown passes to Sharpe, who ended up with eight catches for 110 yards. Green Bay ripped off four touchdowns in the second quarter and cruised home 28-10.

But in the same time slot, the Vikings won a defensive battle in Pittsburgh to clinch the division. The Eagles knocked off the Redskins and secured one wild-card spot. It was down to Washington and Green Bay for the final berth and the ‘Skins had the inside path.

The Packers got the needed help the following Saturday. Washington lost a home game to the mediocre Los Angeles Raiders. The Redskins were basically begging the Packers to grab the last playoff spot—if only the Packers could win on the road against the Vikings.

When Green Bay drove for an early touchdown, you wondered if Minnesota was going to hold something back, already knowing they were the 3-seed and scheduled to play the following weekend. But the Vikes hunkered down and the Packer problems up front were again exposed. They were outrushed 165-29, Favre threw three interceptions and the game got away. The 27-7 loss ended the playoff dream.

But real optimism was finally brewing in Green Bay. In the offseason, the Packers addressed their problems on defense and up front by signing Hall of Fame defensive tackle Reggie White. They made the playoffs the following year. By 1996 they won a Super Bowl. And as Favre’s career rolled on, he subsequently passed the torch to Aaron Rodgers. Lambeau Field has been the home to Hall of Fame quarterbacks for a long time now. That started back in 1992.

The History-Making Turnaround Of The 1992 San Diego Chargers

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Success had been a long time coming for the football fans of San Diego. The Chargers were last a playoff team in the Air Coryell Era of 1979-82, when they went to the postseason each year and reached the AFC Championship Game in 1979 and 1980. After a decade in the wilderness, the 1992 San Diego Chargers hired Bobby Ross, who had Georgia Tech to a surprise national championship in 1990 as their head coach. And the ‘92 Chargers not only got back to the playoffs but made history in the process.

Today, the name Junior Seau is sadly synonymous with the risks that come to the brain from playing pro football. Back in 1992, the late linebacker was a rising star, 23-years-old and on his way to 1st-team All-NFL. He led a defense that finished fourth in the league in points allowed. Seau got help from a tough pass rush led by Pro Bowl defensive end Leslie O’Neal and his 17 sacks. Burt Grossman and Blaise Winston combined for 14 more sacks and Gil Byrd was a Pro Bowler in the secondary.

The offense didn’t have the same kind of Pro Bowl talent, but they still ranked ninth in putting points on the board. Quarterback Stan Humphries ranked in the middle of the league in completion percentage and throwing interceptions but was seventh among quarterbacks in yards-per-attempt.

Anthony Miller was the primary target on the outside and Miller caught 72 passes for nearly fifteen yards a pop. Nate Lewis was a big-play threat, with his 34 catches producing more than 17 yards each. Derrick Walker provided another option at tight end.

But no one was more consistently in Humphries’ sights than the versatile Ronnie Harmon out the backfield. Harmon caught 79 balls for over 900 yards and was the only Pro Bowl player on offense. The backfield was rounded out by conventional, physical running backs in Marion Butts and Rod Bernstine, who combined for over 1,300 yards.

The schedule was difficult out of the gate. Of the first four opponents, three of them (Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Oilers, Pittsburgh Steelers) would make the playoffs. The fourth, the Denver Broncos were coming off an AFC Championship Game appearance in 1991. And the Chargers lost all four games.

No team in NFL history had ever reached the postseason after an 0-4 start. Even though the playoffs had been expanded to six teams per conference in 1990, and even though San Diego beat lowly Seattle on October 4 to go into their bye week at 1-4, there was no reason to expect these Chargers to be the first.

San Diego began a softer schedule stretch that included two games against the mediocre Indianapolis Colts (the schedule format of the time had the two teams that finished last in the five-team divisions play each other twice). The Bolts won both games. More notable was that they did it decisively, by scores of 34-14 and 26-0. These wins were sandwiched around a big 24-21 victory over Denver, as Humphries went 20/27 for 355 yards, while the Charger defense picked off John Elway three times.

The Broncos and Chiefs were still the leaders of the AFC West, and San Diego dropped a 16-14 game in KC. They were at 4-5. It was a nice turnaround, but the Bolts were still two games back of Denver.

But another winning streak promptly began. San Diego went to Cleveland, led by second-year head coach Bill Belichick. Trailing 13-7 in the fourth quarter, Humphries ht Miller with a 45-yard touchdown strike that won it. The following week was about the ground game, with Butts muscling out 104 yards in a 29-14 win over Tampa Bay. The Chargers were 6-5 and on the winning side of the ledger for the first time in 1992.

They hosted the Los Angeles Raiders for Sunday Night Football and San Diego showed the nation how far they had come. They led 21-3 by halftime and coasted to a 27-3 win. There might have been a modest hangover the next week in Phoenix when they spotted the Cardinals a 14-zip lead and still trailed 21-10 in the third quarter, with no running game to be found. But O’Neal would get four sacks himself, the defense forced five turnovers and Humphries 20/32 for 275 yards was enough to pull out a 27-21 win.

San Diego came back home to face Cincinnati and were tied 10-10 at halftime. The Chargers again took over late and again the pass rush was a reason why. O’Neal and Grossman combined for three sacks and the final was 27-10.

The Chargers were 9-5 and improbably tied with the Chiefs for first place in the AFC West. The Broncos had slumped in the second half and were fading fast at 7-7. It was a two-team race, but with San Diego having lost twice to KC, they needed help.

And they got it on a Saturday afternoon in the penultimate week of the regular season. The Chiefs lost to a weak New York Giants team. The Chargers came out the next day at Los Angeles to face the Raiders and played one of their best games of the season. San Diego played error-free football, shut down the running game and intercepted three passes. The final was 36-14.

History was already made—San Diego was in the playoffs. But now the AFC West crown was in their grasp. Kansas City won its finale, so the Chargers needed to win in Seattle (the Seahawks were an AFC West team prior to the realignment of 2002). San Diego trailed 14-13 after three quarters. The defense took matters into their own hands. Grossman created a safety. Darren Carrington brought an interception back to the house. They Chargers pulled away again and won 31-14.

San Diego’s history-making turnaround had not even required the most recent playoff expansion of 1990. The Chargers were in the old-fashioned way, as division champs.

And Round III with Kansas City was up. Nobody was under any illusion about how different this Charger team was from the one that lost to the Chiefs in September or even in midseason. San Diego was a three-point favorite for the late Saturday afternoon kickoff.

Both teams were built on defense and it showed. The game was scoreless at the half. It would be Butts that would breakthrough, rambling 54 yards for a touchdown. He rushed for 119 yards and outplayed his counterpart, KC’s physical Christian Okoye. And that San Diego defense kept coming. They got seven sacks, with Grossman, O’Neal and Shawn Lee all getting home multiple times. The final was 20-0.

A road trip to Miami was on deck for the divisional playoffs, something that woke up the memories of 1981 when the Chargers won one of the great playoff games of all-time in South Beach. That 1981 game was the late Sunday afternoon kick that ended divisional weekend, just as this 1992 game would be. But that’s where the similarities ended.

The rain was pouring and after a scoreless first quarter, the San Diego dream run came crashing down. Dolphin quarterback Dan Marino heated up in the second quarter, while Humphries threw four interceptions. The game got away by halftime and ended 31-0.

It was still an amazing turnaround year for a franchise that needed it. And it was the start of a good five-year run under Ross. He would get to the playoffs two more times and the 1994 trip resulted in what remains the only Super Bowl appearance in Chargers history.

The 1992 Philadelphia Eagles Taste Playoff Success

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Rich Kotite had a simple mandate when he became head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1991—start winning playoff games. The Eagles had made the postseason under Buddy Ryan each year from 1988–90, but had failed to win a game. That ‘91 campaign was undone by an early injury to quarterback Randall Cunningham. But the 1992 Philadelphia Eagles fulfilled their basic requirement—they got back to the playoffs and did some winning when they got there.

Cunningham was one of the most electric quarterbacks in the league. He could play high-percentage, efficient football—ranking in the top six for both completion percentage and avoiding interceptions. And he still generated 7.2 yards-per-attempt, 11th in the NFL. But it was running that was the real X-factor. Cunningham’s 549 yards on the ground were third on his team and the constant threat was a looming factor in the planning of opposing defenses.

His primary target was Fred Barnett, a 26-year-old receiver who enjoyed a career in 1992, averaging over 16 yards-per-catch and making th Pro Bowl. Calvin Williams could also stretch the field as the #2 receiver. That opened things up underneath for the backs, Herschel Walker and Keith Byars to be a regular part of the passing game.

The acquisition of the 30-year-old Walker rejuvenated the running game, and Herschel went for over 1,000 yards in 1992. Heath Sherman chipped in nearly 600 yards and took on an increasingly large role as the season progressed. It was enough to overcome the loss of All-Pro tight end Keith Jackson, who went to Miami, and the Eagles finished fifth in the NFL in points scored.

Philly’s defense had a feared reputation in this era and it was because of an attacking defensive line. Reggie White, one of the best to ever play the game, had a Pro Bowl year with 14 sacks. Clyde Simmons was even better in ‘92, with a league-leading 19 sacks and making 1st-team All-NFL at defensive end. The interior was occupied by another good pass rusher in Andy Harmon and the reliable Mike Golic.

But the back seven was a little softer. There were a couple good players to be sure—linebacker Seth Joyner was another good pass rusher and corner Eric Allen was a Pro Bowler. But there were enough soft spots for the defense to end up sixth in the NFL.

Philadelphia came blazing out of the gate and won their first three games. They beat a good, playoff-bound New Orleans Saints team 15-13 to start the year, behind 112 yards from Walker. The Eagles blew out Denver, who was fresh off going to the AFC Championship Game in 1991, and they torched the lowly Phoenix Cardinals on a Sunday night in the desert. Philly went into their bye week on a high.

The rising force that was Jimmy Johnson’s Dallas Cowboys awaited on the far side of the bye, with a much-anticipated Monday Night matchup in Philadelphia. The Cowboys had opened the season by dismantling the defending Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins on MNF, and this game was for the early lead in the NFC East.

Philly and Dallas traded blows in the first half and the Eagles held a 10-7 lead at intermission, but backed by a fired-up home crowd, Philadelphia took over in the second half. Walker ran for two touchdowns. Given Herschel’s role as lynchpin in the most famous trade in NFL history—when Johnson traded him out of Dallas to Minnesota in 1989 for the boatload of draft picks that would rebuild the Cowboys—it escaped no one’s attention that Walker had outrushed Dallas’ Emmitt Smith 86-67.

But the bigger story was that the Philadelphia defensive line just dominated. They sacked Troy Aikman four times, with White getting home twice. The final was 31-7 and the Eagles were the team to beat in the NFC East.

The schedule was about to take them on the road for some tough games against playoff-bound teams though. Philly’s secondary let them down in Kansas City, allowing some big plays that dug a 24-3 hole and the game ended in a 24-17 loss. A trip to Washington was the same story, with the Redskins using big plays to get a 16-3 lead and a late rally being insufficent to avoid a 16-12 loss.

A home win over the Cardinals (an NFC East team prior to the realignment of 2002) stopped the bleeding and set up another big showdown with Dallas. This one would be in the late Sunday afternoon television window. Dallas hadn’t lost since the Monday Night showdown and was 6-1. Philly and Washington were both in hot pursuit at 5-2.

After three quarters in old Texas Stadium, the game was deadlocked 10-10. But Herschel’s revenge tour wasn’t going so well this time around. He would be held to 44 yards. Meanwhile, Emmitt Smith was gashing the Eagle run defense, gaining 163 yards. Philly was beaten up in the fourth quarter and lost 20-10. They were two games out in the NFC East.

Mediocre play continued into November. There were highs, like a 31-10 blowout of the Los Angeles Raiders, keyed by Allen’s two interceptions. There were lows, like a 27-24 loss to Green Bay in a game played at Milwaukee where the Eagles let a late lead get away to a first-year starting quarterback named Brett Favre. The fact that Reggie White would leave for Green Bay in the offseason, primarily because of his belief that Favre was a rising star, only added some posthumous insult to this loss.

As the season hit its final four weeks, Philadelphia stood at 7-5. So did Washington and Green Bay was a game back at 6-6. The playoff format of the time was three division winners and three wild-cards, but the New Orleans Saints were 9-3 and leading the wild-card pack. December would be defined by a musical chairs race, with the Eagles, Redskins and Packers chasing the last two spots and hoping not to be left standing when the music stopped.

Philadelphia hosted Minnesota, who was bound for a division title. Cunningham took matters into his own hands. He went 16/23 for 164 yards, ran for 112 more and led a 28-17 win. The Eagles almost gave it back a week later in a road game with a hideously awful Seattle Seahawks team. Philly trailed 17-10 in the fourth quarter.

Cunningham was playing well—he would throw for 365 yards—and Walker had a 100-yard game. But the offensive line was collapsed and allowed ten sacks. Cunningham was able to rally and squeeze out a 20-17 overtime win that raised the Eagle record to 9-5.

The Redskins were coming into the old Vet on the season’s penultimate Sunday. Philadelphia didn’t move the ball particularly well, but they protected Cunningham this time and avoided mistakes. Sherman ran for 96 yards and a late defensive stop preserved a 17-13 win. The Eagles were in the playoffs. They closed out the year by beating the Giants and end up at 11-5.

It was enough for the 5-seed in the NFC playoffs and a trip to New Orleans, who had gone 12-4. The Saints were another team with a track record of making the postseason, but immediately losing. This late Sunday afternoon game that would close out wild-card weekend was to see which franchise could get the monkey off its back.

Cunningham found Barnett on a 57-yard touchdown strike in the first quarter, but that was the only high point for the first part of the game. Philadelphia was in a 20-7 hole early in the third quarter. Nothing had happened that would indicate the stunning turn of events about to come.

After a field goal cut the lead to ten, Cunningham again went up top to Barnett, a 35-yard touchdown pass that made it a 20-17 game early in the fourth quarter. Sherman ran in for a TD from six yards out and Philly had the lead. The defensive line had been mostly quiet to this point, but White got a sack that produced a safety. It was 26-20 and the momentum was cascading in Philadelphia’s direction.

Sherman would rush for 105 yards and another solid drive produced a field goal and the Eagles had a two-possession lead. Allen finished off the second half dominance with an 18-yard Pick-6. It was one of four turnovers the Birds collected and sealed the 36-20 win. Philadelphia had their first playoff victory since making the Super Bowl back in 1980.

The win in New Orleans was the high point of Kotite’s tenure. The Eagles were dismantled the following week in Dallas to end the ‘92 season. Kotite missed the playoffs the next two years and was dismissed. Philadelphia would not return to the postseason until Ray Rhodes was the head coach in 1995 and 1996. But if nothing else, the 1992 Philadelphia Eagles had removed the “can’t-win-a-playoff-game” stigma from this current cast of players.

The 1992 San Francisco 49ers Start The Steve Young Era

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The 1992 San Francisco 49ers season was the real start of the Steve Young era. Joe Montana had been injured at the end of the 1990 season and was still not able to play. Young had gotten the job in 1991, but injuries cost him substantial time and resulted in the 49ers missing the playoffs. In 1992, Young had the job, stayed healthy and started a seven-year run that took him to the Hall of Fame.

Young completed his 67 percent of his passes—the highest percentage in the league. He generated 8.6 yards-per-attempt. Also the highest in the league. His TD-INT ratio was 25/7 and the 1.7 interception rate was the best in the league. On top of all this, his 537 rush yards were second on the 49ers, the offense scored the most points in the NFL and the team had the best regular season record in the league. Given all that, Young was a no-brainer pick for the MVP award.

But there was no shortage of help around him. Ricky Watters ran for over 1,000 yards in a Pro Bowl campaign. He caught 43 passes out of the backfield, and fullback Tom Rathman caught 44 more in a diversified passing system. Brent Jones, the Pro Bowl tight end was good for 45 more catches.

And there was no bigger weapon on the outside than Jerry Rice. The future Hall of Fame receiver caught 84 passes, averaged 14.3 yards-per-catch and was 1st-team All-NFL.

San Francisco’s offensive line could also do the heavy lifting. Harris Barton was one of the best tackles in football on the right side. Steve Wallace at left tackle was a Pro Bowler in 1992, as was left guard Guy McIntyre.

The offense got justifiable headlines, but the defense was pretty good too. There wasn’t the same raw star power—only defensive end Pierce Holt made the Pro Bowl on this side of the ball. But there were steady players in Michael Carter on the nose, Bill Romanowski at linebacker and Eric Davis at corner. Tim Harris was big-time playmaker from the outside linebacker spot and his 17 sacks were tied for second in the NFL.

San Francisco’s D finished third in the league in points allowed. This team had no real weaknesses and after the injury-riddled ‘91 campaign, were ready to get at it.

They split their first two games. The loss was a late Sunday afternoon sizzler with two-time defending AFC champ Buffalo. The Bills were on their way to a third straight Super Bowl this year and they came into San Francisco and staged a shootout. Young was brilliant, going 26/37 for 449 yards and three touchdowns. But so was his counterpart, Jim Kelly. And 49er kicker Mike Cofer missed a couple key field goals that were the difference in a 34-31 loss.

That game was seen as a heavyweight fight from the outset, so there was no cause for alarm. San Francisco responded by calmly ripping off five straight wins. The biggest was a late September trip to New Orleans on a Sunday night. The Saints were an NFC West rival prior to the realignment of 2002 (along with the Rams and Falcons) and New Orleans was the defending divisional champ.

Young played mistake-free football against an aggressive defense, while the 49er defense intercepted Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert three times. San Francisco dominated in the trenches, winning rush yardage 154-77. That was the difference in a tough 16-10 win.

The 49ers reached their bye week at 6-1 and then suffered a surprise 21-14 loss to the Cardinals (an NFC East team prior to 2002). Although Young had been knocked out early in that game, so there was an explanation for the offensive struggles. And he would return immediately the following week, as the Niners promptly resumed winning.

On November 15, San Francisco and New Orleans were both 7-2 and set to meet in old Candlestick Park in the late Sunday afternoon TV window. The Niners struggled much of the game and trailed 20-7 after three quarters. But they were again dominating the Saints on the ground—176-43 in rush yardage. And Young eventually broke through, hitting Jones for a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns in the 21-20 win.

The playoff-bound Philadelphia Eagles made their trip west two weeks later. Young threw an early 22-yard touchdown pass to Rice that set the tone. Young finished 24/35 for 342 yards and two scores, while Rice caught eight passes for 133 yards. San Francisco won 20-14.

Dan Marino’s Miami Dolphins were the next playoff-bound opponent to make their way west for a late Sunday afternoon game and the 49ers put on a defensive clinic. They completely shut down the Dolphin ground game, kept Marino’s passes underneath and cruised to a 27-3 win.

A challenging second half schedule continued on December 13 at Minnesota, who would also make the postseason. Amp Lee got the bulk of the carries in the running game and responded with 134 yards on 23 carries. That included a couple second quarter touchdowns that were the difference in the 20-17 win.

The win pushed San Francisco’s record to 12-2. They were still being chased by New Orleans at 11-3, although the 49ers had the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Dallas Cowboys, coming into December 13 at 11-2 themselves, were in the mix for the #1 seed in the NFC. Although here too, the 49ers had the tiebreaker and when Dallas lost later that day in Washington, the Niners were in complete control of the NFC playoff picture.

A 21-14 home win over Tampa Bay the following Saturday wasn’t particularly inspiring—it took a 30-yard Young-to-Rice TD connection to break a 14-14 tie in the fourth quarter and win the game. But it was enough to have everything clinched going into Week 17.

The defending Super Bowl champion Redskins came to San Francisco for the divisional playoffs. On a late Saturday afternoon, the weather was sloppy and consequently, so was the play. Each team turned it over four times. But the 49ers were again manhandling a good team up front. They built a 17-3 lead and won rush yardage 187-73. The Redskins closed to within 17-13 in the fourth quarter, but San Francisco was able to get a field goal and then stop Washington’s final chance, winning 20-13.

NFL observers felt the 49ers and Cowboys were the two best teams in football and their NFC Championship Game a titanic battle that would be the de facto Super Bowl. It was tied 10-10 at halftime, but the 49er defense blinked first in the second half.

Dallas scored touchdowns on its first two possessions out of halftime and built a 24-13 lead. San Francisco closed to 24-20 and had the Cowboys pinned deep in their own end. But they allowed a simple slant patter to Alvin Harper to turn into a 70-yard gain, which set up the clinching touchdown. The 30-20 loss ended the season.

It was a bitter pill to swallow and the fact Dallas routed Buffalo in the Super Bowl, essentially validating San Francisco’s status as the second-best team, was undoubtedly zero consolation. This was the first of two straight years the 49ers were stopped by the Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game.

Young would be the starter in San Francisco through the 1998 season and the 49ers made the playoffs in every one of those years, reaching at least the divisional round each time. And in 1994, the great quarterback got his crowning vindication when the 49ers beat the Cowboys and went on to win the Super Bowl.

How The 1992 Miami Dolphins Won The AFC East

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The previous seven years had seen the legendary Don Shula get his Miami Dolphins teams to the playoffs just one time. That had come in 1990 and it ended with a loss to the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills. The 1992 Miami Dolphins got back into the playoffs, won the first division title since 1985 in fact and made the AFC Championship Game before the run again ended with a loss to the Bills.

Dan Marino was at the helm of the Miami attack and he threw the ball more than anyone in the league in 1992. The raw volume of throws might partly explain his NFL-best 4,116 passing yards. But it doesn’t explain how Marino also finished in the top eight among NFL quarterbacks in completion percentage, yards-per-attempt and interception percentage.

Marino’s season gets even more impressive when you consider that his primary targets were running backs and a tight end. Bobby Humphrey’s 54 catches were the most on the team out of the backfield and Mark Higgs’ 48 receptions were tied for second. Tight end Keith Jackson was a Pro Bowl player, but none of the top targets were real threats down the field.

The big play receivers were getting older. Mark Duper was 33-years-old and still averaged 17-plus yards per catch, but he only caught 44 balls. Mark Clayton, another holdover from the prolific offenses of the mid-to-late 1980s caught 43 balls for 619 yards.

Between Marino’s passing, Higgs rushing for over 900 yards , the presence of All-NFL left tackle Richmond Webb and Pro Bowl kicker Pete Stoyanovich, Miami still ranked eighth in the NFL in scoring.

The defense was led by two young players. Bryan Cox was a fiery outside linebacker and at the age of 24, recorded 14 sacks and made the Pro Bowl. On the corner, rookie Troy Vincent was getting started on a stellar career. The defense overall wasn’t a great unit, but they were consistent enough to rank 11th in the league in points allowed.

Miami came blazing out of the gate and won their first six games. The biggest win came at Buffalo when they picked off Jim Kelly four times. The biggest game in the third quarter. The Dolphins led 24-10, but the Bills were on the doorstep. Strong safety Louis Oliver intercepted a pass in the end zone and took it 103 yards to the house. The final score ended up 37-10.

The 6-0 start was followed by a hiccup in divisional play. Miami lost at home to the Indianapolis (the Colts were in the AFC East prior to the realignment of 2002). The Colts were respectable, so that could be explained away. Losing the next week to a bad New York Jets team couldn’t. After an easy 28-0 win over Indy in the rematch, the Dolphins got set for Round 2 with Buffalo.

On a Monday Night in Miami, the Dolphins couldn’t run the ball, nor could they stop the run. Only some red-zone stops on defense kept the final score close in a 26-20 loss. The Fish were a game back of the Bills in the AFC East.

Another difficult Monday Night home game awaited later in November, on the Monday prior to Thanksgiving. The Houston Oilers (today’s Tennessee Titans), who had made the playoffs five years running and would again in 1992, were in South Beach.

The Oilers were missing the great Warren Moon at quarterback, but with Marino having an erratic night, the Dolphins couldn’t get separation. Fortunately, Stoyanovich came through with two fourth-quarter field goals, the last one a 52-yarder that won the game 19-16.

Miami’s difficult stretch drive schedule continued with games against the 49ers and the Saints, both of whom would win at least 12 games and make the postseason. Not surprisingly, the Dolphins lost both and dropped to 8-5.

Oddly enough though, that two-week stretch proved to be a net positive. Buffalo also lost both games. Unlike the Dolphins, the Bills lost games they should have won, to the Colts and Jets. Unlike the Dolphins, the Bills had lost games against conference opponents. Thus, Miami not only stayed with one game of the division lead, they now had the tiebreakers in their favor.

The Dolphins played another Monday Night home game, this team beating the mediocre Los Angeles Raiders, 20-7. A home game against the Jets saw Miami turn up inexplicably flat. The Fish trailed 17-10 in the fourth quarter. A touchdown that should have tied the game was followed by a missed extra point. Stoyanovich was finally able to pull out the 19-17 win with another late field goal.

Miami’s playoff berth was clinched as they entered the season finale in New England against the then-lowly Patriots. For the AFC East, the Dolphins needed to win and then hope the Bills lost that night in Houston.

It was an entirely plausible possibility, which makes another flat Dolphins’ performance all the more mystifying. They let a bad team drag them into overtime, but in the end Miami still won, 16-13. And when Buffalo was blown out in prime-time, the Dolphins were AFC East champs and the #2 seed in the playoffs.

After a week off, Miami hosted San Diego in the divisional round of the playoffs. The game was on late Sunday afternoon, the final game of the weekend and reminiscent of 1981, when these two teams played one of the greatest playoff games of all time in this same time slot. This year’s matchup wouldn’t be quite as epic, and that would be just fine with the Dolphins.

With the rain pouring down and the game scoreless into the second quarter, Marino opened up and threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter alone. The Dolphin defense was dominant. A Charger team that was the hottest in football, making the playoffs after an 0-4 start, was sent packing in a 31-0 rout.

The Buffalo Bills were again waiting. The Bills had pulled off the greatest comeback in playoff history in the wild-card round when they rallied from 35-3 down to beat Houston, and followed that up with a dismantling of top-seeded Pittsburgh. Buffalo had momentum, and perhaps Miami’s tendency of playing down in big moments finally caught up to them.

The AFC Championship Game was tied 3-3 after a quarter, but the Dolphins were being manhandled in the trenches on both sides of the ball. They couldn’t protect Marino and he was sacked four times. They were crushed on the ground. By the third quarter, Miami was in a 23-3 hole and the final was 29-10.

It was a disappointing end to a strong year, but it set the tone for a nice string of seasons to end Shula’s career. He coached three seasons beyond this, all winning years and two of them ending in the playoffs. But he and Marino would never again make it as far as they got in 1992.

1992 Buffalo Bills: The Road To A 3rd Straight AFC Crown

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In the great four-year run the Buffalo Bills had from 1990-93, when they won four straight AFC championships, no run had more drama than in 1992. The 1992 Buffalo Bills didn’t win their division, faced an insurmountable deficit in the first playoff game and then a difficult road thereafter…but somehow they got it down and reached the Super Bowl for a third straight year.

The usual suspects from the first two Super Bowl runs were still on hand. Jim Kelly had a Pro Bowl year, thanks mainly to a 7.5 yards-per-attempt stat that was fourth-best in the NFL. Thurman Thomas ran for nearly 1,500 yards and was second on the team in catches with 58. Thomas also went to the Pro Bowl.

Andre Reed continued to be the leading receiver and he also punched his Pro Bowl ticket, with a 65 catches/913 yards performance. James Lofton was 36-years-old, but still a valuable second threat, with 51 catches for 786 yards. On the defensive side, Bruce Smith was still the anchor, getting 14 sacks from his end position and making the Pro Bowl.

These five players—Kelly, Thomas, Reed, Lofton and Smith—all made the Hall of Fame. And they led the ‘92 Bills to top five finishes in both scoring offense and scoring defense.

And the talent didn’t stop there. Howard Ballard had a Pro Bowl year at right tackle. Phil Hansen and Jeff Wright joined Smith on the defensive front and combined for 14 sacks themselves. That’s a lot of pass rush production to get from the defensive line in a 3-4 scheme and made blocking the linebackers all the more difficult.

Speaking of those linebackers…Cornelius Bennett had a Pro Bowl campaign on the outside. Stalwarts Shane Conlan, Darryl Talley and Carlton Bailey rounded out the unit. In the secondary, Henry Jones was the top strong safety in the league in 1992 and intercepted eight passes. Mark Kelso picked off seven more from his free safety spot. Nate Odomes, a Pro Bowl corner had five picks.

Buffalo came rolling out of the gate when the season began, winning their first four games. The highlight was a Week 2 visit to San Francisco. The 49ers were on the way to a great season themselves and it was a shootout. Kelly threw for over 400 yards, with both Reed and tight end Pete Metzelaars clearing the 100-yard mark in receiving. San Francisco missed a couple key field goals and the Bills won 34-31.

The winning streak ended with a terrible home performance against Miami, the principal competition in the AFC East. Kelly threw four interceptions in a 37-10 rout that was the low point of a two-game skid.

Buffalo bounced back and ripped off five straight wins, including showcase wins over the Steelers and Dolphins. Pittsburgh was headed for the 1-seed in the AFC and came to Rich Stadium for a late Sunday afternoon kickoff. Kelly was brilliant, going 26/33 for 290 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Wide receiver Don Beebe caught eight balls for 101 yards, while Thomas ran for 155 yards on the ground. The final was 28-20.

The revenge trip to Miami came on a Monday Night and the defense stepped up. They sacked Dan Marino four times and shut down the Dolphin running game. Kelly, after his four-INT disaster in the first meeting, played mistake-free football and Buffalo’s 26-20 win gave them the edge in the AFC East.

But with the record at 9-2, the Bills stumbled. They lost at Indianapolis in overtime and then suffered an inexplicable home loss to the lowly Jets. The Dolphins also lost both of their games in this two-week stretch, but the losses were not created equal. Buffalo’s losses to AFC teams meant that they slipped behind Miami in the tiebreakers.

When the Bills beat the Broncos and then delivered a tough 20-16 road win over a really good New Orleans Saints team, they were still in position to win the division when they went to Houston on the final Sunday Night of the season.

Earlier in the day, Miami had won to complete an 11-5 season. The tiebreakers now loomed large, as it meant Buffalo needed the win. But Kelly was hurt early on and the game was a complete disaster. The 27-3 loss ended the Bills’ four-year run atop the AFC East and sent them into the wild-card round.

Kelly wasn’t done for the year, but he needed recovery time and would be on the shelf for a rematch with Houston the following week. The Oilers (today known as the Tennessee Titans) came to Buffalo for the early Sunday afternoon game of wild-card weekend. And they picked up where they had left off in the regular season finale.

Houston led 28-3 at the half and even the strongest-willed of Buffalo fans had to lose hope when Oiler safety Bubba McDowell returned an interception 58 yards to the house. It was 35-3. The quarterback was Frank Reich. And over the last six quarters-plus, the Bills had been outscored by the Oilers 62-6.

Reich quietly went to work, leading a touchdown drive that at least stopped the bleeding. Then he ripped off three consecutive touchdown passes. And these weren’t chintzy TD passes from down near the goal line. Reich hit Don Beebe from 38 yards out. Reed caught a 26-yard strike and a TD pass to Thomas came from the Houston 18. By the time the third quarter was over, the score was 35-31 and there was still life in Buffalo.

One more touchdown pass to Reed—this one from 17 yards—gave the Bills a stunning 38-35 lead, but Warren Moon rallied the Oilers for a field goal that sent the game to overtime. But Reich hadn’t led his team this far to lose this one and a 32-yard field goal in overtime completed the greatest comeback in the history of the NFL playoffs.

There was no time to celebrate and the Bills had to be feeling a sense of destiny after the Houston game. They went to Pittsburgh and cruised to a 24-3 win, sacking Steeler quarterback Neil O’Donnell seven times and getting 104 yards rushing from Kenneth Davis.

Round 3 with Miami was set for the AFC Championship Game and Kelly was back in the saddle. The game was tied 3-3 after a quarter, but the Buffalo defense never let Marino get untracked. They sacked him four times, twice by Smith. The Bills got five turnovers. They dominated the trenches, winning rush yardage 182-33. The second half was more a coronation party in South Beach, as Buffalo cruised home 29-10.

It was time for a third straight Super Bowl trip. After losses in 1990 to the New York Giants and 1991 to the Washington Redskins, Buffalo would draw another opponent from the NFC East. This time it was the Dallas Cowboys, who had won at San Francisco in the NFC Championship Game.

Buffalo struck early, when their great special teams player, Steve Tasker, blocked a punt and the Bills took a 7-0 lead. But Dallas, with Jimmy Johnson on the sidelines and the Big Three of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin in their first Super Bowl, were a dynasty in the making. The rest of the game was a disaster. The Bills turned the ball over nine times, a Super Bowl record. They trailed 28-10 by halftime and lost 52-17.

Buffalo was far from finished—they won an unprecedented fourth straight AFC title in 1993…and lost an unprecedented fourth straight Super Bowl, again to Dallas. These Bills were an extraordinary team and over a four-year stretch were easily the best in the NFL. They were just never the best in any one individual season.

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