The National Football League playoffs for the 1991 season began on December 28, 1991. The postseason tournament concluded with the Washington Redskins defeating the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVI, 37–24, on January 26, 1992, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
This edition of the NFL playoffs marked the first time ever that every AFC playoff qualifier was an original AFL franchise. Previous postseasons had either featured pre-merger NFL teams (Steelers, Browns, Colts), AFL expansion teams (Dolphins, Bengals) and/or AFC expansion teams (Seahawks).
Participants
Bracket
Schedule
In the United States, ABC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games, then NBC broadcast the rest of the AFC playoff games. CBS televised the rest of the NFC games.
Super Bowl XXVI was the last Super Bowl to air on CBS until Super Bowl XXXV (Super Bowl XXVI was originally scheduled to air on NBC, with CBS scheduled to air Super Bowl XXVII, but the networks swapped games) at the end of the 2000–01 playoffs. CBS lost the NFC package to Fox following the 1993 season, leaving the network without the NFL until it acquired the AFC package from NBC for the 1998 season.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:92%; text-align:center;"
! Away team !! Score !! Home team !! Date !! Kickoff<br>(ET / UTC–5) !! TV
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! colspan="6"|Wild Card playoffs
|-
| Los Angeles Raiders || 6–10 || Kansas City Chiefs || December 28, 1991 || 12:30 p.m. || ABC
|-
| Atlanta Falcons || 27–20 || New Orleans Saints || December 28, 1991 || 4:00 p.m. || ABC
|-
| Dallas Cowboys || 17–13 || Chicago Bears || December 29, 1991 ||12:30 p.m. || CBS
|-
| New York Jets || 10–17 || Houston Oilers || December 29, 1991 || 4:00 p.m. || NBC
|-
! colspan="6"|Divisional playoffs
|-
| Atlanta Falcons || 7–24 || Washington Redskins || January 4, 1992 || 12:30 p.m. || CBS
|-
| Houston Oilers || 24–26 || Denver Broncos || January 4, 1992 || 4:00 p.m. || NBC
|-
| Kansas City Chiefs || 14–37 || Buffalo Bills || January 5, 1992 || 12:30 p.m. || NBC
|-
| Dallas Cowboys || 6–38 || Detroit Lions || January 5, 1992 || 4:00 p.m. || CBS
|-
! colspan="6"|Conference Championships
|-
| Denver Broncos || 7–10 || Buffalo Bills || January 12, 1992 || 12:30 p.m. || NBC
|-
| Detroit Lions || 10–41 || Washington Redskins || January 12, 1992 || 4:00 p.m. || CBS
|-
! colspan="6"|Super Bowl XXVI<br><small>Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota</small>
|-
| Washington Redskins || 37–24 || Buffalo Bills || January 26, 1992 || 6:00 p.m. || CBS
|}
Wild Card playoffs
Saturday, December 28, 1991
AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 10, Los Angeles Raiders 6
Chiefs quarterback Steve DeBerg completed a play-action 11-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Fred Jones in the second quarter, which was the difference in Kansas City's narrow 10–6 win over long-time rival Los Angeles. Kansas City running back Barry Word was arguably the Chiefs' most effective offensive weapon, rushing for 133 yards. This was Kansas City's first postseason win since Super Bowl IV in the 1969 season. The Raiders started rookie quarterback Todd Marinovich over veteran Jay Schroeder. Marinovich, who performed well in a loss to Kansas City the week before, instead threw four interceptions in the wild card rematch, including the one to Deron Cherry that set up DeBerg's touchdown. Kansas City's defense managed to hold Los Angeles to six points despite losing star linebacker Derrick Thomas, who was diagnosed with a rapid heartbeat and rushed to the hospital near the end of the first half.
The Chiefs controlled most of the first quarter, with Word rushing for 36 yards on 13 carries, but missed a chance to score when their normally reliable kicker Nick Lowery missed a 33-yard field goal. Marinovich promptly gave the Chiefs another scoring chance with an interception to Cherry, who returned the ball 17 yards. However, their ensuing drive ended with another missed field goal from Lowery, a 47-yard attempt early in the second quarter. On the Raiders' next drive, Cherry intercepted Marinovich again, this time returning the ball 29 yards to the LA 11-yard line. DeBerg then put Kansas City up 7–0 with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jones. However, Marinovich finally managed to compose himself, putting together a 10-play, 65-yard drive that culminated with Jeff Jaeger's 33-yard field goal, cutting the deficit to 7–3 with 26 seconds left in the half.
Marinovich, who was rattled in the first half, found a rhythm in the second half, leading the team 62 yards in 11 plays with their first drive. Running back Nick Bell, who finished the game with 107 rushing yards, gained 46 yards on eight carries, while Jaeger finished the possession with a 26-yard field goal that made the score 7–6. Later in the quarter, LA appeared to be headed for a go-ahead score. But linebacker Lonnie Marts managed to force a fumble from Marcus Allen and defensive tackle Dan Saleaumua recovered the ball. Kansas City then drove 61 yards to the Raiders' 1-yard line where Lowery's 18-yard field goal in the fourth quarter put the Chiefs up 10–6.
Los Angeles responded with a drive to the Kansas City 25, but after linebacker Chris Martin sacked Marinovich for an 8-yard loss, Eric Everett intercepted the ball and returned it 23 yards. Still, the Raiders defense held firm, forcing a punt that gave their offense one last chance to drive for a game winning score. Marinovich's 28-yard completion to tight end Ethan Horton and an 8-yard completion to running back Steve Smith moved the ball to the Chiefs' 24-yard line. However, the team suddenly self-destructed in a barrage of penalties. Right tackle Steve Wright was flagged for a face mask and a false start on consecutive snaps, and then an offensive pass interference penalty on Tim Brown left the team facing first and 30 from their own 41. On the next play, Marinovich's pass bounced off the hands of Horton and was intercepted by Marts with 2:15 left in regulation, enabling Kansas City to run out the rest of the clock.
The game was also significant in that it featured what was at the time the oldest starting player in the NFL (DeBerg; age 38) and the second-youngest player to start at quarterback in a playoff game: Marniovich at age 22 (Cleveland's Bernie Kosar being the youngest).
"This is the first playoff game I have ever won", said DeBerg after the game. "I'm going to enjoy it and hopefully this won't be the last one I get to enjoy. Todd was in a tough situation. He made some plays. But in the playoffs, for a rookie to get the job done...it is very, very difficult."
This was the third postseason meeting between the Raiders and Chiefs. Both teams split the previous two meetings as members of the AFL.
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|+
|-
!Tied 1–1 in all-time playoff games
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|
|}
NFC: Atlanta Falcons 27, New Orleans Saints 20
Falcons quarterback Chris Miller completed the game-winning 61-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Haynes with 2:41 left in the contest. Miller completed 18 out of 30 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns.
The Saints scored first on a 78-yard drive in which they started with a punt after three plays, but kept the ball due to a roughing the punter penalty against Tracy Johnson. Quarterback Bobby Hebert completed five passes on the drive, the last a 26-yard touchdown to wide receiver Floyd Turner. On the Saints' next drive, they moved the ball all the way to the Falcons' 3-yard line. But tight end John Tice dropped a catchable pass and then Deion Sanders intercepted Hebert's pass in the end zone to avoid a facing a fourteen-point deficit. In the second quarter, Morten Andersen's 45-yard field goal gave the Saints a 10–0 lead.
The Falcons later got a huge break when an apparent fumble by Mike Rozier was ruled down on contact on the field and instant replay couldn't reverse it. On the next play, Miller threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Andre Rison. With 37 seconds left in the half, Atlanta tied the game on Norm Johnson's 44-yard field goal. However, Saints running back Fred McAfee returned the ensuing kickoff 39 yards, with a facemask penalty against Sanders adding five more and giving New Orleans the ball on the Falcons' 41. On the next play, Hebert completed a 26-yard pass to running back Dalton Hilliard, enabling New Orleans to retake the lead before halftime, 13–10, on Andersen's 35-yard field goal.
Atlanta started off the second half with a 9-play, 80-yard drive to take their first lead of the game on Miller's 20-yard scoring pass to Haynes. The rest of the quarter would belong to the Saints, who consumed a franchise playoff record 10:49 by driving 80 yards in 19 plays and going back up 20–17 with a 1-yard touchdown run by Hilliard. New Orleans was aided by another key penalty against the Falcons defense, an offsides penalty against linebacker Jessie Tuggle on an Andersen field goal attempt that gave the Saints a first down. With 7:43 left in the game, Johnson kicked a field goal to tie the score at 20 at the end of a 45-yard drive. The next time they got the ball, Haynes took off past cornerback Milton Mack, caught a short slant from Miller, and raced 61 yards to the end zone, giving Atlanta a 27–20 lead. After Haynes scored the winning touchdown for the Falcons, the Saints reached the Atlanta 35-yard line before Hebert threw an interception to Falcons corner Tim McKyer to clinch the victory.
Haynes caught six passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns. McAfee rushed for 49 yards and returned four kickoffs for 98. Saints defensive tackle Frank Warren had two of New Orleans's five sacks.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Falcons and Saints.
Butler narrowed the gap to 10–6 with a 43-yard field goal, but Dallas responded with a 75-yard, 14-play drive to go up 17–6 on Steve Beuerlein's 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jay Novacek. In the fourth quarter, the Bears drove to the Dallas 7-yard line, only to turn the ball over on downs with Harbaugh's fourth-down incompletion. Following a Cowboys punt, Chicago managed to score their first touchdown on Harbaugh's 6-yard touchdown pass to Tom Waddle, cutting the deficit to 17–13. Their defense then forced a three-and-out, giving Chicago a chance to drive for the winning touchdown. However, this was made difficult by Mike Saxon's 52-yard punt, which pinned the Bears back on their own 4-yard line with 1:50 left in regulation. Three plays later, Bates intercepted a pass from Harbaugh on the Bears' 16, enabling Dallas to run out the clock.
"We're on a mission to kind of make a name for ourselves", Dallas nose tackle Russell Maryland said. "People said a couple of years ago that our defense was like a three-ring circus out there. Now we're out to prove that we're the greatest show on earth." "We just don't get any credit", added safety Ray Horton, describing a defense that did not have any Pro Bowl selections. "We come up and do what we have to do. Hey, we've won 12 games! Other higher-ranked defenses are at home right now. So it's not like we're riding the coattails of our offense."
Smith finished the game with 105 rushing yards and a touchdown, the most rushing yards ever allowed by Chicago in a playoff game. Waddle caught nine passes for 104 yards and a score.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Cowboys and Bears. Dallas won the only prior meeting.
The third quarter ended just over six minutes later, shortly after a missed 45-yard field goal attempt by Falcons kicker Norm Johnson, which turned out to be Atlanta's last chance to get back in the game. Less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Falcons receiver Michael Haynes lost a fumble while being tackled by Gouveia, which linebacker Wilber Marshall recovered on the Redskins' 48-yard line. Washington then managed to grind out a 52-yard drive to put the game away, with Ervins rushing for 28 yards and Rypien converting two third downs with completions to receiver Gary Clark. He threw an incomplete pass intended for Ervins on third down from the 8, but Sanders was penalized for holding, giving Washington first and goal from the four. Riggs then took the ball into the end zone with two carries, the second a 1-yard rushing touchdown, giving Washington a 24–7 lead with 6:32 left in the game, prompting the fans in attendance to shower the field with the yellow seat cushions that were given out before the game and chant "We want Dallas".
Early in the second half, Kramer finished an 80-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Green. Then linebacker Victor Jones recovered a fumble from Aikman on the Cowboys' 27, leading to Kramer's 7-yard touchdown pass to Moore. In the fourth quarter, Lions running back Barry Sanders, who had been held to just 22 rushing yards up to this point, put the finishing touch on Detroit's victory with an electrifying 47-yard touchdown run.
Green finished the day with eight receptions for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Sanders's touchdown would be the only postseason score of his Hall of Fame career.
This was the Lions' sole playoff victory between the 1957 NFL Championship Game and a wild-card round victory over the Los Angeles Rams in the 2023-24 NFL playoffs.
It was the only one ever to occur at the Pontiac Silverdome, where the Lions played from 1975 to 2001. The Silverdome's demolition in 2018 started a period where only Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, which still stands in a form much reduced from its time as the 49ers' home field, had played host to a Lions postseason victory; this period ended with the Lions' aforementioned 2023–24 wild card win over the Rams.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Cowboys and Lions. Dallas won the only previous meeting.
After the game, the Redskins dedicated their win to WUSA sports anchor Glenn Brenner, who died from a brain tumor two days after the game.
This was the final postseason game at RFK Stadium. The Redskins went 11–1 at the facility in the playoffs, losing only a 1984 divisional-round game to the Bears.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Lions and Redskins. Washington won the only previous meeting.