There was optimism abounding in Green Bay. While it taken the Bart Starr era several years to find its footing, the Packers had contended to the last week of the regular season in 1981, then made the playoffs in the strike-shortened year of 1982. They had a dynamic passing game. The 1983 Green Bay Packers […]
Bart Starr’s coaching tenure wasn’t going well. The Hall of Fame quarterback took over his old team in 1975. The team appeared to turn a corner in 1978, when they nearly made the playoffs. But they plummeted to five-win campaigns in 1979 and 1980. The 1981 Green Bay Packers started much the same way and […]
For four straight seasons, the Buffalo Bills had been the gold standard of the AFC—four straight conference championships, a feat unparalleled in the Super Bowl era. They hadn’t won that final game of the year, but they were winning most everything else. All good things come to an end though, and the 1994 Buffalo Bills […]
The 1994 Miami Dolphins were feeling the urgency of the moment. Even with the great Dan Marino at quarterback and the legendary Don Shula on the sidelines, the Fish hadn’t been to a Super Bowl since Marino’s MVP year of 1984, and they had yet to win one with the future Hall of Fame quarterback. […]
Bill Belichick became a staple of the NFL playoffs during his legendary 21st century tenure in New England. But his first trip to the postseason came with the 1994 Cleveland Browns. Following a 3-13 disaster in 1990, the Browns tapped Belichick, fresh off coordinating the defense of the Super Bowl champion New York Giants. At […]
The city of Detroit hasn’t seen too many sustained stretches of good pro football. But the 1990s were an exception. The Lions had the great Barry Sanders in the backfield and were a consistent contender for the playoffs throughout the decade. The 1994 Detroit Lion team that got into the postseason was one part of […]
The Chicago Bears were only two years removed from the end of the Mike Ditka era, and just three years removed from that era’s last playoff appearance. In the mid-1990s, this was still a fan base that was accustomed to success. Dave Wannstedt had been hired to replace Ditka. And in Wannstedt’s second year, he […]
Dennis Green had come to Minnesota in 1992 and immediately returned the Vikings to the playoffs after a two-year absence. In 1993, Green did it again. Both of those teams lost in the first round, but Minnesota was back on everyone’s radar. The 1994 Minnesota Vikings continued the pattern—they got their third straight playoff appearance […]
The 1977 Los Angeles Rams came into the season looking to take that next step—after three straight losses in the NFC Championship Game, they were seeking the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance. Instead, the step they took was backward—an early playoff exit that spelled the end of head coach Chuck Knox’s otherwise successful tenure in […]
After a decade of frustration, marked by excellent teams and playoff losses, the Raiders had gotten over the top with a Super Bowl title in 1976. The 1977 Oakland Raiders continued to contend and extended their streak of consecutive AFC Championship Game appearances to five. But they came up short of a repeat championship. The […]
The 1976 Los Angeles Rams marked Chuck Knox’s fourth year coaching the team and they marked his fourth playoff trip. They also marked his third straight appearance in the NFC Championship Game. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the ’76 Rams also marked the third straight defeat in the NFC title game. […]
Dallas was coming off a surprise trip the Super Bowl in 1975, when a young team came together quickly and made a run out of the wild-card spot. A perennial contender, they had won a championship in 1971 and were looking to add a second ring to their resume. The 1976 Dallas Cowboys overcame adversity […]