The 2000 Baltimore Ravens: The Defense Never Rests
When the 2000 Baltimore Ravens broke through they went all the way—not just to the playoffs, not even just to a Super Bowl title, but with one of the great defenses in modern NFL history.
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1996 Dallas Cowboys: The Dynasty Starts To Wind Down
With three Super Bowl championships in the previous four years, Dallas was already a dynasty. All of the key players were back in tow for another shot at the ring. The 1996 Dallas Cowboys were good and they had a few moments where flashes of their championship selves came shining through. But they also lacked […]
1993 Minnesota Vikings: Solidifying A Playoff Foundation
Dennis Green arrived in Minnesota in 1992, and promptly won a division title. The 1993 Minnesota Vikings didn’t quite match that feat. But they made it back to the playoffs and solidified what would be a perennially contending team throughout the 1990s. The defensive front was the foundation on which this team was built. John […]
1993 Detroit Lions: A Return To The Top Of The NFC Central
The Barry Sanders Era in Detroit had its first big breakthrough in 1991, when the Lions reached the NFC Championship Game. After a hard fall to last place in 1992, it looked like that breakout might be a fluke. The 1993 Detroit Lions answered those doubts—they won a division title, returned to the postseason and […]
1993 Denver Broncos: A Return To The Playoffs
An era of John Elway’s career came to an end in 1992, when head coach Dan Reeves was fired. Elway and Reeves didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but they had reached Super Bowls together in 1986, 1987 and 1989. Wade Phillips was elevated from defensive coordinator to the head coaching job. Elway picked up where he […]
The Playoff Season Of The 1993 Los Angeles Raiders
Art Shell’s first full season coaching the Raiders in 1990 had been a clear success, with a division title and AFC Championship Game appearance to show for it. But the next two years marked decline. A year later, the Raiders snuck into the playoffs and were quickly eliminated. In 1992, they slipped under .500. The […]
1993 Houston Oilers: A Big Tease & A Final Collapse
The 1993 Houston Oilers had spent the previous six seasons as a consistent playoff team that always seemed just ready to break through to the league’s elite. But postseason success was missing. They had not even made the AFC Championship Game during this time period, much less gotten to a Super Bowl. The ’93 Oilers, […]
Dan Reeves Puts The 1993 New York Giants Back In The Playoffs
The 1993 New York Giants were looking for a fresh start. After their Super Bowl title of 1990, Bill Parcells went into temporary retirement and the Giants slipped out of the playoff picture. With Dan Reeves’ successful tenure in Denver coming to an end in 1992, he was available. It proved to be providential timing […]
1992 New Orleans Saints: Contention & Collapse
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 […]
1990 Los Angeles Raiders: Ending A Playoff Drought
After a great run through the 1970s and the first part of the 1980s—a stretch that included three Super Bowl victories—the proud Raider franchise was in a bit of a dry spell. The 1990 Los Angeles Raiders came into the season looking to snap a four-year postseason drought. They did just that in the first […]
1990 New Orleans Saints: A Series Of Fortunate Events
After earning the franchise’s first-ever playoff berth in 1987, the New Orleans Saints had gone through modest decline. Off an 11-win campaign in ’87, the Saints won 10 games in 1988 and went 9-7 in 1989. But they were left out of the playoff party both times. The 1990 New Orleans Saints continued the decline […]
1994 Dallas Cowboys: A 3-Peat Bid Falls Short
Super Bowl victories in 1992 and 1993 had been the culmination of Jimmy Johnson’s historically rapid rebuilding program in Dallas. But the three-peat bid of the 1994 Dallas Cowboys would be quickly awash in uncertainty. Johnson’s feud with owner Jerry Jones boiled to a head, and the head coach was fired. Barry Switzer, a three-time […]