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 […]
Steve Young had become the regular quarterback for San Francisco in 1991, when Joe Montana was injured. Young had clearly proven himself as an elite QB—he won an MVP award in 1992 and reached the NFC Championship Game in ’92 and 1993. But that wasn’t the standard Montana had set. Young had a monkey to […]
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 […]
The great football city of Pittsburgh hadn’t experienced a Super Bowl run since 1979, the last of the great Steel Curtain teams of Chuck Noll. The 1994 Pittsburgh Steelers were the best team the franchise had produced since the dynasty years and looked poised to end the drought. They came up just three yards of short of returning to the NFL’s biggest stage.
The San Diego Chargers’ postseason history is not exactly filled with glorious moments. From the consecutive AFC Championship Game losses with Dan Fouts at quarterback in 1980-81, to the disappointments of the Marty Schottenheimer years in the ‘00s, to the flop of 2009 under Norv Turner, the Charger fans know about hopes being dashed. But the 1994 San Diego Chargers were just the opposite—it was the year San Diego finally came up clut