1991 Major Football League Standings (USA)

1991 National Football League
American Football Conference
	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
AFC Eastern Division
*Buffalo Bills	16	13	3	0	458	318	0.813
*New York Jets	16	8	8	0	314	293	0.500
Miami Dolphins	16	8	8	0	343	349	0.500
New England Patriots	16	6	10	0	211	305	0.375
Indianapolis Colts	16	1	15	0	143	389	0.063
AFC Central Division
*Houston Oilers	16	11	5	0	386	251	0.688
Pittsburgh Steelers	16	7	9	0	292	344	0.438
Cleveland Browns	16	6	10	0	293	298	0.375
Cincinnati Bengals	16	3	13	0	263	435	0.188
AFC Western Division
*Denver Broncos	16	12	4	0	304	235	0.750
*Kansas City Chiefs	16	10	6	0	322	255	0.625
*Los Angeles Raiders	16	9	7	0	298	297	0.563
Seattle Seahawks	16	7	9	0	276	261	0.438
San Diego Chargers	16	4	12	0	274	342	0.250
National Football Conference
	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
NFC Eastern
*Washington Redskins	16	14	2	0	485	244	0.875
*Dallas Cowboys	16	11	5	0	342	310	0.688
Philadelphia Eagles	16	10	6	0	285	244	0.625
New York Giants	16	8	8	0	281	297	0.500
Phoenix Cardinals	16	4	12	0	196	344	0.250
NFC Central
*Detroit Lions	16	12	4	0	339	295	0.750
*Chicago Bears	16	11	5	0	299	269	0.688
Minnesota Vikings	16	8	8	0	301	306	0.500
Green Bay Packers	16	4	12	0	273	313	0.250
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	16	3	13	0	199	365	0.188
NFC Western
*New Orlreans Saints	16	11	5	0	341	211	0.688
*Atlanta Falcons	16	10	6	0	361	338	0.625
San Francisco 49ers	16	10	6	0	393	239	0.625
Los Angeles Rams	16	3	13	0	234	390	0.188
1991 Mid-Continental Football League
	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
*Dayton Steelers	11	8	3	0	102	62	0.727
*Cleveland Falcons	13	9	4	0	107	92	0.692
Wyandot Chiefs	8	5	3	0	99	91	0.625
Shenango Valley Blasters	10	3	7	0	89	130	0.300

1991 Major Football League Standings (World)

1991 Canadian Football League
	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pts
CFL Eastern Division
*Toronto Argonauts	18	13	5	0	647	526	26
*Winnipeg Blue Bombers	18	9	9	0	516	499	18
*Ottawa Rough Riders	18	7	11	0	522	577	14
Hamilton Tiger-Cats	18	3	15	0	400	599	6
CFL Western Division
*Edmonton Eskimoes	18	12	6	0	671	569	24
*Calgary Stampeders	18	11	7	0	596	552	22
*British Columbia Lions	18	11	7	0	661	587	22
Saskatchewan Roughriders	18	6	12	0	606	710	12
1991 World League of American Football
	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
WLAF European Division
*London Monarchs	10	9	1	0	310	121	0.900
*Barcelona Dragons	10	8	2	0	206	126	0.800
Frankfurt Galaxy	10	7	3	0	155	139	0.700
WLAF North American East Division
*New York/New Jersey Knights	10	5	5	0	257	155	0.500
Orlando Thunder	10	5	5	0	242	286	0.500
Montreal Machine	10	4	6	0	145	144	0.400
Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks	10	0	10	0	123	300	0.000
WLAF North American West Division
*Birmingham Fire	10	5	5	0	140	140	0.500
San Antonio Riders	10	4	6	0	176	196	0.400
Sacramento Surge	10	3	7	0	179	254	0.300
1991 Arena Football League
	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
*Detroit Drive	10	9	1	0	437	262	0.900
*Tampa Bay Storm	10	8	2	0	421	309	0.800
*Denver Dynamite	10	6	4	0	389	365	0.600
*Albany Firebirds	10	6	4	0	427	342	0.600
Dallas Texans	10	4	6	0	286	334	0.400
New Orleans Night	10	4	6	0	314	401	0.400
Orlando Predators	10	3	7	0	321	363	0.300
Columbus Thunderbolts	10	0	10	0	241	460	0.000
1991 Association of American Football of USSR
	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
*Moscow Bruins (Bears)
*Moscow Swans
Caspian Sphinxes
Kharkov Atlantis
Donetsk Scythians
Minsk Zubrs (Bison)

1991 Major Football League Playoffs (USA)

National Football League Playoffs		National Football League Playoffs
National Football Conference Playoffs
Home Team	Score	Road Team	Score
AFC Wild Card Playoffs
Kansas City Chiefs	10	Los Angeles Raiders	6
Houston Oilers	17	New York Jets	10
AFC Divisional Playoffs
Denver Broncos	26	Houston Oilers	24
Buffalo Bills	37	Kansas City Chiefs	14
AFC Conference Championship
Buffalo Bills	10	Denver Broncos	7
National Football Conference Playoffs
Home Team	Score	Road Team	Score
NFC Wild Card Playoffs
New Orleans Saints	20	Atlanta Falcons	27
Chicago Bears	13	Dallas Cowboys	17
NFC Divisional Playoffs
Washington Redskins	24	Atlanta Falcons	7
Detroit Lions	38	Dallas Cowboys	6
NFC Conference Championship
Washington Redskins	41	Detroit Lions	10
Super Bowl XXVII (AFC v NFC)		@Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN
AFC Team		NFC Team
Buffalo Bills	24	Washington Redskins	37
Mid-Continental Football League Playoffs
Home Team	Score	Road Team	Score
MCFL Championship Game
Cleveland Falcons	7	Dayton Steelers	0

1991 Major Football League Playoffs (World)

Canadian Football League Playoffs
Home Team	Score	Road Team	Score
Eastern Semi-Final
Winnipeg Blue Bombers	26	Ottawa Rough Riders	8
Western Semi-Final
Calgary Stampeders	43	British Columbia Lions	41
Eastern Final
Toronto Argonauts	42	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	3
Western Final
Edmonton Eskimoes	36	Calgary Stampeders	38
Grey Cup
Toronto Argonauts	36	Calgary Stampeders	21
World League of American Football Playoffs
Home Team	Score	Road Team	Score
Semi-Finals
Birmingham Fire	3	Barcelona Dragons	10
New York/New Jersey Knights	26	London Monarchs	42
World Bowl ’91		@Wembley Stadium, London, ENG
London Monarchs	21	Barcelona Dragons	0
Arena Football League Playoffs
Home Team	Score	Road Team	Score
Semi-Finals
Detroit Drive	37	Albany Firebirds	35
Tampa Bay Storm	40	Denver Dynamite	13
Arena Bowl V
Tampa Bay Storm	48	Detroit Drive	42
Association of American Football of USSR Playoffs
Home Team	Score	Road Team	Score
Moscow Bruins	Won	Moscow Swans	Lost

Report

Buffalo Bills, holding the best record in the AFC (13-3) lost their second Super Bowl in succession, defeated 37-24 by Washington Redskins, holders of the best record in the NFC and entire NFL (14-2). For the AFC it was an eighth successive loss in the biggest event in USA sports. The last time an AFC team won the Super Bowl was Los Angeles Raiders’ 38-9 victory over Washington Redskins on 22 January 1984 at Tampa, Florida in Super Bowl XVIII. Following a scoreless first quarter the Redskins scored 17 points in the second quarter and added a second John Riggs run touchdown 16 seconds into the third quarter to take a commanding 24-0 lead. Buffalo hit back later in the third quarter with a field goal and touchdown to reduce the deficit to 14 points, but another Redskins touchdown before the end of the quarter made the score 31-10. Two more field goals by Lohmiller made the score 37-10 in the fourth quarter. The Bills scored two passing touchdowns late in the game to make the score 37-24 at the final whistle. [NFL References: 1-2]

In other leagues, Cleveland Falcons triumphed 7-0 versus Dayton Steelers in the Mid-Continental Football League (MCFL) Championship Game. The MCFL was a new start-up league based in Ohio and Pennsylvania that took the place of any major 11v11 rival outdoor league to the NFL since the demise of the United States Football League following the 1985 season. Following the season Louisville Bulls of Kentucky replaced Wyandot Chiefs in the four-team league. [MCFL References: 1-2]

In the Canadian Football League, the Eastern Division’s Toronto Argonauts emerged victorious with a 36-21 victory over Calgary Stampeders. Calgary had the second-best record in the Western Division (11-7) after Edmonton Eskimoes, with Toronto putting up a 13-5 record to take first in the Eastern Division. Calgary eliminated Edmonton 38-36 in the Western Final and Toronto won 42-3 versus Winnipeg in the Eastern Final. [CFL References: 1]

The National Football League established the World League of American Football (WLAF) to further promote the sport around the World. Beginning in 1991 with ten teams the WLAF was divided into three divisions: European (with teams in London, England, UK; Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; and Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany); North American East Division (three teams in USA: New York/New Jersey Knights, NJ; Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks, NC; and Orlando Thunder, FL; plus one team in Quebec, Canada: Montreal Machine) and North American West Division (Three teams in USA: Birmingham Fire, AL; San Antonio Riders, TX; and Sacramento Surge, CA). An imbalance in players allocated by the NFL for development in the WLAF meant no team in the European Division finished with a losing record, and no team in either North American Division finished with a winning record. World Bowl ’91 was won by London Monarchs by 21-0 versus Barcelona Dragons at the hallowed grounds of Wembley Stadium, the home of England’s National Soccer Team. Following the 1991 season the winless Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks were replaced by Ohio Glory in Columbus for 1992. [WLAF References: 1-4]

The Arena Football League in 1991 expanded by two teams to eight, with Washington Commandos and Pittsburgh Gladiators leaving the league and replaced by four new teams in Tampa Bay Storm (FL), Orlando Predators (FL), New Orleans Night (LA) and Columbus Thunderbolts (OH). Tampa Bay Storm were immediately successful, winning Arena Bowl V 48-42 versus Detroit Drive. As in all other Major Football Leagues in 1991 the two teams with best records reached the Championship Game. Following the season Thunderbolts relocated to Cleveland (OH) and Cincinnati Rockers (OH), Charlotte Rage (NC), Sacramento Attack (CA) and San Antonio Force (TX) were added for 1992. [AFL References: 1]

A new Football power emerged on the scene in 1991: The USSR. Following glasnost the USSR opened up to American Football and a six-team league was established with teams in Moscow (Bruins and Swans), Caspian Sea Region (Sphinxes), Ukraine (Donetsk Scythians and Kharkov Atlantis) and Belarus (Minsk Zubrs – ‘Bison’). The first and only official Championship of USSR ended with a Moscow Bruins victory over Moscow Swans. After the season the USSR broke up, with Moscow Bears (Bruins) and Krasnoyarsk Siberian Devils competing for Championship of Russia. Kharkov Atlantis and Donetsk Scythians joined newly independent Ukraine’s Football Association and Minsk Zubrs joined Belarus’ Football Association. [AAF USSR References 1-2]

Stock Image

1991 Major Football League References

NFL References [1]
National Football League – 1996 Record and Factbook “Past Standings: 1996” p. 278.
Published by National Football League, Workman Publishing Co., New York

NFL References [2]
National Football League – 1996 Record and Factbook “Super Bowl Summaries” p. 327-329.
Published by National Football League, Workman Publishing Co., New York
MCFL References (1)
Semi-Pro Football -Defunct Leagues: EMCFL (Champs)
https://www.semiprofootball.org/minor/champs/mcfl.htm
[Accessed 1 January 2024]

MCFL References (2)
Semi-Pro Football – Defunct Leagues: EMCFL (1991)
https://www.semiprofootball.org/index.htm
[Accessed 1 January 2024]
CFL References (1)
Canadian Football League – CFL Standings: The 1990s
http://web.archive.org/web/19991108193646/http://www.cfl.ca/CFLArchives/1990s.html
[Accessed 20 January 2023][Archived at the Wayback Machine]
WLAF References (1-3)
Anon. (1991) “Standings” First Down, June 1, 1991, pg. 5
Anon. (1991) “Jon’s too Hort to handle” First Down, June 8, 1991, pg. 4-5
Anglesey, Steve (1991) “Enter the Dragons!” First Down, June 15, 1992, pg. 6-7
WLAF References (4)
World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 1991
http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id165.html
[Accessed 23 April 2018]
Arena Football League References (1)
Arena Football League (2016) 2016 Record and Factbook pp. 67-83 / 52.
AAF USSR References (1)
American Football in Russia (2017) History of American Football in USSR and Russia
http://www.americanfootball.ru/Hist_RUS.php
Accessed 24 December 2017
AAF USSR References (2)
Anon. (1991) “Curtain Call” First Down. September 29, 1991. pg. 10.
Published by Mediawatch, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom.

About this Document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 1 January 2024

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