1991 Redskins: The Greatest Super Bowl Champions in NFL History

Whenever people talk about the greatest or toughest NFL champions, there are always plenty of opinions and debates. I want to share my take and explain why I see it my way. If you search for the greatest NFL teams ever, you’ll usually find the 1985 Chicago Bears or the 1972 Miami Dolphins at the top. But I believe the 1991 Redskins stand out as the greatest, toughest, and most dominant champions of the Super Bowl era. I’ll also bring up a few other legendary teams to keep things interesting. Strap yourself in.

Crushing the Competition: The 1991 Redskins’ Dominant NFL Season

First, a brief recap of the 1991 season for the Redskins. Week 1 was against the Detroit Lions, the 2nd best team in the NFC. The Redskins shut them out 45-0.  They won weeks 2-4 with another shutout. Next week Washington blanked Rich Kotite’s Eagles 23-0—their third shutout against Buddy Ryan’s Gang Green defense, one of the ten greatest defensive units ever. Games six and seven saw the Skins take down the Bears and Browns easily.

In game eight they played away at the ’90 Super Bowl-winning NY Giants, in a pivotal regular season game. They not only beat them 17-13 in an emotional win, but played them again in week 15 and beat them badly, 34-17. In game 12, after killing the Steelers 41-14, coach Gibbs apologized to coach Chuck Noll for their last TD, which wasn’t intended! There’s a video about it here.

Postseason Perfection: From the Falcons to Super Bowl XXVI

In the postseason the Skins played the Falcons, who they’d demolished 56-17 in the regular season (Rypien threw for 442 yards). The Falcons talked a lot of trash before this game, but the Redskins overpowered them to win 24-7 in the rain-soaked “seat cushion game”–so named because of the thousands of yellow seat cushions Redskins fans threw on the field to celebrate.  They played the Lions again in the NFC championship and beat them 41-10, holding the legendary Barry Sanders to just 44 rushing yards.

At Super Bowl XXVI the Redskins faced Marv Levy’s star-studded Buffalo Bills in the second of their four straight Super Bowl appearances. The Bills were stacked with hall of famers like QB Jim Kelly having the best season of his career, NFL MVP Thurman Thomas, James Lofton, Bruce Smith and 8 pro bowlers. They’d put up some great numbers, scoring a franchise record 458 points. The Skins still dominated, going no-huddle after the first quarter and it was 34-10 by the fourth.  Buffalo tried to come back late, scoring a TD then amazingly recovering an onside kick that resulted in another TD.

The final score was 37-24, but I watched that game and it wasn’t close (here is the link if you want to see it). Gibbs had his team take four knees with 2 minutes left on the Bills’ 20 yard line when they could have easily scored. The Redskins held Thomas to 13 yards, intercepted Kelly four times and sacked him five. Don Beebe, who played four straight Super Bowl teams with the Bills, said the Redskins team was the best he’d ever seen.

Strength of Schedule: Facing the League’s Best

The Redskins had a 14-2 regular season. Some might say the Bears were 15-1 and the Dolphins were 14-0, they were better. To that I say let’s look at two things: the strength of schedule and the losses themselves. Of the teams I listed Washington had the toughest schedule of all, with an opponents’ winning percentage of .529. They played a harder season than the 1984 or ’89 49ers, the ’78 Steelers, ’98 Broncos, ’92 Cowboys, ’04 Patriots, and ’96 Packers.

For comparison the Bears had a significantly easier regular season schedule, with .473, and the 1972 Dolphins had one of the easiest schedules ever, with .357 (same with the ’99 Rams). The Dolphins also had two less games in the regular season, as the 16-game season didn’t begin until 1978.

For those who say nothing matters except the Dolphins perfect season, it may surprise you to learn that several men who played on that team thought the ’73 team, which went 12-2, was tougher. Here are just two quotes. RB Kiick said, “We had a better team in 1973. The schedule was tougher, and we also were more experienced. The record wasn’t perfect, but we dominated the Super Bowl.’’ WR Warfield echoed this sentiment: “A lot of the guys on the teams were the same, but we were a more polished team and more mature team. We had understood the concept of winning when everybody was gunning to try to beat us. We were a better team in 1973.’’ Read about it here.

Let’s also take a look at Washington’s two losses. The first Redskins loss came on week 12 against the rival Cowboys. Since Washington beat them in week 2, Dallas had to take gamble after gamble: a first-half onside kick, going for it on 4th down a lot, and a hail mary in the closing seconds of the first half. All the gambles paid off.  John Madden called it the best coached game he’d ever seen, referring to Jimmy Johnson. The Redskins lost by three, but hurt Cowboys QB Troy Aikman enough he was out for the rest of the season.

The second loss was game 16 against the Eagles, whom they’d also beaten. Game 16 was meaningless and well in hand, so in garbage time Gibbs pulled the starters and Philadelphia ended up winning by a field goal. Redskins lost by two. As for the Bears loss, they were torched by Marino’s Dolphins, behind by 21 points at the half and lost by 14.

Star Power: Key Players Who Defined the 1991 Redskins

Team defense is a very important metric. The 1985 Bears had one of the most stifling and efficient defenses ever, only giving up 12.4 points on average, getting 64 sacks and 34 interceptions, holding opponents to 82.4 yards rushing. I love the ’85 Bears. How did the ’72 Dophins do defensively? Great, their “No Name Defense” never allowed more than 24 points in a game, and they had 33 sacks, 26 interceptions, holding opponents to 110.5 rushing yards. How was the Redskins defense? Great. They were second in the NFL, only allowing 14 points on average (against tougher teams), with 50 sacks and 27 interceptions. They held opponents to 84 average rushing yards, better than most super bowl champions in history, including the 70s Steelers.

How good was the offense, and how balanced was it? The Redskins led the league with 485 points, 2049 rushing yards from Earnest Byner, Ricky Ervins and Gerald Riggs, and 3692 passing yards to three stellar receivers. Nicknamed “the Posse,” the combination of Art Monk, Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders was unstoppable. Rypien threw for 28 TD’s with only 11 interceptions (Montana’s ’84 49ers threw for 28 TD’s and 10 picks for 3901 yards, 475 points). For comparison the Bears were second in offense with 456 points, rushing for 2761 yards (thank you Walter Payton) but had just 1259 passing yards from 15 TD’s. The ’72 Dolphins had 385 points in their season, first in offense, with 2960 rushing yards and two QB’s combining for 2235 passing.

The Redskins maintained an overwhelming offense with a tougher schedule than the teams I’ve listed. This is significantly due to the Redskins offensive line. Nicknamed “the Hogs”, they were the most dominant OL unit for a decade. Remarkably they only allowed Mark Rypien to be sacked 7 times–even more impressive since he was not a mobile quarterback. I’ve seen QBs get sacked seven times in a single game.

Special teams are a crucial aspect of the game. The Skins returner was Brian Mitchell, who had a special season. He averaged 13.3 yards per punt return and led the league with 600 total yards, including two returns for a TD. For comparison the Bears avg was 9.3, the Dolphins was 8.2 and the 84 49ers was 11.6. Washington’s punt coverage was among the top five in the league, and they led the NFL in field goals made, with 31.

I’ve given a lot of numbers here, which might get confusing. What are the most important stats? I think there are four, and they need to be considered together.

Why the 1991 Redskins Outshine Other NFL Dynasties

One is the average margin of victory, also called point differential. The Redskins had a margin of 16.3 points, larger than any teams I’ve mentioned. For comparison the Bears was 16.1, the 72 Dolphins was 15.3, the 92 Cowboys was 15.2. The Skins did it while playing a tougher schedule. They then swept through the postseason, outscoring opponents 102-41 and never trailed.

Two, the sack differential (how many times was your QB sacked vs sacking the opposing QB) is a great way to measure OL and DL dominance and overall team balance–the higher the better. For example the Bears sacked opposing QBs 64 times, their QB got sacked 27 times, so the differential was +37. The ’84 49ers had +29, the 92 Cowboys was +21, the 72 Dolphins’ was +12. The Redskins sack differential was a startling +41. What does it mean? It means Washington had possibly the greatest O-Line in the Super Bowl era, and one of the best D-Lines. This was a big reason why Rypien was able to throw fully half of his TD passes for 25+ yards.

Third, yards gained per pass attempt and yards allowed per pass attempt, measuring passing offense and defense. The Bears had 7.6 passing yards per attempt, and allowed 6.33 yards per attempt. The ’72 Dolphins had 8.6 passing yards per attempt and allowed 6.42 yards per attempt. The Redskins averaged 8.5 yards and allowed only 6 yards. These are all great numbers, but the Redskins were a bit more dominant overall on both sides of the ball.

Fourth, strength of schedule. How tough were the teams they played? I’ve listed that info above, but it should be obvious that it’s easier to have great stats by playing mediocre or weak teams than it is against tough opponents. This is arguably the most important stat of all, because it provides context to every other stat a team has.

Football Outsiders developed a well-respected metric called Defense-adjusted Value Over Average. It measures a team’s performance on a play-by-play basis compared to the league average, adjusting for the quality of the opponent. It’s more nuanced and context-rich than yards or points, and helps compare teams/players across eras and game situations. The Redskins posted a staggering +56.9%, the highest ever recorded–in other words, they performed 56.9% better than the entire rest of the league. For perspective, the gap between the ’91 Redskins and the #2 team’s DVOA (the 2007 Patriots), is larger than #2 and #11! They were dominant in all three phases (offense, defense, special teams), and their advantage only expands when factoring in the playoffs.

Speaking of the postseason, let’s look at opponents played in the Super Bowl. The Bears dominated the Patriots in the Super Bowl but the Pats were an unremarkable team; they were 11-5 on the season and just 3rd in the AFC East. The ’72 Dolphins did face a quality team in the Super Bowl, the 11-3 Redskins. The ’91 Redskins, meanwhile, defeated Marv Levy’s powerhouse 13-3 Buffalo Bills, in my opinion the toughest of this bunch.

It can’t be all about suffocating defense or the 2000 Ravens would–arguably–top the list. It can’t be all about overwhelming offense or the 2013 Broncos would top the list (and they lost). It can’t only be about having a perfect season, because several players on that team don’t think it was their best. It can’t be about having the most talented roster ever or the 2007 Patriots would top the list (they lost too). The questions to ask are, how dominant was the offense and defense? How dominant was the O-Line and D-Line? What was their average margin of victory? How tough was the schedule in the regular and postseason? Finally, did they demonstrate unbreakable mental toughness by taking the pressure of the Super Bowl and win? These are more important than how glamorous they were, though a Super Bowl Shuffle is nice.

Every Super Bowl champion is great, but overall the team that exemplified all of these qualities more than any other was the 1991 Washington Redskins. The Bears had a better defense, but the Redskins top them in every other metric. The Dolphins didn’t lose a game, but the Redskins meet or beat them in every category. The ’91 team had a very dominant offense and defense, and had a balanced offense as well, with a very large margin of victory. No Bowl-winning team I’ve listed had a schedule as tough, and the team the Redskins faced in the Super Bowl was a very elite team. You may agree, you may disagree, but I am satisfied. There is an enjoyable, 45-minute documentary on their season right here, it’s a fun watch.

Joe Gibbs’ Masterclass: Coaching the 1991 Redskins to Greatness

I know I’m running long, but I have to say a word about Washington’s coach, Joe Gibbs. Many famous coaches with multiple Super Bowl wins had a quarterback they teamed with. Bill Walsh and George Seifers had Montana, Chuck Noll had Bradshaw, Bill Belichick had Brady. Gibbs had four Super Bowl appearances, winning three, and he did it with three different quarterbacks. Nobody else has done that. That’s a special kind of leader and developer. When he was coaching Tampa Bay in the 1970’s he was a pioneer in championing Black quarterbacks in the NFL, which was extremely controversial, as recounted in the recent book Rise of the Black Quarterback. He also founded Joe Gibbs Racing and won five Nascar Cup Series championships, but that’s a different story. What a coach. What a team. What a legacy. Hail to the Redskins!