NFL Super Bowl Winners

Super Bowl XXVI played on January 26, 1992, was won by the Champions of the NFC the Washington Redskins who defeated the AFC Champions the Buffalo Bills at the Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Washington Redskins had finished 1st in the 1991 NFC East Division coached by Joe Gibbs with a regular season record of 14-2-0. The Redskins point scoring average had been 30.3 points per game which made their offense 1st best of 28 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 14 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 2nd in the league.

The Washington Redskins postseason games began with the NFC Divisional Playoffs and their opponents in this game were the Atlanta Falcons who had finished 2nd in the 1991 NFC West Division coached by Jerry Glanville with a regular season record of 10-6-0. The Falcons point scoring average had been 22.6 points per game which made their offense 5th best of 28 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 21.1 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 20th in the league.

The Atlanta Falcons had got through to the playoffs as a Wild Card team and had beaten the New Orleans Saints in their NFC Wild Card Game by 27 points to 20.

In regular season the Washington Redskins and the Atlanta Falcons had played against each other once when the Redskins had absolutely "wiped the floor" with the Falcons to beat them by 56 points to 17.

For the NFC Divisional Playoff Game, going by regular season form, the Falcons were no sort of an opponent for the Redskins and they were not going to pose much of a threat to the Redskins progress through the playoffs. The Redskins won this game easy by 24 points to 7.

The Washington Redskins next playoff game was the NFC Championship in which their opponents were the Detroit Lions who had finished 1st in the 1991 NFC Central Division coached by Wayne Fontes with a regular season record of 12-4-0. The Lions point scoring average had been 21.2 points per game which made their offense 9th best of 28 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 18.4 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 11th in the league.

In regular season the Washington Redskins and the Detroit Lions had played against each other once and it was the Redskins who had whitewashed the Lions by 45 points to 0.

The Detroit Lions, although having a good win record in regular season did not have good points scored and conceded averages. In addition they had been nailed by the Redskins in their earlier encounter and stood no chance of getting their revenge.

True to form, the 1991 NFC Championship Game went the way of the Washington Redskins who once again showed the Lions how to play football to win by 41 - 10.

The Washington Redskins opponents in Super Bowl XXVI were the Buffalo Bills who had finished 1st in the 1991 AFC East Division coached by Marv Levy with a regular season record of 13-3-0. The Bills point scoring average had been 28.6 points per game which made their offense 2nd best of 28 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 19.9 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 19th in the league.

The Buffalo Bills postseason games had begun with the AFC Divisional Playoffs in which their opponents were the Kansas City Chiefs who had finished 2nd in the 1991 AFC West Division coached by Marty Schottenheimer with a regular season record of 10-6-0. The Chiefs point scoring average had been 20.1 points per game which made their offense 10th best of 28 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 15.8 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 7th in the league.

The Chiefs had got through to the playoffs as a Wild Card team and had won their 1991 AFC Wild Card Game against the Los Angeles Raiders by 10 points to 6.

In regular season the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs had played against each other once, when it was the Chiefs who had easily kept the Bills offense at bay to win by 33 points to 6.

Could the Chiefs manage to take the Bills offense out of the equation for a second time?

The 1991 AFC Divisional Playoff Game saw the Buffalo Bills offense find themselves some room to play and any hiccup′s that they may have had before against the Chiefs were soon forgotten about after the Bills run out the easy winners by 37 points to 14.

The Buffalo Bills next playoff game was the 1991 AFC Championship in which their opponents were the Denver Broncos who had finished 1st in the AFC West Division coached by Dan Reeves with a regular season record of 12-4-0. The Broncos point scoring average had been 19 points per game which made their offense 12th best of 28 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 14.7 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 3rd in the league.

The Buffalo Bills and the Denver Broncos had not played against each other in the course of regular season.

The Buffalo Bills had a good offense and their point scoring average showed that they could score nearly 10 more points per game than the Denver Broncos. However, the Broncos were a good defensive team and in that particular department were quite a bit superior to the Bills.

The Conference Championship between the Buffalo Bills and the Denver Broncos looked to be very finely balanced. Would the Bills very good offense be able to break down the Broncos solid defense? Could the Broncos weak offense score against the Bills shaky defense?

It looks as if the two sides strengths and weaknesses possibly cancelled each other out. The consequence of this being that it produced a very close game (probably not the most exciting to watch) which the Buffalo Bills won by 10 points to 7.

Super Bowl XXVI had a clear favorite in the Washington Redskins as their offense and defense were both superior to the Buffalo Bills.

The Washington Redskins and the Buffalo Bills had not played each other through the course of regular season.

Super Bowl XXVI opened with a tight first quarter when no points were scored by either team.

In the second quarter it was the Redskins who got things rolling when they scored a field goal by Chip Lohmiller. This was followed by touchdowns from Earnest Byner and Gerald Riggs both of which were followed by successful kicks by Chip Lohmiller.

At half-time the Redskins held a 17 - 0 lead and were looking good for a Super Bowl victory.

In the third quarter the Redskins started where they left off and had soon scored from another touchdown by Gerald Riggs and converted kick by Chip Lohmiller.

However, the slow starting Bills finally found some sort of rhythm and opened their account with a Scott Norwood field goal. This was followed by a Thurman Thomas touchdown and Scott Norwood kick.

Before the end of the third though it was the Redskins who were back on the offensive and finished the quarter off with another touchdown, this time from Gary Clark with the following kick at goal conveted by Chip Lohmiller.

The Redskins had a 31 - 10 lead to take into the fourth quarter and all bar complete disaster were going to win Super Bowl XXVI.

The final quarter saw the Redskins extend their lead even further following two field goals from Chip Lohmiller and they now lead by 37 points to 10.

With only six minutes left on the clock the Bills did at last put up a bit of a fight and scored touchdowns from Pete Metzelaars and Don Beebe plus two converted kicks by Scott Norwood but it was too little too late.

The Washington Redskins won Super Bowl XXVI by 37 points to 24.

Mark Rypien the Washington Redskins quarterback was named Super Bowl XXVI Most Valuable Player after passing for 292 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Note
The Washington Redskins playoff averages were 34 points scored per game (30.3 regular season) and an average of 13.7 points conceded per game (14 regular season).

The Buffalo Bills playoff averages were 23.7 points scored per game (28.6 regular season) and an average of 19.3 points conceded per game (19.9 regular season).

In Conclusion
The Washington Redskins playoff averages have the hallmark of a Super Bowl Champion stamped all over them. Not only did they score points at an increased rate from regular season they also conceded less.

The Bills fell someway short on this attempt at Super Bowl victory and although their defensive average improved slightly they found point scoring harder the tougher the oppostion got and as a result their average in that department suffered.

Compare winners to losers, firsts to seconds and you will find that those who have become Champions have the ability to improve and more often than not have kept something left in the tank for the day when they have to dig deep for victory!

Team	1	2	3	4	OT / Overtime	T / Total
Washington Redskins (NFC)	0	17	14	6	-	37
Buffalo Bills (AFC)	0	0	10	14	-	24