1992 NFL season

1992 National Football League season

Regular season
Duration	September 6 – December 28, 1992
Playoffs
Start date	January 2, 1993
AFC Champions	Buffalo Bills
NFC Champions	Dallas Cowboys
Super Bowl XXVII
Date	January 31, 1993
Site	Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
Champions	Dallas Cowboys
Pro Bowl
Date	February 7, 1993
Site	Aloha Stadium

The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League.

Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots–Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was rescheduled to October 18. Both teams originally had that weekend off. This marked the first time since the 1966 NFL season and the AFL seasons of 1966 and 1967 that there were byes in week 1; in those years, byes were necessary every week since there were an odd number of teams (this would happen again between 1999 and 2001).

Atlanta opened the Georgia Dome.

The season ended with Super Bowl XXVII when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Buffalo Bills 52-17 at the Rose Bowl. This would be the third of the Bills four Super Bowl losses.

Major rule changes

• The instant replay system that was in effect since the 1986 NFL season is repealed. Instant replay would not return to the league until the 1999 NFL season.
• To reduce injuries, any offensive player who is lined up in the backfield before the snap cannot chop block a defensive player who is already engaged above the waist by another offensive player.

Final regular season standings

There was an unusual deviation between good teams and bad teams in the NFL in 1992. Only one team, the Denver Broncos; finished with eight wins and eight losses, nine teams had at least 11 wins, and eight teams had at least 11 losses. Only six teams had between seven, eight or nine wins in 1992.

W = Wins, L = Losses, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

Clinched playoff seeds are marked in parentheses and shaded in green. No ties occurred this season.

AFC East
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
^(2) Miami Dolphins	11	5	.688	340	281
^(4) Buffalo Bills	11	5	.688	381	283
Indianapolis Colts	9	7	.563	216	302
New York Jets	4	12	.250	220	315
New England Patriots	2	14	.125	205	363
AFC Central
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
^(1) Pittsburgh Steelers	11	5	.688	299	225
^(5) Houston Oilers	10	6	.625	352	258
Cleveland Browns	7	9	.438	272	275
Cincinnati Bengals	5	11	.313	274	364
AFC West
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
^(3) San Diego Chargers	11	5	.688	335	241
^(6) Kansas City Chiefs	10	6	.625	348	282
Denver Broncos	8	8	.500	262	329
Los Angeles Raiders	7	9	.438	249	281
Seattle Seahawks	2	14	.125	140	312

NFC East
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
^(2) Dallas Cowboys	13	3	.813	409	243
^(5) Philadelphia Eagles	11	5	.688	354	245
^(6) Washington Redskins	9	7	.563	300	255
New York Giants	6	10	.375	306	367
Phoenix Cardinals	4	12	.250	243	332
NFC Central
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
^(3) Minnesota Vikings	11	5	.688	374	249
Green Bay Packers	9	7	.563	276	296
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	11	.313	267	365
Chicago Bears	5	11	.313	295	361
Detroit Lions	5	11	.313	273	332
NFC West
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
^(1) San Francisco 49ers	14	2	.875	431	236
^(4) New Orleans Saints	12	4	.750	330	202
Atlanta Falcons	6	10	.375	327	414
Los Angeles Rams	6	10	.375	313	383

Tiebreakers

• Pittsburgh was the top AFC playoff seed, and Miami was the second AFC playoff seed ahead of San Diego, based on conference (10–2 to Dolphins' 9–3 to Chargers' 9–5).
• Miami finished ahead of Buffalo in the AFC East based on better conference record (9–3 to Bills' 7–5).
• Houston was the second AFC Wild Card based on head-to-head victory over Kansas City (1–0).
• Washington was the third NFC Wild Card based on better conference record than Green Bay (7–5 to Packers' 6–6).
• Tampa Bay finished ahead of Chicago and Detroit in the NFC Central based on better conference record (5–9 to Bears' 4–8 and Lions' 3–9).
• Atlanta finished ahead of L.A. Rams in the NFC West based on better record against common opponents (5–7 to Rams' 4–8).

Playoffs

	Jan. 3 – Rich Stadium					Jan. 9 – Three Rivers Stadium
	5	Houston	38
						4	Buffalo	24
	4	Buffalo	41*								Jan. 17 – Joe Robbie Stadium
						1	Pittsburgh	3
						AFC
	Jan. 2 – Jack Murphy Stadium										4	Buffalo	29
						Jan. 10 – Joe Robbie Stadium
											2	Miami	10
	6	Kansas City	0								AFC Championship
						3	San Diego	0
	3	San Diego	17													Jan. 31 – Rose Bowl
						2	Miami	31
	Wild Card Playoffs
						Divisional Playoffs
	Jan. 3 – Louisiana Superdome															A4	Buffalo	17
						Jan. 10 – Texas Stadium
																N2	Dallas	52
	5	Philadelphia	36													Super Bowl XXVII
						5	Philadelphia	10
	4	New Orleans	20								Jan. 17 – Candlestick Park
						2	Dallas	34
						NFC
	Jan. 2 – Humphrey Metrodome										2	Dallas	30
						Jan. 9 – Candlestick Park
											1	San Francisco	20
	6	Washington	24								NFC Championship
						6	Washington	13
	3	Minnesota	7
						1	San Francisco	20

* Indicates overtime victory; see The Comeback (American football)

Awards

Most Valuable Player	Steve Young, quarterback, San Francisco
Coach of the Year	Bill Cowher, Pittsburgh
Offensive Player of the Year	Steve Young, Quarterback, San Francisco
Defensive Player of the Year	Cortez Kennedy, Defensive Tackle, Seattle
Offensive Rookie of the Year	Carl Pickens, Wide Receiver, Cincinnati
Defensive Rookie of the Year	Dale Carter, Cornerback, Kansas City

External links

• 1992 team efficiency ratings and Commentary at Football Outsiders

References

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1991–2000 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
• 1992 NFL season at Pro-Football Reference