| 1991 New Orleans Saints season | |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Jim Mora |
| General Manager | Jim Finks |
| Home Field | Louisiana Superdome |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–5 |
| Place | 1st NFC West |
| Playoff Finish | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Falcons) 20–27 |
| Timeline | |
| Previous season | Next season |
| 1990 | 1992 |
The 1991 New Orleans Saints season was the team's 25th season in the National Football League. The Saints won their first-ever division title, and reached the postseason for the second consecutive year.
The 1991 Saints had 48 defensive takeaways, tied for the most for any team in a single season in the 1990s.[1] Statistics site Football Outsiders calculates that the 1991 Saints had the second-best defense in the NFL (behind the Philadelphia Eagles), and one of the top-ten defenses of all time, in terms of efficiency.[2] Says Football Outsiders,
The Saints were led by their linebackers, with Sam Mills, Vaughan Johnson, and Pat Swilling all making the Pro Bowl and Rickey Jackson being awesome without getting a trip to Hawaii. It wasn't really the easiest year to find space on the NFC Pro Bowl defense, was it?
The season saw the adoption of Cha-Ching slogan, it was used from a Rally's advertising campaign.[3]
Offseason[]
NFL Draft[]
| 1991 New Orleans Saints draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 42 | Wesley Carroll | Wide receiver | Miami (FL) | |
| 5 | 126 | Reggie Jones | Cornerback | Memphis | |
| 6 | 154 | Fred McAfee | Running back | Mississippi College | |
| 7 | 182 | Hayward Haynes | Guard | Florida State | |
| 8 | 210 | Frank Wainright | Tight end | Northern Colorado | |
| 9 | 237 | Anthony Wallace | Running back | California | |
| 11 | 293 | Scott Ross | Linebacker | USC | |
| 12 | 321 | Mark Drabczak | Guard | Minnesota | |
| Made roster | |||||
Personnel[]
Staff[]
| 1991 New Orleans Saints staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
| |||||
Roster[]
| 1991 New Orleans Saints roster | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
Practice squad
| ||||||
Regular season[]
Schedule[]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 1, 1991 | Seattle Seahawks | W 27–24 | 1–0 | |
| 2 | September 8, 1991 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 17–10 | 2–0 | |
| 3 | September 15, 1991 | Los Angeles Rams | W 24–7 | 3–0 | |
| 4 | September 22, 1991 | Minnesota Vikings | W 26–0 | 4–0 | |
| 5 | September 29, 1991 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 27–6 | 5–0 | |
| 6 | Bye | ||||
| 7 | October 13, 1991 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 13–6 | 6–0 | |
| 8 | October 20, 1991 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 23–7 | 7–0 | |
| 9 | October 27, 1991 | Chicago Bears | L 20–17 | 7–1 | |
| 10 | November 3, 1991 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 24–17 | 8–1 | |
| 11 | November 10, 1991 | San Francisco 49ers | W 10–3 | 9–1 | |
| 12 | November 17, 1991 | at San Diego Chargers | L 24–21 | 9–2 | |
| 13 | November 24, 1991 | Atlanta Falcons | L 23–20 | 9–3 | |
| 14 | December 1, 1991 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 38–24 | 9–4 | |
| 15 | December 8, 1991 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 23–14 | 9–5 | |
| 16 | December 16, 1991 | Los Angeles Raiders | W 27–0 | 10–5 | |
| 17 | December 22, 1991 | at Phoenix Cardinals | W 27–3 | 11–5 | |
Playoffs[]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | December 28, 1991 | Atlanta Falcons | L 27–20 |
Standings[]
| NFC West | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | |
| New Orleans Saints | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 341 | 211 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 361 | 338 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 393 | 239 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 234 | 390 |
Regular season[]
Week 3[]
New Orleans Saints 24, Los Angeles Rams 7
|
Rams Jim Everett completed only 6 passes against the Saints defense, while Craig Heyward scored 2 touchdowns to send the Saints to a 3-0 record.
Playoffs[]
NFC Wild Card Game[]
Atlanta Falcons 27, New Orleans Saints 20
|
Falcons quarterback Chris Miller completed the game-winning 61-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Haynes with 2:41 left in the contest. Miller completed 18 out of 30 passes for 291 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Awards and records[]
- Pat Swilling, NFL Defensive Player of the Year
- Led NFL, Fewest Points Allowed, 211 points [7]
Milestones[]
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References[]
- ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1990 to 1999, in the regular season, sorted by descending Takeaways, tied with the 1991 Philadelphia Eagles.
- ↑ Football Outsiders: 1991 DVOA Ratings and Commentary
- ↑ Scott, Mike (July 21, 2016). "The 1991 New Orleans Saints, and the season of 'cha-ching'". NOLA.com. https://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2016/07/new_orleans_saints_cha-ching_1991.html. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- ↑ "1991 New Orleans Saints Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nor/1991_draft.htm. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
- ↑ "All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. http://www.neworleanssaints.com/team/history/all-time-roster.html. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
- ↑ "1991 New Orleans Saints starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nor/1991_roster.htm. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
- ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book. Workman Publishing Company. p. 457. ISBN 0-7611-2480-2.
External links[]
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