1992 New Orleans Saints season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 New Orleans Saints 1992 12–4 2nd NFC West Jim Mora Carl Smith Steve Sidwell Jim Finks Louisiana Superdome Lost Wild Card Playoffs(vs. Eagles) 20–36 C Joel HilgenbergLB Pat SwillingLB Rickey JacksonLB Sam MillsLB Vaughan JohnsonK Morten Andersen Saints seasons thumb | right | alt=A black fleur-de-lis with a white trim near the borders of the shape | New Orleans Saints logo used from 1967-1999, including in the 1992 season The 1992 New Orleans Saints season was the franchise's 26th season in the National Football League, and the 17th with home games at the Superdome. This is also the last time the Saints qualified to the postseason until the 2000 season. The 1992 Saints surrendered only 202 points during the season (12.6 points per game), the lowest total by any team in the 1990s.Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1990 to 1999, in the NFL, in the regular season, sorted by ascending Points Allowed They also gave up the fewest passing yards (2,470) and second-fewest total yards (4,075) of any team in 1992.Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1992 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics This was also only the second season where four linebackers from the same team made the pro bowl with the other time being the year prior. This was the final season Antonio Gibson and Buford Jordan would play in the NFL. Offseason The team entered 1992 with great expectations after its NFC West division title season of 1991. It was the franchise's first division championship since entering the NFL in 1967. Most preseason forecasts had the Saints making the playoffs again and another division title possible. Additions SubtractionsWR Drew Hill (Oilers) RB Stanford Jennings (Buccaneers)S Keith Taylor (Colts) LB Brian Forde (Falcons) G Larry Williams (Patriots) FS Vencie Glenn (Vikings) SS Bennie Thompson (Chiefs) NFL draft 1992 NFL draft 1992 New Orleans Saints 1 21 Vaughn Dunbar Running back Indiana yes 3 72 Tyrone Legette Defensive back Nebraska yes 4 95 Gene McGuire Center Notre Dame 4 106 Sean Lumpkin Defensive back Minnesota yes 5 138 Torrance Small Wide receiver Alcorn State yes 6 164 Kary Vincent Defensive back Texas A&M 8 218 Robert Stewart Defensive tackle Alabama 9 245 Don Jones Linebacker Washington 10 276 Marcus Dowdell Wide receiver Tennessee State yes 11 303 Mike Gisler Offensive guard Houston 12 330 Scott Adell Offensive tackle North Carolina State no no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nor/1992_draft.htm 1992 New Orleans Saints draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com November 5, 2014 Personnel Staff 1992 New Orleans Saints Owner/general partner – Tom Benson President/general manager – Jim Finks Vice-president of administration – Jim Miller Director of player personnel – Bill Kuharich Head coach – Jim E. Mora Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Carl Smith Running backs – Jim Skipper Wide receivers – Steve Walters Offensive line – Paul Boudreau Defensive coordinator – Steve Sidwell Defensive line – John Pease Linebackers – Vic Fangio Defensive backs – Jim L. Mora Special Teams/tight ends – Joe Marciano Strength and conditioning – Russell Paternostro All-Time Roster http://www.neworleanssaints.com/team/history/all-time-roster.html NewOrleansSaints.com February 28, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20120618110940/http://www.neworleanssaints.com/team/history/all-time-roster.html 2012-06-18 dead Roster 1992 New Orleans Saints 16 Mike Buck American football  3 Bobby Hebert  4 Steve Walsh American football 32 Vaughn Dunbar y KR 34 Craig Heyward FB 21 Dalton Hilliard 23 Buford Jordan FB 80 Wesley Carroll wide receiver 89 Quinn Early 84 Eric Martin wide receiver 86 Pat Newman y American football PR 83 Torrance Small y 85 Hoby Brenner 49 Tommie Stowers 87 Frank Wainright LS 67 Stan Brock American football T 71 Richard Cooper American football T 72 Jim Dombrowski G 61 Joel Hilgenberg C/LS 68 Paul Jetton G/C 60 Derek Kennard G 76 Gene McGuire y C 70 Chris Port G/T 91 Robert Goff American football NT 93 Wayne Martin American football DE 69 Les Miller American football DE/NT 99 Joel Smeenge DE 73 Frank Warren American football DE 94 Jim Wilks NT 57 Rickey Jackson OLB 53 Vaughan Johnson ILB 51 Sam Mills ILB 56 Pat Swilling OLB 97 Renaldo Turnbull OLB 90 James Williams linebacker, born 1968 ILB 92 DeMond Winston ILB 28 Gene Atkins FS 26 Vince Buck CB 41 Toi Cook CB 44 Antonio Gibson safety SS 27 Reggie Jones cornerback, born 1969 CB 46 Sean Lumpkin y FS 47 Cedric Mack CB 37 Jimmy Spencer American football CB 29 Keith Taylor safety SS  7 Morten Andersen K  6 Tommy Barnhardt P 74 Kevin Haverdink T IR 43 Tyrone Legette y CB IR 39 Brett Maxie SS IR 25 Fred McAfee RB/KR IR 82 John Tice TE IR 65 Steve Trapilo G IR 88 Floyd Turner WR IR 47 active, 7 inactive, 4 practice squad 95 Michael Brandon American football y DE 19 Marcus Dowdell y WR 63 Karl Dunbar DE 36 Derrick Ned y FB https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nor/1992_roster.htm 1992 New Orleans Saints starters and roster Pro-Football-Reference.com November 5, 2014 Regular season The team opened 1992 at Philadelphia, their first road opener in 11 years. The usually steely defense showed some chinks as Eagles running back Herschel Walker rushed for more than 100 yards. Turnovers caused by the two great defenses kept the game close, but the Eagles won 15–13. Offensive struggles continued the next week vs. Chicago, as the Bears led 6–0 at halftime. Big plays on both sides of the ball broke it open for the Saints, as quarterback Bobby Hebert connected with wide receivers Eric Martin and Wesley Carroll on touchdown passes of 52 and 72 yards, respectively. Two second half scores by the Saints' defense capped the 28–6 win – a fumble return by Robert "Pig" Goff and an interception return by Reggie Jones. Those plays set the tone for the defensive unit throughout 1992. A 10–7 win over Atlanta followed and set up the annual battle with the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers had worn the title of "Team of the Decade" for the 1980s and were the primary stumbling block for an otherwise resurgent Saints franchise during Jim Mora's tenure as head coach. The Sunday night, prime-time audience saw a tight contest throughout. With the Niners leading 16–10, the Saints faced first-and-goal at the San Francisco 2-yard line. Saints guard Derek Kennard was flagged for holding and, on the next play, a pass into tight coverage was picked off by 49ers cornerback Eric Davis. It was the Saints' sixth consecutive home game against the Niners decided by seven points or less. The team rebounded with five straight wins and stood at 7–2 in the road game vs. the Niners. For three quarters, the Saints dominated the clock and scoreboard, leading 20–7 on two touchdown passes by Hebert. But the defense couldn't hold the lead as Steve Young led San Francisco on two touchdown drives in the 4th quarter to win 21–20. Most impressive of the Saints' 12 wins in 1992 came over the next three weeks, when the team won three home games in a 10-day span. The first was a Monday Night win over the Washington Redskins, 20–3, keyed by a Hebert-to-Early touchdown pass and stifling defense. Another eventual playoff team came to the Superdome the following Sunday, as the Miami Dolphins took a 13–10 lead into the second half. A blindsiding takeaway from Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino by speed-rushing linebacker Pat Swilling led to Robert Goff's second fumble return touchdown of the season. Later, cornerback Vince Buck returned an interception for a score as the Dolphins were defeated, 24–13. The third game in this trifecta was a Thursday night tilt against Atlanta. Despite several marches up and down the field – and a memorable rumble by fullback Craig "Ironhead" Heyward that left Falcons safety Scott Case staring up at the ring of lights high above the field – the Saints offense managed just five field goals by late in the 4th quarter to lead 15–14. It was another defensive touchdown that saved the game for the Saints, this time an interception by Toi Cook. The Saints won two of their last three to finish 12–4, which was the second-best finish in team history. Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 6 at Philadelphia Eagles L 13–15 0–1 Veterans Stadium 63,513 2 September 13 Chicago Bears W 28–6 1–1 Louisiana Superdome 68,591 3 September 20 at Atlanta Falcons W 10–7 2–1 Georgia Dome 67,328 4 September 27 San Francisco 49ers L 10–16 2–2 Louisiana Superdome 68,591 5 October 4 at Detroit Lions W 13–7 3–2 Pontiac Silverdome 66,971 6 October 11 Los Angeles Rams W 13–10 4–2 Louisiana Superdome 68,591 7 October 18 at Phoenix Cardinals W 30–21 5–2 Sun Devil Stadium 27,735 8 Bye 9 November 1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 23–21 6–2 Louisiana Superdome 68,591 10 November 8 at New England Patriots W 31–14 7–2 Foxboro Stadium 45,413 11 November 15 at San Francisco 49ers L 20–21 7–3 Candlestick Park 64,895 12 November 23 Washington Redskins W 20–3 8–3 Louisiana Superdome 68,591 13 November 29 Miami Dolphins W 24–13 9–3 Louisiana Superdome 68,591 14 December 3 Atlanta Falcons W 22–14 10–3 Louisiana Superdome 68,591 15 December 13 at Los Angeles Rams W 37–14 11–3 Anaheim Stadium 47,355 16 December 20 Buffalo Bills L 16–20 11–4 Louisiana Superdome 68,591 17 December 26 at New York Jets W 20–0 12–4 Giants Stadium 45,614 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings Postseason Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Wildcard January 3, 1993 Philadelphia Eagles (5) L 20–36 0–2 Louisiana Superdome 68,893 NFC Wild Card Game NFC: Philadelphia Eagles 36, New Orleans Saints 20 text-align:center; NFC Philadelphia Eagles vs. New Orleans Saints – Game summary Eagles 7 0 3 26 Saints 7 10 3 0 Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST Played indoors, domed stadium CBS Pat Summerall (play-by-play) and John Madden (color commentator) Dale Hamer 68,591 Scoring NO – Heyward 1 run (Andersen kick) NO 7-0 PHI – Barnett 57 pass from Cunningham (Ruzek kick) Tie 7–7 NO – field goal Andersen 35 NO 10-7 NO – Early 7 pass from Hebert (Andersen kick) NO 17-7 NO – field goal Andersen 42 NO 20-7 PHI – field goal Ruzek 40 NO 20-10 PHI – Barnett 35 pass from Cunningham (Ruzek kick) NO 20-17 PHI – Sherman 6 run (Ruzek kick) PHI 24–20 PHI – Safety, White sacked Hebert in end zone PHI 26–20 PHI – field goal Ruzek 39 PHI 29–20 PHI – Allen 18 interception return (Ruzek kick) PHI 36–20 Despite the .750 winning percentage, the Saints couldn't catch the 14–2 Niners for the division crown. In the Wild Card Game, the Saints faced the Philadelphia Eagles in a rematch of their tough opening game loss and an equally bruising game in 1991 won by the Saints. The Saints dictated the pace during the first half, leading 20–7 on a Heyward touchdown run and a Hebert-to-Early touchdown pass. Big plays on both sides of the ball turned game in the Eagles favor, the first being a Randall Cunningham-to-Fred Barnett touchdown pass and the last an interception return for a score by Eric Allen. The Eagles scored 26 points in the 4th quarter to win, 36–20. Until the 2018 NFC Championship Game, this was the last time the Saints lost a playoff game at home. They would lose two of their next three after that at home as well. Awards and records Statistically, the team finished with the top defense in the league in points allowed (202) and second-best in total yards allowed (254.6 per game) They were 5th in the NFL in the giveaway-takeaway ratio(+9)as the defense feasted on 20 fumbles and 18 interceptions. Of those 38 takeaways, six were returned for touchdowns. Sam Mills led the team in tackles with 130. Wayne Martin led the team in sacks, with 15.5. On offense, the team's passing game enjoyed its best season of the Jim Mora era to date. Hebert completed 59 percent of his passes for 3,287 yards and 19 touchdowns. Wide receiver Eric Martin had the third and final 1,000-yard season of his career. Milestones References External links Saints on Pro Football Reference Saints on jt-sw.com New Orleans Category:New Orleans Saints seasons New