1991 New Orleans Saints season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 New Orleans Saints 1991 11–5 1st NFC West Jim Mora Carl Smith Steve Sidwell Jim Finks Tom Benson Louisiana Superdome Lost Wild Card Playoffs(vs. Falcons) 20–27 LB Pat SwillingLB Sam MillsLB Rickey JacksonLB Vaughan JohnsonST Bennie Thompson Saints seasons 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. However, they lost their playoff opener at home in the wild card round to their bitter division rival, the Atlanta Falcons, and would have to wait another nine years before winning their first playoff game in franchise history. The 1991 Saints had 48 defensive takeaways, tied for the most for any team in a single season in the 1990s.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. 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.Football Outsiders: 1991 DVOA Ratings and Commentary This was also the first season where four linebackers from the same team made the pro bowl, which the Saints would do again the next season. 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 the Cha-Ching slogan from a Rally's advertising campaign.https://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2016/07/new_orleans_saints_cha-ching_1991.html The 1991 New Orleans Saints, and the season of 'cha-ching' Scott Mike NOLA.com July 21, 2016 June 26, 2018 After the season, Brian Forde and Kevin Haverdink retired. Offseason NFL draft 1991 NFL draft 1991 New Orleans Saints 2 42 Wesley Carroll Wide receiver Miami (FL) yes 5 126 Reggie Jones Cornerback Memphis yes 6 154 Fred McAfee Running back Mississippi College yes 7 182 Hayward Haynes Guard Florida State 8 210 Frank Wainright Tight end Northern Colorado yes 9 237 Anthony Wallace Running back California 11 293 Scott Ross Linebacker USC yes 12 321 Mark Drabczak Guard Minnesota no no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nor/1991_draft.htm 1991 New Orleans Saints Draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com January 3, 2014 Personnel Staff 1991 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 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 – Dom Capers 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 1991 New Orleans Saints 16 Mike Buck American football  3 Bobby Hebert  4 Steve Walsh American football 22 Gill Fenerty PR 21 Dalton Hilliard 23 Buford Jordan FB 25 Fred McAfee y 30 Cedric Smith American football FB 80 Wesley Carroll wide receiver y 89 Quinn Early KR 84 Eric Martin wide receiver 86 Pat Newman American football 88 Floyd Turner 85 Hoby Brenner 82 John Tice 87 Frank Wainright y 67 Stan Brock American football T 71 Richard Cooper American football T 72 Jim Dombrowski G 61 Joel Hilgenberg C/LS 78 Mike Keim y T 62 Brad Leggett C 70 Chris Port G 66 Larry Williams American football G 91 Robert Goff American football NT 93 Wayne Martin American football DE 69 Les Miller American football DE/NT 99 Joel Smeenge DE 97 Renaldo Turnbull DE 73 Frank Warren American football DE 94 Jim Wilks NT 52 Brian Forde OLB 57 Rickey Jackson OLB 53 Vaughan Johnson ILB 51 Sam Mills ILB 56 Pat Swilling OLB 90 James Williams linebacker, born 1968 ILB 28 Gene Atkins FS/KR 29 Vencie Glenn FS 27 Reggie Jones cornerback, born 1969 y CB 32 Mark Lee American football CB 24 Milton Mack CB 39 Brett Maxie SS 45 Stan Petry CB 37 Bennie Thompson American football SS  7 Morten Andersen K  6 Tommy Barnhardt P 26 Vince Buck CB/PR IR 41 Toi Cook CB IR 74 Kevin Haverdink T IR 34 Craig Heyward FB Susp. 36 Stanford Jennings RB/KR IR 60 Derek Kennard G IR 35 Bobby Morse RB IR 83 Greg Scales TE IR 65 Steve Trapilo G IR 92 DeMond Winston LB IR 47 active, 10 inactive, 3 practice squad 43 Anthony Florence CB 38 Calvin Nicholson CB 55 Scott Ross American football y LB https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nor/1991_roster.htm 1991 New Orleans Saints starters and roster Pro-Football-Reference.com November 5, 2014 Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 3, 1991 Minnesota Vikings W 18–3 1–0 Louisiana Superdome 58,593 2 August 10, 1991 Green Bay Packers W 31–20 2–0 Louisiana Superdome 55,730 3 August 17, 1991 at Indianapolis Colts L 28–34 2–1 Hoosier Dome 45,963 4 August 24, 1991 at Miami Dolphins L 24–28 2–2 Joe Robbie Stadium 44,099https://www.profootballarchives.com/1991nflno.html 1991 New Orleans Saints season Pro Football Archives October 28, 2023 Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 1 Seattle Seahawks W 27–24 1–0 Louisiana Superdome 68,492 2 September 8 at Kansas City Chiefs W 17–10 2–0 Arrowhead Stadium 74,816 3 September 15 Los Angeles Rams W 24–7 3–0 Louisiana Superdome 68,583 4 September 22 Minnesota Vikings W 26–0 4–0 Louisiana Superdome 68,591 5 September 29 at Atlanta Falcons W 27–6 5–0 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 56,556 6 Bye 7 October 13 at Philadelphia Eagles W 13–6 6–0 Veterans Stadium 64,224 8 October 20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 23–7 7–0 Louisiana Superdome 68,591 9 October 27 Chicago Bears L 17–20 7–1 Louisiana Superdome 68,591 10 November 3 at Los Angeles Rams W 24–17 8–1 Anaheim Stadium 58,713 11 November 10 San Francisco 49ers W 10–3 9–1 Louisiana Superdome 68,591 12 November 17 at San Diego Chargers L 21–24 9–2 Jack Murphy Stadium 48,420 13 November 24 Atlanta Falcons L 20–23 (OT) 9–3 Louisiana Superdome 68,591 14 December 1 at San Francisco 49ers L 24–38 9–4 Candlestick Park 62,092 15 December 8 at Dallas Cowboys L 14–23 9–5 Texas Stadium 64,530 16 December 16, 1991 Los Angeles Raiders W 27–0 10–5 Louisiana Superdome 68,625 17 December 22 at Phoenix Cardinals W 27–3 11–5 Sun Devil Stadium 30,928 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1: vs Seattle Seahawks New Orleans Saints 1991 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week One: Seattle Seahawks at New Orleans Saints – Game summary September 1 12:01 pm local Seahawks 0 7 17 0 Saints 7 13 0 7 Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana 68,492 indoors Bernie Kukar NBC Gamebook First quarter NO – Gill Fenerty 50-yard pass from Bobby Hebert (Morten Andersen kick), 10:54 (NO 7–0) Second quarter NO – Morten Andersen 47-yard field goal, 13:59 (NO 10–0) NO – Pat Swilling 39-yard interception return (Morten Andersen kick), 13:36 (NO 17–0) SEA – Brian Blades 10-yard pass from Dave Krieg (John Kasay kick), 8:29 (NO 17–7) NO – Morten Andersen 31-yard field goal, 3:26 (NO 20–7) Third quarter SEA – Brian Blades 25-yard pass from Dave Krieg (John Kasay kick), 12:22 (NO 20–14) SEA – John Kasay 37-yard field goal, 8:29 (NO 20–17) SEA – Brian Davis 40-yard interception return (John Kasay kick), 0:14 (SEA 24–20) Fourth quarter NO – Floyd Turner 20-yard pass from Bobby Hebert (Morten Andersen kick), 1:11 (NO 27–24) Top passers SEA – Dave Krieg: 26 completions/35 attempts, 274 yds, 2 TD touchdowns, 2 INT interceptions NO – Bobby Hebert: 18/29, 226 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT Top rushers SEA – John L. Williams: 6 car carries, 22 yds NO – Dalton Hilliard: 9 car, 18 yds Top receivers SEA – Brian Blades: 12 rec receptions, 160 yds, 2 TD NO – Gill Fenerty: 3 rec, 66 yds, 1 TD Team – pass passing yards – rush rushing yards – total total yards – to turnovers SEA – 302 – 46 – 348 – 4 NO – 201 – 43 – 244 – 3 Week 2: at Kansas City Chiefs New Orleans Saints 1991 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 2: New Orleans Saints at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary September 8 12:00 p.m. CDT Saints 10 7 0 0 Chiefs 0 0 3 7 Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri 74,816 80 F C Red Cashion CBS Jim Nantz and Hank Stram Recap, Game Book First quarter NO – Morten Andersen 40-yard field goal, 7:44. Saints 3–0. Drive: 12 plays, 55 yards, 7:16. NO – Eric Martin 13-yard pass from Bobby Hebert (Morten Andersen kick), 1:20. Saints 10–0. Drive: 8 plays, 55 yards, 5:11. Second quarter NO – Quinn Early 45-yard pass from Bobby Hebert (Morten Andersen kick), 5:05. Saints 17–0. Drive: 6 plays, 65 yards, 4:16. Third quarter KC – Nick Lowery 23-yard field goal, 6:02. Saints 17–3. Drive: 15 plays, 88 yards, 8:58. Fourth quarter KC – Jonathan Hayes 7-yard pass from Steve DeBerg (Nick Lowery kick), 13:52. Saints 17–10. Drive: 13 plays, 59 yards, 5:16. Top passers NO – Bobby Hebert – 19/27, 211 yards, 2 TD KC – Steve DeBerg – 23/43, 212 yards, TD, 2 INT Top rushers NO – Craig Heyward – 15 rushes, 51 yards KC – Barry Word – 10 rushes, 40 yards Top receivers NO – Eric Martin – 7 receptions, 67 yards, TD KC – Todd McNair – 8 receptions, 62 yards Week 3 New Orleans Saints 24, Los Angeles Rams 7 Rams 0 0 7 0 Saints 7 0 7 10 Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana 8:04 p.m. EST Played indoors, domed stadium TNT Tom Dooley 68,583 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. Week 12: at San Diego Chargers New Orleans Saints 1991 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week Twelve: New Orleans Saints at San Diego Chargers – Game summary November 17 1:00 p.m. PST Saints 7 14 0 0 Chargers 7 7 0 10 Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California 48,420 58 °F 1, relative humidity 69%, wind 9 mph km/h knots Red Cashion CBS Sean McDonough and Dave Jennings Box score First quarter NO – Buford Jordan 1-yard pass from Steve Walsh (Morten Andersen kick), 7:22. Saints 7–0. Drive: 12 plays, 78 yards, 7:38. SDG – Steve Hendrickson 3-yard run (John Carney kick), 2:48. Tied 7–7. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 4:34. Second quarter NO – Frank Warren 37-yard blocked punt return (Morten Andersen kick), 8:08. Saints 14–7. SDG – Nate Lewis 95-yard kickoff return (John Carney kick), 7:52. Tied 14–14. NO – Quinn Early 38-yard pass from Steve Walsh (Morten Andersen kick), 3:00. Saints 21–14. Drive: 7 plays, 77 yards, 4:52. Third quarter No scoring plays. Fourth quarter SDG – Marion Butts 5-yard run (John Carney kick), 3:04. Tied 21–21. Drive: 11 plays, 63 yards, 3:27. SDG – John Carney 19-yard field goal, 0:05. Chargers 24–21. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 1:31. Top passers NO – Steve Walsh – 21/34, 203 yards, 2 TD, INT SDG – John Friesz – 16/30, 175 yards, INT Top rushers NO – Fred McAfee – 8 rushes, 45 yards SDG – Marion Butts – 15 rushes, 92 yards, TD Top receivers NO – Eric Martin – 4 receptions, 50 yards SDG – Nate Lewis – 2 receptions, 38 yards Playoffs 1991–92 NFL playoffs Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Wildcard December 28 Atlanta Falcons (6) L 20–27 0–1 Louisiana Superdome 68,794 Standings Playoffs NFC Wild Card Game Atlanta Falcons 27, New Orleans Saints 20 Falcons 0 10 7 10 Saints 7 6 0 7 Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST Played indoors, domed stadium ABC Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, and Dan Dierdorf Howard Roe 68,794 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. The Saints went to the playoffs in the following 1992 season, but lost in the NFC Wild Card to the Eagles 36-20. Awards and records Pat Swilling, NFL Defensive Player of the Year Led NFL, Fewest Points Allowed, 211 points NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book 2001 Workman Publishing Company 0-7611-2480-2 457 registration https://archive.org/details/officialnfl2001r0000unse/page/457 References External links Saints on Pro Football Reference Saints on jt-sw.com New Orleans Category:New Orleans Saints seasons Category:NFC West championship seasons New