1991 New Orleans Saints season

1991 New Orleans Saints season
1991 New Orleans Saints season
Owner	Tom Benson
General manager	Jim Finks
Head coach	Jim Mora
Home field	Louisiana Superdome
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	1st NFC West
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs; (vs. Falcons) 20–27
Pro Bowlers	LB Pat Swilling; LB Sam Mills; LB Rickey Jackson; LB Vaughan Johnson; ST Bennie Thompson
	← 1990; Saints seasons; 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. 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.^[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] 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.^[3]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1991 New Orleans Saints draft
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

^[4]

Personnel

Staff

**1991 New Orleans Saints staff**
	Front office Owner/general partner – Tom Benson President/general manager – Jim Finks Vice-president of administration – Jim Miller Director of player personnel – Bill Kuharich Head coaches Head coach – Jim Mora Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Carl Smith Running backs – Jim Skipper Wide receivers – Steve Walters Offensive line – Paul Boudreau			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Steve Sidwell Defensive line – John Pease Linebackers – Vic Fangio Defensive backs – Dom Capers Special teams coaches Special Teams/tight ends – Joe Marciano Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Russell Paternostro

^[5]

Roster

**1991 New Orleans Saints roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 16 Mike Buck 3 Bobby Hebert 4 Steve Walsh Running backs (RB) 22 Gill Fenerty PR 21 Dalton Hilliard 23 Buford Jordan FB 25 Fred McAfee 30 Cedric Smith FB Wide receivers (WR) 80 Wesley Carroll 89 Quinn Early KR 84 Eric Martin 86 Pat Newman 88 Floyd Turner Tight ends (TE) 85 Hoby Brenner 82 John Tice 87 Frank Wainright		Offensive linemen (OL) 67 Stan Brock T 71 Richard Cooper T 72 Jim Dombrowski G 61 Joel Hilgenberg 78 Mike Keim T 62 Brad Leggett C 70 Chris Port G 66 Larry Williams G Defensive linemen (DL) 91 Robert Goff NT 93 Wayne Martin DE 69 Les Miller 99 Joel Smeenge DE 97 Renaldo Turnbull DE 73 Frank Warren DE 94 Jim Wilks NT		Linebackers (LB) 52 Brian Forde OLB 57 Rickey Jackson OLB 53 Vaughan Johnson ILB 51 Sam Mills ILB 56 Pat Swilling OLB 90 James Williams ILB Defensive backs (DB) 28 Gene Atkins 29 Vencie Glenn FS 27 Reggie Jones CB 32 Mark Lee CB 24 Milton Mack CB 39 Brett Maxie SS 45 Stan Petry CB 37 Bennie Thompson SS Special teams 7 Morten Andersen K 6 Tommy Barnhardt P				Practice squad 43 Anthony Florence CB 38 Calvin Nicholson CB 55 Scott Ross LB 47 active, 10 inactive, 3 practice squad Reserve 26 Vince Buck (IR) 41 Toi Cook CB (IR) 74 Kevin Haverdink T (IR) 34 Craig Heyward FB (Susp.) 36 Stanford Jennings (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) Rookies in italics

^[6]

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	August 3	Minnesota Vikings	W 18–3	1–0	Louisiana Superdome	58,593
2	August 10	Green Bay Packers	W 31–20	2–0	Louisiana Superdome	55,730
3	August 17	at Indianapolis Colts	L 28–34	2–1	Hoosier Dome	45,963
4	August 24	at Miami Dolphins	L 24–28	2–2	Joe Robbie Stadium	44,099

^[7]

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	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.

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

NFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
⁽³⁾ New Orleans Saints	11	5	0	.688	4–2	8–4	341	211	W2
⁽⁶⁾ Atlanta Falcons	10	6	0	.625	5–1	7–5	361	338	L1
San Francisco 49ers	10	6	0	.625	3–3	7–5	393	239	W6
Los Angeles Rams	3	13	0	.188	0–6	2–10	234	390	L10

Regular season

Week 3

New Orleans Saints 24, Los Angeles Rams 7

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	0	7	0	7
Saints	7	0	7	10	24

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game time: 8:04 p.m. EST
Game weather: Played indoors, domed stadium
Game attendance: 68,583
Referee: Tom Dooley
TV: TNT

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

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	10	7	10	27
Saints	7	6	0	7	20

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST
Game weather: Played indoors, domed stadium
Game attendance: 68,794
Referee: Howard Roe
TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, and Dan Dierdorf

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 ^[8]

Milestones

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. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
^ "1991 New Orleans Saints Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
^ "All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
^ "1991 New Orleans Saints starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
^ "1991 New Orleans Saints season". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book. Workman Publishing Company. 2001. p. 457. ISBN 0-7611-2480-2.

External links

[1] 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.

[2] Football Outsiders: 1991 DVOA Ratings and Commentary

[3] Scott, Mike (July 21, 2016). "The 1991 New Orleans Saints, and the season of 'cha-ching'". NOLA.com. Retrieved June 26, 2018.

[4] "1991 New Orleans Saints Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 3, 2014.

[All-Time_roster-5] "All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2011.

[6] "1991 New Orleans Saints starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2014.

[7] "1991 New Orleans Saints season". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved October 28, 2023.

[8] NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book. Workman Publishing Company. 2001. p. 457. ISBN 0-7611-2480-2.

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v t e New Orleans Saints
Founded in 1967 Based in New Orleans, Louisiana Headquartered in Metairie, Louisiana
Franchise	Franchise Seasons History All-time roster Coaches Expansion draft First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Broadcasters
Stadiums	Tulane Stadium Caesars Superdome Temporary home venues in 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina: Alamodome Giants Stadium Tiger Stadium
Culture	Gumbo Sir Saint Saintsations Who Dat? Tom Benson Effect of Hurricane Katrina Buddy D "When the Saints Go Marching In" Home Team Number One A Saintly Switch
Lore	"Aints" (1–15) Dempsey's 63-yard field goal Dome Patrol Ricky Williams trade River City Relay Steve Gleason's blocked punt Beast Quake Bountygate Minneapolis Miracle NOLA No-Call
Rivalries	Atlanta Falcons Carolina Panthers Los Angeles Rams Minnesota Vikings Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Wild card berths (5)	1987 1990 1992 2010 2013
Division championships (9)	1991 2000 2006 2009 2011 2017 2018 2019 2020
Conference championships (1)	2009
League championships (1)	2009 (XLIV)
Retired numbers	31 81
Ring of Honor	Andersen Benson Jackson Manning Mills Roaf Smith
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: South Division

v t e New Orleans Saints seasons
1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates Super Bowl victory