1991 Redskins: An Underrated Team

There have been many memorable teams throughout the NFL’s long history, including the 1972 Miami Dolphins, 1985 Chicago Bears and 2007 New England Patriots.

The squad that stands out to me the most, though, is the 1991 Washington Redskins. Often overlooked as one of the league’s best teams, this group dominated in every aspect of the game.

The Redskins possessed a Hall of Fame coach in Joe Gibbs. No other head coach has ever won Super Bowls with three different starting running backs or three different starting quarterbacks. Gibbs did both. Only one other head coach – Tom Flores – has ever won multiple Super Bowls without a Hall of Fame quarterback. Floreshad Jim Plunkett in both of his, while Gibbs won with Joe Theismann, Doug Williams and Mark Rypien.

Rypien was the quarterback of the 1991 team, which was led by one of the greatest offensive lines in NFL history. ‘The Hogs’ allowed just nine sacks all year, as Rypien was able to finish second in the league in passer rating. The Redskins, who possessed three talented receivers in Art Monk, Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders and Ernest Byner, a 1,000-yard running back, scored 485 points.

Washington also dominated on defense. The devastating unit, led by defensive end Charles Mann, shut out its first three home opponents, including a 45-0 thumping of Detroit in Week 1. Mann finished with 11 of the team’s 50 sacks on the season.

To round out this complete team, Brian Mitchell scored twice on kick and punt returns, finished with 1,183 combined yards.

The Redskins began the season 11-0 and finished it 14-2. They defeated Atlanta 24-7 in the NFL Divisional Round before blasting the Lions again, this time 41-10, in the NFC Championship Game.

While the final score of the Super Bowl was 37-24, the game was never that close. The Redskins took a 24-0 lead midway through the third quarter, which still stands as the largest shutout lead ever in a Super Bowl

After the following season, Gibbs retired for the first time and the Redskins have never been the same. That Washington franchise, which was blown away at M&T Bank Stadium last season, returns to Baltimore on Aug. 13 when the Ravens open their preseason at 7:30 p.m.