1991 WASHINGTON REDSKINS FOOTBALL TEAM
There are some football teams that are always in the conversation when the “Greatest team of all Time” topic comes up. The ’85 Chicago Bears, the 2007 New England Patriots (even though they lost the Super Bowl), a ’60s Packers team, a ’70s Steelers team, an ’80s 49ers team… there are a few. One that rarely gets mentioned that should be in this conversation EVERY TIME is the 1991 Washington Redskins.
In 1991 the Washington Redskins went 14-2, with their two losses being by a total of five points. They scored the most points in the league, while also allowing the 2nd fewest. Because of this, their season point differential is the 6th best in NFL history. The roster is littered with Pro Bowlers… Mark Rypien, Ernest Byner, Gary Clark, Darrell Green, and more. What makes the greatness of this particular team even more impressive is that they did NOT have a soft schedule by any means. That season the NFC East was a strong division. If we were to scrutinize the seasons of most of the “Greatest team of all Time” candidates, many of them benefitted from a soft schedule, and accumulated wins and bloated statistics against far inferior teams. In the case of this team, they had to play the up-and-coming 90’s Cowboys of Aikman-Irvin-Smith twice, and also had to play the early 90’s Philadelphia Eagles defense twice (Reggie White, Clyde Simmons, Eric Allen, Seth Joyner… remember them?). The New York Giants were the defending Super Bowl champs, and they had to play them twice as well.
As mentioned before, they had a Pro Bowler at almost every position- quarterback, running back, receiver, offensive line, defensive line, special teams and secondary, with the only position not recognized was linebacker. They also had the best turnover ratio at +18 and are listed by many analytics groups and media outlets as one of the best teams in NFL history. But only stat nerds like me are aware of this unless reminded of it, which is too bad. Next time you are included in the ‘best football team of all time’ conversation, don’t forget the 1991 Washington Redskins.