1994 NFL season
Encyclopedia
The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season
of the National Football League
. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season. Also, a selection committee of media and league personnel named a special NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team
, honoring the best NFL players from the first 75 seasons.
The Phoenix Cardinals
changed their name to Arizona Cardinals in an attempt to widen their appeal to the entire state of Arizona
instead of just the Phoenix
area. The name was initially resisted by Bill Bidwill
.
The Seattle Seahawks
played their first three regular season home games at Husky Stadium
because the Kingdome
, the Seahawks' regular home field, was undergoing repairs for damaged tiles on its roof. The Seahawks returned for the 2000 and 2001 seasons while their new stadium was under construction.
This was also the first season that the then-fledgling Fox Network
televised NFL games. Fox took over the National Football Conference
package from CBS
. The league also signed an exclusivity agreement with the direct broadcast satellite
(DBS) service DirecTV
to launch NFL Sunday Ticket
, a satellite television
subscription service that offers every regular season NFL game. As of 2011, it is still exclusive to DirecTV.
The season ended with Super Bowl XXIX
when the San Francisco 49ers
defeated the San Diego Chargers
. Both teams had met that regular season, the second straight season that had happened, and ninth time overall.
Even though the 1994 World Series was canceled, the NFL ultimately decided not to reschedule its Thursday night contests in October for Sunday, even though they wouldn't have competed with baseball those nights.
s during selected games. The designs varied widely in their accuracy:
Some teams occasionally wore theirs in additional games during the season, and the San Francisco 49ers
wore them through the Super Bowl. They proved to be so popular that the New York Giants
followed the lead of their stadium
tenants and eventually returned to wearing them full-time, with very slight modifications, in 2000
. And after the NFL modified its rules to allow teams to wear alternate jerseys in 2002, the San Diego Chargers
selected their throwbacks as their third uniforms.
Clinched playoff seeds are marked in parentheses and shaded in green
Regular season (NFL)
The National Football League regular season begins the weekend after Labor Day. Each team plays 16 games during a 17-week period. Traditionally, the majority of each week's games are played on Sunday afternoon, with weekly games on Sunday night and Monday night, and occasional games on Thursday...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season. Also, a selection committee of media and league personnel named a special NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team
NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team
The National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team was chosen by a selection committee of media and league personnel in 1994. Years served were in the NFL, unless otherwise stated.-Offense:Source:-Defense:Source:-Special teams:Source:...
, honoring the best NFL players from the first 75 seasons.
The Phoenix Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
changed their name to Arizona Cardinals in an attempt to widen their appeal to the entire state of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
instead of just the Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
area. The name was initially resisted by Bill Bidwill
Bill Bidwill
William V. "Bill" Bidwill, Sr. is the principal owner and chairman of the board of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He was part-owner from 1962 to 1972 with his brother Charles, Jr. and has been sole owner since 1972.-Education:Bidwill went to Georgetown Preparatory School,...
.
The Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
played their first three regular season home games at Husky Stadium
Husky Stadium
Husky Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home of the Washington Huskies...
because the Kingdome
Kingdome
The Kingdome was a multi-purpose stadium located in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood. Owned and operated by King County, the Kingdome opened in 1976 and was best known as the home stadium of the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League , the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball , and the...
, the Seahawks' regular home field, was undergoing repairs for damaged tiles on its roof. The Seahawks returned for the 2000 and 2001 seasons while their new stadium was under construction.
This was also the first season that the then-fledgling Fox Network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
televised NFL games. Fox took over the National Football Conference
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
package from CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. The league also signed an exclusivity agreement with the direct broadcast satellite
Direct broadcast satellite
Direct broadcast satellite is a term used to refer to satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception.A designation broader than DBS would be direct-to-home signals, or DTH. This has initially distinguished the transmissions directly intended for home viewers from cable television...
(DBS) service DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
to launch NFL Sunday Ticket
NFL Sunday Ticket
NFL Sunday Ticket is an Out-of-Market Sports Package that broadcasts National Football League regular season games unavailable on local affiliates. It carries all regional Sunday afternoon games produced by Fox and CBS...
, a satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
subscription service that offers every regular season NFL game. As of 2011, it is still exclusive to DirecTV.
The season ended with Super Bowl XXIX
Super Bowl XXIX
Super Bowl XXIX was an American football game played on January 29, 1995 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1994 regular season...
when the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
defeated the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Both teams had met that regular season, the second straight season that had happened, and ninth time overall.
Even though the 1994 World Series was canceled, the NFL ultimately decided not to reschedule its Thursday night contests in October for Sunday, even though they wouldn't have competed with baseball those nights.
Major rule changes
A package of changes were adopted to increase offensive production and scoring:- The two-point conversionTwo-point conversionIn American and Canadian football, a two-point conversion is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point convert immediately after it scores a touchdown...
after touchdowns is adopted. - The spot of the kickoff is moved from the 35-yard line to the 30-yard line. This would remain intact through the 2010 season2010 NFL seasonThe 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League.The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV champions, defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14–9.Tom Brady,...
. - The "Neutral zone infraction" foul is adopted. A play is automatically dead before the snap when a defensive player enters the neutral zone and causes an offensive player to react.
- After a field goal is missed, the defensive team takes possession of the ball at the spot of the kick (instead of at the line of scrimmage) or the 20 yard line, whichever is farther from the goal line.
- During field goal attempts and extra point tries, players on the receiving team cannot block below the waist.
Throwback jerseys
The league also honored its 75th season by having each team wear throwback uniformThrowback uniform
Throwback uniforms and jerseys are one-time or limited-time variations on a sports team's uniforms styled to resemble uniforms from that team's past. They have proven popular in all major pro and college sports in the USA, not only with fans, but with the teams' marketing and merchandising...
s during selected games. The designs varied widely in their accuracy:
- While no attempt was made to simulate obsolete leatherLeatherLeather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
helmets (which were phased out in the 1950s), teams simulating uniforms from the era of leather headgear simply removed all decals and striping from their regular hard-shell helmets. - All jerseys displayed the player's last name on the back side, though this practice did not become standard until 1970http://www.packers.com/history/fast_facts/uniform_history/.
- Many of the uniforms worn were not completely accurate displays of previous team uniforms. For example, the Buffalo Bills throwback contained a red helmet with a white buffalo logo with white (instead of gray) facemasks. However, the actual historic uniform displayed a white helmet with a red buffalo logo with gray facemasks. The New York Jets did the same, with green helmets and white logos and a black facemask (instead of gray). The Dallas Cowboys wore their current helmets. Ironically, the Cowboys in 20042004 NFL seasonThe 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005...
and the Bills In 20052005 NFL seasonThe 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...
would later adopt an accurate representation of their 1960s throwbacks as their alternate uniform, while the Jets would return to their "throwback" style (albeit with a darker shade of green and green facemasks) full-time in 19981998 NFL seasonThe 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium in Nashville.This was the first season that CBS...
. - In some instances the fonts and typestyles used were only approximate matches at best, although the San Diego ChargersSan Diego ChargersThe San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Houston Oilers' throwbacks were completely accurate replications, including typefaces, of their first uniforms in 1960.
Some teams occasionally wore theirs in additional games during the season, and the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
wore them through the Super Bowl. They proved to be so popular that the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
followed the lead of their stadium
Giants Stadium
Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...
tenants and eventually returned to wearing them full-time, with very slight modifications, in 2000
2000 NFL season
The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXXV when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants.Week 1 of the season reverted to Labor Day weekend in 2000...
. And after the NFL modified its rules to allow teams to wear alternate jerseys in 2002, the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
selected their throwbacks as their third uniforms.
Final regular season standings
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points AgainstClinched playoff seeds are marked in parentheses and shaded in green
Tiebreakers
- Miami finished ahead of New England in the AFC East based on head-to-head sweep (2-0).
- Kansas City finished ahead of L.A. Raiders in the AFC West based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
- Green Bay was the first NFC Wild Card based on best head-to-head record (3–1) vs. Detroit (2–2) and Chicago (1–3) and better conference record (8–4) than N.Y. Giants (6–6).
- Detroit was the second NFC Wild Card based on better division record (4–4) than Chicago (3–5) and head-to-head victory over N.Y. Giants (1–0).
- Chicago was the third NFC Wild Card based on better record against common opponents (4–4) than N.Y. Giants (3–5).
- New Orleans finished ahead of Atlanta in the NFC West based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
AFC
- Wild-Card playoffs: MIAMI 27, Kansas City 17; CLEVELAND 20, New England 13
- Divisional playoffs: PITTSBURGH 29, Cleveland 9; SAN DIEGO 22, Miami 21
- AFC Championship: San Diego 17, PITTSBURGH 13 at Three Rivers StadiumThree Rivers StadiumThree Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...
, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, January 15, 1995
NFC
- Wild-Card playoffs: GREEN BAY 16, Detroit 12; Chicago 35, MINNESOTA 18
- Divisional playoffs: SAN FRANCISCO 44, Chicago 15; DALLAS 35, Green Bay 9
- NFC Championship: SAN FRANCISCO 38, Dallas 28 at Candlestick Park, January 15, 1995
Super Bowl
- Super Bowl XXIXSuper Bowl XXIXSuper Bowl XXIX was an American football game played on January 29, 1995 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1994 regular season...
: San Francisco (NFC) 49, San Diego (AFC) 26, at Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, FloridaMiami, FloridaMiami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, January 29, 1995
Team
| Points scored | San Francisco 49ers (505) |
| Total yards gained | Miami Dolphins (6,078) |
| Yards rushing | Pittsburgh Steelers (2,180) |
| Yards passing | New England Patriots (4,444) |
| Fewest points allowed | Cleveland Browns (204) |
| Fewest total yards allowed | Dallas Cowboys (4,313) |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed | Minnesota Vikings (1,090) |
| Fewest passing yards allowed | Dallas Cowboys (2,752) |
Individual
| Scoring | John Carney, San Diego (135 points) |
| Touchdowns | Emmitt Smith Emmitt Smith Emmitt James Smith, III is a retired American football player who was a running back in the National Football League for fifteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Smith played college football for the University of Florida, where he was an All-American; thereafter, he played professionally for... , Dallas (22 TDs) |
| Most field goals made | John Carney, San Diego and Fuad Reveiz Fuad Reveiz Fuad Reveiz is a former placekicker for the Miami Dolphins, the San Diego Chargers, and the Minnesota Vikings. He played for Miami Sunset Senior High and was voted one of the top high school football players from Miami of all time by the Miami Herald... , Minnesota (34 FGs) |
| Rushing | Barry Sanders Barry Sanders Barry Sanders is a former American football running back who spent all of his professional career with the Detroit Lions in the NFL. Sanders left the game just short of the all-time rushing record... , Detroit (1,883 yards) |
| Passing | Steve Young Steve Young (athlete) Jon Steven "Steve" Young is a former American football quarterback, best known for his time with the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League... , San Francisco (112.8 rating) |
| Passing touchdowns | Steve Young, San Francisco (35 TDs) |
| Pass receiving | Cris Carter Cris Carter Cristopher D. Carter is a former American football player in the National Football League. He played wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles , the Minnesota Vikings and the Miami Dolphins .... , Minnesota (122 catches) |
| Pass receiving yards | Jerry Rice Jerry Rice Jerry Lee Rice is a retired American football wide receiver. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in National Football League history... , San Francisco (1,499) |
| Punt returns | Brian Mitchell, Washington (14.1 average yards) |
| Kickoff returns | Mel Gray, Detroit (28.4 average yards) |
| Interceptions | Eric Turner, Cleveland and Aeneas Williams Aeneas Williams Aeneas Demetrius Williams is a former American football cornerback and free safety, who played with the Arizona Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams. Williams attended Fortier High School, where he played football on a team with three future NFL players. Although he was admitted to Dartmouth College,... , Arizona (9) |
| Punting | Sean Landeta, L.A. Rams (44.8 average yards) |
| Sacks | Kevin Greene Kevin Greene Kevin Darwin Greene is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League for 15 years and who retired after the 1999 NFL season... , Pittsburgh (14) |
Awards
| Most Valuable Player NFL Most Valuable Player Award The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award is given by various entities, most notably the Associated Press , to the player who is considered most valuable in the league. When the award is referred to without mentioning the organization, it generally means the AP award. The AP NFL MVP... |
Steve Young Steve Young (athlete) Jon Steven "Steve" Young is a former American football quarterback, best known for his time with the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League... , Quarterback Quarterback Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line... , San Francisco |
| Coach of the Year NFL Coach of the Year Award The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the NFL head coach who has done the most outstanding job of working with the talent he has at his disposal. Currently, the most widely recognized award is presented by the... |
Bill Parcells Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells is a former American football head coach, most recently with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006... , New England |
| Offensive Player of the Year NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award The NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award is given annually by the Associated Press to the offensive player of the National Football League believed to have had the most outstanding season... |
Barry Sanders Barry Sanders Barry Sanders is a former American football running back who spent all of his professional career with the Detroit Lions in the NFL. Sanders left the game just short of the all-time rushing record... , Running Back Running back A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running... , Detroit |
| Defensive Player of the Year NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award The NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award is given by the Associated Press to the league's most outstanding defensive player at the end of every NFL season since 1971. Multiple-award winners include Lawrence Taylor, who won it three times, and Joe Greene, Mike Singletary, Bruce Smith, Reggie... |
Deion Sanders Deion Sanders Deion Luwynn Sanders , nicknamed "Prime Time" and "Neon Deion", is a former National Football League cornerback and Major League Baseball outfielder who currently works as an NFL Network analyst... , Cornerback Cornerback A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position... , San Francisco |
| Offensive Rookie of the Year | Marshall Faulk Marshall Faulk Marshall William Faulk is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League. He is currently an analyst for NFL Total Access, Thursday Night Football, and NFL GameDay Morning on the NFL Network... , Running Back, Indianapolis |
| Defensive Rookie of the Year | Tim Bowens Tim Bowens Tim Bowens is a former American Football defensive tackle, was chosen with the 20th pick of the NFL draft by the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins received some initial criticism for the pick, because he was overweight and had only played 9 gamed in his college career at Mississippi... , Defensive Tackle, Miami |