1993 NFL season

1993 National Football League season

Regular season
Duration	September 5, 1993 (1993-09-05) – January 3, 1994
Playoffs
Start date	January 8, 1994
AFC Champions	Buffalo Bills
NFC Champions	Dallas Cowboys
Super Bowl XXVIII
Date	January 30, 1994
Site	Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
Champions	Dallas Cowboys
Pro Bowl
Date	February 6, 1994
Site	Aloha Stadium

The 1993 NFL season was the 74th regular season of the National Football League. It was the only season in league history where all NFL teams played their 16-game schedule over a span of 18 weeks. After the success of expanding the regular season to a period of 17 weeks in 1990, the league hoped this new schedule would generate even more revenue. However, teams felt that having two weeks off during the regular season was too disruptive for their weekly routines, and thus it reverted to 17 weeks immediately after the season ended.

When new TV contracts were signed in December 1993, CBS lost their rights to the then-fledgling Fox Network.

The season ended with Super Bowl XXVIII when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Buffalo Bills 30-13 for the second consecutive year at the Georgia Dome. This remains the only time both Super Bowl participants have been the same for consecutive years. The Cowboys became the first team to win a Super Bowl after losing their first two regular season games. This game also marked the fourth and final Super Bowl loss by the Bills.

Major rule changes

• The Play Clock (the time limit the offensive team has to snap the ball between plays) has been reduced from 45 seconds to 40 seconds (the time interval after time outs and other administrative stoppages remains the same at 25 seconds).
• Ineligible receiver down field prior to a forward pass foul is added.
• The passer can now legally throw a pass away, without any offensive player having a chance to catch the ball, as long as they are out of the pocket and the ball lands beyond the line of scrimmage.
• The player taking a snap from the center, upon receiving the ball, can immediately throw the football directly into the ground to stop the game clock.

Final regular season standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

Clinched playoff seeds are marked in parentheses and shaded in green. No ties occurred this season.

AFC East
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
(1) Buffalo Bills	12	4	.750	329	242
Miami Dolphins	9	7	.563	349	351
New York Jets	8	8	.500	270	247
New England Patriots	5	11	.313	238	286
Indianapolis Colts	4	12	.250	189	378
AFC Central
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
(2) Houston Oilers	12	4	.750	368	238
(6) Pittsburgh Steelers	9	7	.563	308	281
Cleveland Browns	7	9	.438	304	307
Cincinnati Bengals	3	13	.188	187	319
AFC West
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
(3) Kansas City Chiefs	11	5	.688	328	291
(4) Los Angeles Raiders	10	6	.625	306	326
(5) Denver Broncos	9	7	.563	373	284
San Diego Chargers	8	8	.500	322	290
Seattle Seahawks	6	10	.375	280	314

NFC East
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
(1) Dallas Cowboys	12	4	.750	376	229
(4) New York Giants	11	5	.688	288	205
Philadelphia Eagles	8	8	.500	293	315
Phoenix Cardinals	7	9	.438	326	269
Washington Redskins	4	12	.250	230	345
NFC Central
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
(3) Detroit Lions	10	6	.625	298	292
(5) Minnesota Vikings	9	7	.563	277	290
(6) Green Bay Packers	9	7	.563	340	282
Chicago Bears	7	9	.438	234	230
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	11	.313	237	376
NFC West
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
(2) San Francisco 49ers	10	6	.625	473	295
New Orleans Saints	8	8	.500	317	343
Atlanta Falcons	6	10	.375	316	385
Los Angeles Rams	5	11	.313	221	367

Tiebreakers

• Buffalo was the top AFC playoff seed based on head-to-head victory over Houston (1–0).
• Denver was the second AFC Wild Card ahead of Pittsburgh and Miami, based on better conference record (8–4 to Steelers' 7–5 to Dolphins' 6–6).
• Pittsburgh was the third AFC Wild Card based on head-to-head victory over Miami (1–0).
• San Francisco was the second NFC playoff seed based on head-to-head victory over Detroit (1–0).
• Minnesota finished ahead of Green Bay in the NFC Central based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).

Playoffs

Main article: 1993–94 NFL playoffs

	Jan. 9 – Giants Stadium					Jan. 15 – Candlestick Park
	5	Minnesota	10
						4	N.Y. Giants	3
	4	N.Y. Giants	17								Jan. 23 – Texas Stadium
						2	San Francisco	44
						NFC
	Jan. 8 – Pontiac Silverdome										2	San Francisco	21
						Jan. 16 – Texas Stadium
											1	Dallas	38
	6	Green Bay	28								NFC Championship
						6	Green Bay	17
	3	Detroit	24													Jan. 30 – Georgia Dome
						1	Dallas	27
	Wild Card Playoffs
						Divisional Playoffs
	Jan. 8 – Arrowhead Stadium															N1	Dallas	30
						Jan. 16 – Astrodome
																A1	Buffalo	13
	6	Pittsburgh	24													Super Bowl XXVIII
						3	Kansas City	28
	3	Kansas City	27*								Jan. 23 – Rich Stadium
						2	Houston	20
						AFC
	Jan. 9 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum										3	Kansas City	13
						Jan. 15 – Rich Stadium
											1	Buffalo	30
	5	Denver	24								AFC Championship
						4	L.A. Raiders	23
	4	L.A. Raiders	42
						1	Buffalo	29

* Indicates overtime victory

Awards

Most Valuable Player	Emmitt Smith, Running Back, Dallas
Coach of the Year	Dan Reeves, N.Y. Giants
Offensive Player of the Year	Jerry Rice, Wide Receiver, San Francisco
Defensive Player of the Year	Rod Woodson, Cornerback, Pittsburgh
Offensive Rookie of the Year	Jerome Bettis, Running Back, L.A. Rams
Defensive Rookie of the Year	Dana Stubblefield, Defensive tackle, San Francisco

External links

• Football Outsiders 1993 DVOA Ratings and Commentary

References

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1991–2000 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
• 1993 NFL season at Pro Football Reference