Colts

Patriots

Bills

Dolphins

Jets

Bengals

Browns

Oilers

Steelers

Broncos

Chiefs

Raiders

Chargers

Seahawks

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AFC teams: West, Central, East

Cowboys

Giants

Eagles

Cardinals

Redskins

Bears

Lions

Packers

Vikings

Buccaneers

Falcons

Rams

Saints

49ers

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NFC teams: West, Central, East

The1992 NFL season was the 73rdregular season of theNational Football League (NFL). Due to the damage caused byHurricane Andrew, theNew England Patriots atMiami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 atJoe Robbie Stadium was rescheduled to October 18. Both teams originally had that weekend off. This marked the first time since the1966 NFL season and the AFL seasons of1966 and1967 that there were byes in week 1.

The season ended withSuper Bowl XXVII when theDallas Cowboys defeated theBuffalo Bills 52–17 at theRose Bowl. This would be the third of the Bills' four consecutive Super Bowl losses; as of 2023, no other team has ever lost more than two Super Bowls in a row. Buffalo joined theMiami Dolphins of the early 1970s as the second team to reach three straight Super Bowls (theNew England Patriots of the late 2010s became the third, and subsequently, the early 2020sKansas City Chiefs).

• April 2, 1992,Brian Baldinger was signed inPlan B free agency by theBuffalo Bills, joining his brotherGary Baldinger.^[1]
• August 31, 1992: Brian Baldinger was released by the Buffalo Bills on August 31.^[2]

• August 13: Washington traded quarterbackStan Humphries to the San Diego Chargers^[3]
• August 27: The San Francisco 49ers traded Pro Bowl Defensive EndCharles Haley to the Dallas Cowboys.^[3]
• August 28: The Chicago Bears trade offensive linemanJay Hilgenberg to the Cleveland Browns^[3]
• September 1: The defending AFC Champion Buffalo Bills trade Defensive TackleLeon Seals to the Philadelphia Eagles.^[4]
• September 12: The Atlanta Falcons trade wide receiverShawn Collins to the Cleveland Browns.^[4]
• September 21: The Pittsburgh Steelers tradeThomas Everett to the Dallas Cowboys.^[4]

The1992 NFL draft was held from April 26 to 27, 1992, atNew York City'sMarriott Marquis. With the first pick, theIndianapolis Colts selected defensive tackleSteve Emtman from theUniversity of Washington.

After one season as referee, Stan Kemp stepped down after he was diagnosed withAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Tom Dooley also retired during the off-season.Gary Lane andEd Hochuli were then promoted to referee.

Kemp's son,Alex, became an NFL official in 2014 and was promoted to referee in 2018.

• The NFL ceases to use theinstant replay system that was in effect since the1986 NFL season to review questionable on-field calls, due to many reviews taking up long periods of time. Instant replay would not return to the league until a more comprehensive instant replay review system with time limits was introduced in the1999 NFL season.
• To reduce injuries, any offensive player who is lined up in the backfield before the snap cannot chop block a defensive player who is already engaged above the waist by another offensive player.
• A maximum of six captains are allowed at midfield for the coin toss. This was in response toAtlanta Falcons coachJerry Glanville sometimes sending out his entire squad, andWashington Redskins coachJoe Gibbs sending eight captains to midfield atSuper Bowl XXVI.

• Frank Akins: A selection of the Washington Redskins in the1943 NFL draft, Akins died on July 6, 1992.
• Eric Andolsek: An offensive lineman with the Detroit Lions, Andolsek was working in the yard of hisThibodaux, Louisiana home when asemi-trailer truck ran offLouisiana Highway 1 in front of his house and struck and killed him on June 23.^[5]
• Lyle Alzado: On May 14, 1992, at age 43, Alzado died frombrain cancer. He was buried atRiver View Cemetery inPortland, Oregon.^[6]
• Mel Branch: A starter for the Dallas Texans for the1962 AFL Championship Game, Branch was also a charter member of the Miami Dolphins in 1966. He died on April 21, 1992
• Jerome Brown: A two-time All-Pro with the Philadelphia Eagles, Brown died on June 25, 1992, at the age of 27, following an automobile accident inBrooksville, Florida, in which both he and his 12-year-old nephew were killed when Brown lost control of his ZR1Chevrolet Corvette at high speed and crashed into a palm tree. Brown was buried in his hometown of Brooksville.^[7]
• Shane Curry: A selection of the Indianapolis Colts in the1991 NFL draft, Curry was shot and killed outside a Cincinnati nightclub during an argument over a blocked vehicle on May 4, 1992.^[8][9]
• Mike Wise: Was a backup for the Raiders before being released after a fight instigated by a teammate, and had serious injuries which made it impossible for him to resume his career. Committed suicide at his home in California.

• Buck Buchanan: Buchanan was adefensive tackle with theKansas City Chiefs in theAmerican Football League (AFL) and in theNational Football League (NFL),^[10] appearing inSuper Bowl I and Super Bowl IV. He was inducted in thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.

A series ofNational Football Leaguepre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States, a total of three games were contested.

Date	Winning Team	Score	Losing Team	Score	Stadium	City
August 2, 1992	Houston Oilers	34	Dallas Cowboys	23	Tokyo Dome	Tokyo
August 15, 1992	Miami Dolphins	31	Denver Broncos	27	Olympiastadion	Berlin
August 16, 1992	San Francisco 49ers	17	Washington Redskins	15	Wembley Stadium	London

Highlights of the 1992 season included:

• Thanksgiving: Two games were played on Thursday, November 26, featuring Houston atDetroit and the New York Giants atDallas, with Houston and Dallas winning.
• Week 16: The San Diego Chargers became the first (as of 2024 the only) team to start 0-4 and made the playoffs and they achieve that feat by beating the Los Angeles Raiders. The Chargers won the AFC West championship the next week with a road win vs. the Seattle Seahawks.

There was an unusual deviation between good teams and bad teams in the NFL in 1992. Only one team, the Denver Broncos; finished with eight wins and eight losses, nine teams had at least 11 wins, and eight teams had at least 11 losses. Only six teams had between seven, eight or nine wins in 1992.

• Pittsburgh was the top AFC playoff seed, and Miami was the second AFC playoff seed ahead of San Diego, based on conference record (10–2 to Dolphins' 9–3 to Chargers' 9–5).
• Miami finished ahead of Buffalo in the AFC East based on better conference record (9–3 to Bills' 7–5).
• Houston was the second AFC Wild Card based on head-to-head victory over Kansas City (1–0).
• Washington was the third NFC Wild Card based on better conference record than Green Bay (7–5 to Packers' 6–6).
• Tampa Bay finished ahead of Chicago and Detroit in the NFC Central based on better conference record (5–9 to Bears' 4–8 and Lions' 3–9).
• Atlanta finished ahead of L.A. Rams in the NFC West based on better record against common opponents (5–7 to Rams' 4–8).

* Indicatesovertime victory.

• Cincinnati Bengals:Dave Shula replaced the firedSam Wyche.
• Green Bay Packers:Mike Holmgren replaced the firedLindy Infante.
• Indianapolis Colts:Ted Marchibroda was named the permanent replacement, afterRon Meyer was fired after five games in 1991 andRick Venturi served as interim for the final 11 games. Marchibroda had previously served as head coach of the Colts (then based inBaltimore) from1975 to1979.
• Los Angeles Rams:Chuck Knox replaced the firedJohn Robinson, having previously served as Rams head coach from1973 to1977.
• Minnesota Vikings:Dennis Green replaced the retiredJerry Burns.
• Pittsburgh Steelers:Bill Cowher replaced the retiredChuck Noll.
• San Diego Chargers:Bobby Ross replaced the firedDan Henning.
• Seattle Seahawks:Tom Flores replacedChuck Knox, who resigned to become the Rams' head coach.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers:Sam Wyche replaced the firedRichard Williamson.

The Atlanta Falcons played their first season in the newGeorgia Dome, replacingAtlanta–Fulton County Stadium. The Falcons would play at the Georgia Dome until2016.

TheTampa Bay Buccaneers began wearing orange pants with their white jerseys.

This was the third year under the league's four-year broadcast contracts withABC,CBS,NBC,TNT, andESPN. ABC, CBS, and NBC continued to televiseMonday Night Football, the NFC package, and the AFC package, respectively. Sunday night games aired on TNT during the first half of the season, and ESPN during the second half of the season. WithBill Walsh leaving NBC to become head coach of theStanford Cardinal college football team,Bob Trumpy was named to replace him as the network's lead color commentator, alongsideDick Enberg.Gary Bender replacedSkip Caray as TNT's play-by-play announcer.^[11]

• 1992 team efficiency ratings andCommentary atFootball Outsiders

• 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)
• 1992 NFL season at Pro-Football Reference

• NFL seasons
• 1992 NFL season
• 1992 in American football

• Articles with short description
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• Use mdy dates from November 2013