Worst team to make and lose a conference championship game

[CSKreager]

Not counting teams with underwhelming record/resumes/scoring differential that won their confefrence title games ('79 Rams, '08 Cardinals, 2011 Giants), I'm referring to those surprise teams that snuck their way into the final four before falling short of Super Sunday.

A team that has always perplexed me that got this far was the 1991 Broncos.

They had a 5th place schedule, dodged New Orleans/San Francisco/Atlanta, played only 2 NFC games all year (Cardinals/Vikings) and Patriots 2x.

Won a ton of close games (2x vs. KC, Chargers reg. season finale), but got blown out at Houston, lost at Seattle, Raiders got them twice.

Man for man, I don't think they were better than Kansas City, let alone the Houston team they beat in the playoff.

They seemed like one of those teams that got by on Elway and the Mile High mystique.

They probably should have had the same 8-8 record as the Jets, yet got a first round bye!

And yet.... they damn near almost got to another Super Bowl And that would have been even worse a SB had had Denver gotten out of Buffalo with a win in the AFC CG. Remember, that was a 10-7 game where the Broncos missed 3 FG’s.

By this time, the Reeves Broncos were for me what the Bills became for 7DnBrnc53- a team that one got tired of.

Would have been a SB 22 rematch with, compared to ‘87, a better Washington team against a worse Denver team.

Rypien vs Buffalo was very good. Against Denver, he might have had a Doug Williams-esque day.

If Washington can play the way they did against a stacked and loaded Bills team with future HOF’’ers...... imagine them against a way less talented Broncos team (And when these teams met in '92 with virtually the same rosters met, it was 34-3)

[sheajets]

1995 Colts come to mind, and came within a whisker of the Super Bowl

[ChrisBabcock]

1996 Jaguars

[7DnBrnc53]

Would have been a SB 22 rematch with, compared to ‘87, a better Washington team against a worse Denver team.

Rypien vs Buffalo was very good. Against Denver, he might have had a Doug Williams-esque day.

If Washington can play the way they did against a stacked and loaded Bills team with future HOF’’ers...... imagine them against a way less talented Broncos team (And when these teams met in '92 with virtually the same rosters met, it was 34-3)

Actually, Denver had a way better defense in 1991 than they did in 1987. They allowed fewer points, had more sacks, allowed fewer total yards, and placed more people in the Pro Bowl (three to one, and Simon Fletcher should have made it in 91 as well. He had 13.5 sacks). Also, they shut down Buffalo's K-Gun (I don't see the 1987 Denver D doing that) in the 1991 AFC Title Game.

Because of that, I see Denver being able to hang in with Washington for a while. However, if Elway was still banged-up, and they had to turn to Kubiak, Denver's O would have had problems. I see the Redskins winning that matchup 24-7.

[74_75_78_79_]

’14 Colts

Who ever heard of an 11-5 team with a negative PD?

EDIT - my mistake, mixed them up with the 2012 installment! Still, they seem pretty historically weak enough. Each of the ‘big boys’ on their schedule (@Pit 34-51, NE 20-42, @Dal 7-42) took serious dumps on them.

[BD Sullivan]

The 1971 49ers never struck me as a quality team. They finished 9-5 and needed to win their last game to get into the playoffs. Among their nine wins, the best was undoubtedly beating the Vikes in Minnesota. However, their only other two wins against a team with a winning record were against the Lions and Falcons, each of whom finished 7-6-1. They went 2-4 in their division and won their home playoff game over George Allen's first versionof the Skins, 24-20. They finished by getting held to three points against the Cowboys.

[ChrisBabcock]

I was actually going to post about the 1971 49ers just yesterday but stopped myself after giving them a glance on p-f-r again. Top 10 defense and offense. Two 800 yard rushers. But yes, definitely one of the lesser CCG participants for the reasons you mentioned, BD Sullivan. Also, Brodie was mvp in 1970 but followed that up with a 24 interception clunker in 1971.

[conace21]

Would have been a SB 22 rematch with, compared to ‘87, a better Washington team against a worse Denver team.

Rypien vs Buffalo was very good. Against Denver, he might have had a Doug Williams-esque day.

If Washington can play the way they did against a stacked and loaded Bills team with future HOF’’ers...... imagine them against a way less talented Broncos team (And when these teams met in '92 with virtually the same rosters met, it was 34-3)

Actually, Denver had a way better defense in 1991 than they did in 1987. They allowed fewer points, had more sacks, allowed fewer total yards, and placed more people in the Pro Bowl (three to one, and Simon Fletcher should have made it in 91 as well. He had 13.5 sacks). Also, they shut down Buffalo's K-Gun (I don't see the 1987 Denver D doing that) in the 1991 AFC Title Game.

Because of that, I see Denver being able to hang in with Washington for a while. However, if Elway was still banged-up, and they had to turn to Kubiak, Denver's O would have had problems. I see the Redskins winning that matchup 24-7.

The Washington offense would have had more trouble with Denver than they did with Buffalo. Denver ranked third in scoring defense and 5th in yards allowed. Buffalo ranked 19th and 27th, respectively. (Interestingly, both defenses allowed 12 touchdowns and 23 interceptions that year.) Much of that ranking was due to long-term injuries to Bruce Smith and NT Jeff Wright. Both players had returned for the playoffs, but the 275lb Wright and hobbled 270lb Smith were swallowed up by the Hogs.The Bills also had a bit of bad luck because their hard hitting safety Leonard Smith missed the game with an infection in his knee. Their best run stopper, Shane Conlan left the Super Bowl in the first quarter with torn knee ligaments. A healthy Broncos defense would have given the Redskins more of a challenge.

On offense, who knows. Even if Elway's painful thigh bruise had healed in the two weeks after the ARC Championship Game, he may have still been hobbled. Elway had the mobility to evade the Redskins blitzes, but he also had the confidence in his strong arm to force throws, and the Redskins probably would have snatched a couple interceptions.

[JohnH19]

The aging '77 Vikings, with Bob Lee at QB in place of the injured Sir Francis, were no match for the Cowboys after upsetting the Rams in the Mud Bowl.

[CSKreager]

Would have been a SB 22 rematch with, compared to ‘87, a better Washington team against a worse Denver team.

Rypien vs Buffalo was very good. Against Denver, he might have had a Doug Williams-esque day.

If Washington can play the way they did against a stacked and loaded Bills team with future HOF’’ers...... imagine them against a way less talented Broncos team (And when these teams met in '92 with virtually the same rosters met, it was 34-3)

Actually, Denver had a way better defense in 1991 than they did in 1987. They allowed fewer points, had more sacks, allowed fewer total yards, and placed more people in the Pro Bowl (three to one, and Simon Fletcher should have made it in 91 as well. He had 13.5 sacks). Also, they shut down Buffalo's K-Gun (I don't see the 1987 Denver D doing that) in the 1991 AFC Title Game.

Because of that, I see Denver being able to hang in with Washington for a while. However, if Elway was still banged-up, and they had to turn to Kubiak, Denver's O would have had problems. I see the Redskins winning that matchup 24-7.

The Washington offense would have had more trouble with Denver than they did with Buffalo. Denver ranked third in scoring defense and 5th in yards allowed. Buffalo ranked 19th and 27th, respectively. (Interestingly, both defenses allowed 12 touchdowns and 23 interceptions that year.).

Strange. The Broncos, Bills, and Saints allowed the same amount of passing TD's (12), yet the Saints were #1 in scoring defense, Denver was #3, and Buffalo was #19 despite the Bills not exactly getting torched through the air