1992 NFL season


The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League.
Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was rescheduled to October 18. Both teams originally had that weekend off. This marked the first time since the 1966 NFL season and the AFL seasons of 1966 and 1967 that there were byes in week 1; in those years, byes were necessary every week since there were an odd number of teams, which would happen again between 1999 and 2001. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dolphins also had their 2017 season opener postponed due to Hurricane Irma.
The season ended with Super Bowl XXVII when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Buffalo Bills 52–17 at the Rose Bowl. This would be the third of the Bills’ four consecutive Super Bowl losses. Buffalo would join the Miami Dolphins of the early 1970s as the only team to reach three straight Super Bowls and not until the New England Patriots of the late 2010s would another team reach three in a row.

Draft

The 1992 NFL Draft was held from April 26 to 27, 1992 at New York City's Marriott Marquis. With the first pick, the Indianapolis Colts selected defensive tackle Steve Emtman from the University of Washington.

Referee changes

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

Major rule changes

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.

Tiebreakers

Awards

Coaching changes

played their first season in the new Georgia Dome, replacing Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium. The Falcons would play at the Georgia Dome until 2016.

Uniform changes

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers began wearing orange pants with their white jerseys