The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). 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 team owner Bill Bidwill.
This marked the last season until 2016 that the city of Los Angeles had an NFL team and the last one until 2017 that the city had two. Both the Rams and the Raiders left the city following the season. The Rams moved east to St. Louis, Missouri after being in Los Angeles for 49 years, while the Raiders left after 13 seasons to return to their previous home in Oakland, California. The Rams eventually returned in 2016 followed by the Chargers in 2017 due to a stadium proposal being voted down by most voters in San Diego.
The season ended with Super Bowl XXIX when San Francisco defeated San Diego 49–26 at Joe Robbie Stadium. This was the first season of the 1990s to not feature the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl.
This was also the first time in which Christmas Day fell on a Sunday during the regular season. The league established the practice to move most of that weekend's games to the Saturday afternoon of Christmas Eve. Every NFL season afterwards with Christmas Day on a Sunday has followed this same scheduling format. Prior to the 1990 introduction of the bye week, Christmas had fallen within the postseason. In years in which Christmas was on a Sunday, that weekend's games would be split between Saturday, December 24 and Monday, December 26.
The NFL's salary cap was implemented this season.
All six conference division winners were the same as the winners in 1992
Player movement Transactions July 21: San Francisco signed quarterback Bill Musgrave July 21: Indianapolis signed quarterback Don Majkowski July 22: Washington signed safety Martin Bayless July 22: The New York Giants re-signed sign punter Mike Horan July 22: The Los Angeles Rams signed running back Johnny Bailey July 23: Philadelphia signed Defensive End Greg Townsend July 23 The Los Angeles Raiders signed Tackle Robert Jenkins July 25: Indianapolis signed linebacker Scott Radecic July 25: Miami signed guard Houston Hoover. July 25: Green Bay signed guard Guy McIntyre. July 25: Kansas City signed wide receiver Sanjay Beach. July 25: Buffalo signed free safety Mike Dumas July 25: San Francisco signed Wide Receiver Ed McCaffrey July 26: Detroit signed Tight End Rodney Holman July 27 Green Bay signed safety Mike Prior July 30: Arizona signed safety Andre Waters July 30: San Francisco signed running back Marc Logan August 31: Minnesota signed punter Mike Saxon.
Trades April 14, 1994: Houston traded quarterback Warren Moon to Minnesota. April 24, 1994: Minnesota traded defensive end Chris Doleman as a part of a package involving draft picks to Atlanta. July 12, 1994: Detroit traded safety William White to Kansas City.
Retirements January 15: Linebacker Lawrence Taylor announced his retirement immediately following the New York Giants 44-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in an NFC divisional playoff. Taylor was a 10-time Pro-Bowler, 10-time All-Pro (eight first-team, two second-team), two time Super Bowl champion (XXI, XXV), 1981 Defensive Rookie of the Year, three time Defensive Player of the Year (1981, 1982, 1986), and 1986 NFL MVP. Taylor played for the New York Giants his entire 13-year career.Anderson, Dave. of The Times; L.T. Decides 'It's Time For Me to Go' , The New York Times, January 16, 1994, accessed March 23, 2008.
Draft The 1994 NFL draft was held from April 24 to 25, 1994. With the first pick, the Cincinnati Bengals selected defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson from Ohio State.
Major rule changes A package of changes were adopted to increase offensive production and scoring: The two-point conversion after touchdowns is adopted. However, the defensive two-point conversion would not be adopted until the season; instead a two-point conversion or extra point automatically was blown dead and ruled as "no good" as soon as the defense gained possession of the ball. The spot of the kickoff is moved from the 35-yard line to the 30-yard line; this rule change was reverted prior to the season. 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. The referee shall announce the end of each quarter on his microphone. Prior to 1994, an official (the line judge from 1965 up to 1993) fired a starter's pistol to signal the end of a period.
Preseason American Bowl A series of four pre-season games that were held at sites outside the United States. On July 31, the Los Angeles Raiders defeated Denver at Estadi Olímpic in Barcelona. On August 7, Minnesota defeated Kansas City at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo. On August 13, the New York Giants defeated San Diego at Olympiastadion in Berlin. On August 15, Houston defeated Dallas at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
Hall of Fame Game The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, in which Atlanta defeated San Diego, was played on July 30 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, the same city where the league was founded. The 1994 Hall of Fame Class included Tony Dorsett, Bud Grant, Jimmy Johnson, Leroy Kelly, Jackie Smith and Randy White.
Regular season Scheduling formula Inter-conference AFC East vs NFC Central AFC Central vs NFC East AFC West vs NFC West
Highlights of the 1994 season included: Shula Bowl: On October 2, Don Shula's Miami Dolphins defeated his son David Shula's Cincinnati Bengals. This marked the first time in NFL history that a head coaching matchup featured father against son.100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.157 Thanksgiving: Two games were played on Thursday, November 24, featuring Buffalo at Detroit and Green Bay at Dallas, with Detroit and Dallas winning.
Final standings
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 the New York 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).
Playoffs
Statistical leaders
Team Points scoredSan Francisco 49ers (505)Total yards gainedMiami Dolphins (6,078)Yards rushingPittsburgh Steelers (2,180)Yards passingNew England Patriots (4,444)Fewest points allowedCleveland Browns (204)Fewest total yards allowedDallas Cowboys (4,313)Fewest rushing yards allowedMinnesota Vikings (1,090)Fewest passing yards allowedDallas Cowboys (2,752)
Individual ScoringJohn Carney, San Diego Chargers (135 points)TouchdownsEmmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys (22 TDs)Most field goals madeJohn Carney, San Diego Chargers, and Fuad Reveiz, Minnesota Vikings (34 FGs)RushingBarry Sanders, Detroit Lions (1,883 yards)PassingSteve Young, San Francisco 49ers (112.8 rating)Passing touchdownsSteve Young, San Francisco 49ers (35 TDs)Pass receivingCris Carter, Minnesota Vikings (122 catches)Pass receiving yardsJerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers (1,499)Punt returnsBrian Mitchell, Washington Redskins (14.1 average yards)Kickoff returnsMel Gray, Detroit Lions (28.4 average yards)InterceptionsEric Turner, Cleveland Browns, and Aeneas Williams, Arizona Cardinals (9)PuntingSean Landeta, Los Angeles Rams (44.8 average yards)SacksKevin Greene, Pittsburgh Steelers (14)
Awards Most Valuable PlayerSteve Young, quarterback, San Francisco 49ersCoach of the YearBill Parcells, New England PatriotsOffensive Player of the YearBarry Sanders, running back, Detroit LionsDefensive Player of the YearDeion Sanders, cornerback, San Francisco 49ersOffensive Rookie of the YearMarshall Faulk, running back, Indianapolis ColtsDefensive Rookie of the YearTim Bowens, defensive tackle, Miami DolphinsComeback Player of the YearDan Marino, quarterback, Miami DolphinsNFL Man of the Year AwardJunior Seau, linebacker, San Diego ChargersSuper Bowl Most Valuable PlayerSteve Young, quarterback, San Francisco 49ers
Coaching changes Offseason Arizona Cardinals: Buddy Ryan replaced the fired Joe Bugel. Atlanta Falcons: June Jones replaced the fired Jerry Glanville who became a color commentator for the NFL on Fox prior to the 1994 season. Dallas Cowboys: Barry Switzer replaced Jimmy Johnson, who resigned in March 1994. New York Jets: Pete Carroll replaced the fired Bruce Coslet. Washington Redskins: Norv Turner replaced the fired Richie Petitbon.
In-season Houston Oilers: Jack Pardee was fired after 10 games and was replaced by Jeff Fisher.
Stadium changes This was the final season of selected Green Bay Packers home games in Milwaukee. Recent upgrades to Lambeau Field started to make it more lucrative for the team to play full-time in Green Bay, while Milwaukee County Stadium, built with baseball in mind, was becoming outdated for football.
The home of the Indianapolis Colts, the Hoosier Dome, was renamed the RCA Dome after RCA acquired the naming rights.
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 to Husky for the 2000 and 2001 seasons while their new stadium was under construction.
Uniforms Throwback uniforms and games The league honored its 75th season by having each team wear throwback uniforms during selected games. The designs varied widely in their accuracy; many of them were not completely accurate for a number of reasons: Although no attempt was made to simulate obsolete leather helmets (which were phased out in the 1950s), teams simulating uniforms from the era of leather headgear (Bears, Cardinals, Lions, Packers, Redskins, Steelers) simply removed all decals and striping from their regular hard-shell helmets. All jerseys displayed the players' last names on the back, though this practice did not become standard until 1970. The Buffalo Bills and New York Jets' otherwise accurate throwbacks used different colored helmets than their historic uniforms used, being red and green, respectively, instead of white. The Dallas Cowboys wore their then-current helmets with their throwbacks. The Cowboys and the Bills would later adopt a more accurate representation of their 1960s throwbacks as their alternative uniform, while the Jets would move to a style similar to their throwbacks but with a darker shade of green and green facemasks full-time in 1998 (the Jets introduced a more accurate throwback uniform, with a lighter shade of green and gray face masks, in 2024).