# 1991 Los Angeles Raiders season

The 1991 Los Angeles Raiders season was their 32nd in the National Football League (NFL). They were unable to improve upon their previous season's output of 12–4, winning only nine games. After a 9–4 start, the team lost its last three games but did qualify for the playoffs for the second straight season. The Raiders were inconsistent offensively, with struggling quarterback Jay Schroeder eventually benched in favor of rookie Todd Marinovich for both the regular season finale and the playoff game. Amidst a feud with owner Al Davis, future Hall of Famer Marcus Allen's role was restricted mainly to backing up newly acquired Roger Craig. Despite starting just one game, Tim Brown received his second Pro Bowl selection. This was the first season without Bo Jackson, who had suffered a career-ending injury the previous year. A solid defense was led by Howie Long, Greg Townsend (13 sacks) and Ronnie Lott (8 interceptions).

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | July 27 | San Francisco 49ers | L 17–24 | 0–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 45,365 |
| 2 | August 4 | vs. Miami Dolphins | L 17–19 | 0–2 | Tokyo Dome | 51,122 |
| 3 | August 12 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 17–12 | 1–2 | Texas Stadium | 55,981 |
| 4 | August 17 | Chicago Bears | W 13–10 | 2–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 35,538 |
| 5 | August 23 | San Diego Chargers | W 17–7 | 3–2 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 48,509 |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 1 | at Houston Oilers | L 17–47 | 0–1 | Astrodome | 61,367 | Recap |
| 2 | September 8 | Denver Broncos | W 16–13 | 1–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 48,569 | Recap |
| 3 | September 15 | Indianapolis Colts | W 16–0 | 2–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 40,287 | Recap |
| 4 | September 22 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 17–21 | 2–2 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 53,615 | Recap |
| 5 | September 29 | San Francisco 49ers | W 12–6 | 3–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 91,494 | Recap |
| 6 | October 6 | San Diego Chargers | L 13–21 | 3–3 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 42,787 | Recap |
| 7 | October 13 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 23–20 (OT) | 4–3 | Kingdome | 61,974 | Recap |
| 8 | October 20 | Los Angeles Rams | W 20–17 | 5–3 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 85,102 | Recap |
| 9 | October 28 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 21–24 | 5–4 | Arrowhead Stadium | 77,111 | Recap |
| 10 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 11 | November 10 | at Denver Broncos | W 17–16 | 6–4 | Mile High Stadium | 75,896 | Recap |
| 12 | November 17 | Seattle Seahawks | W 31–7 | 7–4 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 49,317 | Recap |
| 13 | November 24 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 38–14 | 8–4 | Riverfront Stadium | 52,044 | Recap |
| 14 | December 1 | at San Diego Chargers | W 9–7 | 9–4 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 56,780 | Recap |
| 15 | December 8 | Buffalo Bills | L 27–30 (OT) | 9–5 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 85,081 | Recap |
| 16 | December 16 | at New Orleans Saints | L 0–27 | 9–6 | Louisiana Superdome | 68,625 | Recap |
| 17 | December 22 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 21–27 | 9–7 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 65,144 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||

### Season summary
#### Week 1 at Oilers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Raiders | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| Oilers | 6 | 10 | 21 | 10 | 47 |
at Astrodome, Houston, Texas
* Date: September 1
* Game time: 4:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Indoors (dome)
* Game attendance: 61,367
* Box Score, Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
HOU – Allen Pinkett 8-yard run (kick failed), 5:37. Oilers 6–0.
Second quarter
HOU – Warren Moon 1-yard run (Ian Howfield kick), 13:40. Oilers 13–0.
HOU – Ian Howfield 34-yard field goal, 5:27. Oilers 16–0.
LA – Willie Gault 59-yard pass from Jay Schroeder (Jeff Jaeger kick), 2:44. Oilers 16–7.
Third quarter
HOU – Ernest Givins 22-yard pass from Warren Moon (Ian Howfield kick), 12:17. Oilers 23–7.
LA – Jeff Jaeger 39-yard field goal, 7:24. Oilers 23–10.
HOU – Tony Jones 28-yard pass from Warren Moon (Ian Howfield kick), 5:59. Oilers 30–10.
HOU – Mike Dumas 19-yard fumble return (Ian Howfield kick), 3:45. Oilers 37–10.
Fourth quarter
HOU – Ian Howfield 46-yard field goal, 9:43. Oilers 40–10.
LA – Sam Graddy 80-yard pass from Vince Evans (Jeff Jaeger kick), 9:29. Oilers 40–10.
HOU – Gary Brown 39-yard run (Ian Howfield kick), 1:52. Oilers 47–10.
Top passers
LA – Vince Evans – 6/10, 127 yards, TD, INT
HOU – Warren Moon – 18/33, 250 yards, 2 TD
Top rushers
LA – Marcus Allen – 8 rushes, 17 yards
HOU – Allen Pinkett – 26 rushes, 144 yards
Top receivers
LA – Sam Graddy – 3 receptions, 102 yards, TD
HOU – Ernest Givins – 6 receptions, 90 yards, TD :

#### Week 2 vs Broncos

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Broncos | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| Raiders | 0 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 16 |
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
* Date: September 8
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C)
* Game attendance: 48,569
* Box Score, Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
DEN – David Treadwell 22-yard field goal, 2:29. Broncos 3–0.
Second quarter
DEN – David Treadwell 47-yard field goal, 13:11. Broncos 6–0.
LA – Jeff Jaeger 29-yard field goal, 6:23. Broncos 6–3.
Third quarter
LA – Willie Gault 16-yard pass from Jay Schroeder (Jeff Jaeger kick), 5:47. Raiders 10–6.
Fourth quarter
LA – Jeff Jaeger 23-yard field goal, 9:17. Raiders 13–6.
LA – Jeff Jaeger 34-yard field goal, 2:48. Raiders 16–6.
DEN – Steve Sewell 3-yard pass from John Elway (David Treadwell kick), 0:25. Raiders 16–10.
Top passers
DEN – John Elway – 15/29, 240 yards, TD
LA – Jay Schroeder – 12/19, 168 yards, TD
Top rushers
DEN – Gaston Green – 11 rushes, 25 yards
LA – Roger Craig – 27 rushes, 99 yards
Top receivers
DEN – Steve Sewell – 3 receptions, 50 yards, TD
LA – Willie Gault – 3 receptions, 69 yards, TD :

### Standings

AFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(2)}$ Denver Broncos | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 5–3 | 10–4 | 304 | 235 | W4 |
| $^{(4)}$ Kansas City Chiefs | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 6–2 | 8–4 | 322 | 252 | W1 |
| $^{(5)}$ Los Angeles Raiders | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 5–3 | 7–5 | 298 | 297 | L3 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 2–6 | 6–6 | 276 | 261 | W1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–6 | 3–9 | 274 | 342 | L1 |

## Playoffs

| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| Wildcard | December 28 | at Kansas City Chiefs (4) | L 6–10 | Arrowhead Stadium | 75,824 | Recap |