NFC Championship, 1991: Washington 41 Detroit 10

Game information
In their season opening game, Washington beat the Lions 45–0. The Lions now had future Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders, who had missed their first meeting in Week 1 with an injury, but it didn't help.

The Redskins crushed the Lions, 41–10, as quarterback Mark Rypien completed 12 out of 17 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns. Detroit quarterback Erik Kramer was sacked five times, three of them by Washington linebacker Wilber Marshall. Sanders, who rushed for 1,548 yards during the season, was held to just 44 yards on 11 carries.

The Redskins forced two turnovers on the Lions' first two possessions, and jumped to a 10–0 lead just 4:02 into the game. On Detroit's first play of the game, Washington defensive end Charles Mann forced Kramer to fumble and Fred Stokes recovered the ball on the Lions' 10, setting up running back Gerald Riggs' 2-yard touchdown. Then Redskins kicker Chip Lohmiller made a 20-yard field goal after linebacker Kurt Gouveia intercepted a pass and returned it 38 yards to the Detroit 10-yard line. In the second quarter, Kramer led the Lions 75 yards in 11 plays to score on his 18-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Willie Green, but it was countered by Washington's 73-yard drive leading to a 3-yard touchdown run by Riggs. Detroit then drove 76 yards to score on Eddie Murray's 30-yard field goal and the Redskins only led 17–10 at halftime.

However, Washington scored 24 unanswered points in the second half, starting with Lohmiller's 28-yard field goal that was set up by Rypien's 45-yard completion to tight end Terry Orr, making the score 20–10. On Detroit's second drive of the third quarter, they moved the ball 45 yards to the Redskins' 21-yard line, but on third and 5, linebacker Andre Collins sacked Kramer for a 5-yard loss. Then Murray's 44-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Jumpy Geathers. Rypien completed a 31-yard pass to Art Monk on the Redskins' ensuing drive, and followed it up with a 45-yard touchdown pass to Gary Clark that gave the Redskins a 27–10 lead. He added a 21-yard touchdown pass to Monk in the fourth quarter, while Darrell Green finished off the scoring by returning an interception 32 yards for a score.

After the game, the Redskins dedicated their win to WUSA sports anchor Glenn Brenner, who died from a brain tumor two days after the game.

To date, this is the last time either franchise has advanced as far the Conference Championship game.

This was the final postseason game at RFK Stadium. The Redskins went 11–1 at the facility in the playoffs, losing only a 1984 divisional-round game to the Bears.

This was the second postseason meeting between the Lions and Redskins. Washington won the only previous meeting.

This loss began a nine-game postseason skid for the Lions which is active heading into the 2022 season. The last eight have all been in the wild card round, including a 27-13 setback to the Redskins at FedEx Field in 1999.

Wikipedia