NFL playoffs, 2005-06

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The National Football League playoffs following the 2005 regular season led up to Super Bowl XL, which was played in Detroit, Michigan on Sunday, February 5, 2006.

  • After scrutiny in the Wild Card and Divisional rounds, the league reversed a three-year precedent, and returned to "all star" officiating crews for the Conference Championship games. Since 2003, postseason officiating had been done by entire crews from the regular season.
  • This was the first time since the 1989 playoffs that neither conference championship game took place in the Eastern or Central time zones. The NFL changed the times of the conference championship games in 2002, to 3 p.m EST and 6:30 p.m. EST. This change would also avoid the future possibility of having to reschedule a 9:30 a.m. PST / 10:30 a.m. MST Conference Championship Game if both contests took place in those time zones. When the Denver Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers hosted the AFC and NFC championship games during the 1989-90 playoffs, the league moved both contests an hour later, but it also forced the networks to change or move their prime time lineups.


Playoff seeds
Seed AFC NFC
1 Indianapolis Colts (South winner) Seattle Seahawks (West winner)
2 Denver Broncos (West winner) Chicago Bears (North winner)
3 Cincinnati Bengals (North winner) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (South winner)
4 New England Patriots (East winner) New York Giants (East winner)
5 Jacksonville Jaguars Carolina Panthers
6 Pittsburgh Steelers Washington Redskins

Contents

[edit] Wild Card playoffs

[edit] Saturday January 7, 2006

[edit] NFC: Washington Redskins 17, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10

1 2 3 4 Total
Redskins 14 3 0 0 17
Buccaneers 0 3 7 0 10

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida


Starting Quarterbacks:


Although the Redskins gained only 120 yards on offense, the lowest total in NFL playoff history for a winning team[1], they converted two turnovers into touchdowns. Midway through the first quarter, Washington linebacker LaVar Arrington's 21-yard interception return set up running back Clinton Portis' six-yard touchdown run. Then, Redskins linebacker Marcus Washington recovered Tampa Bay running back Carnell Williams' fumble and returned it seven yards before losing it himself – into the arms of Safety Sean Taylor who then ran 51 yards for the Redskins' second touchdown.

After the teams traded field goals in the second period, the Buccaneers marched on a seven play, 51-yard drive early in the third quarter that ended with quarterback Chris Simms' two-yard touchdown run. In the fourth quarter, Tampa Bay drove inside the Redskins 20-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs after failing to convert a fourth down and 1 attempt. However, Buccaneers defensive back Brian Kelly gave his team another chance to drive for the tying touchdown by intercepting a pass from Mark Brunell and returning it the Redskins 35-yard line. With 3 minutes left in the game, Tampa Bay wide receiver Edell Shepherd caught what appeared to be a 35-yard touchdown reception, but he lost control of the ball as he was coming down in the end zone. The Redskins then clinched the victory in the last minute of the contest after Simms threw an interception to Washington.

This game was widely regarded by commentators as an "ugly" performance by both teams' offenses, rendering it a largely defensive game. [2][3]

  • Scoring
    • 1st Quarter
      • WAS - Portis 6 run (Hall kick), 8:40. Redskins 7-0. Drive: 1 play, 6 yards, :05.
      • WAS - Taylor 51 fumble return (Hall kick), Redskins 14-0.
    • 2nd Quarter
      • TB - FG Bryant 43, 4:15. Redskins 14-3. Drive: 11 plays, 38 yards, 5:28.
      • WAS - FG Hall 47, 10:02. Redskins 17-3. Drive: 10 plays, 40 yards, 4:28.
    • 3rd Quarter
      • TB - Simms 2 run (Bryant kick), 9:40. Redskins 17-10. Drive: 7 plays, 51 yards, 3:23.
    • 4th Quarter
      • None.

[edit] AFC: New England Patriots 28, Jacksonville Jaguars 3

1 2 3 4 Total
Jaguars 0 3 0 0 3
Patriots 0 7 14 7 28

at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts


Starting Quarterbacks:


The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Patriots, who for the first time in their dynasty would have to win three games to advance to the Super Bowl, crushed the Jaguars 28-3. Linebacker Willie McGinest set an NFL playoff record with 4.5 sacks (an official NFL stat since 1982), while quarterback Tom Brady threw for 201 yards and three touchdown passes. The game remained scoreless until Brady led New England on a 6-play, 37-yard drive early in the second quarter, and scoring with wide receiver Troy Brown's 11-yard touchdown reception. The Jaguars responded in the closing minute of the first half after a 12-play, 56-yard drive to set up Josh Scobee's 36-yard field goal. Then on their first drive of the second half, Brady threw his second touchdown pass to wide receiver David Givens after leading the Patriots on a 12-play, 81-yard drive. Brady's third touchdown pass was to tight end Ben Watson, who broke several tackles enroute to a 63-yard score late in the third quarter. New England cornerback Asante Samuel capped the scoring with a 73-yard interception return for a touchdown on the first play of the final period.

This game also marked three career playoff records: Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick set records for 10 straight postseason victories, eclipsing Vince Lombardi's run with the Green Bay Packers in the 1960s. Also, McGinest set a career playoff sack record with his 16th sack.

  • Scoring
    • 1st Quarter
      • None.
    • 2nd Quarter
      • NE - Brown 11 pass from Brady (Vinatieri kick), 12:08. Patriots 7-0. Drive: 6 plays, 37 yards, 2:05
      • JAX - FG Scobee 36, 1:05. Patriots 7-3. Drive: 12 plays, 56 yards, 5:45.
    • 3rd Quarter
      • NE - Givens 3 pass from Brady (Vinatieri kick), 7:13. Patriots 14-3. Drive: 12 plays, 81 yards, 6:42.
      • NE - Watson 63 pass from Brady (Vinatieri kick), 3:03. Patriots 21-3. Drive: 5 plays, 71 yards, 2:53.
    • 4th Quarter
      • NE - Samuel 73 interception return (Vinatieri kick), 14:46. Patriots 28-3.

[edit] Sunday, January 8, 2006

[edit] NFC: Carolina Panthers 23, New York Giants 0

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 0 10 7 6 23
Giants 0 0 0 0 0

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey


Starting Quarterbacks:


The Panthers forced five turnovers, limited the Giants to only 109 yards of total offense, and became the first club to shut out a home playoff team since the Los Angeles Rams shut out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1980 NFC Championship Game. Although the Giants entered the game with a more vaunted rushing attack behind Pro Bowler Tiki Barber, the Panthers running game, featuring DeShaun Foster and Nick Goings, outgained the Giants 223 yards to 41 on the ground. Carolina wide receiver Steve Smith scored two touchdowns, a 22-yard reception and a 12-yard run, while kicker John Kasay added three field goals and Foster rushed for 151 yards. Meanwhile, quarterback Eli Manning threw three interceptions in his first playoff start.

  • Scoring
    • 1st Quarter
      • None.
    • 2nd Quarter
      • CAR - Smith 22 pass from Delhomme (Kasay kick), 9:41. Panthers 7-0. Drive: 12 plays, 77 yards, 7:46.
      • CAR - FG Kasay 31, :30. Panthers 10-0. Drive: 4 plays, 2 yards, :58.
    • 3rd Quarter
      • CAR - Smith 12 run (Kasay kick), 6:57. Panthers 17-0. Drive: 1 play, 12 yards, :06.
    • 4th Quarter
      • CAR - FG Kasay 45, 13:33. Panthers 20-0. Drive: 10 plays, 55 yards, 6:07.
      • CAR - FG Kasay 18, 2:40. Panthers 23-0. Drive: 14 plays, 55 yards, 8:55.

[edit] AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Cincinnati Bengals 17

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 14 14 3 31
Bengals 10 7 0 0 17

at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio


Starting Quarterbacks:


The Steelers overcame a 10-point first quarter deficit and scored 24 unanswered points to defeat the Bengals. Cincinnati starting quarterback Carson Palmer suffered a season-ending knee injury after being hit by Pittsburgh's Kimo Von Oelhoffen, on the Bengals' second play from scrimmage of the game, but his 66-yard pass to wide receiver Chris Henry set up kicker Shayne Graham's 23-yard field goal, after backup quarterback Jon Kitna's third down pass to wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh failed to gain the first down. Running back Rudi Johnson's 20-yard touchdown run then increased the Bengals lead, 10-0. Later in the half, the teams traded touchdowns, and then the Steelers cut the score to 17-14 after quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed a five-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Hines Ward. Then in the third quarter, the Bengals botched a field goal attempt because of a high snap, which set up Pittsburgh running back Jerome Bettis' five-yard touchdown run that put the Steelers up 21-17. Later in the period, Pittsburgh receiver Antwaan Randle El took a direct snap, ran to his right, and threw the ball back to Roethlisberger — who then connected with wide receiver Cedrick Wilson for a 43-yard touchdown reception that increased their lead, 28-17. The Steelers added a fourth quarter field goal to clinch the victory.

Roethlisberger finished the game with 14 of 19 completions for 208 yards and 3 touchdowns.

  • Scoring
    • 1st Quarter
      • CIN - FG Graham 23, 6:54. Bengals 3-0. Drive: 9 plays, 84 yards, 4:25.
      • CIN - R. Johnson 20 run (Graham kick), 1:09. Bengals 10-0. Drive: 7 plays, 76 yards, 3:26.
    • 2nd Quarter
      • PIT - Parker 19 pass from Roethlisberger (Reed kick), 13:11. Bengals 10-7. Drive: 8 plays, 60 yards, 2:58.
      • CIN - Houshmandzadeh 7 pass from Kitna (Graham kick), 6:13. Bengals 17-7. Drive: 14 plays, 57 yards, 6:58.
      • PIT - Ward 5 pass from Roethlisberger (Reed kick), 3:48. Bengals 17-14. Drive: 6 plays, 76 yards, 2:25.
    • 3rd Quarter
      • PIT - Bettis 5 run (Reed kick), 5:12. Steelers 21-17. Drive: 8 plays, 66 yards, 4:39.
      • PIT - Wilson 43 pass from Roethlisberger (Reed kick), 1:13 Steelers 28-17. Drive: 3 plays, 50 yards, 1:25.
    • 4th Quarter
      • PIT - FG Reed 21, 10:29. Steelers 31-17. Drive: 6 plays, 37 yards, 2:56.

[edit] Divisional playoffs

[edit] Saturday January 14, 2006

[edit] NFC: Seattle Seahawks 20, Washington Redskins 10

1 2 3 4 Total
Redskins 0 3 0 7 10
Seahawks 0 7 7 6 20

at Qwest Field, Seattle, Washington


Starting Quarterbacks:


The Seahawks overcame an early injury (concussion) suffered by NFL MVP and rushing champion Shaun Alexander, and three turnovers, to end their 21-year playoff victory drought. Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck led the offense, completing 16 out of 26 passes for 215 yards. He threw a 29-yard touchdown pass with Darrell Jackson in the second quarter, and he ran for the team's other touchdown in the third quarter. Washington scored first in the second quarter after a muffed punt set up John Hall's 26-yard field goal. Then the Redskins executed a four-play, 76-yard fourth quarter drive to score on wide receiver Santana Moss's 20-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Mark Brunell, a throw that bounced off the shoulder of Seattle cornerback Andre Dyson into Moss' arms. But then Hall missed a 36-yard field goal with 8:06 left in the game. Seattle then drove to the game-clinching field goal, led by fullback Mack Strong's career-long 32-yard run. The Seahawks' win was their first since a 1984 AFC Wild Card playoff win over the then-Los Angeles Raiders. Alexander would return for the NFC Championship Game the following week. Jackson finished the game with 9 receptions for 143 yards and a touchdown. Moss caught 7 passes for 103 yards and a score.

  • Scoring
    • 1st Quarter
      • None.
    • 2nd Quarter
      • WAS - FG Hall 26, Redskins 3-0. Drive: 10 plays, 32 yards, 5:02.
      • SEA - D. Jackson 29 pass from Hasselbeck (Brown kick), Seahawks 7-3. Drive: 12 plays, 74 yards, 5:37.
    • 3rd Quarter
      • SEA - Hasselbeck 6 run (Brown kick), Seahawks 14-3. Drive: 10 plays, 81 yards, 4:20.
    • 4th Quarter
      • SEA - FG Brown 33, Seahawks 17-3. Drive: Six plays, 48 yards, 2:39.
      • WAS - Moss 20 pass from Brunell (Hall kick), Seahawks 17-10. Drive: Four plays, 76 yards, 2:17.
      • SEA - FG Brown 31, Seahawks 20-10. Drive: Nine plays, 60 yards, 5:07.

[edit] AFC: Denver Broncos 27, New England Patriots 13

1 2 3 4 Total
Patriots 0 3 3 7 13
Broncos 0 10 7 10 27

at INVESCO Field, Denver, Colorado

  • Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST/6:00 p.m. MST (0100 Sunday UTC)
  • Game weather: 51°F (Clear)
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Phil Simms (color commentator), Bonnie Bernstein (field reporter)
  • Referee: Jeff Triplette
  • Game Attendance: 76,238


Starting Quarterbacks:


The Broncos converted four out of five turnovers into 24 points as they eliminated the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Patriots, 27-13, and won their first playoff game since defeating the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII. This game also ended New England's league-record ten-game postseason winning streak and gave quarterback Tom Brady his first ever postseason loss.

After Asante Samuel intercepted a Jake Plummer pass in the second quarter, New England was able to score on an Adam Vinatieri field goal, after a vicious defensive struggle in the first half on both sides. With New England leading 3-0 with less than two minutes left in the first half, Patriots running back Kevin Faulk fumbled the ball near his own 40-yard line. Aided by a controversial pass interference penalty on Samuel, the Broncos converted the turnover with running back Mike Anderson's one-yard touchdown run. On the ensuing kickoff, Ellis Hobbs fumbled, setting up kicker Jason Elam's 50-yard field goal to give Denver a 10-3 halftime lead. With less than a minute to go in the third quarter, and with the score 10-6, New England reached the Denver 5-yard line. However, Brady was intercepted for the first time in the playoffs since Super Bowl XXXVIII. The interception was returned by Champ Bailey for 101 yards before New England tight end Ben Watson knocked the ball out of bounds at the New England 1-yard line. The Patriots challenged (via instant replay) whether the ball was actually knocked through and out of the end zone, thus creating a touchback and giving the ball back to New England at the 20-yard line. But the original call stood as there was no clear angle to prove otherwise. Mike Anderson then ran for another one-yard touchdown on the next play to increase Denver's lead, 17-6. The usually accurate Vinatieri then missed a 42-yard field goal, his first in 21 field goal attempts in the playoffs. Later in the fourth quarter, Troy Brown muffed a Denver punt, setting up Rod Smith's four-yard touchdown pass from Plummer. With 8:09 left in the game, Patriots wide receiver David Givens caught a 4-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead 24-13, but Elam added another field goal. Denver then all but clinched the game when safety John Lynch intercepted Brady's desperation pass with less than 3 minutes remaining.

Brady finished the game completing 20 out of 36 passes for 341 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, but lost his first NFL postseason game. Also, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick lost his first postseason game since taking over the team in 2000.

  • Scoring
    • 1st Quarter
      • None.
    • 2nd Quarter
      • NE - FG Vinatieri 40, Patriots 3-0. Drive: Seven plays, 67 yards, 2:22.
      • DEN - Mike Anderson 1 run (Elam kick), Broncos 7-3. Drive: Two plays, 40 yards, 18 seconds.
      • DEN - FG Elam 50, Broncos 10-3. Drive: Four plays, seven yards, 59 seconds.
    • 3rd Quarter
      • NE - FG Vinatieri 32, Broncos 10-6. Drive: 11 plays, 58 yards, 5:31.
      • DEN - Mike Anderson 1 run (Elam kick), Broncos 17-6. Drive: One play, one yard, four seconds.
    • 4th Quarter
      • DEN - Smith 4 pass from Plummer (Elam kick), Broncos 24-6. Drive: Three plays, 15 yards, 1:32.
      • NE - Givens 4 pass from Brady (Vinatieri kick), Broncos 24-13. Drive: Two plays, 77 yards, 33 seconds.
      • DEN - FG Elam 34, Broncos 27-13. Drive: Eight plays, 61 yards, 4:45.

[edit] Sunday January 15, 2006

[edit] AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Indianapolis Colts 18

at RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 14 0 7 0 21
Colts 0 3 0 15 18


Starting Quarterbacks:


The Steelers became the first #6 playoff seed (since the league expanded to a 12-team playoff format in 1990) to defeat a #1 seed, and also the first #6 seed to reach a conference championship game. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning had a superb statistical performance with 290 passing yards and a touchdown, but it wasn't enough to win. The Steelers took a 14-0 lead in the first period with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's six yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Antwaan Randle El on the game's opening drive, and tight end Heath Miller's seven yard touchdown reception. The Colts could only manage a field goal in the second quarter while running back Jerome Bettis's one yard touchdown run late in the third quarter increased the Steelers' lead, 21-3.

The Colts rallied in the final quarter to cut the deficit 21-18, with quarterback Manning's 50-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Clark and running back Edgerrin James's 3-yard touchdown run (and Reggie Wayne's successful two-point conversion reception). James' touchdown came a few plays after an interception by Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu was overturned by instant replay (a reversal that the league would later admit was a mistake [4]). But with 1:20 left in the game, Manning was sacked on fourth and 16 at the Colts' 2-yard line, and the ball was turned over to the Steelers on downs.

At this point, the game appeared to be over. However, the Steelers were forced to advance the ball towards another score instead of taking a quarterback kneel because the Colts still had three timeouts remaining. But on Pittsburgh's first play, in which Bettis tried to punch it in for an insurance touchdown, he fumbled for the first time all season when linebacker Gary Brackett popped it from Bettis' hands with his helmet. Indianapolis defensive back Nick Harper recovered the ball and appeared to be on his way for an Indy touchdown that would've given the Colts the lead when Roethlisberger made a season saving tackle at the Colts' 42-yard line, spinning around and grabbing his ankle. Eventually, the Colts then advanced to the Pittsburgh 28-yard line, but kicker Mike Vanderjagt, who had been perfect at home in the playoffs, missed a 46-yard game-tying field goal attempt wide right with 17 seconds remaining, and the Steelers ran out the clock.

Roethlisberger's game-saving tackle would later be known as "The Immaculate Tackle".

  • Scoring
    • 1st Quarter
      • PIT - Randle El 6 pass from Roethlisberger (Reed kick), Steelers 7-0. Drive: 10 plays, 84 yards, 5:35.
      • PIT - Miller 7 pass from Roethlisberger (Reed kick), Steelers 14-0. Drive: Seven plays, 72 yards, 2:53.
    • 2nd Quarter
      • IND - FG Vanderjagt 20, Steelers 14-3. Drive: 15 plays, 96 yards, 9:39.
    • 3rd Quarter
      • PIT - Bettis 1 run (Reed kick), Steelers 21-3. Drive: Six plays, 30 yards, 3:21.
    • 4th Quarter
      • IND - Clark 50 pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick), Steelers 21-10. Drive: Six plays, 72 yards, 2:17.
      • IND - James 3 run (Wayne pass from Manning), Steelers 21-18. Drive: Six plays, 80 yards, 1:39.

[edit] NFC: Carolina Panthers 29, Chicago Bears 21

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 7 9 7 6 29
Bears 0 7 7 7 21
  • Game time: 4:30 p.m. EST/3:30 p.m. CST (2130 UTC)
  • Game weather: 42 °F (Partly cloudy, windy)
  • TV announcers (FOX): Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (color commentator), Pam Oliver and Chris Myers (field reporters)
  • Referee: Walt Coleman
  • Game Attendance: 62,209


Starting Quarterbacks:


The Panthers recorded 434 yards of total offense, and avenged a 13-3 regular season defeat by the Bears, to advance to their third NFC Championship Game in their eleven-year existence. Carolina receiver Steve Smith shredded Chicago's #2 ranked defense during the regular season, catching 12 passes for 218 yards and 2 touchdowns, the first coming 55 seconds into the contest, and rushing for 26 yards. Panthers kicker John Kasay contributed three second-quarter field goals. Although the Panthers lost key running back DeShaun Foster to a broken ankle in the third quarter, the team managed to hold off the Bears. Chicago took the opening kickoff of the second half and scored on quarterback Rex Grossman one yard touchdown pass to tight end Desmond Clark, cutting Carolina's lead to 16-14. The teams then exchanged touchdowns, with Smith's 39-yard reception and Bears running back Jason McKie's three yard touchdown run. But the Panthers then pulled away for good with tight end Kris Mangum's one yard touchdown reception with 8:04 left in the game. Grossman was limited to only 17 of 41 completions while Delhomme finished the game with 24 of 33 completions for 319 yards and 3 touchdowns.

  • Scoring
    • 1st Quarter
      • CAR - Smith 58 pass from Delhomme (Kasay kick), Panthers 7-0. Drive: Two plays, 60 yards, 55 seconds.
    • 2nd Quarter
      • CAR - FG Kasay 20, Panthers 10-0. Drive: 10 plays, 62 yards, 4:01.
      • CAR - FG Kasay 38, Panthers 13-0. Drive: Eight plays, 40 yards, 4:26.
      • CHI - Peterson 1 run (Gould kick), Panthers 13-7. Drive: Nine plays, 67 yards, 4:29.
      • CAR - FG Kasay 37, Panthers 16-7. Drive: Eight plays, 51 yards, 1:57.
    • 3rd Quarter
      • CHI - Clark 1 pass from Grossman (Gould kick), Panthers 16-14. Drive: Eight plays, 68 yards, 3:39.
      • CAR - Smith 39 pass from Delhomme (Kasay kick), Panthers 23-14. Drive: Five plays, 56 yards, 3:24.
    • 4th Quarter
      • CHI - McKie 3 run (Gould kick), Panthers 23-21. Drive: 11 plays, 66 yards, 4:44.
      • CAR - Mangum 1 pass from Delhomme (kick failed), Panthers 29-21. Drive: Seven plays, 62 yards, 4:19.

[edit] Conference Championships

[edit] Sunday January 22, 2006

[edit] AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 34, Denver Broncos 17

at INVESCO Field, Denver, Colorado

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 3 21 0 10 34
Broncos 0 3 7 7 17
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. MST (2000 UTC)
  • Game weather: 40 °F (Partly sunny)
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Phil Simms (color commentator), Bonnie Bernstein and Armen Keteyian (field reporters)
  • Referee: Terry McAulay
  • Game Attendance: 76,775


Starting Quarterbacks:


The Steelers forced four turnovers and jumped to a 24-3 halftime lead en route to advancing to their sixth Super Bowl in team history. In doing so, Pittsburgh became the first #6 playoff seed (since the league expanded to a 12-team playoff format in 1990) to advance to the Super Bowl. Second-year quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, already in his fifth career playoff game, completed 21 of 29 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns (one each to Cedrick Wilson and Hines Ward) and ran for a third. Steelers running back Jerome Bettis rushed for the other touchdown.

Meanwhile, the Broncos could only manage a field goal in the first half, and did not score a touchdown, a 30-yard pass from quarterback Jake Plummer to Ashley Lelie, until 3:43 left in the third quarter. Denver cut the lead 27-17 with Mike Anderson's 3-yard touchdown run with 7:58 left in the game, but a Plummer fumble setup Roethlisberger's 4-yard touchdown run with 3:05 remaining to seal the victory.

  • Scoring
    • 1st Quarter
      • PIT - FG Reed 47, Steelers 3-0. Drive: 12 plays, 62 yards, 6:29.
    • 2nd Quarter
      • PIT - Wilson 12 pass from Roethlisberger (Reed kick), Steelers 10-0. Drive: Five plays, 39 yards, 2:53.
      • DEN - FG Elam 23, Steelers 10-3. Drive: 12 plays, 55 yards, 5:31.
      • PIT - Bettis 3 run (Reed kick), Steelers 17-3. Drive: 14 plays, 80 yards, 7:28.
      • PIT - Ward 17 pass from Roethlisberger (Reed kick), Steelers 24-3. Drive: Four plays, 38 yards, 1:41.
    • 3rd Quarter
      • DEN - Lelie 30 pass from Plummer (Elam kick), Steelers 24-10. Drive: Five plays, 80 yards, 2:24.
    • 4th Quarter
      • PIT - FG Reed 42, Steelers 27-10. Drive: Eight plays, 47 yards, 4:58.
      • DEN - Anderson 3 run (Elam kick), Steelers 27-17. Drive: Seven plays, 85 yards, 3:47.
      • PIT - Roethlisberger 4 run (Reed kick), Steelers 34-17. Drive: Five plays, 17 yards, 1:53.

[edit] NFC: Seattle Seahawks 34, Carolina Panthers 14

at Qwest Field, Seattle, Washington

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 0 7 0 7 14
Seahawks 10 10 7 7 34
  • Game time: 6:30 p.m. EST/3:30 p.m. PST (2330 UTC)
  • Game weather: 48°F (Cloudy)
  • TV announcers (FOX): Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (color commentator), Pam Oliver and Chris Myers (field reporters)
  • Referee: Ed Hochuli
  • Game Attendance: 67,837


Starting Quarterbacks:


The Seahawks forced four turnovers, and allowed only 36 rushing yards and 14 points, as they advanced to their first Super Bowl trip in the team's 30-year history. Running back Shaun Alexander proved he was fully recovered from his injury in the divisional round by rushing for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns. Seattle jumped to a 17-0 lead with quarterback Matt Hasselbeck's 17-yard touchdown pass to Jerramy Stevens, Josh Brown's 24-yard field goal, and Alexander's one-yard touchdown run. The Panthers then cut the score to 17-7 on Steve Smith's 59-yard punt return for a touchdown with 9:56 left in the first half. The return was notable for the rare case of the officials waving off a blocking in the back penalty. Regardless of that controversy, the Seahawks scored another 17 unanswered points with another Brown field goal, Darrell Jackson's 20-yard touchdown reception, and a second score by Alexander. By the time Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Drew Carter, their only offensive score of the game, there was only 5:34 left in the contest.

  • Scoring
    • 1st Quarter
      • SEA - Stevens 17 pass from Hasselbeck (Brown kick), Seahawks 7-0. Drive: Five plays, 57 yards, 2:16.
      • SEA - FG Brown 24, Seahawks 10-0. Drive: Six plays, 14 yards, 2:41.
    • 2nd Quarter
      • SEA - Alexander 1 run (Brown kick), Seahawks 17-0. Drive: Four plays, 17 yards, 57 seconds.
      • CAR - Smith 59 punt return (Kasay kick), Seahawks 17-7.
      • SEA - FG Brown 39, Seahawks 20-7. Drive: 10 plays, 57 yards, 4:59.
    • 3rd Quarter
      • SEA - Jackson 20 pass from Hasselbeck (Brown kick), Seahawks 27-7. Drive: Eight plays, 65 yards, 3:51.
    • 4th Quarter
      • SEA - Alexander 1 run (Brown kick), Seahawks 34-7. Drive: Eight plays, 53 yards, 4:48.
      • CAR - Carter 47 pass from Delhomme (Kasay kick), Seahawks 34-14. Drive: Four plays, 80 yards, 51 seconds.

[edit] Super Bowl XL

Further information: Super Bowl XL

The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks, 21–10.

[edit] Bracket

                                   
January 8 - Giants Stadium   January 15 - Soldier Field          
 5  Carolina  23
 5  Carolina  29
 4  N.Y. Giants  0     January 22 - Qwest Field
 2  Chicago  21  
NFC
January 7 - Raymond James Stadium  5  Carolina  14
January 14 - Qwest Field
   1  Seattle  34  
 6  Washington  17 NFC Championship
 6  Washington  10
 3  Tampa Bay  10   February 5 - Ford Field
 1  Seattle  20  
Wild Card Playoffs  
Divisional Playoffs
January 8 - Paul Brown Stadium  N1  Seattle  10
January 15 - RCA Dome
   A6  Pittsburgh  21
 6  Pittsburgh  31 Super Bowl XL
 6  Pittsburgh  21
 3  Cincinnati  17     January 22 - INVESCO Field
 1  Indianapolis  18  
AFC
January 7 - Gillette Stadium  6  Pittsburgh  34
January 14 - INVESCO Field
   2  Denver  17  
 5  Jacksonville  3 AFC Championship
 4  New England  13
 4  New England  28  
 2  Denver  27  



[edit] Trivia

  • This was the first time since the NFL-AFL merger that the majority of playoff games were won by the visiting teams.
  • The NFC playoffs featured four matchups between teams that had never faced each other in the postseason before (only Washington and Tampa Bay had). This was the most first-time matchups ever for the NFC. The AFC has seen four first-time matchups in three different postseasons (1981, 1982, and 1996).

[edit] References

National Football League playoffs
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1990-91 • 1991-92 • 1992-93 • 1993-94 • 1994-95 • 1995-96 • 1996-97 • 1997-98 • 1998-99 • 1999-2000

2000-01 • 2001-02 • 2002-03 • 2003-04 • 2004-05 • 2005-06 • 2006-07 • 2007-08 • 2008-09 • 2009-10
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