Wild Card playoffs 1998–99 NFL playoffs

1 wild card playoffs

1.1 january 2, 1999

1.1.1 afc: miami dolphins 24, buffalo bills 17
1.1.2 nfc: arizona cardinals 20, dallas cowboys 7


1.2 january 3, 1999

1.2.1 afc: jacksonville jaguars 25, new england patriots 10
1.2.2 nfc: san francisco 49ers 30, green bay packers 27


1.3 byes

wild card playoffs
january 2, 1999
afc: miami dolphins 24, buffalo bills 17

at pro player stadium, miami

game time: 12:30 p.m. est
game weather: 80 °f (27 °c), partly cloudy
game attendance: 72,698
referee: mike carey
tv announcers (abc): al michaels (play-by-play), dan dierdorf, boomer esiason (color commentators), , lesley visser (sideline reporter)

the dolphins forced 5 bills turnovers, including buffalo quarterback doug flutie s fumble @ miami 5-yard line 17 seconds left in game. buffalo s wide receiver eric moulds set nfl postseason record 240 receiving yards, including 32-yard touchdown catch.

the bills had great scoring chance when moulds caught 65-yard pass flutie on first play scrimmage, terrell buckley knocked ball out of hands , safety brock marion recovered fumble, returning 17 yards miami 29. miami drove 57 yards in 16 plays score on kicker olindo mare s 31-yard field goal. after forcing punt, miami went on long field goal drive, 1 covering 66 yards in 11 plays, including 22-yard reception ed perry , 2 pass interference calls against buffalo total of 26 yards.

mare s 40-yard field goal gave dolphins 6-0 lead on 10 minutes left in second quarter, failed surprise onside kick attempt gave buffalo ball on dolphins 42. moulds caught 37-yard pass set thurman thomas 1-yard touchdown run. near end of half, buffalo drove dolphins 6-yard line, marion intercepted pass flutie in end zone less minute left on clock. miami blew scoring chance dan marino completed 52-yard pass oronde gadsden @ bills 9-yard line on next play, mare missed 26-yard field goal on last play of half.

in third quarter, miami got scoring chance when derrick rodgers forced fumble while sacking flutie linebacker zach thomas recovered on bills 40-yard line. bills defense allowed 3 yards on next 3 plays , forced punt. miami s defense returned favor forcing buffalo punt after 3 plays, , o. j. mcduffie returned chris mohr s 39-yard kick 20 yards dolphins 48-yard line. miami went on take 14-7 lead 12-play, 52-yard drive score on karim abdul-jabbar s 3-yard run (and stanley pritchett s 2-point conversion). however, buffalo stormed right 4-play, 81-yard touchdown drive tie game, taking advantage of pass interference call against patrick surtain gave them 29 yards. on next play, flutie s 23-yard completion moulds moved ball miami 32-yard line, , ended finishing drive 32-yard touchdown completion moulds less minute left in quarter.

on miami s opening drive of fourth quarter, marino completed 5/5 passes 54 yards on 75-yard drive ended mare s third field goal, giving dolphins 17-14 lead. jerry wilson forced fumble while tackling andre reed, , buckley recovered ball miami @ midfield, leading marino s 11-yard touchdown pass lamar thomas made score 10-point game @ 24-14 3:42 left on clock.

with time running out in game, flutie completed 31-yard pass moulds , threw ball reed, tackled on miami 1-yard line. believing had scored, reed argued vehemently referee steve zimmer , bumped him, drawing unsportsmanlike conduct foul got receiver ejected game. pushed bills 15 yards , left them facing second , goal 15 instead of 1. flutie s next 2 passes incomplete, forcing bills settle steve christie s 33-yard field goal 1:47 left. buffalo subsequently recovered onside kick , drove 64 yards in 10 plays dolphins 5-yard line. flutie stepped make throw, lost ball while being sacked miami s trace armstrong , lineman shane burton recovered fumble.

there wasn t doubt in , bills coach wade phillips said reed s ejection after game. game looks lot different @ end. andre reed in game , down 3, have done different things @ end.

nfc: arizona cardinals 20, dallas cowboys 7

at texas stadium, irving, texas

game time: 4:00 p.m. est/3:00 p.m. cst
game weather: 61 °f (16 °c), clear
game attendance: 62,969
referee: bernie kukar
tv announcers (abc): mike patrick (play-by-play), joe theismann, paul maguire (color commentators), , solomon wilcots (sideline reporter)

quarterback jake plummer passed 213 yards , 2 touchdowns led cardinals first playoff victory since 1947, ending longest playoff win drought in nfl history. victory satisfying against cowboys, defeated them twice during season (38–10 on opening day , 35–28 in week 11). arizona running adrian murrell rushed 95 yards , caught 2 passes 16 yards , touchdown, while defense sacked cowboys quarterback troy aikman 4 times (twice linebacker jamir miller , 2 more andre wadsworth) , intercepted 3 of passes (two cornerback aeneas williams).

dallas had chance score on second drive when tyrone hughes returned arizona punt 11 yards cowboys 38. aikman led team cardinals 19-yard line, drive ended there , richie cunningham missed 36-yard field goal attempt. on first play of cardinals following possession, plummer completed 59-yard pass receiver frank sanders, setting murrell s 12-yard touchdown catch few plays later.

in second quarter, cowboys got scoring opportunity when cornerback kevin mathis picked off pass plummer on dallas 37. dallas went on drive cardinals 7-yard line. on fourth , 1, cowboys tried convert run emmitt smith, stopped linebacker mark maddox, broke through line , dropped him 1-yard loss. dallas 3 remaining drives of half result in interception williams , 2 punts, second returned 10 yards cardinals 38 running eric metcalf less 2 minutes left in half. plummer completed 15-yard pass receiver rob moore , 20 yarder metcalf, setting 37-yard chris jacke field goal gave arizona 10-0 lead going halftime.

on second play of second half, murrell took off 74-yard run cowboys 3-yard line. longest postseason run ever surrendered cowboys in 52-postseason game history. on next play, plummer threw 3-yard touchdown pass fullback larry centers, making score 17–0. on first play of fourth quarter, williams recorded second interception aikman, setting 46-yard field goal jacke. desperate points, dallas tried convert fourth , 1 deep in own territory, have aikman sacked miller 10-yard loss. interception darren woodson prevented arizona scoring, ten minutes remaining on clock, there little hope comeback. dallas avoid shutout when deion sanders 41-yard punt return set aikman s 6-yard touchdown pass billy davis 3:33 left in game.

it last time abc aired game between these 2 teams, after 6 games on monday night football. espn aired game between these 2 in 2017 (though did meet on sunday night on espn once).

january 3, 1999
afc: jacksonville jaguars 25, new england patriots 10

at alltel stadium, jacksonville, florida

game time: 12:30 p.m. est
game weather: 75 °f (24 °c), partly cloudy
game attendance: 71,139
referee: ron blum
tv announcers (cbs): greg gumbel (play-by-play), phil simms (color commentator), , armen keteyian (sideline reporter)

running fred taylor ran 162 yards , touchdown jaguars won first home playoff game in team history. jacksonville kicker mike hollis contributed 4 field goals. patriots running robert edwards, rushed 1,115 yards , 9 touchdowns during season, held 28 yards on 17 carries.

the patriots, playing without starting quarterback drew bledsoe, receiver terry glenn , linebacker ted johnson due injuries, not score points in first half. hollis opened scoring 2 field goals. second 1 set 46-yard run taylor , followed 2 overthrown passes quarterback mark brunell receiver keenan mccardell , running george jones, both wide open in end zone. brunell struggled throughout of game, finishing 14 of 34 completions 161 yards. later in second quarter, taylor s 21-yard run gave team first down on patriots 34-yard line. 4 plays later, scored on 13-yard touchdown run, giving team 12–0 lead after failed 2-point conversion attempt. jacksonville got chance score when cornerback aaron beasley recovered fumble edwards on jags 49-yard line. new england s defense managed force turnover on downs @ patriots 23-yard line, , score remain 12-0 going halftime.

in third quarter, patriots quarterback scott zolak managed spark rally. first led new england 85 yards, including 21-yard completion troy brown on third , 9, on drive consumed 8:48 off clock , ended 1-yard touchdown run edwards. defense forced punt, , brown returned 17 yards patriots 46-yard line, team proceeded drive jacksonville 9. following dropped pass tight end lovett purnell on third down, adam vinatieri s 27-yard field goal cut 12–10. on jaguars ensuing possession, brunell threw pass receiver jimmy smith, managed break past defensive ty law , make 37-yard touchdown catch in of end zone. after punt each team, jacksonville lineman joel smeenge forced fumble while sacking zolak defensive end tony brackens recovered on patriots 25-yard line, setting hollis third field goal. added fourth field goal close out scoring after patriots turned ball on over downs deep in own territory on next possession. on new england s final play, zolak intercepted safety chris hudson.

as of 2017, time jaguars have defeated new england, regular or postseason. patriots last playoff loss until 2005.

nfc: san francisco 49ers 30, green bay packers 27

at 3com park @ candlestick point, san francisco

game time: 4:00 p.m. est/1:00 p.m. pst
game weather: 60 °f (16 °c), clear
game attendance: 66,506
referee: gerald austin
tv announcers (fox): pat summerall (play-by-play) , john madden (color commentator)

the 49ers defeated packers, had eliminated them playoffs in each of past 3 seasons, in 1 of wildest back-and-forth games in league history in last hurrah in 49ers dynasty.

both teams took advantage of each other s turnovers , mistakes throughout game. in first quarter, green bay safety pat terrell s recovery of fumble receiver terrell owens set 48-yard drive ended ryan longwell field goal. later in quarter, chris doleman recovered fumble dorsey levens on packers 17-yard line. 2 plays later, steve young threw 1-yard touchdown pass tight end greg clark, giving san francisco 7–3 lead. packers offense responded driving 62 yards in 9 plays, , levens made miscue 22-yard run 49ers 2-yard line on fourth down , 1. on next play, quarterback brett favre finished drive 2-yard touchdown pass antonio freeman 4 seconds second quarter.

later in second quarter, 49ers defensive r. w. mcquarters returned punt 19 yards 47-yard line. running garrison hearst rushed 3 times 28 yards on 37-yard drive ended field goal wade richey, tying game @ 10. before half ended, packers retook lead 9-play, 83-yard drive, aided 2 15-yard penalties against san francisco. levens finished drive 2-yard touchdown run, giving green bay 17–10 halftime lead.

early in third quarter, 49ers linebacker lee woodall intercepted pass favre , returned 17 yards packers 33-yard line. 4 plays later, owens dropped pass in end zone, young threw second touchdown pass clark on next play, tying score @ 17. after forcing punt, took lead driving 48 yards , scoring 48-yard field goal richey.

in fourth quarter, packers drove 60 yards in 11 plays, featuring 33-yard reception fullback william henderson, , scored 37-yard field goal tie game. on 49ers ensuing drive, 34-yard completion young owens set richey field goal put them in lead, 23–20. 6:16 left in game, 49ers cornerback darnell walker intercepted pass favre , returned packers 40-yard line, giving team chance put out of reach. after 2 runs hearst failed make significant gain, owens dropped potential first-down catch, fourth drop of day, , san francisco had punt.

taking ball @ own 11-yard line 4:19 remaining, favre led packers retake lead on 15-yard touchdown pass freeman @ end of 89-yard drive, featuring 47-yard completion seldom-used rookie receiver corey bradford. san francisco responded equally impressive drive, in jerry rice visibly fumbled on first reception of game, ruled down contact though replays appeared show ball came out before knee hit ground.[1] use of instant replay challenges not in effect until following year, allowing drive continue behind young, completed 7 of 9 passes on 76-yard drive winning score. owens, had dropped 4 passes , lost fumble, caught 25-yard winning touchdown pass 8 seconds left in game.

hearst finished game 128 rushing yards , 3 receptions 15 yards. levens rushed 116 yards, caught 6 passes 37 yards, , scored touchdown. favre threw 292 yards , 2 touchdowns, while young passed 182 yards , 3 scores. both young , favre intercepted twice. packers receiver roell preston set postseason franchise record 198 kickoff return yards.

this game later featured on nfl s greatest games catch ii.

byes

afc: denver broncos, new york jets
nfc: minnesota vikings, atlanta falcons




^ nobles, charlie (3 january 1999). bitter bills curse costly penalty . new york times.