Sunday January 20.2C 2002 2001–02 NFL playoffs

at heinz field, pittsburgh, pennsylvania

game time: 12:30 p.m. est
game weather: 21 °f (−6 °c), cloudy
game attendance: 63,976
referee: tony corrente
tv announcers (cbs): dick enberg (play-by-play), dan dierdorf (color commentator), , bonnie bernstein (sideline reporter)

steelers running jerome bettis, sidelined of regular season, scheduled make return in first playoff ever @ new home, heinz field, sidelined undisclosed ailment @ last minute. did not matter pittsburgh offense rushed 150 yards , held ball on 40 minutes. defense limited defending champion ravens 150 yards , 7 first downs, forced 4 turnovers, , recorded 3 sacks. bettis replacement, amos zereoué, rushed 2 touchdowns.

the first half disaster baltimore. first 6 drives resulted in 2 interceptions, 3 punts without gaining first down, , fumble. steelers defensive chad scott started out dominance intercepting baltimore quarterback elvis grbac s first pass of game , returning 19 yards ravens 43-yard line. pittsburgh s offense subsequently gained 37 yards on first 3 plays. linebacker jamie sharper managed halt drive tackling chris fuamatu-maʻafala 1-yard loss on third down , goal, kris brown kicked field goal give pittsburgh 3–0 lead. next time baltimore had ball, forced punt after linebacker mike jones sacked grbac 10-yard loss on third down , 10. pittsburgh s offense drove 51 yards in 7 plays, featuring 2 completions kordell stewart receivers plaxico burress , hines ward gains of 17 , 20 yards. zereoue finished drive 2-yard touchdown run make 10–0.

in second quarter, baltimore defensive chris mcalister gave offense great chance score when intercepted pass stewart , returned 18 yards steelers 7-yard line. on next play, safety brent alexander intercepted grbac s pass in end zone touchback. steelers took on , drove ravens 9-yard line, on third down, stewart sacked 8-yard loss larry webster , brown s ensuing field goal attempt wide left. following 3 , out baltimore, receiver troy edwards returned punt 27-yards ravens 43-yard line, setting zereoue s second touchdown run. linebacker jason gildon recovered fumble terry allen on baltimore s next drive , steelers capitalized 46-yard field goal brown, increasing lead 20–0 4:23 left in half. after going time without single first down, baltimore managed respond on next drive. tight end shannon sharpe caught 4 passes 48 yards on 11-play, 57-yard drive. matt stover capped off 26-yard field goal, cutting deficit 20–3 @ halftime.

late in third quarter, baltimore receiver jermaine lewis returned punt 88 yards touchdown. steelers responded driving 83 yards in 12 plays , scoring stewart s 32-yard touchdown pass burress.

nfc: st. louis rams 45, green bay packers 17

at dome @ america s center, st. louis, missouri

game time: 4:00 p.m. est/3:00 p.m. cst
game weather: played indoors, domed stadium
game attendance: 66,338
referee: jeff triplette
tv announcers (fox): pat summerall (play-by-play), john madden (color commentator), , ron pitts (sideline reporter)

the matchup between 2 of league s highly rated quarterbacks — packers brett favre , rams kurt warner, shared combined total of 5 nfl mvp awards, became lopsided st. louis improved defense, forced 8 turnovers. although favre threw 281 yards, tied playoff record tossing 6 interceptions, 3 of returned touchdowns. packers generated of offense in contest, turnovers gave rams 24–10 halftime lead. rams returned 2 interceptions in second half put game away.

rams defensive aeneas williams opened scoring returning interception favre 29 yards touchdown. next time green bay had ball, turned on again when safety kim herring stripped ball ahman green , rookie adam archuleta recovered it. however, rams unable take advantage of turnover. few plays later, warner s pass intercepted darren sharper on packers 35-yard line. favre completed pair of passes corey bradford , donald driver gains of 27 , 16 yards, before tying game 22-yard touchdown pass antonio freeman. rams stormed right 15-yard completion az-zahir hakim , 38-yard burst running marshall faulk advancing ball packers 11-yard line. 2 plays later, warner completed 4-yard touchdown pass torry holt put rams in lead. on green bay s next drive, herring intercepted pass favre , returned 45 yards packers 4-yard line, setting 4-yard touchdown catch fullback james hodgins in second quarter. allen rossum returned ensuing kickoff 95 yards touchdown, holding penalty on torrance marshall eliminated score. green bay still managed score ryan longwell field goal, rams kicker jeff wilkins responded field goal of own give rams 24–10 halftime lead.

in second half, rams scored 2 touchdowns in span of 92 seconds. on green bay s opening drive, green s 49-yard run moved ball rams territory. 3 plays later, williams stripped ball freeman, dove on it, got , returned touchdown. replay challenge overruled score, showing williams down contact when recovered fumble, 3 plays later, holt s 50-yard reception set 7-yard touchdown run faulk. on green bay s next possession, rams lineman grant wistrom deflected pass favre arms of linebacker tommy polley, returned interception 34 yards touchdown.

in fourth quarter, rams defense scored again interception return williams, making him first player ever return 2 interceptions touchdowns in playoff game. meanwhile, managed pin down packers, allowing meaningless score on 8-yard touchdown pass favre freeman 5:46 left in game.