The National Football League playoffs for the 1996 season began on December 28, 1996. The postseason tournament concluded with the Green Bay Packers defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI, 35–21, on January 26, 1997, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars, each in just their second year of existence, not only qualified for the playoffs for the first time, but they also both advanced to their respective conference championship games.
Participants
Bracket
Schedule In the United States, ABC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games, then NBC broadcast the rest of the AFC playoff games. Fox televised the rest of the NFC games and Super Bowl XXXI (their first ever Super Bowl broadcast since becoming the NFC network in 1994).
The 1996-97 playoffs marked the first time that ABC employed ESPN’s NFL announce team for its Wild Card Weekend coverage; Mike Patrick replaced Brent Musburger on play-by-play with Joe Theismann replacing Dick Vermeil as analyst. Musburger and Vermeil, who at the time comprised ABC’s #2 college football broadcast team, had called one of the two Wild Card matchups every year since the playoffs expanded in 1990.
Round Away team Score Home team Date Kickoff(ET / UTC−5) TV Wild-card round Jacksonville Jaguars 30–27 Buffalo Bills December 28, 1996 12:30 p.m. ABC Minnesota Vikings 15–40 Dallas Cowboys 4:00 p.m. ABC Indianapolis Colts 14–42 Pittsburgh Steelers December 29, 1996 12:30 p.m. NBC Philadelphia Eagles 0–14 San Francisco 49ers 4:00 p.m. Fox Divisional round San Francisco 49ers 14–35 Green Bay Packers January 4, 1997 12:30 p.m. Fox Jacksonville Jaguars 30–27 Denver Broncos 4:00 p.m. NBC Pittsburgh Steelers 3–28 New England Patriots January 5, 1997 12:30 p.m. NBC Dallas Cowboys 17–26 Carolina Panthers 4:00 p.m. Fox Conference championships Carolina Panthers 13–30 Green Bay Packers January 12, 1997 12:30 p.m. Fox Jacksonville Jaguars 6–20 New England Patriots 4:00 p.m. NBC Super Bowl XXXI New England Patriots 21–35 Green Bay Packers January 26, 1997 6:15 p.m. Fox
Wild-card round
Saturday, December 28, 1996
AFC: Jacksonville Jaguars 30, Buffalo Bills 27
The second-year Jaguars forced four turnovers, racked up three sacks, and outgained Buffalo in total yards 409–308 to earn their first playoff win. After trading points back and forth all day, almost drive for drive, Jaguars safety Chris Hudson would make a decisive hit on Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, knocking him out of the game and forcing a fumble that his team would convert into the game-winning score.
Jacksonville was forced to punt on their opening drive, and Russell Copeland returned the ball 16 yards to the Jags' 43-yard line, setting up Kelly's 7-yard touchdown pass to running back Thurman Thomas. But later in the quarter, Jacksonville defensive end Clyde Simmons intercepted a shovel pass intended for Thomas and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown to tie the game. Buffalo stormed right back with a 10-play, 68-yard drive that ended with Thomas' 2-yard touchdown run, making the score 14–7. However, Jacksonville running back Natrone Means's 62-yard carry on their next drive moved the ball to the Bills' 5-yard line. The drive stalled there, but Mike Hollis kicked a 27-yard field goal to make the score 14–10 at the end of the first quarter.
The Bills drove to the Jags' 2-yard line on their first drive of the second quarter, but came up empty when Kelly was stuffed for no gain by Jeff Lageman while trying to convert a fourth and 1 on a quarterback sneak. Jacksonville then stormed to their first lead of the day with quarterback Mark Brunell completing a 47-yard pass to tight end Pete Mitchell before Means took off for a 30-yard touchdown burst, giving them a 17–14 advantage. However, Eric Moulds returned the ensuing kickoff 57 yards to the Jags' 42-yard line, setting up a 33-yard Steve Christie field goal to tie the game at 17. Jacksonville responded with a drive to the Buffalo 36, but on the last play of the half, Brunell was intercepted by Thomas Smith.
Moulds returned the second-half kickoff 26 yards to the Bills' 38-yard line, where the Bills went on to retake the lead with Christie's 47-yard field goal. But after a few punts, Jacksonville managed to tie it again with an 11-play, 62-yard drive that included a 27-yard catch by receiver Keenan McCardell and ended with a 24-yard field goal by Hollis.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, Jeff Burris picked off Brunell's pass and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown to give his team a 27–20 lead. Jacksonville countered right back, moving the ball 65 yards in 10 plays. McCardell caught two passes for 39 yards on the drive, while Means kept it going with a 2-yard run on fourth and 1. Brunell finished the drive with a 2-yard toss to Jimmy Smith that tied the game at 27. On Buffalo's next drive, Hudson made a devastating hit on Kelly, knocking him out of the game and forcing a fumble that was recovered by cornerback Aaron Beasley on the Jags' 42-yard line. Brunell then completed a pair of passes to Smith and McCardell for gains of 14 and 11 yards to set up Hollis's 45-yard field goal, putting them back in front for good at 30–27. The Bills offense, now led by Todd Collins, were unable to move the ball on any of their remaining drives, and during the game's final seconds, Tony Brackens forced a fumble while sacking Collins that linebacker Eddie Robinson recovered to seal the win.
Means finished the game with 175 rushing yards. Simmons finished with two sacks and an interception returned for a touchdown. Bills receiver Quinn Early caught nine passes for 122 yards. Moulds returned five kickoffs for 142 yards. This was the final game of Kelly's Hall of Fame career, and the final playoff game for Bills Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy as well.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Jaguars and the Bills.
A fictionalized version of the game was played during the final season of the ABC series Coach, with the Orlando Breakers as the Jaguars' stand-in that also made the playoffs in their second year of existence; however, the Breakers lost to the Bills in a 63-0 blowout, which ended their season.
NFC: Dallas Cowboys 40, Minnesota Vikings 15
Dallas outgained the Vikings in total yards 438–268, plays 78–44, and time of possession 42:03–17:57. They also forced six turnovers and scored on five first half possessions to win the game.
Dallas scored first on a 14-play, 88-yard drive in which Troy Aikman completed four passes to Michael Irvin for 65 yards and finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. Perhaps the key point of the game occurred on the next series when Minnesota running back Amp Lee caught a short pass from quarterback Brad Johnson and appeared to be on his way for a 43-yard touchdown. But Cowboys safety George Teague caught up with Lee at the 1-yard line and poked the ball out of his hands, knocking it out of the end zone for a touchback. Dallas then drove 70 yards, including a 22-yard carry by Herschel Walker, to go up 10–0 on Chris Boniol's 28-yard field goal. Five plays after the ensuing kickoff, Teague stripped the ball from Vikings running back Leroy Hoard. Cornerback Deion Sanders recovered the fumble and lateraled it to Shante Carver, who was tackled on the Minnesota 37, and Emmitt Smith took off for a 37-yard touchdown run on the next play. Then during Minnesota's next possession, Teague intercepted a pass from Johnson and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown, giving the Cowboys a 24–0 lead with 8:36 left in the second quarter.
The Dallas dominance would continue as Sanders returned an interception 22 yards to the Vikings 29 to set up a 31-yard Boniol field goal. Even Orlando Thomas's interception of an Aikman pass ended up going against the Vikings as Thomas lost the ball while being tackled by Walker and tight end Eric Bjornson got it back for the Cowboys. This led to Boniol's 22-yard field goal, giving Dallas a 30–0 lead at the end of the half.
In the second half, Minnesota drove 47 yards and scored on a 30-yard pass from Johnson to Cris Carter. But this was answered by Dallas, who subsequently moved the ball 80 yards in 16 plays to go up 37–7 on Smith's 1-yard touchdown run. In the fourth quarter, Dallas linebacker Broderick Thomas forced a turnover by sacking Johnson on fourth down, giving Dallas the ball on the Vikings 39, which led to another Boniol field goal. On the ensuing drive, Johnson's 50-yard completion to Qadry Ismail set up the final score of the game on Johnson's 2-yard touchdown run.
Smith rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns, while also catching four passes for 26 yards. Irvin caught eight passes for 103 yards. Teague had five tackles, two forced fumbles, and an interception return for a touchdown. This was the last time the Cowboys won a playoff game until January 9, 2010, when they beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2009 NFC Wild Card playoffs 34–14, and their last playoff win at Texas Stadium. Meanwhile, the Vikings fell to 0–4 in the playoffs under coach Dennis Green.
This was the fifth postseason meeting between the Vikings and Cowboys. Dallas won three of the prior four meetings.
+Dallas leads 3–1 in all-time playoff games
Sunday, December 29, 1996
AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 42, Indianapolis Colts 14
The Steelers blew a 13-point lead in the first half but scored 29 unanswered points in the second half. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh held the Colts to 146 total yards of offense, while gaining 407 yards for themselves (236 on the ground).
Pittsburgh drove 51 yards in eight plays, including a 30-yard reception by receiver Charles Johnson, to score on Norm Johnson's 29-yard field goal on their first drive. After the Colts' next drive, Steelers receiver Jahine Arnold returned their punt 36 yards to the Colts' 31-yard line. One play later, Mike Tomczak completed a 20-yard pass to Charles Johnson at the 8. Backup quarterback Kordell Stewart, who was routinely used by the team in short-yardage situations, eventually finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, giving the Steelers a 10–0 lead with 4:55 left in the first quarter. Following another Colts punt, Pittsburgh increased their lead to 13–0 with Norm Johnson's 50-yard field goal 10 seconds into the second quarter.
Pittsburgh seemed to be taking control of the game, but with 4:35 left in the half, Tomczak threw a short pass intended for Ernie Mills that was too far behind the receiver. Cornerback Eugene Daniel intercepted the ball and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown. On the Steelers next possession, Tomczak threw an interception to safety Ray McElroy on the Colts 40-yard line. On the next play, Jim Harbaugh completed a 48-yard pass to Marvin Harrison at the Steelers 12, and he eventually converted a third and 7 situation with a 9-yard touchdown pass to receiver Aaron Bailey, giving the team a 14–13 lead with 31 seconds left before halftime.
However, the Steelers dominated the rest of the game. They started out the second half with a 16-play, 91-yard possession that ate 9:30 off the clock. Tomczak completed 5/5 passes for 37 yards on the drive, while Jerome Bettis caught one of them and rushed for 42 yards on eight carries, the last a 1-yard touchdown run. Then Stewart completed a 2-point conversion pass to tight end John Farquhar, giving the team a 21–14 lead. Harbaugh was intercepted by Levon Kirkland on the next drive, and after a Steelers punt, running back Marshall Faulk fumbled a pitch from him which safety Carnell Lake recovered on the Indy 18-yard line. Five plays later, Bettis scored another 1-yard touchdown run to give the Steelers a 28–14 lead less than a minute into the fourth quarter.