The postseason tournament concluded with the Washington Redskins defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII, 42–10, on January 31, at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California.

Finally the Super Bowl, the championship round of the playoffs, was played at a neutral site, with the designated home team based on an annual rotation by conference.

The Vikings would spend the rest of the day pondering their prospects until a Dallas win over St. Louis enabled them to snag the NFC's lowest postseason seed.

On the opening drive of the game, Seattle cornerback Melvin Jenkins intercepted Warren Moon's pass and returned it 28 yards to the Houston 46.

Meanwhile, the Oilers responded with 13 unanswered points with two field goals by Zendejas (from 47 and 49 yards) and running back Mike Rozier's 1-yard rushing touchdown.

[4] In the third quarter, Seattle running back Bobby Joe Edmonds returned a punt 54 yards to set up Norm Johnson's 33-yard field goal.

The Colts stormed right back, as quarterback Jack Trudeau threw completions for gains of 18 and 21 yards before finishing the drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Pat Beach.

Cleveland responded by driving from their own 35 to the Indianapolis 2-yard line, but on third down and goal, Colts safety Freddie Robinson intercepted Kosar's pass in the end zone.

Eventually, Indianapolis reached the Browns 20-yard line, but linebacker Eddie Johnson hit Trudeau as he threw a pass, causing the ball to go straight up in the air where it was intercepted by Wright at the 14.

After the interception, Kosar completed five of seven passes for 65 yards while Byner rushed six times for 20 and capped off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, putting the Browns back in the lead, 21–14.

One play later, backup quarterback Sean Salisbury's pass was intercepted by Frank Minnifield, who returned the ball 48 yards for a touchdown to put the game away.

Minnesota drove 77 yards on their opening drive, including an 11-yard run by quarterback Wade Wilson out of shotgun formation on third and 7, to score on Chuck Nelson's 21-yard field goal.

The decision appeared to pay off, as Young hooked up with Craig for a 31-yard completion and later took the ball into the end zone himself on a 5-yard run, cutting their deficit to 27–17.

Following a punt, Young led the 49ers 68 yards in eight plays to score on a 16-yard touchdown pass to tight end John Frank, but by then there was only 3:42 left in the game.

Then after Chicago kicker Kevin Butler missed a 48-yard field goal, Washington got the ball back with 1:51 and made a big play when a late hit by cornerback Maurice Douglass turned a 13-yard catch by Sanders into a 28-yard gain.

Chicago responded with a 44-yard reception by Willie Gault that set up Butler's 25-yard field goal with 4:41 remaining in the quarter, but were shut down for the rest of the game.

Green would return for just one play before leaving as a result of his injury, but Washington's defense still held on to their lead without him, intercepting three passes from McMahon in the second half.

Early in the fourth quarter, Washington drove into the Bears' red zone and sent their special teams unit to attempt a 35-yard field goal.

Three plays later, Washington attempted to put the game away with a quarterback sneak on fourth and inches, but Williams was stopped short with 1:13 left, giving the Bears one last chance to drive for a winning score.

However, the Redskins defense again rose to the occasion, forcing Walter Payton out of bounds one yard short of the first-down marker on fourth down and 8.

In the third quarter, with Denver up 27–3, the Oilers drove to the Broncos 7-yard line, but lost the ball again with a Moon pass that Mark Haynes intercepted and returned 57 yards.

In a defensive battle, the Redskins played a little better by limiting the Vikings to only 76 rushing yards and piling up eight sacks among seven different players (Dave Butz, Kurt Gouveia, Ravin Caldwell, Dexter Manley, Charles Mann, Alvin Walton, and Clarence Vaughn).

The Vikings string of playoff upsets came to an end in a game that proved to be just as hard fought and intense as Washington's 27–24 overtime victory over them in Week 16 of the regular season.

Minnesota took over and tied the game before halftime with quarterback Wade Wilson's 36-yard completion to tight end Steve Jordan setting up a 23-yard touchdown pass to Leo Lewis.

[13] In the third quarter, Redskins linebacker Mel Kaufman picked off a pass that had been deflected by Butz (which turned out to be the only turnover of the game) and returned it 10 yards to the Minnesota 17-yard line to set up Haji-Sheikh's 28-yard field goal.

In the final quarter, Wilson got the Vikings moving on a 10-play, 52-yard drive, finding receiver Anthony Carter for 23 yards, running back Allen Rice for 15, and Jordan for nine.

Minnesota eventually got a first down on the Redskins 3-yard line, but Washington's defense made a stand, stopping them on three consecutive running plays and forcing them to settle for Chuck Nelson's 18-yard field goal to tie the game.

Elway eventually threw an incomplete pass on third and goal from the Browns 3-yard line, but a defensive holding penalty on Frank Minnifield gave Denver a first down at the 1, and running back Steve Sewell scored a touchdown on the next play.

After the ensuing kickoff, Kosar completed a 25-yard pass to tight end Ozzie Newsome and a 19-yarder to Clarence Weathers on third down and 17 on the way to a 29-yard field goal by Matt Bahr two minutes into the second quarter.

Kosar then completed four consecutive passes en route to a 4-yard touchdown run by Byner, making the score 28–24 with less than four minutes left in the third quarter.