Although the Super Bowl, the championship round of the playoffs, was played at a neutral site, the designated home team was based on an annual rotation by conference.
Then less than five minutes into the second quarter, Redskins safety Brad Edwards picked off a pass from Salisbury and returned it six yards to the Vikings 33, and Washington cashed in on this turnover with Earnest Byner's 3-yard rushing touchdown, giving them a 10–7 lead.
On the next play, running back Marion Butts took a pitch, ran through a large hole in the right side of the line, evaded a tackle attempt from safety Charles Mincy, and outraced the rest of the defense for a 54-yard rushing touchdown.
[3] Leslie O'Neal intercepted a pass from Dave Krieg at the Chiefs 26-yard line on Kansas City's next drive to set up kicker John Carney's 34-yard field goal.
Houston dominated the game early, as quarterback Warren Moon completed 19 of 22 passes for 220 yards and four touchdowns in the first half, while the Oilers held the ball for 21:12, keeping the Bills' high-powered offense off the field for most of the first two quarters.
1:41 into the third quarter, Reich threw a pass that bounced off the hands of tight end Keith McKeller and Bubba McDowell returned the interception 58 yards for a touchdown, increasing the Houston lead to 35–3.
Buffalo then drove 50 yards in 10 plays, including a 24-yard pass to tight end Pete Metzelaars that went right through the hands of linebacker Eddie Robinson, and scored with a 1-yard touchdown run by Davis, cutting the deficit to 35–10.
Christie then recovered his own onside kick and the Bills scored on the fourth play of their ensuing drive with Reich's 38-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Don Beebe.
One of Beebe's feet went partially out of bounds during the run before he made the catch, and it should have been ruled by the officials as an illegal touching of the football; this was pointed out on ESPN's "NFL Primetime" postgame recap as well as by Todd Christensen on the NBC broadcast.
Del Greco attempted a field goal to increase the Oilers' lead, but Montgomery fumbled the snap and Talley recovered the ball on the 26-yard line.
However, Steelers quarterback Neil O'Donnell, who had missed the last three games of the season with a leg injury, ended up turning the ball over three times on the team's next four drives.
On the opening drive of the second half, the Bills moved the ball 80 yards and scored with Reich's 17-yard touchdown pass to James Lofton, increasing their lead to 14–3.
[10] On their first drive, San Francisco advanced 83 yards, including a 35-yard reception by Jerry Rice and a 22-yard catch by tight end Brent Jones, to score on Young's 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver John Taylor that went off the hands of Redskins safety A. J. Johnson.
The 49ers seemed to be in prime position to score again when Kelly Goodburn's 29-yard punt gave them a first down on the Washington 49, but Fred Stokes eventually stripped the ball from Young and safety Brad Edwards recovered the fumble.
Four plays later, Young threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jones, who fumbled the ball when hit by Edwards at the 1, but managed to recover it in the end zone to give San Francisco a 17–3 halftime lead.
On the next series, the ball again slipped out of Young's hands, this time on a pass attempt, and Redskins defensive lineman Charles Mann recovered it on the San Francisco 15-yard line.
Then on the fourth play after the ensuing kickoff, linebacker Bryan Cox intercepted a pass intended for Shawn Jefferson and returned it seven yards to the San Diego 42.
However, kicker Steve Christie made an NFL playoff record-tying five field goals while key players stepped up on both sides as the Bills rushed their way into history.
Midway through the first quarter, Bills defensive end Bruce Smith forced a fumble from Marino while sacking him, and linebacker Darryl Talley recovered it, setting up a 21-yard field goal by Christie.
After the ensuing kickoff, Kelly led the Bills 64 yards in seven plays and finished the drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Thomas early in the second quarter.
On the opening kickoff of the second half, Miami returner Mike Williams fumbled the ball while being tackled by Mark Pike, and Buffalo's Carwell Gardner recovered it at the Dolphins 25-yard line.
This was the second straight year the Bills defeated a future Hall of Fame quarterback to advance to the Super Bowl as they beat John Elway and his Denver Broncos 10–7 a season earlier.
[2] at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California Even though the Cowboys had only one more yard of total offense than the 49ers (416–415), Dallas forced four critical turnovers that helped them earn the win.
On San Francisco's first drive of the game, a controversial holding penalty on guard Guy McIntyre nullified a 63-yard touchdown completion from quarterback Steve Young to wide receiver Jerry Rice, and the 49ers had to punt.
Despite a 19-yard reception from Michael Irvin on the Cowboys first play, they also had to punt, but returner Alan Grant fumbled after a hit from Dixon Edwards and Dallas fullback Daryl Johnston recovered on the 49ers 22.
Dallas was forced to punt on their next drive after Troy Aikman was sacked twice (one by Bill Romanowski and the other by Martin Harrison) for 19 total yards, and Grant returned the football to the Cowboys 47-yard line.
A 21-yard reception by Rice sparked a 49ers drive to the Cowboys 10-yard line where Cofer made a 28-yard field goal to tie the game with less than two minutes left in the second quarter.
After receiving the second half kickoff, the Cowboys marched 78 yards, featuring a 38-yard leaping catch by Alvin Harper over Eric Davis, to score on Johnston's 3-yard touchdown run to take a 17–10 lead.
On the ensuing drive for San Francisco midway into the fourth, Cowboys linebacker Ken Norton Jr. intercepted a pass from Young and returned it to the 49ers 45-yard line, and Dallas subsequently marched to the 7.
The 49ers attempted one last drive to come back, but Young was intercepted, this time by free safety James Washington at the 2:00 warning, thus ending any hope of a 49er comeback.