On Green Bay's first drive of the second half, they reached the Lions 38-yard line, only to lose the ball when Edgar Bennett was tackled for no gain by Willie Clay on fourth and 1.
With time running out in the third quarter, Green Bay appeared to be in control of the game, but Detroit finally caught a break as Mel Gray returned the ensuing kickoff a franchise playoff record 68 yards to the Packers 18-yard line.
Kansas City started it off with an 11-play, 80-yard drive in which quarterback Joe Montana, playing in what would be his last NFL game before retirement, completed all six of his passes, the last a 1-yard touchdown toss to tight end Derrick Walker.
Then with 7:31 left in the game, Michael Stewart wrestled the ball away from Chiefs running back Marcus Allen at the Miami 34-yard line to stop a second Kansas City scoring threat.
Cleveland started the third quarter with a drive to the Pats 17-yard line, but lost the ball on an Eric Metcalf fumble that was recovered by Patriots defensive end Mike Pitts, the Browns' only turnover of the game.
The Vikings then scored on Fuad Reveiz' 29-yard field goal to give them a 3–0 lead, but only after a holding penalty on center Jeff Christy eliminated Terry Allen's touchdown run.
Walsh subsequently led the Bears 71 yards, including his 52-yard completion to Jeff Graham and finished the drive with a 9-yard scoring pass to tight end Keith Jennings.
Shortly before halftime, Moon's 38-yard completion to Amp Lee set up his 4-yard touchdown pass to Cris Carter that cut the score to 14–9, following a failed 2-point conversion attempt.
Now needing 16 points with 12:42 left in the game, Minnesota managed to drive 76 yards in 15 plays for a touchdown on Moon's 11-yard pass to Lee, but only after taking 7:06 off the clock in the process.
After being completely dominated up to this point, Cleveland finally caught a break when Mark Carrier returned Mark Royals' 43-yard punt 20 yards to the Steelers 30-yard line, leading to Matt Stover's 22-yard field goal to cut the lead to 17–3, but in the closing seconds of the quarter, Steelers cornerback Tim McKyer intercepted a pass from Cleveland quarterback Vinny Testaverde and returned it 21 yards to the Browns 6-yard line.
Chicago scored first after Joe Cain forced a fumble from 49ers tight end Brent Jones that Alonzo Spellman recovered for the Bears on the San Francisco 36-yard line.
Dallas receiver Kevin Williams returned the opening kickoff 36 yards to the Green Bay 49, sparking a 51-yard drive that ended with Emmitt Smith's 5-yard touchdown run.
Green Bay had an early chance to score in the second half when linebacker Bryce Paup returned an interception from Aikman 34 yards to the Cowboys 28-yard line.
[3] at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California The Chargers overcame a 21–6 halftime deficit by limiting the Dolphins offense to only 16 plays in the second half.
Receiver O. J. McDuffie returned the following kickoff 42 yards to the Miami 48-yard line, and the Dolphins ended up scoring another touchdown on Marino's 9-yard pass to Jackson, giving them a 14–3 lead with 7:21 left in the second quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, San Diego drove to the Dolphins 37-yard line, only to lose the ball when Stan Humphries threw an interception to Michael Stewart.
Later in the quarter, the Chargers got a big opportunity when safety Darren Carrington recovered a fumble from Steelers running back Barry Foster on the San Diego 41, but Pittsburgh's defense stepped up and forced a punt.
In the second quarter, San Diego's offense finally managed to get a drive going, with running back Natrone Means rushing for 17 yards and catching a pass for 15.
On the next play, a long pass interference penalty gave them a first down on the Steelers 3-yard line, but they could not get into the end zone and settled for John Carney's field goal, cutting the score to 7–3.
Pittsburgh struck back with a 12-play, 51-yard drive, including three first down completions from O'Donnell to receiver Ernie Mills, and scored on Gary Anderson's 39-yard field goal with 13 seconds left in the half.
Humphries was intercepted by cornerback Rod Woodson on the third play of the quarter, and O'Donnell's 33-yard aerial strike to tight end Eric Green set up Anderson's 23-yard field goal, increasing their lead to 13–3.
But on the fifth play of the Chargers ensuing drive, quarterback Stan Humphries faked a handoff, fooling the Steelers defensive backs long enough to find tight end Alfred Pupunu wide open to complete a 43-yard touchdown.
Then with 5:13 left in the game, Humphries threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tony Martin, who out-jumped Tim McKyer to make the catch and give the Chargers a 17–13 lead.
O'Donnell then completed seven consecutive passes, the longest a 21-yard gain to Green that gave them a first and goal at the Chargers 9-yard line and put them in position for a potential winning touchdown.
On the third play of the game, San Francisco cornerback Eric Davis intercepted Aikman's pass, plowing right through the intended target (receiver Kevin Williams) as he snagged the ball out of the air and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown.
San Francisco kicker Doug Brien recovered the ball at the Cowboys 35-yard line, and then Young went back to work, converting a third and 1 with a 2-yard sneak and then throwing a 14-yard pass to receiver John Taylor.
[17] This time Dallas was able to respond, driving 62 yards in eight plays and converting a third and 23 situation with a 44-yard touchdown pass from Aikman to Irvin, making the score 21–7 going into the second quarter.
In the closing minutes of the first half, Aikman threw three straight incompletions, and a 23-yard punt by the Cowboys' John Jett gave San Francisco the ball on the Dallas 39 with 30 seconds left.
Two carries by Floyd gained 11 yards, and then Young threw a 28-yard touchdown completion to All-Pro wide receiver Jerry Rice, who made a diving catch in the back-left corner of the end zone with eight seconds left in the first half to make the score 31–14.
At one point, Dallas coach Barry Switzer, furious that Sanders was not called for pass interference, stormed onto the field and bumped an official while arguing, which resulted in a 15-yard penalty against the Cowboys, and Aikman was sacked by defensive end Tim Harris on fourth down on the next play.