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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
[7] at 3Com Park at Candlestick Point, San Francisco, California Although they gained more yards than the 49ers, the Eagles were shut out in a rain-soaked, muddy game with 62 miles per hour winds.
(A reference to John Facenda's famous description of Lambeau Field as "the frozen tundra")[10] Despite the poor weather, San Francisco finished the game without losing any turnovers.
Six plays later, backup quarterback Elvis Grbac (who had replaced injured starter Steve Young) threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to running back Terry Kirby with 24 seconds left in the half.
Later on, with 5:31 left in the game, Kirby lost a fumble while being tackled by Green Bay defensive back Mike Prior, and Hayes recovered the ball on the 49ers' 32-yard line.
[7] at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado The wild-card Jaguars, who had barely made the playoffs with a 9–7 record by winning their last five games of the season (including their final one when Atlanta Falcons kicker Morten Andersen missed a last-second potential game-winning 30-yard field goal), overcame a 12-point deficit by racking up 443 yards (including 202 on the ground) and scoring on six consecutive possessions to upset the Broncos, who had finished the season with an NFL best 13–3 record (and had rested most of their starters over the last three games after clinching the #1 AFC seed at 12–1) and were favored to win by over 14 points.
After a controversial pass interference penalty wiped out a Tory James interception for Denver, Means gained 29 yards on a reception at the Broncos' 42, and later took the ball across the goal line on an 8-yard run.
On the first play from scrimmage, the Steelers got a taste of what lay in store as Pats quarterback Drew Bledsoe completed a 53-yard pass to Terry Glenn that set up Curtis Martin's 2-yard touchdown run.
Pittsburgh was quickly forced to punt, and New England took just four plays to score again, the last a 34-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Bledsoe to fullback Keith Byars, giving the team a 14–0 lead just over seven minutes into the first quarter.
The Steelers lone score of the game occurred with 3:50 left in the third quarter, when linebacker Chad Brown's interception of a Bledsoe pass led to a 29-yard field goal by Norm Johnson.
Pittsburgh then got the ball back on their own 36 following a Patriots punt, but any hope of a comeback was dashed when safety Lawyer Milloy intercepted a pass from Mike Tomczak on the New England 39-yard line.
[7] at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina The second-year Panthers held Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman to 165 passing yards and forced three interceptions en route to their first playoff win in team history.
On their next series, Winslow Oliver's 15-yard punt return set up a 42-yard drive that ended with Collins's 10-yard touchdown throw to Willie Green, giving the team a 14–3 lead in the second quarter.
The Cowboys countered with a 73-yard drive to score on Aikman's 2-yard touchdown pass to fullback Daryl Johnston, but they failed on the two-point conversion attempt and the Panthers lead was only cut to 14–9.
But then Panthers safety Chad Cota intercepted a pass from Aikman and returned it 49 yards to set up kicker John Kasay's 24-yard field goal with three seconds in the half, giving Carolina a 17–11 halftime lead.
Then upon reaching their 37, Aikman threw a pass that was intercepted by Pat Terrell and returned 49 yards to the Cowboys' 19-yard line, setting up Kasay's fourth field goal to make the score 26–17.
Favre's completions to Andre Rison and Freeman for gains of 23 and 25 yards moved the ball into field-goal range, and Jacke's 31-yard field goal finished the drive, giving Green Bay a 17–10 halftime lead.
In the fourth quarter, Packers defensive tackle Gilbert Brown slapped the ball out of the hands of running back Anthony Johnson and safety LeRoy Butler recovered the fumble, leading to Jacke's third field goal that made the score 30–13 with 10:02 left in the game.
at Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts Although New England gained just 234 yards compared to the Jags' 289, they made up the difference by forcing four turnovers, including three consecutive takeaways on the last three Jacksonville possessions of the game.
After a few punts, New England managed a drive into Jaguars' territory, but cornerback Aaron Beasley intercepted Drew Bledsoe's pass at the 8-yard line to keep the score 7–0 at the end of the first quarter.
Their defense then forced the Patriots to punt, but returner Chris Hudson lost the ball from a hit by Marty Moore and Mike Bartrum recovered for New England on the Jags' 19-yard line.
Three plays later, Bledsoe lost a fumble while being tackled by Kevin Hardy, which linebacker Eddie Robinson recovered for Jacksonville on the Pats' 37 to set up a 28-yard Hollis field goal that cut the score to 13–6.
Jacksonville took the ball back and drove to the New England 5-yard line, but with just under four minutes left in the game, Patriots safety Willie Clay intercepted a Brunell pass in the end zone.