The postseason tournament concluded with the Denver Broncos defeating the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII, 31–24, on January 25, 1998, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California.
Early in the third quarter, Vikings defensive end Jerry Ball recovered a fumble from Barber on the Giants 5-yard line, setting up Leroy Hoard's 5-yard touchdown run on the ensuing play that narrowed the gap to 19–10.
A false start penalty and an incompletion left the Vikings facing second and 15 from the 34, but Cunningham subsequently completed passes to Andrew Glover and Carter for gains of 5 and 24 yards.
Following a 14-yard pass interference penalty on cornerback Phillippi Sparks, Robert Smith ran for a 16-yard gain to set up Murray's go-ahead 24-yard field goal with 0:10 remaining in the game.
Despite a 51-yard kickoff return by Vaughn Hebron, things seemed to look even better for Jacksonville on the ensuing possession when safety Chris Hudson forced a fumble from Elway that was recovered by defensive end Renaldo Wynn.
Denver then drove to the Jacksonville 15, featuring a 59-yard run by Davis, but Elway lost another fumble that was recovered by cornerback Dave Thomas and the score remained 21–17 going into the fourth quarter.
Now in a desperate situation, Brunell attempted to convert a fourth and 10 on the Jaguars next drive, but Gordon sacked him for a 10-yard loss, while a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on receiver Keenan McCardell gave the Broncos a first down on the Jacksonville 15-yard line.
Without star running back Curtis Martin, New England could only generate 228 offensive yards, but their ball security turned out to be key as they avoided losing any turnovers for the entire game.
Near the end of it, Miami threatened to score with a drive to the Patriots 39, but lost the ball when Karim Abdul-Jabbar was tackled by Todd Collins and Lawyer Milloy for no gain on fourth and 1.
Running back Derrick Cullors carried the ball seven times for 42 yards on the drive, while Bledsoe added a 20-yard completion to Terry Glenn and Vinatieri finished it off with a 22-yard field goal with 1:58 left in the third quarter.
Aided by a 40-yard kickoff return by Corey Harris and a 10-yard late hit penalty against Vinatieri at the end of it, Miami finally managed to score on their following drive, moving the ball 23 yards to the Patriots 20-yard line where Olindo Mare made a 38-yard field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter.
Bucs quarterback Trent Dilfer's 23-yard completion to Karl Williams on third down and 1 set up the first score of the game, Michael Husted's 22-yard field goal with 5:25 left in the first quarter.
Later on, Buccaneers cornerback Anthony Parker intercepted a pass from Mitchell and returned it 19 yards to the Lions 20-yard line, setting up Husted's 43-yard field goal that gave the team a 13–0 lead at the end of the half.
Stewart then got the team to the Patriots 40-yard line, converting two third downs with 10-yard completions to Charles Johnson before taking the ball the rest of the way to the end zone on a 40-yard score, the longest touchdown run in Steelers playoff history at the time.
In the second quarter, Bledsoe completed two passes to Shawn Jefferson for 29 yards and a 36-yard throw to Glenn on a 65-yard drive that ended with Adam Vinatieri's 31-yard field goal, making the score 7–3.
Early in the first quarter, Vikings punter Mitch Berger shanked a 12-yard punt that gave the 49ers a first down on the Minnesota 26-yard line, leading to fullback William Floyd's 1-yard touchdown run.
Replays showed the officials blew the call on Reed's reception because his second toe came down on the end line, but it didn't make much difference because the 49ers came back with a 75-yard touchdown drive with Kirby rushing for gains of 22 and 14 yards on the first two plays.
[12] In the fourth quarter, a 15-yard penalty against Vikings defensive tackle John Randle and a 29-yard completion from Young to Stokes set up Kirby's second touchdown of the day to put the Niners up 38–14 before Cunningham led a desperate comeback attempt.
After the game started with a punt from each team, the Bucs drove to the Green Bay 25-yard line, but Packers defensive tackle Bob Kuberski blocked Michael Husted's 43-yard field goal attempt.
Green Bay then drove 67 yards, including a 26-yard catch by Antonio Freeman, to score on Brett Favre's 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mark Chmura.
On fourth and 2 they attempted a fake field goal with a pass by Steve Walsh, but tight end John Davis was tackled by Keith McKenzie at the line of scrimmage for no gain.
Green Bay receiver Antonio Freeman returned the second half kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, but a holding penalty on Darren Sharper eliminated the score and moved the ball all the way back to their own 11-yard line.
Following an exchange of punts, Grbac's 50-yard completion to receiver Joe Horn advanced the ball to the Broncos 15-yard line, and Gonzalez eventually caught a 12-yard touchdown pass to give Kansas City their first lead of the game, 10–7, going into the fourth quarter.
The Chiefs had one last opportunity to go ahead near the end of the game, moving the ball to the Broncos 20-yard line on a drive that included a 29-yard pass interference penalty against Denver and Grbac's 12-yard completion to Lake Dawson on fourth down and 9.
The next time the Steelers got the ball, they moved it to the Broncos 32, only to lose it again when Neil Smith forced a fumble while sacking Stewart and Denver's Mike Lodish made the recovery.
[3] at 3Com Park, San Francisco, California For the third year in a row, Green Bay easily trounced the 49ers in the playoffs, holding them to just 257 total yards while forcing four fumbles and five sacks.
Green Bay eventually reached the 2-yard line before a pass was deflected falling short of the wide open fullback William Henderson, forcing the Packers to settle for a field goal from Ryan Longwell.
Later on, Green Bay managed a drive deep into San Francisco territory, but Favre committed a 15-yard intentional grounding penalty on third and 14, and Longwell missed a 47-yard field goal attempt on the next play.
Only 51 seconds remained after Green Bay got the ball back, but Favre got his team into scoring range with a 40-yard completion to Freeman, and Longwell capitalized with a 43-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Packers a 13–3 halftime lead.
Now in a desperate situation, San Francisco tried to convert a fourth down from their own 22 on the next drive, but linebacker Keith McKenzie sacked Young for an 11-yard loss on the play, setting up Dorsey Levens' 5-yard touchdown run that made the score 23–3.