The postseason tournament concluded with the Denver Broncos defeating the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII, 34–19, on January 31, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida.
The Bills had a great scoring chance when Moulds caught a 65-yard pass from Flutie on the first play from scrimmage, but Terrell Buckley knocked the ball out of his hands and safety Brock Marion recovered the fumble, returning it 17 yards to the Miami 29.
In the third quarter, Miami got an early scoring chance when Derrick Rodgers forced a fumble while sacking Flutie that linebacker Zach Thomas recovered on the Bills 40-yard line.
Then Jerry Wilson forced a fumble while tackling Andre Reed, and Buckley recovered the ball for Miami at midfield, leading to Marino's 11-yard touchdown pass to Lamar Thomas that made the score a 10-point game at 24–14 with 3:42 left on the clock.
Believing he had scored, Reed argued vehemently with the referee Steve Zimmer and bumped into him, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct foul that got the receiver ejected from the game.
But as Flutie stepped up to make a throw, he lost the ball while being sacked by Miami's Trace Armstrong and defensive tackle Shane Burton recovered the fumble.
Plummer then completed a 15-yard pass to receiver Rob Moore and a 20 yarder to Metcalf, setting up a 37-yard Chris Jacke field goal that gave Arizona a 10–0 lead going into halftime.
[2] at Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida Running back Fred Taylor ran for 162 yards and a touchdown as the Jaguars won their first home playoff game in team history.
The Patriots, playing without starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe, receiver Terry Glenn and linebacker Ted Johnson due to injuries, could not score any points in the first half.
But on the Jaguars ensuing possession, Brunell threw a pass to receiver Jimmy Smith, who managed to break past cornerback Ty Law and make a 37-yard touchdown catch in the back of the end zone.
[2] at 3Com Park at Candlestick Point, San Francisco The 49ers defeated the Packers, who had eliminated them from the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, in one of the wildest back-and-forth games in league history in what would be the last hurrah in the 49ers dynasty.
In the fourth quarter, the Packers drove 60 yards in 11 plays, featuring a 33-yard reception by fullback William Henderson, and scored a 37-yard field goal to tie the game.
With 6:16 left in the game, 49ers cornerback Darnell Walker intercepted a pass from Favre and returned it to the Packers 40-yard line, giving his team a chance to put it out of reach.
But San Francisco responded with an equally impressive drive, in which Jerry Rice visibly fumbled on his first reception of the game, but was ruled down by contact even though replays appeared to show the ball came out before his knee hit the ground.
Later in the quarter, the 49ers drove deep into Falcons territory again, only to have Young throw an interception to William White, who returned the ball 14 yards with a personal foul on the 49ers adding another 15.
Backup quarterback Ty Detmer fumbled the snap on the extra point attempt, but he picked up the ball and threw it to Clark for a successful 2-point conversion to make it 20–18 with 2:57 left in the game.
Then after forcing a punt, they moved the ball much faster, driving 66 yards in four plays, including John Elway's 33-yard completion to Ed McCaffrey, and scoring with Davis' second touchdown on a 20-yard burst.
However, the Broncos stormed right back, with Davis carrying the ball four times for 47 yards (including a 28-yard rush on the first play) on an 11-play, 87-yard drive that ended with Derek Loville's 11-yard touchdown run, giving them a 21–3 lead by halftime.
However, Jacksonville's Reggie Barlow returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards to the New York 4-yard line, setting up a 3-yard touchdown pass from Brunell to Keenan McCardell and cutting their deficit to 24–14.
With 2:30 left in the game, rookie safety Donovin Darius intercepted a pass from Testaverde in the end zone, but instead on kneeling down for a touchback, he attempted to return the ball and was tackled at the one-yard line.
On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, Griffith intercepted another pass from Plummer and returned this one 15 yards to the Cardinals 16-yard line, setting up a 34-yard field goal by Gary Anderson that gave the Vikings a 17–0 lead before Arizona had made a single completion or gained a first down.
In the fourth quarter, the Cardinals took advantage of a 36-yard punt return by Eric Metcalf that gave them a first down on the Vikings 25-yard line, converting it into Bates' third 1-yard touchdown run to make the score 34–21.
Aided by a 30-yard pass interference penalty on Falcons cornerback Ray Buchanan, Minnesota struck right back on their first drive with Randall Cunningham's 31-yard scoring strike to Randy Moss.
In the second quarter, Vikings linebacker Ed McDaniel recovered a fumble from Harold Green on the Minnesota 40-yard line, which the team converted into a Gary Anderson field goal.
Then on the first play of Atlanta's following drive, Orlando Thomas forced a fumble from tight end O. J. Santiago that Robert Griffith recovered and returned nine yards to the Falcons 33-yard line.
Chandler, now visibly limping due to an ankle injury, completed two passes to Santiago for gains of 15 and 26 yards on a 70-yard drive to the Minnesota 21-yard line where Andersen kicked a 38-yard field goal to win the game.
However, running back Terrell Davis, the NFL MVP in 1998, ran for 167 yards and a touchdown, and Denver capitalized on six turnovers (two interceptions by Darrien Gordon and four fumbles) by the Jets to overcome a 10–0 deficit.
Then Denver took the ball and drove all the way to the Jets 1-yard line, only to give it back when linebacker Mo Lewis deflected Elway's pass on a fourth down conversion attempt.
Then the Broncos caught a lucky break when the ensuing kickoff bounced back in their direction and was recovered by linebacker Keith Burns, setting up Jason Elam's 44-yard field goal to tie the game.
After the next three drives ended in punts, Gordon intercepted a pass from Testaverde and returned it 18 yards to the Jets 18-yard line, where Elam kicked a 35-yard field goal to close out the scoring.