The postseason tournament concluded with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeating the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII, 48–21, on January 26, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California.
Then Ray Mickens recovered a fumble from Troy Walters that had been forced by Khary Campbell on the ensuing kickoff, giving New York the ball on the Colts 39-yard line.
The Packers, playing without Pro Bowl safety Darren Sharper and their top receiver Terry Glenn due to injuries, fell down 24–0 in the first half and could not recover.
Packers coach Mike Sherman did not challenge the call, a mistake considering replays showed the punted ball bouncing off a Falcons player's left shoulder.
Green Bay regrouped on the opening drive of the second half, moving the ball 73 yards in 10 plays, the longest a 25-yard completion from Favre to receiver Donald Driver.
Most of the rest of the quarter would be taken up by drives that ended in punts, but the Steelers got a big scoring opportunity when Amos Zereoué's 36-yard run gave them a first down on the Cleveland 23-yard line.
In the first quarter, 49ers linebacker Julian Peterson intercepted a pass from Kerry Collins at the San Francisco 24-yard line after it bounced off the hands of running back Ron Dayne.
First, the Giants were forced to punt on their ensuing possession, but returner Cedrick Wilson muffed the kick and New York's Johnnie Harris recovered the ball on the 49ers 8-yard line.
After the play, an iconic scene of defensive end Michael Strahan walking over to Owens and pointing to the scoreboard to remind him of the deficit they still faced would be a highlight of the game.
Matt Allen's short kick and a 15-yard personal foul against Dhani Jones for hitting the returner after a fair catch gave San Francisco the ball on the Giants 27-yard line.
Collins then led them to the 49ers 23-yard line with six seconds left, but Junkin botched a snap for a 41-yard field goal attempt, resulting in a feeble pass play that fell incomplete.
NFL Vice President of Officiating Mike Pereira admitted pass interference also should have been called on 49ers defensive end Chike Okeafor for pulling down Seubert.
Titans cornerback Samari Rolle gave his team an early scoring opportunity when he intercepted Tommy Maddox's first pass of the game and returned it 16 yards to the Tennessee 48-yard line.
On the first play of the second half, Steelers nose tackle Casey Hampton forced a fumble from George that Aaron Smith recovered for Pittsburgh on the Titans 31-yard line.
[3] The Titans took the opening kickoff and McNair threw completions to Justin McCareins for gains of 31 and 22 yards before Robert Holcombe's 3-yard run put the ball on the Steelers 16-yard line.
But in the third quarter, a 20-yard touchdown run by Vick that could have tied the game was called back by a holding penalty on Travis Claridge, and Feely missed a 37-yard field goal a few plays later.
[6] at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida The Buccaneers, with the league's top-ranked defense during the 2002 regular season, forced five turnovers, sacked quarterback Jeff Garcia four times with a 35.9 passer rating, and limited the 49ers to only two field goals.
San Francisco responded as Garcia's 30-yard completion to Tai Streets set up a 24-yard field goal by Jeff Chandler, but the 7–3 score ended up being as close as the 49ers would get for the rest of the game.
A pair of 15-yard penalties against the Bucs defense enabled the 49ers to drive back for another Chandler field goal, but a 36-yard pass interference call against San Francisco safety Tony Parrish soon led to another Buccaneer touchdown, this one a 12-yard catch by tight end Rickey Dudley.
One play later, Michael Pittman's 22-yard burst moved the ball to the 4-yard line, and Alstott finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, giving Tampa Bay a 28–6 lead with 55 seconds left in the half.
On the first play of the third quarter, Bucs safety Dwight Smith intercepted Garcia and returned the ball six yards to the San Francisco 37, setting up Martín Gramática's 19-yard field goal.
[8] Despite San Francisco's 10–6 record, the NFC West title, and their Wild Card playoff win against the New York Giants, coach Steve Mariucci was fired three days after this game.
[6] at Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland, California Chad Pennington's dream season came to an end as the Jets quarterback threw two interceptions, lost two fumbles, and was sacked four times (twice by Rod Coleman).
New York turned the ball over on downs with their next possession, and Gannon once again went to work, completing a 50-yard strike to Jerry Porter and finishing the drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Rice, increasing the Raiders lead to 24–10.
This time the Eagles defense was able to take advantage of the field position, forcing a three-and-out that earned the offense a first down on Tampa Bay 38-yard line after Tom Tupa's 36-yard punt.
With time running out in the half, Donovan McNabb led the Eagles to the Tampa Bay 24-yard line, only to lose a fumble while being sacked by his high school teammate Simeon Rice, who stripped the ball away and recovered it himself.
With 4:00 left in regulation, on 2nd & 7 at the 24, McNabb shook off sack attempts by Warren Sapp and Greg Spires, then scrambled to find Antonio Freeman for a 14-yard catch to the 10 yard line.
Later on, Derrick Mason returned a Raiders punt 11 yards to the Titans 45-yard line, sparking a 55-yard drive that ended on McNair's 9-yard touchdown run that gave the team a 17–14 lead with 2:54 left in the half.
On the next play, Rice caught a 15-yard reception at the 1-yard line, and then Gannon found Doug Jolley in the back of the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown pass, giving the Raiders a 21–17 lead.
Then on the ensuing kickoff, rookie returner John Simon was stripped of the ball by Tim Johnson, and Alvis Whitted recovered the fumble for Oakland on the Titans' 39-yard line, setting up a 43-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski on the last play of the first half, making the score 24–17.