The postseason tournament concluded with the New England Patriots defeating the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, 28–24, on February 1, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Carolina's defense forced three turnovers and held Arizona to an NFL playoff record low of 78 total yards as they advanced to their first postseason win since the 2005 season.
In the fourth quarter, the Cardinals had a chance to get back in the game when linebacker Sam Acho forced a fumble while sacking Newton, which safety Rashad Johnson picked up and returned 30 yards to the Panthers' 8-yard line.
Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco countered with a 23-yard pass to Steve Smith Sr. and a 19-yard completion to Owen Daniels on the way to a 28-yard field goal by Justin Tucker, making the score 10–6.
In the second quarter, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck completed a 30-yard pass to T. Y. Hilton that set up Adam Vinatieri's 38-yard field goal, putting the team back in front at 10–7.
Dalton then led the team to the Colts' 39-yard line, where Mike Nugent made a 57-yard field goal, the second longest kick in NFL playoff history, cutting the score to 13–10 going into halftime.
Dallas faced an early 14-point deficit and trailed for most of the time in regulation, but after a controversial non-call on an apparent pass interference against their defense in the fourth quarter, quarterback Tony Romo led the team 59 yards for the game winning score.
Taking full advantage of their second chance, Detroit ended up driving 99 yards in 14 plays to score on an 18-yard burst by Reggie Bush, giving them a 14–0 lead with less than two minutes left in the first quarter.
Dallas had a great opportunity to score when linebacker Kyle Wilber intercepted a pass from Stafford and returned it five yards to the Lions' 19-yard line on the first play of the second half.
However, Dallas responded with an 80-yard scoring drive, featuring a 43-yard reception by receiver Dez Bryant, that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by DeMarco Murray on fourth and goal, trimming their deficit to one possession, 20–14.
The Cowboys were pushed back to the Detroit 33-yard line after Romo was sacked on consecutive plays by Ndamukong Suh, but Bailey made a 51-yard field goal, cutting the score to 20–17.
After the next three drives ended in punts, New England drove 67 yards, including a 23-yard reception by Gronkowski on third and 8, to tie the score at 14–14 with Brady's 15-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola with 3:37 left in the second quarter.
Having already lost starting center Bryan Stork for the game with an injury, the Patriots went with four linemen, while playing tight end Michael Hoomanawanui and running back Shane Vereen on the line next to them.
After the Ravens managed to force a punt with a few seconds left on the clock, Flacco threw a final Hail Mary pass to the end zone that was knocked down for an incompletion.
Down by 21 points, Newton threw a 15-yard touchdown to Benjamin with 2:34 remaining to make the score 31–17, but Carolina was unable to recover the onside kick and Seattle ran out the clock for the victory.
After a Dallas punt on their opening possession, Green Bay mounted a 10-play drive which featured 45 rushing yards from Eddie Lacy and ended when Rodgers threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Quarless.
On a second and 20 on their next drive Rodgers converted with a 31-yard pass to Randall Cobb, and Mason Crosby hit a 40-yard field goal as time expired to cut Green Bay's deficit to 14–10 at halftime.
Manning then converted a third down with a 17-yard pass to Emmanuel Sanders before Connor Barth kicked a 45-yard field goal with two seconds left in the half to make the score 14–10 at halftime.
Luck threw his second interception to Rahim Moore, and Denver responded with a 14-play drive during which Manning went 7-for-9 for 38 yards and C. J. Anderson converted on fourth down with a 7-yard run but had to settle for a 41-yard Barth field goal to cut the deficit to eight points.
Green Bay took the opening kickoff and drove to the Seattle 29-yard line, only to lose the ball when cornerback Richard Sherman made a leaping interception of an Aaron Rodgers pass in the end zone.
As he headed for the line of scrimmage, he managed to pull the entire Green Bay defense toward him, leaving rookie offensive tackle Garry Gilliam, who had checked in as an eligible receiver, wide open down the field.
[31] Early in the fourth quarter, a 32-yard burst by Packers running back James Starks sparked a 57-yard drive that ended with Crosby's 48-yard field goal, putting Green Bay up 19–7.
Bostick, the Packers' third-string tight end, misplayed the Seahawk's attempt, stepping in front of all-pro receiver Jordy Nelson who was waiting for the ball, and ignoring his own blocking assignment in the process.
Wilson took the snap and fired a pass to Baldwin, who broke ahead of Casey Hayward on a streak pattern down the right sideline and hauled in the catch for a 35-yard gain to the Packers' 35-yard line.
Kearse was tightly covered by Tramon Williams, but managed to pull ahead of him just enough to make the catch for a 35-yard touchdown reception, sending Seattle to their third Super Bowl in franchise history.
New England blew out the Colts, massively outgaining them in total yards (397 to 209), first downs (28 to 17), and time of possession (37:49 to 22:11), while also forcing three turnovers and scoring touchdowns on their first four drives of the second half.
Both teams had to punt on their first drive, but Colts returner Josh Cribbs muffed the kick and Patriots linebacker Darius Fleming recovered the ball on the Indianapolis 26-yard line.
In the second quarter, New England threatened to score again with a drive to the Colts' 26-yard line, but this time they came up empty when Brady threw a pass that was intercepted by linebacker D'Qwell Jackson.
Andrew Luck then led the Colts 93 yards in 10 plays, featuring a 36-yard completion to T. Y. Hilton on the right sideline, on a drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Zurlon Tipton, cutting their deficit to 14–7.
[46][47] This cable-only experiment lasted only this postseason, as ESPN was later given the right in subsequent years to simulcast its playoff games on sister broadcast network ABC.