The postseason tournament concluded with Super Bowl LI on Sunday, February 5, 2017, when the New England Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Although the Super Bowl, the championship round of the playoffs, is played at a neutral site, the designated home team is based on an annual rotation by conference.
Oakland's defense then forced a three-and-out with 6:27 left, but safety Corey Moore ended the drive with an interception of a high pass intended for Amari Cooper.
[16] Following a punt by the Lions, Rawls' 26-yard run and Wilson's 19-yard completion to Richardson set up Steven Hauschka's 43-yard field goal, increasing Seattle's lead to 10–0.
[17] After forcing Seattle to punt on the opening drive of the second half, Stafford led the Lions 61 yards in 10 plays, featuring a 23-yard completion to fullback Zach Zenner, to score on Prater's 53-yard field goal, cutting their deficit to 10–6.
Then after a punt, Wilson's 42-yard completion to Doug Baldwin initiated an 82-yard drive that ended on Rawls' four-yard touchdown run, making the score 19–6 after Hauschka missed the extra point.
Faced with 3rd-and-13 after two plays, Matt Moore completed a 36-yard pass to receiver Kenny Stills, setting up Andrew Franks' 38-yard field goal that cut their deficit to 14–3.
But on the next play, Moore lost a fumble while being sacked by James Harrison and Steelers defensive end Stephon Tuitt recovered the ball, allowing Pittsburgh to go into the half maintaining their 20–6 lead.
After a failed onside kick attempt, the Dolphins got one last chance to score when Xavien Howard intercepted Roethlisberger's pass and returned it 11 yards to the Miami 43-yard line.
With six seconds left, Rodgers aired out a Hail Mary pass into the end zone, over the heads of numerous players and was caught by receiver Randall Cobb, giving the Packers a 14–6 halftime lead.
Devin Hester returned the ensuing kickoff 50 yards to the Seattle 45-yard line and the Seahawks advanced into Falcons territory with Wilson's 33-yard pass to Paul Richardson, who made a diving catch and then ran to the end zone.
The Falcons increased their lead on the opening drive of the second half, moving the ball 75 yards—29 yards of which from three carries by Coleman—in 13 plays on the way to Devonta Freeman's one-yard touchdown run that put them up by 16 points.
Atlanta took the kickoff; on 3rd-and-4, Ryan dumped off a short pass to Freeman, who then took off for a 53-yard gain to the Seahawks' 16-yard line, setting up Bryant's 31-yard field goal on the opening play of the fourth quarter.
Seattle were able to get back within 16 points after Hester returned the kickoff 78 yards and Wilson threw a 31-yard touchdown to Doug Baldwin, but Atlanta effectively sealed the game when Sanu recovered the resulting onside kick.
New England's defense intercepted Houston three times, while running back Dion Lewis scored three touchdowns—one rushing, one receiving and one kickoff return—as the Patriots advanced to the AFC Championship Game for the sixth year in a row.
Following a three-and-out from both teams, Texans cornerback A. J. Bouye committed a 30-yard pass interference penalty while trying to cover Chris Hogan, giving New England a first down on Houston's 35-yard line.
The Texans were unable to achieve a first down on their next drive and New England drove 43 yards in 10 plays for Gostkowski's 43-yard field goal that gave them a 34–16 lead with under 7 minutes left.
On their ensuing drive, Dak Prescott made two key completions to receiver Dez Bryant, the first for 21 yards and the second a 40-yard touchdown pass that cut their deficit to 21–10.
Following a touchback on the kickoff, Prescott's completions to Terrance Williams, Witten and Beasley for gains of 24, 11 and 7 yards, respectively, got the team close enough for Bailey to make a 52-yard field goal, tying the game back up at 31–31 with 40 seconds remaining.
Although Pittsburgh was unable to get into the end zone, Chris Boswell's postseason record six field goals were enough for them to become the first team to win a playoff game without scoring a touchdown since the 2006 Indianapolis Colts on their run to a victory in Super Bowl XLI.
The Chiefs then drove 55 yards in six plays, including a 21-yard catch by Travis Kelce, to score on Alex Smith's 5-yard touchdown pass to Albert Wilson, giving them a 7–3 lead.
Shortly before halftime, the Steelers had one last scoring chance when cornerback Artie Burns recovered a fumble from Charcandrick West on the Chiefs' 40-yard line.
On Pittsburgh's first possession of the second half, Bell carried the ball five times for 49 yards, including a 38-yard rush on the first play, as the team drove to a 43-yard Boswell field goal that put them up 15–7.
Smith then completed a 20-yard pass to Jeremy Maclin that set up Cairo Santos' 48-yard field goal, cutting their deficit to 15–10 with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.
Smith completed a pass to Harris on the two-point conversion play, but was negated by a holding penalty on Eric Fisher as he tried to block an outside blitz from linebacker James Harrison.
In the final football game played at the Georgia Dome,[59] Atlanta racked up 493 yards, scored on eight of their first nine drives, and converted 10 of 13 third downs as they advanced to their first Super Bowl since 1998.
Green Bay's next drive was remarkably similar to their last one: two key receptions from one receiver (Randall Cobb) picked up 39 yards as they drove to the Falcons' 23-yard line, but lost the ball with a fumble from fullback Aaron Ripkowski, forced and recovered by cornerback Jalen Collins.
Faced with 3rd-and-1 on the Packers' 5-yard line with 7 seconds left in the half, he finished the possession with a touchdown pass to Jones; the Falcons led 24–0, having scored on 4 of their 5 first-half drives.
New England advanced to their seventh Super Bowl in the last 16 seasons under quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick, racking up 431 yards and 26 first downs.
Meanwhile, the Steelers' rushing attack, that had been so critical to their earlier playoff wins, was crippled by an early injury to running back Le'Veon Bell, finishing the game with just 54 total yards on the ground.