1987–88 NFL playoffs

The National Football League playoffs for the 1987 season began on January 3, 1988. The postseason tournament concluded with the Washington Redskins defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII, 42–10, on January 31, at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California.

Participants

Bracket

Schedule

In the United States, NBC broadcast the AFC playoff games, CBS televised the NFC games, and ABC covered Super Bowl XXII.

Wild Card playoffs

Sunday, January 3, 1988

NFC: Minnesota Vikings 44, New Orleans Saints 10

In the Saints' first playoff game in history, the Vikings dominated the game by recording two sacks, forcing six turnovers, and allowing only 149 yards. It was a stunning victory for the underdog Vikings, who had barely made the playoffs with an 8–7 record after losing three of their last four games, including their season ending match at home against the Washington Redskins in which they blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead, costing them a chance to clinch a playoff slot. The Vikings would spend the rest of the day pondering their prospects until a Dallas win over St. Louis enabled them to snag the NFC's lowest postseason seed. The Vikings had also been plagued with quarterback problems all year, starting three different quarterbacks during the season. Wade Wilson had the most starts with 7, but coach Jerry Burns decided to start Tommy Kramer, who had been through so many injuries he had only started in 5 regular season games and had not finished any of them. Meanwhile, the Saints had the NFL's second best record at 12-3 and came into this game on a 9-game winning streak.
New Orleans scored first after Vikings quarterback Kramer's fumble on a bad snap led to Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert's 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Eric Martin. Then, Kramer was sacked and the Vikings had to punt, but Saints returner Mel Gray accidentally hit the ball while trying to avoid it and the Vikings recovered on the New Orleans 27, leading to Chuck Nelson's 42-yard field goal. Kramer had to leave the game on the next drive with a pinched nerve in his neck, but the team would go on to win easily without him. Later in the quarter, they went up 10-7 when Anthony Carter returned a Saints punt for an 84-yard touchdown, setting a playoff record for the longest punt return TD.
In the second quarter, Vikings running back Darrin Nelson caught a screen pass from Wilson on 3rd and 10, and took off for a 37-yard gain to the Saints 1-yard line, setting up Wilson's 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Steve Jordan. Then on Minnesota's next drive, running back Allen Rice threw a 10-yard touchdown to Carter on a halfback option play. Saints kicker Morten Andersen cut the score to 24–10 with a 40-yard field goal, but John Harris' interception of a Hebert pass on the Saints 35 led to Wilson's 44-yard touchdown completion on a "Hail Mary" pass to Hassan Jones on the last play of the first half. Time had expired on the previous play, but the Saints were penalized for having 12 men on the field, giving the Vikings one more play with no time left on the clock.
The Vikings went on dominating the second half, scoring two more Nelson field goals and an 8-yard touchdown run by D. J. Dozier. In the second half alone, the Vikings gained 179 yards rushing.
Carter, who had only returned three punts during the season, finished the game with six punt returns for a playoff record 143 yards, and also caught six passes for 79 yards and another score. Wilson finished the game completing 11 of 20 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Vikings and Saints.

AFC: Houston Oilers 23, Seattle Seahawks 20 ()

Oilers kicker Tony Zendejas won the game with a 42-yard field goal 8:05 into overtime. Although Houston outgained Seattle with 427 total offensive yards to 250, and Seattle was playing without star running back Curt Warner due to injury, the game remained close until the very end.
On the opening drive of the game, Seattle cornerback Melvin Jenkins intercepted Warren Moon's pass and returned it 28 yards to the Houston 46. Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg then hit Steve Largent for a 33-yard completion, and eventually found him in the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown pass. This would be the extent of Seattle's first half success, as they gained just three yards with their next four possessions. Meanwhile, the Oilers responded with 13 unanswered points with two field goals by Zendejas and running back Mike Rozier's 1-yard rushing touchdown.
In the third quarter, Seattle running back Bobby Joe Edmonds returned a punt 54 yards to set up Norm Johnson's 33-yard field goal. Then a short Houston punt enabled Seattle to tie the game at 13 with Johnson's 41-yard kick at the end of the drive that went just 16 yards. Later in the third quarter, Moon threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Willie Drewrey to give his team a 20–13 lead. Houston later had two chances to put the game away in the fourth quarter, but Zendejas hit the uprights on a 52-yard field goal, and later missed a kick from 29 yards out. With only 1:47 left in regulation, Krieg started an 80-yard drive that included a 10-yard completion to Largent on fourth and 10. Krieg then picked up 26 yards on another completion to Largent, and followed it up with a 32-yard pass to Ray Butler on the Houston 12. On the next play, he finished it with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Largent, tying the game with 26 seconds left.
Seattle won the coin toss in overtime, but had to punt. On Houston's ensuing drive, Fredd Young appeared to intercept a deflected pass; one official ruled a catch, but he was overruled and the call was not overturned by replay review, allowing Houston to keep the ball and drive to Zendejas' game winning score.
After the game, replay official Tony Veteri explained the call on Young's potential interception: "We could not tell whether the ball hit or not so we had to go with the call on the field. We did not get a clear-cut view of whether caught the ball before it hit the ground. Part of his arm covered up the ball. So we had to go with the call on the field." However, Young was livid: "It was as clean as you can catch a ball," he said. "There was no possible way that ball hit the ground. I know I had it."
Largent finished the game with seven receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns, accounting for more than half his team's offense. Edmonds returned five kickoffs for 109 yards and three punts for 66. Moon completed 21 of 32 passes for 273 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. It was Houston's first playoff win since 1979, added on to their first winning season since 1980.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Seahawks and Oilers.

Divisional playoffs

Saturday, January 9, 1988

AFC: Cleveland Browns 38, Indianapolis Colts 21

's interception deep inside his own territory sparked his team to score 17 unanswered points.
Cleveland started off the game with a 15-play, 86-yard drive, converting five third downs on the way to Bernie Kosar's 15-yard touchdown pass to Earnest Byner. The Colts stormed right back, as quarterback Jack Trudeau threw completions for gains of 18 and 21 yards before finishing the drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Pat Beach. Cleveland responded by driving from their own 35 to the Indianapolis 2-yard line, but on third down and goal, Colts safety Freddie Robinson intercepted Kosar's pass in the end zone. After an exchange of punts, the Browns took a 14–7 lead on Kosar's 39-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Langhorne with 1:51 left in the second quarter. Once again, the Colts responded with a touchdown of their own, moving the ball 59 yards in seven plays and tying the score on Trudeau's 19-yard touchdown pass to Eric Dickerson with 40 seconds left in the half.
Indianapolis took the second half kickoff and stormed down the field, overcoming some blown plays along the way. During the drive, Trudeau was sacked for an 11-yard loss on second down and 11, but a defensive holding penalty negated the play and gave the Colts a first down. Later on, Dickerson fumbled the ball, but Trudeau picked it up and threw a 15-yard first down completion to Bill Brooks. Eventually, Indianapolis reached the Browns 20-yard line, but linebacker Eddie Johnson hit Trudeau as he threw a pass, causing the ball to go straight up in the air where it was intercepted by Wright at the 14.
After the interception, Kosar completed five of seven passes for 65 yards while Byner rushed six times for 20 and capped off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, putting the Browns back in the lead, 21–14. Then after forcing a punt, Matt Bahr's 22-yard field goal gave the Browns a 10-point lead with just over 11 minutes left in the game. Following another punt, Byner fumbled the ball on a 25-yard run, but running back Herman Fontenot recovered the ball at the Colts 6-yard line, turning the play into a 41-yard gain. Three plays later, Kosar's 2-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brian Brennan made the score 31–14 with 3:44 left.
However, the Colts were not quite out of the game. With 1:07 left in regulation, Albert Bentley's 1-yard touchdown run cut the score to 31–21. Then Indianapolis recovered an onside kick on their own 41-yard line. But on the first play after that, Browns defensive end Al Baker sacked Trudeau for a 9-yard loss, knocking him out of the game. One play later, backup quarterback Sean Salisbury's pass was intercepted by Frank Minnifield, who returned the ball 48 yards for a touchdown to put the game away.
Byner finished the game with 122 rushing yards, four receptions for 36 yards, and two touchdowns. Kosar completed 20 of 31 passes for 229 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception.
This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Colts and Browns. The Colts won two of the prior three meetings when they were based in Baltimore.

Indianapolis/ Baltimore leads 2–1 in all-time playoff games