1997–98 NFL playoffs
The National Football League playoffs for the 1997 season began on December 27, 1997. The postseason tournament concluded with the Denver Broncos defeating the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII, 31-24, on January 25, 1998, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California.
For the first time ever, all three Florida teams qualified for the playoffs. The feat would repeat itself in the 1999 postseason and again during the 2022 postseason.
Participants
Bracket
Schedule
These playoffs marked the final season that NBC was the AFC network. CBS would then take over the rights to the AFC before the start of the following season. Super Bowl XXXII was also NBC's last NFL broadcast overall until 2006, when they signed on to televise Sunday Night Football.ABC continued to broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games, and Fox televised the rest of the NFC games.
Wild Card playoffs
Saturday, December 27, 1997
NFC: Minnesota Vikings 23, New York Giants 22
The 1997 playoffs were notable for featuring four teams from the NFC Central. At fourth place were the Vikings, who had started the year a promising 8–2 before losing five straight games and barely making the postseason with a 9–7 record. The Vikings had made the playoffs in four of the last five seasons, but had lost each time in the first round. This time, however, they managed to earn a win by scoring 10 points in the final 90 seconds of the game.Vikings quarterback Randall Cunningham got off to a rough start as he lost three first half turnovers that would be converted into nine New York points. After each team punted to start the game, Cunningham lost a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Bernard Holsey on the Vikings 23. New York ended up losing yardage with their ensuing drive, but Brad Daluiso kicked a 43-yard field goal to put them up 3–0. Cunningham fumbled again on his next drive, and New York defensive end Michael Strahan recovered the ball on the Minnesota 46-yard line. Quarterback Danny Kanell subsequently completed a 27-yard pass to fullback Charles Way, setting up Daluiso's second field goal that made the score 6–0.
In the second quarter, New York increased their lead to 13–0 with a 7-play, 56-yard scoring drive. Kanell kept it going with an 11-yard pass to running back Tiki Barber on third and 4, and then hit David Patten for a 37-yard completion to the Vikings 2-yard line. Three plays later, he threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Aaron Pierce. After the teams traded punts, Giants cornerback Jason Sehorn intercepted a pass from Cunningham and returned it 36 yards to the Vikings 47-yard line. New York then drove 23 yards to a 41-yard field goal from Daluiso, making the score 16–0. The Vikings punted on their next drive but caught a break when cornerback Duane Butler recovered a fumble from Giants receiver Amani Toomer on the punt return on the New York 27-yard line. Cunningham's 19-yard completion to Cris Carter moved the ball to the 7, leading to Eddie Murray's 26-yard field goal. However, his ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, giving the ball to New York on their 40. Taking advantage of their excellent field position, the Giants put together a 26-yard drive to score on Daluiso's 51-yard field goal giving New York a 19–3 lead. The Giants defense held the Vikings offense to 21 rushing yards and Cunningham completed only five of 16 passes for 46 yards.
Early in the third quarter, Vikings defensive end Jerry Ball recovered a fumble from Barber on the Giants 5-yard line, setting up Leroy Hoard's 5-yard touchdown run on the ensuing play that narrowed the gap to 19–10. Then after a punt, Minnesota's offense got on track, moving the ball into New York territory with Cunningham's 33-yard completion to Jake Reed. However, Murray missed a 48-yard field goal attempt. Still their defense managed to force a punt, and Brad Maynard's 15-yard kick gave Minnesota a first down on their own 40. This time they managed to drive 52 yards and score with Murray's 26-yard field goal, making the score 19–13 early in the fourth quarter.
New York's offense came back to life in the final quarter, as Kanell completed six passes on a 13-play, 74-yard drive, including an 18-yarder to Patten on third and 9, and a 21-yard completion to Chris Calloway. The Vikings defense halted the possession on their own 5, but Daluiso kicked his fifth field goal of the day from there, giving the Giants a 22–13 lead with 7:03 left in regulation. The Vikings got the ball back and ran seven plays, but could not get into scoring range and ultimately decided to punt facing a two-score deficit with 3:51 left.
"If we were home, we would have been booed all over the place, because people don't understand the game", Vikings coach Dennis Green said after the game. What persuaded Green to punt and keep playing defense was how well his maligned run defenders were stopping New York's running attack. But Green admitted he was cutting it close. "We had to get the onside kick", he said. "We practice it every day. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity."
Green's decision paid off as the Vikings forced a punt with 2:13 left, and got the ball on the Giants 49-yard line due to another short Maynard kick. Soon after, they scored on Cunningham's 30-yard touchdown pass to Reed with 1:30 left. Murray then attempted an onside kick, which bounced off Calloway's chest and was recovered by Vikings receiver Chris Walsh on the Minnesota 39. A false start penalty and an incompletion left the Vikings facing second and 15 from the 34, but Cunningham subsequently completed passes to Andrew Glover and Carter for gains of 5 and 24 yards. Following a 14-yard pass interference penalty on cornerback Phillippi Sparks, Robert Smith ran for a 16-yard gain to set up Murray's go-ahead 24-yard field goal with 0:10 remaining in the game.
This game was the biggest comeback win by a road team in the playoffs since 1972, and the first postseason win for the Vikings in nine years. It was also the first playoff win of Green's career, following four first-round playoff losses over the last five years.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Vikings and Giants. New York won the only prior meeting.
| New York leads 1–0 in all-time playoff games |
AFC: Denver Broncos 42, Jacksonville Jaguars 17
Denver compiled 310 rushing yards and 511 total yards of offense, and held the ball for 40:59 in a 42–17 win, avenging their playoff loss to the Jaguars the year before. The Broncos dominated early, converting their first nine third downs and scoring touchdowns on their first three drives. First, they converted four third downs as they drove 72 yards in 7:21, featuring a 25-yard reception by Ed McCaffrey on third and 15, and scored on a 2-yard touchdown run by Terrell Davis. Jacksonville was forced to a three-and-out on their next drive, and Bryan Barker's punt went just 24 yards to the Denver 40-yard line. The Broncos then drove 60 yards and increased their lead to 14–0 with a 43-yard touchdown pass from John Elway to Rod Smith on third down and 4 with 2:37 left in the first quarter. Reggie Barlow returned the ensuing kickoff 37 yards to midfield, and Jacksonville subsequently drove to the Denver 40, but were stopped there and had to punt. Barker's kick pinned the Broncos back at their own 8, but they still drove 92 yards to make the score 21–0 on Davis' 5-yard touchdown run. The key play of the drive was a 40-yard completion from Elway to Smith on third down and 6 from their own 12-yard line. Later in the drive, Elway completed a 16-yard pass to Smith on third down and 13 from the Jags 26. By this point, Elway had completed all six of his passes for 156 yards on third down plays.Jacksonville responded by driving 79 yards, aided by a 16-yard reception from Jimmy Smith and a 34-yard pass interference penalty on safety Darrien Gordon, to score on a 2-yard touchdown run from Natrone Means, cutting the score to 21–7 with just over five minutes left in the second quarter. This would be the final score of the first half as the next three drives would end in punts.
Barlow returned the second half kickoff 58 yards to the Broncos 27, setting up Jags kicker Mike Hollis' 38-yard field goal that cut the score to 21–10. Four minutes later, safety Travis Davis blocked a punt from Denver's Tom Rouen and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown, bringing Jacksonville to within 21–17. Despite a 51-yard kickoff return by Vaughn Hebron, things seemed to look even better for Jacksonville on the ensuing possession when safety Chris Hudson forced a fumble from Elway that was recovered by defensive end Renaldo Wynn. Jacksonville quarterback Mark Brunell's subsequent 37-yard completion to tight end Damon Jones gave them a first down on the Broncos 16-yard line. But on the next play, Brunell lost a fumble of his own that was recovered by linebacker Allen Aldridge. Denver then drove to the Jacksonville 15, featuring a 59-yard run by Davis, but Elway lost another fumble that was recovered by cornerback Dave Thomas and the score remained 21–17 going into the fourth quarter.
In the final quarter, Denver took over the game. Jacksonville was forced to punt after Elway's second fumble, and Barker's 27-yard kick gave Denver a first down on the Jacksonville 48. From there it took just two plays to score, a 23-yard completion from Elway to tight end Shannon Sharpe and a 25-yard touchdown run by Derek Loville, making the score 28–17. The Jaguars made one last spirited comeback attempt, but Gordon put an end to it by intercepting a pass from Brunell in the end zone. Denver then drove 80 yards in 10 plays, eight of them carries by Loville, who was now starting in place of the injured Davis. On the last play, his 8-yard touchdown run gave Denver a 35–17 lead. Now in a desperate situation, Brunell attempted to convert a fourth and 10 on the Jaguars next drive, but Gordon sacked him for a 10-yard loss, while a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on receiver Keenan McCardell gave the Broncos a first down on the Jacksonville 15-yard line. A few plays later, Hebron finished off the scoring on a 6-yard touchdown run with 1:16 left in the game.
Davis rushed for 184 yards and two touchdowns, while also catching four passes for 11 yards. Loville, who rushed for only 124 yards during the regular season, had 103 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries and a 10-yard reception. Elway completed 16 of 24 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown. Rod Smith was the top receiver of the game with three receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown. Hebron had six carries for 23 yards and a touchdown, along with three kickoff returns for 87 yards. Barlow returned three kickoffs for 118 yards and a punt for five yards. Jags defensive end Clyde Simmons had two sacks.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Jaguars and Broncos. Jacksonville won the only prior meeting the year prior.
| Jacksonville leads 1–0 in all-time playoff games |