1999–2000 NFL playoffs

The National Football League playoffs for the 1999 season began on January 8, 2000 and included the Music City Miracle, the postseason tournament concluded with the St. Louis Rams defeating the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV, 23–16, on January 30, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
These playoffs were notable in that all outdoor games were played with gametime temperatures of or higher, making for one of the warmest playoff seasons of all time. It was also the first time since 1969 that no California-based NFL team made the playoffs.
For only the second time during the Super Bowl era, all three Florida-based teams made the playoffs—something that did not occur again until the 2022–23 postseason, with the Jaguars and Dolphins facing off in the divisional round. As the Jaguars and Buccaneers advanced to their respective conference championships, the postseason became the closest to having a Super Bowl between teams from Florida.

Participants

Bracket

Schedule

In the United States, ABC broadcast the first two Wild Card games on January 8, and Super Bowl XXXIV. CBS telecast the rest of the AFC playoff games and Fox the rest of the NFC games.

Wild Card playoffs

Saturday, January 8, 2000

AFC: Tennessee Titans 22, Buffalo Bills 16

This game is remembered for the controversial "Music City Miracle": Kevin Dyson took a lateral from Frank Wycheck on a kickoff to score the game-winning touchdown with under 15 seconds left.
In the first quarter, the Titans had a big chance to score when Jevon Kearse forced a fumble while sacking Buffalo quarterback Rob Johnson that linebacker Barron Wortham recovered on the Buffalo 29-yard line. It was the start of a long day for Johnson, who ended up completing just 10 of 22 passes while being sacked six times, twice by Kearse. However, Tennessee only gained 3 yards with their next drive and Al Del Greco missed a 43-yard field goal attempt.
Early in the second quarter, Craig Hentrich's 44-yard punt pinned the Bills back at their own 4-yard line. Then on 2nd and 6 from the 8, Kearse sacked Johnson, forcing a fumble that went through the end zone for a safety that gave the Titans a 2–0 lead. After the safety, Derrick Mason returned the free kick 42 yards to the Bills 28-yard line. Five plays later, Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. After several punts, Buffalo got a first down on their own 43 when Kurt Schulz forced and recovered a fumble from Titans running back Eddie George. But the Bills could not gain a first down and had to punt. Then the Titans drove 56 yards in 11 plays. Del Greco initially missed a 45-yard field goal attempt, but the Bills were penalized for defensive holding on the play, and Del Greco's second attempt was good from 40 yards on the last play of the half. At the end of the half, the Bills were trailing 12–0 and had only managed to gain 64 yards, while also losing 44 yards on nine penalties.
But in the second half, the Bills managed to rally back. On Buffalo's first play of the third quarter, Antowain Smith broke off a 44-yard run, sparking a 62-yard drive that ended with his 4-yard touchdown carry, making the score 12–7. Later on, Tennessee drove to the Bills 39-yard line, only to lose the ball due to an interception by Antoine Winfield. With 41 seconds left in the third quarter, a Titans punt gave Buffalo the ball on their own 35-yard line, where they proceeded to drive 65 yards, featuring a 37-yard completion from Johnson to Eric Moulds, with a roughing the passer penalty on Kearse adding another 15. Smith finished the drive with another 4-yard touchdown run, giving the Bills a 13–12 lead after receiver Kevin Williams dropped a pass from Johnson on the two-point conversion attempt.
Late in the fourth quarter, Titans receiver Isaac Byrd's 16-yard punt return to the Bills 45 and five carries from George for 17 yards set up a 36-yard field goal by Del Greco, giving Tennessee a 15–13 lead with 1:38 left. But following a 33-yard kickoff return by Williams, the Bills retook the lead with a 41-yard field goal from Steve Christie at the end of a 38-yard drive that saw Johnson lose a shoe. Stuck in the no-huddle offense in order to beat the clock, Johnson was forced to play without a shoe for most of the drive, but still managed to lead the team into scoring range with two key completions to Peerless Price for 23 yards. Christie's field goal gave the Bills a 16–15 lead with only 16 seconds left in the game.
On the ensuing Christie kickoff, fullback Lorenzo Neal picked up the ball at his own 25-yard line. He then handed off to Wycheck, who ran all the way to the right sideline before lateralling the ball all the way back to Dyson on the left side of the field. After taking the ball, Dyson ran 75 yards for a touchdown to give his team the win. The play was reviewed by referee Phil Luckett, but it was determined that Wycheck's lateral did not travel forward, and the play was upheld.
"We worked on that play yesterday", said Titans coach Jeff Fisher of the winning return. "The play is called Home Run Throwback, it's a play you usually work on Saturdays, the day before a game. That play was designed with Frank Wycheck in the middle to try and put the ball out laterally." However, this was the first time they ran the play with Dyson, who replaced Mason as kick returner when he was injured earlier in the game.
George finished the game with 106 rushing yards. Bills defensive end Bruce Smith had 2.5 sacks. Both teams combined for just 413 total yards. The game marked the end of an era in Buffalo as it was the final game that Smith, Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed played for the Bills. With the win, the Titans won their first playoff game since 1991, when they were the Oilers.
The Bills did not make the playoffs again after this game for another 18 years.
This was the third postseason meeting between the Bills and Titans. Buffalo won the prior two meetings when the Titans were the Houston Oilers.

Buffalo leads 2–0 in all-time playoff games

NFC: Washington Redskins 27, Detroit Lions 13

Redskins running back Stephen Davis rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns in the first half as Washington dominated the Lions, who had barely made the playoffs with an 8–8 record and had lost their last four games of the season. Washington outgained Detroit in rushing yards, 223–45, and recorded five sacks.
Washington took advantage of two key penalties against the Lions on their first drive as they drove 79 yards to score on Davis' 1-yard touchdown run. The first was a running into the punter penalty against linebacker Clint Kriewaldt that enabled them to keep the ball, and the second was a 41-yard pass interference penalty on Lions cornerback Bryant Westbrook. The next time Washington got the ball, they drove 87 yards, featuring a 58-yard run by Davis, and scored with another Davis touchdown run to take a 14–0 lead.
Late in the first quarter, Redskins cornerback Champ Bailey intercepted a pass from Gus Frerotte and returned it five yards to the Lions 39, setting up a 33-yard field goal from Brett Conway. After a punt, running back Brian Mitchell gave the team excellent field position with an 11-yard return to the Lions 49-yard line. Davis then rushed five times for 45 yards, setting up another field goal from Conway that gave the team a 20–0 lead. Davis was knocked out of the game on Washington's next possession, but his replacement, Skip Hicks, rushed for 13 yards and caught two passes for 27 as the Redskins drove 82 yards in eight plays. Brad Johnson finished the drive with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Albert Connell, giving the Redskins a 27–0 lead with 1:19 left in the half.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Lions finally managed to get a touchdown when cornerback Lamar Campbell blocked a 31-yard field goal attempt by Conway and Ron Rice returned the ball 94 yards for a touchdown with 9:23 left in regulation. But after that, they were unable to score again until Frerotte finished a 90-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Ron Rivers on the last play of the game.
The Lions, after this game, did not make the playoffs again until the 2011 season. Further, Washington did not host another playoff game until 2012.
This was the third postseason meeting between the Lions and Redskins. Washington had won both prior meetings.

Washington leads 2–0 in all-time playoff games

Sunday, January 9, 2000

NFC: Minnesota Vikings 27, Dallas Cowboys 10

Running back Robert Smith helped the Vikings beat the Cowboys by rushing for a team playoff record 140 yards while also catching three passes for 58 yards and a touchdown. The Vikings also got a big performance out of quarterback Jeff George, who threw for 212 yards and three touchdowns, and receiver Randy Moss, who caught five passes for 127 yards and a touchdown. Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman threw for 286 yards and an interception in the final postseason game of his Hall of Fame career. This was also the final postseason game in the Hall of Fame career of running back Emmitt Smith, who rushed for 99 yards, caught a pass for 14 yards, and scored a touchdown. His 99 rushing yards gave him an NFL record postseason total 1,586 yards, surpassing the previous record of 1,556 yards held by Franco Harris. Cowboys receiver Raghib Ismail caught eight passes for 163 yards.
Early in the first quarter, Smith's 65-yard run set up an Eddie Murray field goal. It was the main highlight of the day for Smith, who gained only 30 yards on 14 carries for the rest of the game. Minnesota was forced to punt on their next drive, but returner Deion Sanders muffed the kick and Dwayne Rudd recovered the ball for the Vikings at the Cowboys 30-yard line. Four plays later, Gary Anderson kicked a 47-yard field goal to tie the game. Aikman led the Cowboys back, completing two passes to Ismail for gains of 45 and 25 yards before Smith finished the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run.
In the second quarter, Rudd stripped the ball from Cowboys running back Robert Thomas and safety Anthony Bass recovered the fumble at the Dallas 26-yard line. Faced with third down and 25 on the ensuing possession, George completed a short pass to Smith, who took it 26 yards for a touchdown to tie the game. Later in the quarter, George threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Moss after a daring 14-yard run by Smith on third down and 12, giving the Vikings a 17–10 lead with 22 seconds left in the half.
Early in the third quarter, Anderson kicked a 38-yard field goal to increase the Vikings lead to 20–10. In the fourth quarter, they drove 67 yards and scored with George's 5-yard touchdown pass to Cris Carter, while the Cowboys lost any chance of a comeback due to two more costly turnovers. First they drove inside the Vikings 20-yard line, but linebacker Ed McDaniel forced a fumble from receiver Jason Tucker right before he could cross the goal line and the ball rolled through the end zone for a touchback. Later on, Dallas drove all the way to the Minnesota 6-yard line, but safety Robert Griffith intercepted a pass intended for Tucker in the end zone.
This was the sixth postseason meeting between the Cowboys and Vikings. Dallas had won four of the previous five meetings.

Dallas leads 4–1 in all-time playoff games