2011–12 NFL playoffs
The National Football League playoffs for the 2011 season began on January 7, 2012. The postseason tournament concluded with the New York Giants defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, 21–17, on February 5, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The Houston Texans qualified the playoffs for the first time since entering the league in 2002, and the Detroit Lions qualified for the first time since 1999. The Buffalo Bills, who were eliminated from playoff contention for the twelfth straight year then, were the only team that had not made the playoffs in the 21st century. This team was tied with the Lions for the overall longest failure streak entering the season.
This was the first postseason since 2001–02 to not feature Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.
Both the conferences’ runners-up made the Super Bowl the next year, which Baltimore won, 34–31.
''Unless otherwise noted, all times listed are Eastern Standard Time ''
Overtime rules
This was the second postseason that the modified playoff overtime rules were in effect. Under these rules, instead of a straight sudden death, the game will not immediately end if the team that wins the coin toss scores a field goal on its first possession. Instead, the other team will get a possession. If the loser of the coin toss scores a touchdown on that possession, it will be declared the winner. If the winner of the coin toss does not score on its first possession, or if both teams score field goals on their first possession, the game will revert to sudden death.None of the games during the 2010–11 NFL playoffs went into overtime. The first overtime game that used these new rules was this postseason's Wild Card playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos won the coin toss and received. They proceeded to win the game 29–23 by scoring a touchdown on their first play from scrimmage, immediately ending the game.
Coincidentally, the same two teams had also played in the NFL's first regular season overtime game at Denver's Mile High Stadium on September 22, 1974, which resulted in a 35–35 tie.
After the season, this "modified sudden death" overtime system was applied to all preseason and regular season games.
Participants
Bracket
Schedule
In the United States, NBC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games and Super Bowl XLVI. CBS telecast the rest of the AFC playoff games and Fox the rest of the NFC games.| Round | Away team | Score | Home team | Date | Kickoff | TV |
| Wild Card playoffs | Cincinnati Bengals | 10–31 | Houston Texans | January 7, 2012 | 4:30 pm | NBC |
| Wild Card playoffs | Detroit Lions | 28–45 | New Orleans Saints | January 7, 2012 | 8:00 pm | NBC |
| Wild Card playoffs | Atlanta Falcons | 2–24 | New York Giants | January 8, 2012 | 1:00 pm | Fox |
| Wild Card playoffs | Pittsburgh Steelers | 23–29 ( | Denver Broncos | January 8, 2012 | 4:30 pm | CBS |
| Divisional playoffs | New Orleans Saints | 32–36 | San Francisco 49ers | January 14, 2012 | 4:30 pm | Fox |
| Divisional playoffs | Denver Broncos | 10–45 | New England Patriots | January 14, 2012 | 8:00 pm | CBS |
| Divisional playoffs | Houston Texans | 13–20 | Baltimore Ravens | January 15, 2012 | 1:00 pm | CBS |
| Divisional playoffs | New York Giants | 37–20 | Green Bay Packers | January 15, 2012 | 4:30 pm | Fox |
| Conference Championships | Baltimore Ravens | 20–23 | New England Patriots | January 22, 2012 | 3:00 pm | CBS |
| Conference Championships | New York Giants | 20–17 ( | San Francisco 49ers | January 22, 2012 | 6:30 pm | Fox |
| Super Bowl XLVI Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis, Indiana | New York Giants | 21–17 | New England Patriots | February 5, 2012 | 6:30 pm | NBC |
Wild Card playoffs
Saturday, January 7, 2012
AFC: Houston Texans 31, Cincinnati Bengals 10
In the first playoff game in Reliant Stadium, Houston's defense forced four sacks and intercepted three passes, while their offense racked up 188 rushing yards en route to the team's first playoff win since the team's founding in 2002. For the Bengals, it marked their fourth consecutive playoff loss since 1990 and extended their playoff win drought to 21 years, the longest streak among all NFL teams.In the first quarter, a 52-yard pass interference penalty against Texans cornerback Glover Quin while trying to cover A. J. Green gave the Bengals a first down at the Houston 24-yard line. Then facing third down and seven, backup tailback Brian Leonard ran a screen pass 16 yards to the 1-yard line, where Cedric Benson ran the ball into the end zone on the next play, giving Cincinnati a 7–0 lead. Houston struck back with a 6-play, 80-yard scoring drive. The key player on the drive was running back Arian Foster, who rushed five times for 44 yards, the last carry an 8-yard touchdown run to tie the game.
In the second quarter, Cincinnati drove to the Texans 23-yard line. But on third down, quarterback Andy Dalton was sacked for a 9-yard loss by linebacker Brooks Reed, and then Mike Nugent missed a 50-yard field goal attempt. On the Bengals next drive, Dalton's 36-yard completion to reserve tight end Donald Lee and a 15-yard penalty against Houston at the end of the play set up Nugent's 37-yard field goal to make the score 10–7. Houston countered with T. J. Yates completing four passes for 38 yards on a 59-yard drive that ended with Neil Rackers' 39-yard field goal. Then with just 52 seconds left in the half, rookie defensive end J. J. Watt intercepted a pass from Dalton at the line of scrimmage and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown to give the Texans a 17–10 halftime lead.
In the second half, Houston completely took over the game. After the first three drives ended in punts, Yates completed two passes to Foster for 27 yards before tossing a 40-yard touchdown pass to Andre Johnson. On the Bengals next possession, they moved the ball to the Texans 47-yard line. But on fourth down and 3, Dalton's pass was intercepted by former Bengal Johnathan Joseph. Then in the fourth quarter, Houston put the game completely out of reach with an interception by Danieal Manning that set up Foster's 42-yard touchdown run, increasing their lead to 31–10 with just over five minutes left in regulation.
Foster finished the game with 153 rushing yards, three receptions for 29 yards, and two touchdowns. He became the third undrafted player in NFL history ever to rush for over 100 yards in a playoff game, after Paul Lowe and Ryan Grant.
The attendance of 71,725 was a record crowd for a football game at Reliant Stadium; in 2009, WrestleMania 25 was attended by 72,744 fans. The Bengals extended their current playoff losing streak to four, dating back to the divisional round loss against the Los Angeles Raiders in January 1991. This was the first game in playoff history ever to feature a starting rookie quarterback for each team.
NFC: New Orleans Saints 45, Detroit Lions 28
New Orleans never punted the ball, gained a postseason record 626 yards, converted three fourth downs, and scored 35 points in the second half to defeat the Lions, who were playing their first playoff game in twelve years.Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford completed five of six passes for 70 yards on the opening drive of the game, the last one a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Will Heller. Later on, a 31-yard burst by Saints running back Pierre Thomas set up Darren Sproles' 2-yard touchdown run, tying the score early in the second quarter.
Detroit responded on their next drive, moving the ball 87 yards in nine plays and taking a 14–7 lead on Stafford's 13-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson. With 21 seconds left in the half, New Orleans appeared to score the tying touchdown on a pass from Drew Brees to receiver Marques Colston, but the catch was overturned by official review, and the Saints ended up settling for a John Kasay field goal to cut the score to 14–10 at the end of the half.
The Saints dominated the second half, scoring touchdowns on five consecutive possessions before ending the game on their sixth. On the first play of the third quarter, Thomas rushed for 18 yards. Running back Chris Ivory then added a 19-yard run before Brees finished the drive with a 41-yard touchdown pass to Devery Henderson. Then after a Lions punt, New Orleans drove 92 yards, featuring a 40-yard completion from Brees to Henderson, and scored with his 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jimmy Graham.
This time Detroit stormed back, with Stafford completing two passes to Johnson for 63 yards before rushing the ball into the end zone himself on a 1-yard run, making the score 24–21. But their defense still could not stop Brees, who completed five passes for 52 yards on a 78-yard drive that ended with Sproles' second touchdown on a 17-yard run. Then on the first play of the Lions' next drive, Jabari Greer intercepted Stafford's pass at the New Orleans 39-yard line. Four plays later, Brees converted the turnover with a 56-yard touchdown pass to Robert Meachem. This time, Detroit managed to respond, with Johnson catching three passes for 38 yards on a 79-yard drive, the last one a 12-yard score. But New Orleans recovered Jason Hanson's onside kick attempt and stormed back for another touchdown, with Meachem's 41-yard reception setting up Thomas' 1-yard scoring run. Then the Saints sealed the victory with Greer's second interception from Stafford, enabling them to run out the rest of the clock.
Brees completed 33 of 43 passes for a franchise postseason record 466 yards and three touchdowns. Meachem and Colston both recorded over 100 receiving yards each, while Thomas and Sproles combined for 264 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns between them.
Stafford threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns, with two interceptions, while Johnson set franchise playoff records with 12 receptions for 211 yards and two scores.
With the victory the Saints ran their home playoff winning streak to five dating back to their 2000 victory over the St. Louis Rams, which was also the first playoff win in their history. The Lions continued their streak of playoff futility, having only one playoff win – their divisional playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys in January 1992 – in their history since the AFL–NFL merger. This streak ended in 2023.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Lions and Saints.