2012–13 NFL playoffs
The National Football League playoffs for the 2012 season began on January 5, 2013. The postseason tournament concluded with the Baltimore Ravens defeating the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII, 34–31, on February 3, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
All playoff teams in both conferences won at least 10 games, the first time since 2005. This was also the most recent NFL postseason to feature a game that went into double overtime. It was also the first time since 1999 that no Pennsylvania-based NFL team made the playoffs.
''Unless otherwise noted, all times listed are Eastern Standard Time ''
Participants
Bracket
Schedule
In the United States, NBC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games. Fox then televised the rest of the NFC games. CBS broadcast the rest of the AFC playoff games and the Super Bowl. All games were broadcast by Dial Global radio.| Round | Away team | Score | Home team | Date | Kickoff | TV |
| Wild Card playoffs | Cincinnati Bengals | 13–19 | Houston Texans | January 5, 2013 | 4:30 pm | NBC |
| Wild Card playoffs | Minnesota Vikings | 10–24 | Green Bay Packers | January 5, 2013 | 8:00 pm | NBC |
| Wild Card playoffs | Indianapolis Colts | 9–24 | Baltimore Ravens | January 6, 2013 | 1:00 pm | CBS |
| Wild Card playoffs | Seattle Seahawks | 24–14 | Washington Redskins | January 6, 2013 | 4:30 pm | Fox |
| Divisional playoffs | Baltimore Ravens | 38–35 ( | Denver Broncos | January 12, 2013 | 4:30 pm | CBS |
| Divisional playoffs | Green Bay Packers | 31–45 | San Francisco 49ers | January 12, 2013 | 8:00 pm | Fox |
| Divisional playoffs | Seattle Seahawks | 28–30 | Atlanta Falcons | January 13, 2013 | 1:00 pm | Fox |
| Divisional playoffs | Houston Texans | 28–41 | New England Patriots | January 13, 2013 | 4:30 pm | CBS |
| Conference Championships | San Francisco 49ers | 28–24 | Atlanta Falcons | January 20, 2013 | 3:00 pm | Fox |
| Conference Championships | Baltimore Ravens | 28–13 | New England Patriots | January 20, 2013 | 6:30 pm | CBS |
| Super Bowl XLVII Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana | Baltimore Ravens | 34–31 | San Francisco 49ers | February 3, 2013 | 6:30 pm | CBS |
Wild Card playoffs
Saturday, January 5, 2013
AFC: Houston Texans">2012 Houston Texans season">Houston Texans 19, Cincinnati Bengals">2012 Cincinnati Bengals season">Cincinnati Bengals 13
For the second year in a row, Houston defeated Cincinnati in the first game of the playoffs, outgaining them in total yards 428–198 and holding their offense to just two field goals in nine drives. The win was especially satisfying for Texans quarterback Matt Schaub, who was playing in his first playoff game in his nine-season career.On the Texans' second drive of the game, they moved the ball 65 yards and scored on a 48-yard field goal from Shayne Graham. Then, after forcing a punt, they drove the ball all the way to the Bengals 9-yard line, but once again settled for a Graham field goal a few minutes into the second quarter.
Following another Cincinnati punt, the Bengals took their first lead of the game when Leon Hall intercepted a pass intended for James Casey on the left sideline and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown. But the Texans took it back with a 61-yard drive to the Bengals 4-yard line, 46 coming from Arian Foster, that resulted in Graham's third field goal, making the score 9–7 at the end of the half.
Early in the third quarter, a fair catch interference penalty on Bengals Chris Lewis-Harris gave Houston the ball on the Cincinnati 49-yard line. Houston then drove 51 yards, featuring a 22-yard completion from Schaub to Andre Johnson, and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by Foster. The Bengals struck back with Andy Dalton's 45-yard completion to A. J. Green setting up Josh Brown's 34-yard field goal to cut the score to 16–10. Cincinnati managed to force a punt on Houston's next drive, but with just over three minutes left in the third quarter, Johnathan Joseph intercepted Dalton's pass and returned it 16 yards to the Bengals 24-yard line. This led to Graham's fourth field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter.
Bengals receiver Brandon Tate returned the ensuing kickoff 43 yards to the 39-yard line, sparking a drive that ended with Brown's 47-yard field goal that trimmed the lead to one score, 19–13. Cincinnati then forced a punt and drove into Texans territory, but on fourth down and 11 from the Houston 36-yard line, rookie receiver Marvin Jones was tackled by Joseph and Shiloh Keo three yards short of the first down marker. Houston then took over and held the ball for the final 2:44 of the game to clinch the victory.
Foster finished the game with 32 carries for 140 yards and a touchdown, along with eight receptions for 32. He became the first player ever to rush for over 100 yards in each of his first three career playoff games. Tight end Owen Daniels was the top receiver of the game with nine receptions for 91 yards, while Green had five receptions for 80 yards to lead Cincinnati. With this loss, Cincinnati's playoff win drought was extended to 22 years and remains the longest among all 32 NFL teams.
This was the second consecutive postseason meeting between the Bengals and Texans. Houston won 31–10 in the 2011 AFC Wild Card playoffs.
NFC: Green Bay Packers">2012 Green Bay Packers season">Green Bay Packers 24, Minnesota Vikings">2012 Minnesota Vikings season">Minnesota Vikings 10
The Vikings got into the playoffs by a win in their season finale as quarterback Christian Ponder helped lead the team to victory. However, Ponder had suffered a shoulder injury during the win and was declared inactive for Minnesota's playoff game against the Packers. Joe Webb, who had not played in a single game during the 2012 season and had not started at quarterback since 2010, was given the start.Minnesota's Marcus Sherels returned the opening kickoff 37 yards to the 35-yard line. From there, the Vikings drove to the Packers 15 with eight running plays, including a 17-yard scramble by Webb. Rookie kicker Blair Walsh finished the drive with a 33-yard field goal to give Minnesota a 3–0 lead. After an exchange of punts, Green Bay drove 82 yards and scored on an 8-yard touchdown run by DuJuan Harris with 33 seconds left in the first quarter. Harris was initially ruled down at the 1, but the call was changed to a touchdown by Mike McCarthy's replay challenge.
In the second quarter, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers hit James Jones for 20 yards and Greg Jennings for 32 on a 72-yard drive that ended with a 20-yard field goal by Mason Crosby. After forcing a punt with under two minutes left in the half, Rodgers completed passes to Jordy Nelson for 22 yards, Jennings for 14, and Nelson again for 23 before fullback John Kuhn completed the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, making the score 17–3 at halftime.
Green Bay scored another touchdown on their opening drive of the second half, moving the ball 80 yards in 12 plays and closing it out with Rodgers' 9-yard toss to Kuhn. Meanwhile, all that lay in store for the Vikings was three consecutive turnovers. First, they drove to the Packers 38-yard line, but then linebacker Clay Matthews forced a fumble while sacking Webb and recovered it. Then, following a punt, they drove to the Green Bay 46, only to lose the ball again on an interception by Sam Shields. The Vikings defense forced another punt early in the fourth quarter, but Sherels muffed the kick and Green Bay's Dezman Moses recovered the ball. Later on, another drive into Green Bay territory was ended with no points when the Vikings failed to convert a fourth down and four on the Packers 43-yard line.
Minnesota eventually managed to score a touchdown on a 50-yard pass from Webb to receiver Michael Jenkins. But by then, there was only 3:39 left in the game.
Rodgers completed 23 of 33 passes to ten different players for 274 yards and a touchdown. Harris was the team leader in rushing yards and receptions. Matthews had four tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Shields had seven tackles and an interception. Webb finished with 180 passing yards, with one touchdown and one interception, while also rushing for 68 yards. Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was the top rusher of the game with 99 rushing yards. He also caught a pass for eight yards. Jenkins had three receptions for 96 yards and a score. Webb completed only 11 of 30 passes with a touchdown and an interception in what was his last game as a quarterback; the Vikings converted him to a wide receiver for the 2013 season.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Vikings and Packers. Minnesota won the previous meeting at Lambeau 31–17 in the 2004 NFC Wild Card playoffs.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
AFC: Baltimore Ravens">2012 Baltimore Ravens season">Baltimore Ravens 24, Indianapolis Colts">2012 Indianapolis Colts season">Indianapolis Colts 9
Despite racking up 419 yards and 25 first downs, Indianapolis was unable to dent the end zone against a stingy Ravens defense, who recorded three sacks, forced two turnovers, and limited them to just four field goal attempts. Meanwhile, Baltimore's offense rolled up 441 yards and 24 points.Both teams blew scoring chances in the first half. After forcing a punt on the opening drive, Baltimore drove all the way to the Colts 11-yard line. But then defensive end Cory Redding stripped the ball from Ray Rice and Lawrence Guy recovered it for the Colts. Then Indy took over and drove to the Ravens 30, only to lose their own fumble when quarterback Andrew Luck was sacked by Paul Kruger and outside linebacker Pernell McPhee dove on the ball.
In the second quarter, a 22-yard reception by Ravens receiver Torrey Smith and an 18-yard run by rookie Bernard Pierce set up a 23-yard field goal by Justin Tucker. Following an exchange of punts, Luck completed 4/4 passes for 50 yards on a drive that ended with Adam Vinatieri's 47-yard field goal to tie the game. Jones responded with a 37-yard kickoff return. Four plays later, Rice caught a screen pass from Joe Flacco and ran it 47 yards to the Colts 2-yard line. On the next play, fullback Vonta Leach scored a 2-yard touchdown run to give the Ravens a 10–3 lead with 55 seconds left in the half. But Luck quickly led his team back, completing 4/5 passes for 62 yards to set up Vinatieri's 52-yard field goal, cutting the score to 10–6 at halftime. For Vinatieri, the NFL's all-time leader in postseason scoring, it was the longest playoff field goal of his career.
Midway through the third quarter, Flacco's 46-yard completion to Anquan Boldin moved the ball to the Colts 15-yard line. Following an incompletion and a false start penalty, he hit tight end Dennis Pitta for a 20-yard touchdown throw, increasing the lead to 17–6. Indianapolis responded with another drive deep into Ravens territory, but it was halted on the 8-yard line where Vinatieri kicked his third field goal of the game.
Early in the fourth quarter, Colts linebacker Pat Angerer recovered a fumble from Rice, leading to another drive into the Ravens red zone. But this time they came up empty when Vinatieri missed a field goal from 40 yards out. This was Vinatieri's first postseason miss against Baltimore. He had been 18/18 when playing against the Ravens up to this point.
The miss turned out to be devastating. Just two plays later, Pierce ran the ball 43 yards to the Colts 18-yard line, and then Flacco finished the drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Boldin, giving the team a 24–9 lead. Then their defense closed out the game by forcing two turnovers inside their own 40. First, they stopped the next drive when cornerback Cary Williams intercepted a pass from Luck on the Ravens 15-yard line and returned it 41 yards. Then, after a punt, Indianapolis turned the ball over on downs at the Baltimore 37 with 2:10 left in the game.
Flacco finished the game 12/23 for 282 yards and two touchdowns. Boldin caught five passes for a franchise playoff record 145 yards. Pierce rushed for 103 yards, while Rice had 70 rushing yards and a 47-yard catch. Jones returned four punts for 57 yards, two kickoffs for 60 yards, and caught an 8-yard pass. Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who returned for this game after missing most of the season with injuries and had recently announced his intention to retire after the postseason, finished with a team leading 13 tackles and a pass deflection. Kruger had four tackles and 2.5 sacks.
For the Colts, Luck finished his first playoff game completing 28 of 54 passes for 288 yards and an interception, while also rushing for 35 yards. Receiver Reggie Wayne caught nine passes for 114 yards.
This was the third postseason meeting between the Colts and Ravens. Indianapolis won the prior two meetings, the last being 20–3 in the 2009 AFC Divisional playoffs.