The National Football League playoffs for the 1992 season began on January 2, 1993. The postseason tournament concluded with the Dallas Cowboys defeating the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII, 52–17, on January 31, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Participants
Bracket
Schedule In the United States, ABC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games. CBS then televised the rest of the NFC games. NBC broadcast the rest of the AFC playoff games and Super Bowl XXVII.
Round Away team Score Home team Date Kickoff(ET / UTC−5) TV Wild-card round Washington Redskins 24–7 Minnesota Vikings January 2, 1993 12:30 p.m. ABC Kansas City Chiefs 0–17 San Diego Chargers 4:00 p.m. ABC Houston Oilers 38–41 Buffalo Bills January 3, 1993 12:30 p.m. NBC Philadelphia Eagles 36–20 New Orleans Saints January 3, 1993 4:00 p.m. CBS Divisional round Buffalo Bills 24–3 Pittsburgh Steelers January 9, 1993 12:30 p.m. NBC Washington Redskins 13–20 San Francisco 49ers 4:00 p.m. CBS Philadelphia Eagles 10–34 Dallas Cowboys January 10, 1993 12:30 p.m. CBS San Diego Chargers 0–31 Miami Dolphins 4:00 p.m. NBC Conference championships Buffalo Bills 29–10 Miami Dolphins January 17, 1993 12:30 p.m. NBC Dallas Cowboys 30–20 San Francisco 49ers 4:00 p.m. CBS Super Bowl XXVII Buffalo Bills 17–52 Dallas Cowboys January 31, 1993 6:25 p.m. NBC
Wild-card round
Saturday, January 2, 1993
NFC: Washington Redskins 24, Minnesota Vikings 7
Although Minnesota scored on their opening drive of the game, they were quickly crushed by the Redskins, who massively outgained them in total yards 358–148, rushing yards 162–75, and time of possession 42:43 to 17:17. Vikings quarterback Sean Salisbury was held to just six of 20 completions, intercepted twice, and sacked four times (three by defensive end Fred Stokes).
The Vikings scored first on a 74-yard opening drive, featuring a 42-yard completion from Salisbury to Cris Carter, that ended with Terry Allen's 1-yard touchdown run. However, Washington controlled the game from that point on. Redskins Martin Mayhew's 44-yard interception return set up their first score on Chip Lohmiller's 44-yard field goal with 53 seconds left in the first quarter. Then less than five minutes into the second quarter, Redskins safety Brad Edwards picked off a pass from Salisbury and returned it six yards to the Vikings 33, and Washington cashed in on this turnover with Earnest Byner's 3-yard rushing touchdown, giving them a 10–7 lead.
Late in the second quarter, the Redskins faced fourth down and 4 at the Minnesota 44-yard line. Running back Brian Mitchell rushed for 38 yards on a fake punt to give the team a first down, and later finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Mark Rypien's 24-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Gary Clark in the third quarter closed out the scoring.
Mitchell, who had only 24 career rushing attempts coming into this game, led the Redskins with 109 rushing yards and 100 total yards on receptions and punt/kickoff returns.
This was the fifth postseason meeting between the Redskins and Vikings. Both teams have split the previous four meetings.
+Tied 2–2 in all-time playoff games
AFC: San Diego Chargers 17, Kansas City Chiefs 0
San Diego entered this game as the first NFL team ever to make the playoffs after starting the season 0–4, and went on to shut out the Chiefs, outgaining them in total yards 342–251 and rushing yards 192–61. Kansas City never moved the ball farther than the Chargers 34-yard line. This was San Diego's first playoff win since the 1982 season.
The game remained scoreless until 5:53 remained in the third quarter when the Chargers faced second and 2. On the next play, running back Marion Butts took a pitch, ran through a large hole in the right side of the line, evaded a tackle attempt from safety Charles Mincy, and outraced the rest of the defense for a 54-yard rushing touchdown.
Leslie O'Neal intercepted a pass from Dave Krieg at the Chiefs 26-yard line on Kansas City's next drive to set up kicker John Carney's 34-yard field goal. In the final quarter the Chargers put the game away with a 90-yard drive, featuring a 44-yard completion from Stan Humphries to Anthony Miller (Miller fumbled at the end, but it was recovered by running back Ronnie Harmon, who gained an additional 11 yards). Linebacker Steve Hendrickson, who lined up as a running back, finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run.
In addition to his interception, O'Neal also had two sacks. Chargers defensive ends Shawn Lee and Burt Grossman also had 4.5 sacks between them (two for Lee, 2.5 for Grossman). Butts finished the game with 119 rushing yards and a touchdown on just 15 carries, along with two receptions for 17 yards. Humphries threw for 199 yards without any interceptions.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Chiefs and Chargers.
Sunday, January 3, 1993
AFC: Buffalo Bills 41, Houston Oilers 38 (OT)
Known as The Comeback, the Bills mounted what was then the greatest comeback in NFL history, overcoming a 35–3 (32-point) deficit against the Oilers. The Bills were without future Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly (who was injured in the last game of the season, a loss to the Oilers) and All-Pro linebacker Cornelius Bennett, and they lost Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas to a hip injury in the second half.
Houston dominated the game early, as quarterback Warren Moon completed 19 of 22 passes for 220 yards and four touchdowns in the first half, while the Oilers held the ball for 21:12, keeping the Bills' high-powered offense off the field for most of the first two quarters. On the opening drive of the first quarter, Moon completed six of seven passes on an 80-yard scoring drive that took over nine minutes off the clock and ended it with his first touchdown throw to wide receiver Haywood Jeffires for three yards to give the Oilers a 7–0 lead. Buffalo responded on their ensuing drive, as Kenneth Davis returned the kickoff 33 yards to the 44-yard line. Frank Reich subsequently led the Bills to the Oilers 18-yard line where Steve Christie made a 36-yard field goal, to cut the score to 7–3. But Moon struck right back, leading the Oilers on a second quarter scoring drive that was nearly identical to their first one, completing six of seven passes on another 80-yard drive and finishing it with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Webster Slaughter. Then after forcing the Bills to a three-and-out, Moon threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Duncan. Later on, with 1:15 left in the half, the Oilers drove for another touchdown, aided by an encroachment call against the Bills on fourth down and 1. Moon completed the drive with his second touchdown pass to Jeffires, this one a 27-yarder, and the Oilers went into their locker room with a 28–3 halftime lead.
1:41 into the third quarter, Reich threw a pass that bounced off the hands of tight end Keith McKeller and Bubba McDowell returned the interception 58 yards for a touchdown, increasing the Houston lead to 35–3. However, on the kickoff, the wind shifted the ball just before it was kicked by Al Del Greco. As a result, it became an unintentional squib kick that the Bills recovered with great field position at midfield. Buffalo then drove 50 yards in 10 plays, including a 24-yard pass to tight end Pete Metzelaars that went right through the hands of linebacker Eddie Robinson, and scored with a 1-yard touchdown run by Davis, cutting the deficit to 35–10. On the drive, Reich completed a 16-yard pass to Andre Reed, while Davis kept the drive going with a 5-yard run on fourth down and 2 before finishing it off with a touchdown run with 8:52 left in the third quarter.
Christie then recovered his own onside kick and the Bills scored on the fourth play of their ensuing drive with Reich's 38-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Don Beebe. One of Beebe's feet went partially out of bounds during the run before he made the catch, and it should have been ruled by the officials as an illegal touching of the football; this was pointed out on ESPN's "NFL Primetime" postgame recap as well as by Todd Christensen on the NBC broadcast. This made the score 35–17 with 7:46 left in the third quarter.
Houston was then forced to punt for the first time in the game on their next drive, and Greg Montgomery's 25-yard kick gave Buffalo the ball at their own 41-yard line. Reich started out the ensuing drive with an 18-yard completion to James Lofton. Davis gained 20 yards on a screen pass and then Reich threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Reed, trimming the lead to 35–24. Then on the first play of the Oilers' ensuing possession, Moon's pass was tipped off the hands of Slaughter; Bills' safety Henry Jones intercepted the pass from Moon and returned it 15 yards to the Houston 23-yard line. Three plays later, Buffalo faced fourth down and five on the 18-yard line. Rather than attempt a field goal, Reich connected with Reed for the touchdown. With the score (including the extra point), the Bills had cut their deficit from 32 points to four in a span of just 6:52. On the Oilers' next drive, linebacker Darryl Talley forced a fumble from Moon while sacking him. Houston recovered the fumble, but they were forced to punt, and Montgomery's 24-yard kick gave Buffalo the ball at its 48-yard line.
This time, the Bills could not take advantage of their excellent starting field position and had to punt. Moon's run and shoot offense began to move the ball effectively again. Despite two sacks by Jeff Wright on the drive, Houston reached the Buffalo 14-yard line. Del Greco attempted a field goal to increase the Oilers' lead, but Montgomery fumbled the snap and Talley recovered the ball on the 26-yard line. After two plays, the Bills faced third down and four. With Houston's defense dropping back and expecting a pass, Reich handed the ball off to Davis, who stormed through the line and took off for a 35-yard gain. Then Reich went back to passing the ball, completing a short pass to Reed at the Oilers' 17-yard line on third down and two for the first down. With just 3:08 left in the fourth quarter, Reich threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Reed, giving Buffalo its first lead of the game 38–35 (after the extra point); for the first time all season, the Houston defense (ninth in fewest points allowed that season) had allowed over 29 points. But Moon led Houston downfield on a 63-yard drive to score the tying 26-yard field goal from Del Greco to send the game into overtime. A key play on the drive was an 18-yard completion to Slaughter on fourth down and four from the Bills' 34-yard line.
Houston won the coin toss and got the ball at its 20-yard line. Three plays later, Moon was intercepted by Nate Odomes, enabling Christie to kick a field goal and win the game.
Reich finished the game completing 21 of 34 passes for 289 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. Reed had eight catches for 136 yards and three touchdowns. Davis rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown, while also catching two passes for 25 yards and returning a kickoff for 33 yards. Moon completed 36 of 50 attempts for 371 yards and four touchdowns, with two interceptions. His 36 completions set a playoff record that would stand until broken by Drew Brees's 39 completions in 2010 (Brees's New Orleans Saints also lost that game). Givens caught nine passes for 117 yards. Jeffires recorded eight catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Oilers and Bills. Buffalo won the only prior meeting.
+Buffalo leads 1–0 in all-time playoff games
NFC: Philadelphia Eagles 36, New Orleans Saints 20
The Eagles overcame a 20–10 Saints lead late in the third quarter by scoring 26 points in the final quarter, just one point short of the NFL postseason record set by the New York Giants in 1934.