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"SUPER SEASON" KICKS OFF
posted 12/31/98
The NFL playoffs begin on Saturday and Sunday with Wild Card Weekend. On Saturday, the Buffalo Bills play at the Miami Dolphins and the Arizona Cardinals are at the Dallas Cowboys. On Sunday, Wild Card Weekend continues with the New England Patriots at the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Green Bay Packers at the San Francisco 49ers.
The following week, Denver and the New York Jets in the AFC and Atlanta and Minnesota in the NFC host the Divisional Playoff games. Denver and Minnesota own home-field advantage for the Conference Championship Games if they win next week. The conference champions advance to Super Bowl XXXIII at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida on January 31.
ALL-TIME POSTSEASON: The defending NFC champion Green Bay Packers have won 12 NFL championships and own the NFL's all-time best playoff winning percentage. Following is a list of this year's 12 playoff teams, their postseason records and where their postseason winning percentage ranks all-time:
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | RANK |
|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 22 | 9 | .710 | 1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 32 | 19 | .627 | 2 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 23 | 14 | .622 | 3 |
| Denver Broncos | 13 | 11 | .542 | 7 |
| Miami Dolphins | 17 | 15 | .531 | 8 |
| Buffalo Bills | 14 | 13 | .519 | 9 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 2 | 2 | .500 | 13 |
| New York Jets | 5 | 6 | .455 | 14 |
| New England Patriots | 7 | 9 | .438 | T16 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 14 | 20 | .412 | 22 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 2 | 5 | .286 | 28 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 1 | 4 | .200 | 29 |
| WILD CARD RECORDS |
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. |
|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 4 | 1 | .800 |
| Buffalo Bills | 3 | 1 | .750 |
| Miami Dolphins | 3 | 3 | .500 |
| New England Patriots | 2 | 2 | .500 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF RECORDS |
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. |
|---|
| Denver Broncos | 6 | 3 | .667 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 6 | 10 | .375 |
| New York Jets | 1 | 2 | .333 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 0 | 3 | .000 |
THE TEAMS
BEST OF THE 1990s: Four of the six teams with the best playoff records of the 1990s are participating in this year's postseason, led by the Dallas Cowboys with a 12-3 (.800) mark. Following are the top six (minimum five games):
| TEAM | RECORD | PCT. |
|---|
| Dallas | 12-3 | .800 |
| Washington | 5-2 | .714 |
| Green Bay | 9-4 | .692 |
| New York Giants | 4-2 | .667 |
| Buffalo | 10-6 | .625 |
| Denver | 5-3 | .625 |
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: Four playoff teams -- the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers -- finished the season undefeated at home with perfect 8-0 records.
In the 20 seasons since the 16-game schedule began in 1978 (not including 1998), 21 teams won all eight home games, with 20 earning playoff berths, 14 reaching the conference title game, and eight advancing to the Super Bowl, with five winning it. Following are the teams with perfect 8-0 home records since 1978:
| TEAM | YEAR | SEASON RESULT | TEAM | YEAR | SEASON RESULT |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 1979 | Won Super Bowl XIV | Detroit Lions
| 1991 | Lost NFC Championship |
| Dallas Cowboys | 1980 | Lost NFC Championship | Philadelphia Eagles
| 1992 | Lost Divisional Playoff |
| Dallas Cowboys | 1981 | Lost NFC Championship | Kansas City Chiefs
| 1995 | Lost Divisional Playoff |
| Denver Broncos | 1981 | No playoffs | Carolina Panthers | 1996
| Lost NFC Championship |
| Chicago Bears | 1985 | Won Super Bowl XX | Denver Broncos | 1996
| Lost Divisional Playoff |
| Miami Dolphins | 1985 | Lost AFC Championship | Green Bay Packers
| 1996 | Won Super Bowl XXXI |
| New York Giants | 1986 | Won Super Bowl XXI | Denver Broncos | 1997 | Won Super Bowl XXXII |
| Buffalo Bills | 1988 | Lost AFC Championship | Green Bay Packers
| 1997 | Lost Super Bowl XXXII |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 1988 | Lost Super Bowl XXIII | Kansas City Chiefs
| 1997 | Lost Divisional Playoff |
| Minnesota Vikings | 1989 | Lost Divisional Playoff | San Francisco 49ers
| 1997 | Lost NFC Championship |
| Buffalo Bills | 1990 | Lost Super Bowl XXV |
PLAYOFF MOSTS: The Dallas Cowboys will participate in the playoffs for the 25th time, most in league history. They break a tie with the New York Giants at 24. The Cleveland Browns are third all-time with 23 playoff appearances. Dallas also holds league playoff records for most games played (51), most wins (32), most points scored (1,254), most consecutive postseasons (9, 1975-83) and most Super Bowl appearances (8). They are tied with the San Francisco 49ers for most Super Bowl victories (5).
The 49ers are second in postseason games played (37) and wins (23). The
Green Bay Packers rank third with 22 wins and can tie the 49ers for second with a win against San Francisco in their Wild Card game.
Following are the NFL teams with the most playoff berths since 1970:
| Berths | Div. Titles |
|---|
| Dallas | 21 | 15
| Minnesota | 19 | 13
| San Francisco | 19 | 16
| Miami | 18 | 11
| Pittsburgh | 18 | 14
| | | | |
THE SKINNY ON THE HEAVYWEIGHTS: Six of the NFL's top seven rushing clubs have earned trips to the playoffs. The top three teams in the category - San Francisco (159.0), Denver (154.3) and Buffalo (135.9) - have the lightest average weight per starting offensive lineman among playoff clubs. Minnesota, which has the league's top-ranked pass offense (270.5), has the heaviest line. Following are the average weights of projected offensive line starters for the 12 playoff clubs and their league rushing and passing ranks (based on opening-day roster weights):
| Team | Avg. Weight (Pounds) | Rushing Rank | Passing Rank |
|---|
| Minnesota | 322.8 | 11 | 1 |
| Dallas | 321.8 | 8 | 9 |
| Jacksonville | 319.8 | 5 | 20 |
| Miami | 310.6 | 24 | 10 |
| Arizona | 307.4 | 21 | 8 |
| New York Jets | 305.6 | 13 | 4 |
| Green Bay | 304.4 | 25 | 3 |
| Atlanta | 301.6 | 6 | 11 |
| New England | 301.6 | 27 | 5 |
| Buffalo | 298.0 | 3 | 12 |
| San Francisco | 295.4 | 1 | 2 |
| Denver | 287.6 | 2 | 7 |
THE PLAYERS
MOST PLAYOFF GAMES:San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice is the leading receiver in playoff history and the leader among active players in this year's playoffs with the most games played. Following are the active players in this year's playoffs with the most playoff games (* on injured reserve):
| PLAYER, TEAM | NUMBER OF PLAYOFF GAMES |
|---|
| Jerry Rice, San Francisco | 21 |
| Frank Winters, Green Bay* | 20 |
| Steve Young, San Francisco | 20 |
| Harris Barton, San Francisco* | 19 |
| John Elway, Denver | 19 |
| Mark Pike, Buffalo | 19 |
| Andre Reed, Buffalo | 19 |
| Bill Romanowski, Denver | 19 |
| Thurman Thomas, Buffalo | 19 |
QUARTERBACK PLAYOFF WINS: Quarterbacks Troy Aikman of Dallas, John Elway of Denver and Brett Favre of Green Bay seek to move up the postseason victory charts. Aikman and Elway each have 11 wins - tying with former Dallas quarterback Roger Staubach for third most playoff victories since 1970. Favre has a 9-4 playoff mark and looks to become the sixth quarterback since 1970 to win 10 postseason games. Following are the quarterbacks with at least 10 playoff wins since 1970:
| Quarterback | Starting Record |
|---|
| Joe Montana | 16-7 |
| Terry Bradshaw | 14-5 |
| Troy Aikman | 11-2 |
| John Elway | 11-7 |
| Roger Staubach | 11-6 |
HEISMAN QUARTERBACKS: Quarterbacks Doug Flutie of the Buffalo Bills and Vinny Testaverde of the New York Jets are two of six Heisman Trophy quarterbacks to start an NFL playoff game. Two Heisman Trophy quarterbacks
- Roger Staubach and Jim Plunkett - started a Super Bowl and won MVP honors. Following are the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks to start an NFL playoff game and the results:
| Players (Heisman Year) | Playoff Starts (Years) | Record |
|---|
| Roger Staubach (1963) | 17 (1971-79) | 11-6 |
| Jim Plunkett (1970) | 10 (1980-84) | 8-2 |
| Vinny Testaverde (1986) | 2 (1994) | 1-1 |
| Johnny Lujack (1947) | 1 (1950) | 0-1 |
| Doug Flutie (1984) | 1 (1986) | 0-1 |
| Ty Detmer (1990) | 1 (1996) | 0-1 |
| TOTALS | 32 | 20-12 |
RUNNING BACKS
Dallas Cowboys RB Emmitt Smith needs 144 rushing yards to become the all-time playoff leader. Smith is second all-time with 1,413 yards behind Franco Harris' 1,556. Buffalo's Thurman Thomas is third all-time with 1,399 yards.
Smith and Thomas enter the playoffs tied as the league's all-time leaders for most career postseason points with 120, and most career touchdowns with 20.
Thomas is tied with Smith and John Stallworth for most consecutive playoff games scoring a touchdown with eight. His streak is active, and if he scores against Miami, he will become the all-time leader. Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis has an active streak of five games scoring a TD and will move into sole possession of sixth place all-time with a touchdown in his next postseason game.
Thomas (327) and Smith (318) rank second and third respectively all-time in attempts. Harris (400) is first.
Smith is the all-time playoff leader with seven 100-yard games. Thomas is tied with John Riggens for second with six. Davis has an active steak of four consecutive 100-yard playoff games, tied for second all-time with Thomas. Davis trails only Riggins, who rushed for six straight 100s.
Smith is the all-time playoff leader in rushing touchdowns with 18. Thomas is third with 15, one behind Harris' 16. Thomas has scored a rushing TD in seven straight games and if he scores in his next playoff contest, he will tie Smith's record of eight. Davis has scored a rushing TD in five consecutive games and needs one in his next game for fourth most behind Smith (8), Thomas (7) and Riggins (7).
Thomas is the all-time playoff leader in combined yards (rushing, receiving and returns) with 2,078.
Davis has the highest career yards/carry average (5.33) in NFL playoff history.
QUARTERBACKS
Three quarterbacks enter this year's playoffs ranked in the top 10 in career playoff passer rating: Dallas Cowboys QB Troy Aikman ranks second with a 96.0 rating; Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre ranks fifth at 92.0; and San Francisco 49ers QB Steve Young is seventh at 88.7. Bart Starr is the all-time leader with a 104.8 rating.
Quarterbacks John Elway (565) of Denver and Dan Marino (561) of Miami rank second and third in postseason attempts, behind Joe Montana (734). Elway is third in completions with 310 and needs 13 attempts to pass Jim Kelly for second. Elway ranks second in passing yards with 4,273 behind Montana (5,772).
Aikman is the most accurate playoff passer ever with a career 66.5 completion percentage (276 of 415).
Aikman and Marino are tied for third with four career 300-yard playoff games.
Marino's 29 touchdown passes are third all-time. He needs two to pass Terry Bradshaw (30) in second. Joe Montana is first with 45.
Young holds the record for most attempts in a playoff game with 65 against Green Bay in 1995. Marino is tied for second with Dan Fouts and Bernie Kosar with 64 against Buffalo in 1995. His 422 yards passing in that game rank third all-time.
Young is tied with Daryle Lamonica for most TD passes in a game with six against San Diego in Super Bowl XXIX. Young's 1.99 career interception percentage (8 INTs out of 402 attempts) is second-lowest all-time behind
Bart Starr's 1.41.
RECEIVERS
The top four all-time playoff receivers are: San Francisco 49ers WR Jerry Rice ranks first all-time with 120 catches, followed by Dallas Cowboys WR Michael Irvin with 83, Buffalo Bills WR Andre Reed with 80 and Buffalo RB Thurman Thomas with 75. All are in the '98 playoffs.
Rice (7), Irvin (6) and Reed (5) are one, two and three in playoff 100-yard receiving games. Reed is tied for third with Stallworth. Rice is tied with Tom Fears for most consecutive 100-yard playoff games with three.
Rice has a reception in 21 consecutive playoff games and can tie Drew Pearson for the all-time record with a catch vs. Green Bay.
Rice is third all-time for most career touchdowns with 18. His 18 TDs are all on receptions, which rank first all-time in the category. Rice ranks fourth all-time with 108 points and needs eight to pass George Blanda
(115) for third.
Rice's 215 receiving yards vs. Cincinnati in Super Bowl XXIII are second-most in a playoff game to Anthony Carter's 227 in 1987.
Buffalo's Thomas and Denver TE Shannon Sharpe are tied with Kellen Winslow for most catches in a playoff game with 13.
DEFENSE
Defensive ends Bruce Smith of the Buffalo Bills and Reggie White of the Green Bay Packers enter the playoffs tied as the league's all-time leaders in postseason sacks with 12.0.
Green Bay's Craig Newsome has an interception in three consecutive playoff games and can set the all-time record with an INT vs. San Francisco. He is tied with 18 other players at three.
Dallas' George Teague is third all-time with 160 interception return yards. He holds the record for most return yards in one game (101) and for the longest return in playoff history with a 101-yard return vs. Detroit in 1993 as a member of the Packers. He also has two INT-TD returns in his career and needs one to tie Willie Brown for first all-time.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Minnesota Vikings kicker Gary Anderson has kicked 36 points after touchdowns in the playoffs without a miss, which ranks third all-time. He trails George Blanda (49) and Rafael Septien (41). He also ranks third in field goals attempted with 27, trailing Blanda (39) and Mark Moseley (31).
Anderson is tied with Matt Bahr for second all-time with 21 field goals made and needs two to pass Blanda's all-time record of 22. Anderson holds the record for most consecutive playoff field goals made with 16 from 1989-95.
Buffalo Bills K Steve Christie is tied with Toni Fritsch and Norm Johnson for fourth all-time with 20 field goals. Christie's 54-yard field goal in Super Bowl XXVIII is tied for second-longest in postseason history. Christie's 87.0 career playoff field goal percentage (23-20) is second all-time, trailing Chuck Nelson's 90.9 (11-10).
New York Jets punt returner David Meggett is the all-time playoff leader with 30 returns, including a record-tying seven in one game. He also holds the record for most punt return yards with 265.
Arizona kick returner Eric Metcalf ranks third all-time with 22 playoff kick returns and needs two to pass Kevin Williams (23) for second and eight to pass Fulton Walker (29) for first. Metcalf's 499 kick return yards rank third all-time behind Williams (505) and Walker (677).
THE COACHES
| COACHES' PLAYOFF RECORDS |
| HEAD COACH, TEAM | W | L | .PCT |
|---|
| Mike Shanahan, Denver Broncos | 4 | 1 | .800 |
| Jimmy Johnson, Miami Dolphins | 7 | 2 | .778 |
| Mike Holmgren, Green Bay Packers | 9 | 4 | .692 |
| Bill Parcells, New York Jets | 10 | 5 | .667 |
| Dan Reeves, Atlanta Falcons | 8 | 7 | .533 |
| Tom Coughlin, Jacksonville Jaguars | 2 | 2 | .500 |
| Pete Carroll, New England Patriots | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| Steve Mariucci, San Francisco 49ers | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| Dennis Green, Minnesota Vikings | 1 | 5 | .167 |
| Wade Phillips, Buffalo Bills | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Chan Gailey, Dallas Cowboys | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Vince Tobin, Arizona Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 |
PLAYOFF COACHES TIMES THREE: Head coaches Dan Reeves of the NFC West champion Atlanta Falcons and Bill Parcells of the AFC East titlist New York Jets join Chuck Knox as the only coaches to lead three clubs to the playoffs. Reeves took the Denver Broncos (1983-84, '86-87, '89, '91) and New York Giants (1993) to the postseason. Parcells led the Giants
(1984-86, '89-90) and New England Patriots (1994, '96) to the playoffs. Knox earned playoff spots with the Los Angeles Rams (1973-77), Buffalo Bills (1980-81), and Seattle Seahawks (1983-84, '87-88).
FIRST-YEAR GLORY: Rookie head coach Chan Gailey of the Dallas Cowboys has led his team into the playoffs and hopes to join Don McCafferty and George Seifert as the only rookie head coaches to take their teams to Super Bowl titles. McCafferty led the Baltimore Colts to a 16-13 win on rookie kicker Jim O'Brien's game-winning field goal with five seconds remaining against Dallas in Super Bowl V. Seifert guided the 49ers to their fourth title and second straight with a 55-10 win over Denver in Super Bowl XXIV.
BEST PLAYOFF PERFORMANCES
| PASSING YARDS |
| PLAYER, TEAM | SEASON | COMP. | ATT. | YARDS | TDs | INTs |
|---|
| Dan Marino, Miami | 1984 | 71 | 116 | 1,001 | 8 | 5 |
| Joe Montana, San Francisco | 1984 | 67 | 108 | 873 | 7 | 5 |
| Jim Kelly, Buffalo | 1990 | 54 | 82 | 851 | 5 | 2 |
| Jim Plunkett, Oakland | 1980 | 49 | 92 | 839 | 7 | 3 |
| Joe Montana, San Francisco | 1988 | 56 | 90 | 823 | 8 | 1 |
| RUSHING YARDS |
| PLAYER, TEAM | SEASON | ATT. | YARDS | TDs |
|---|
| John Riggins, Washington | 1982 | 136 | 610 | 4 |
| Terrell Davis, Denver | 1997 | 112 | 581 | 8 |
| Marcus Allen, L.A. Raiders | 1983 | 58 | 466 | 4 |
| Thurman Thomas, Buffalo | 1990 | 72 | 390 | 4 |
| Natrone Means, Jacksonville | 1996 | 71 | 358 | 2 |
| RECEIVING YARDS |
| PLAYER, TEAM | SEASON | REC. | YARDS | TDs |
|---|
| Jerry Rice, San Francisco | 1988 | 21 | 409 | 6 |
| Charlie Brown, Washington | 1983 | 14 | 401 | 1 |
| Anthony Carter, Minnesota | 1987 | 23 | 391 | 1 |
| Fred Biletnikoff, Oakland | 1968 | 14 | 370 | 4 |
| Tom Fears, L.A. Rams | 1950 | 16 | 334 | 3 |
| RECEPTIONS |
| PLAYER, TEAM | SEASON | REC. | YARDS | TDs |
|---|
| Anthony Carter, Minnesota | 1987 | 23 | 391 | 1 |
| Tony Nathan, Miami | 1984 | 22 | 217 | 0 |
| Dan Ross, Cincinnati | 1981 | 22 | 244 | 2 |
| Jerry Rice, San Francisco | 1988 | 21 | 409 | 6 |
| Dwight Clark, San Francisco | 1984 | 19 | 272 | 1 |
| Andre Reed, Buffalo | 1992 | 19 | 313 | 3 |
| Jerry Rice, San Francisco | 1989 | 19 | 317 | 5 |
| TOUCHDOWNS |
| PLAYER, TEAM | SEASON | TOTAL TDs | RUSH TDs | REC. TDs |
|---|
| Terrell Davis, Denver | 1997 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Larry Csonka, Miami | 1973 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Franco Harris, Pittsburgh | 1974 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Jerry Rice, San Francisco | 1988 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| John Riggins, Washington | 1983 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Gerald Riggs, Washington | 1991 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Emmitt Smith, Dallas | 1995 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Ricky Watters, San Francisco | 1995 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
courtesy NFL
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