Participants
Bracket
Schedule
Source: :A. The Green Bay-Dallas game was the most-watched early-round NFL playoff game on record. :B. The Pittsburgh-Kansas City game was rescheduled from a 1:05 p.m. kickoff due to public safety concerns about an ice storm affecting theWild Card playoffs
Saturday, January 7, 2017
AFC: Houston Texans 27, Oakland Raiders 14
The Raiders were one of the most dominant teams in the AFC during the season, but in the final two weeks of the regular season, they lost starting quarterback Derek Carr and second-string quarterback Matt McGloin to injuries. The Raiders lost the last game and ended up going into the playoffs with Connor Cook under center, making Cook the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era to make his first NFL start in the postseason. Houston also had plenty of problems during the season as well, scoring only 25 touchdowns, the lowest number by a playoff team since the NFL expanded to a 16-game season in 1978. But in this game, they proved more than a match for the Raiders, holding them to just 202 total yards and 2-for-16 on third down conversions while scoring 27 points, without losing any turnovers or allowing any sacks. Early in the first quarter, Shane Lechler's 30-yard punt pinned the Raiders back at their own 7-yard line. Oakland gained only two yards on their ensuing drive and Marquette King's 31-yard punt gave the Texans excellent field position on the Raiders' 40-yard line, which they converted on a Nick Novak field goal from 50 yards. Three plays into Oakland's next drive, Houston lineman Jadeveon Clowney intercepted a screen pass from Cook and returned it three yards, with an unnecessary roughness penalty on Menelik Watson adding another 15 yards and giving the Texans a first down on Oakland's 4-yard line. Lamar Miller then scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to give Houston a 10–0 lead with just over six minutes left in the first quarter. Both teams had to punt on their next possession and Jalen Richard returned Lechler's 51-yard kick 37 yards to the Texans' 38-yard line. Latavius Murray then rushed four times for 31 yards as the team drove to a touchdown on his 2-yard run, cutting the deficit to 10–7. In the second quarter, Houston quarterback Brock Osweiler completed passes to tight end C. J. Fiedorowicz for yardage gains of 18 and 17 yards, respectively, while Miller added a 19-yard carry as the team drove 75 yards in 10 plays to score on Novak's 38-yard field goal, making the score 13–7. Later on, the Texans got the ball on their own 40-yard line with 2:25 left in the half. Osweiler completed a 19-yard pass to Will Fuller and a 38-yard pass to DeAndre Hopkins, then finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Hopkins that gave his team a 20–7 halftime lead. The third quarter started with six consecutive punts. With 28 seconds left in the period, Houston returner Tyler Ervin muffed King's 56-yard punt, but teammate Eddie Pleasant recovered the ball and returned it 12 yards to the Texans' 47-yard line. Houston then drove 53 yards in nine plays, including a 19-yard reception by Fuller, to score on Osweiler's 1-yard touchdown run and go up 27–7. After being completely shut down up to this point, Oakland's offense finally managed to respond, moving the ball 75 yards in 11 plays, with Cook completing 5 of 9 passes for 50 yards on the drive; three completions went to Andre Holmes for 37 yards, the last one an 8-yard touchdown pass to make the score 27–14. Oakland's defense then forced a three-and-out with 6:27 left, but safety Corey Moore ended the drive with an interception of a high pass intended for Amari Cooper. Cook was intercepted again in the final two minutes, by A. J. Bouye. Osweiler was 14-of-25 passing for 168 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 15 yards and a touchdown. Cornerback Johnathan Joseph had 10 solo tackles, while linebacker Whitney Mercilus had seven tackles (five solo) and two sacks. In his first start, Cook completed 18 of 45 passing attempts for 161 yards and a touchdown, with three interceptions. This was the Raiders' final playoff game played while the team was based in Oakland, as they moved to Las Vegas in 2020.NFC: Seattle Seahawks 26, Detroit Lions 6
Seattle dominated the Lions, holding them to just 231 total yards, 13 first downs and 2-for-11 on third down conversions. All drives in the first quarter ended in punts, except for the last one in which the Lions drove to a 4th-and-1 situation on the Seattle 38-yard line. On the first play of the second quarter,Sunday, January 8, 2017
AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 30, Miami Dolphins 12
In their regular season meeting, Miami racked up 474 yards as they defeated Pittsburgh 30–15, but this game would have a very different outcome. The Steelers gained 387 yards, forced three turnovers, recorded five sacks and scored three touchdowns in the first half on the way to a dominant 18-point win. Pittsburgh took the opening kickoff and drove 85 yards in 5 plays, scoring on Ben Roethlisberger's pass to Antonio Brown, who hauled in the short screen and took it 50 yards to the end zone. Then after a punt, the Steelers moved the ball 90 yards in 6 plays on the way to a 62-yard touchdown completion from Roethlisberger to Brown. This time Miami managed to respond, aided by Kenyan Drake's 33-yard kickoff return to the 41-yard line. Faced with 3rd-and-13 after two plays, Matt Moore completed a 36-yard pass to receiver Kenny Stills, setting up Andrew Franks' 38-yard field goal that cut their deficit to 14–3. But after getting the ball back, Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell carried the ball 9 times for 79 yards on a 10–play, 83-yard drive that ended with his 1-yard touchdown run, giving the team a 20–3 lead after Chris Boswell missed the extra point. Miami then drove 39 yards in 12 plays, scoring on Franks' 47-yard field goal with less than 5 minutes left in the second quarter. Pittsburgh responded with a drive to the Dolphins' 34-yard line, but with 1:12 left, Roethlisberger threw a pass that bounced off the outstretched hands of Brown and was intercepted by safety Michael Thomas, who returned it 16 yards to the Dolphins' 27-yard line. Miami subsequently moved the ball to the Steelers' 8-yard line, featuring a 37-yard completion from Moore to DeVante Parker. But on the next play, Moore lost a fumble while being sacked by James Harrison and Steelers defensive end Stephon Tuitt recovered the ball, allowing Pittsburgh to go into the half maintaining their 20–6 lead. Early in the third quarter, safety Mike Mitchell forced a fumble while sacking Moore that Leterrius Walton recovered for the Steelers at their 41-yard line. Bell then rushed 3 times for 49 yards on the way to a 34-yard Boswell field goal that increased their lead to 23–6. Then on the first play after the kickoff, linebacker Ryan Shazier intercepted a pass from Moore and returned it 10 yards to the Dolphins' 25-yard line. Miami's defense managed to force a 4th down, but a neutral zone infraction penalty against Dolphins defensive back Tony Lippett on the field goal attempt gave Pittsburgh a new set of downs. The Steelers took full advantage of the opportunity, scoring on Bell's 8-yard touchdown run that made the score 30–6 with 2 minutes left until the fourth quarter. Miami responded with a drive to the Steelers' 42-yard line, but lost the ball when Tuitt tackled Moore for a 2-yard gain on 4th-and-4. Miami finally managed to get a touchdown in the fourth quarter—with 5:57 left—moving the ball 70 yards in 9 plays and scoring on Moore's 4-yard pass to running back Damien Williams. After a failed onside kick attempt, the Dolphins got one last chance to score when Xavien Howard intercepted Roethlisberger's pass and returned it 11 yards to the Miami 43-yard line. But the Steelers forced a turnover on downs at the Steelers' 33-yard line and ran out the clock to win the game. Roethlisberger completed 13 of 18 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns, with 2 interceptions. Brown caught 5 passes for 124 yards and two scores, while Bell rushed 29 times for 167 yards—surpassing the previous franchise playoff record of 158 yards set by Franco Harris in Super Bowl IX—and a touchdown. Linebacker Lawrence Timmons had 14 tackles (8 solo) and 2 sacks. James Harrison had 10 tackles (6 solo), 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Moore finished with 29 completions on 36 passing attempts for 298 yards and a touchdown, with one interception. His top receiver was Jarvis Landry, who caught 11 passes for 102 yards. Another notable moment from this game was when Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree made a helmet to helmet hit on Matt Moore. He was called for a 15 yard penalty, and later fined $18,000.NFC: Green Bay Packers 38, New York Giants 13
Divisional playoffs
Saturday, January 14, 2017
NFC: Atlanta Falcons 36, Seattle Seahawks 20
The Falcons' league-leading offense put up 422 total yards on their way to a 36–20 win over the Seahawks and their first trip to the NFC Championship since 2012. On the game's opening possession, Seattle mounted a 14-play, 81-yard drive that lasted 8:36; Russell Wilson completed all four of his passes for 40 yards and rushed for 16 yards on the drive, eventually finding tight end Jimmy Graham for a seven-yard touchdown. Atlanta responded with their own 13-play, 75-yard drive on their first possession and tied the game with Matt Ryan's 7-yard touchdown pass to Julio Jones on the second play of the second quarter. Devin Hester returned the ensuing kickoff 50 yards to the Seattle 45-yard line and the Seahawks advanced into Falcons territory with Wilson's 33-yard pass to Paul Richardson, who made a diving catch and then ran to the end zone. His catch was initially ruled a touchdown, but replays showed he was touched by Jalen Collins as he was falling to the ground, thus nullifying the scoring play. The drive ended up stalling and Seattle settled for a 33-yard field goal by Steven Hauschka. After Atlanta went three-and-out on their next drive, Hester returned the punt 80 yards to the Falcons' 7-yard line, but Seattle's Kevin Pierre-Louis was called for holding and the Seahawks were pushed back to their own 7-yard line. On the second play of the next drive, center Justin Britt accidentally stepped on Wilson's leg after the snap, causing Wilson to fall backwards into the end zone where he was downed by Ben Garland for a safety. Atlanta added two scores before the end of the half; first, Eric Weems returned the free kick 18 yards to the Falcons' 41-yard line. Ryan then completed a 37-yard pass to Taylor Gabriel that set up Matt Bryant's 35-yard field goal to give the Falcons a 12–10 lead. Seattle had to punt on their next drive and Jon Ryan's 60-yard kick pinned them back at their own 1-yard line. However, Atlanta advanced the ball all the way to the end zone, in nine plays. Ryan hit Mohamed Sanu for 22 yards, Gabriel for 18 yards and Jones for 20 yards before finishing the drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to running back Tevin Coleman, increasing Atlanta's lead to 19–10 with 53 seconds left in the half. The Falcons increased their lead on the opening drive of the second half, moving the ball 75 yards—29 yards of which from three carries by Coleman—in 13 plays on the way to Devonta Freeman's one-yard touchdown run that put them up by 16 points. This time, Seattle were able to respond, driving 80 yards in 14 plays, including a 40-yard completion from Wilson to Richardson. Hauschka finished the possession with a 31-yard field goal, cutting the score to 26–13. Atlanta took the kickoff; on 3rd-and-4, Ryan dumped off a short pass to Freeman, who then took off for a 53-yard gain to the Seahawks' 16-yard line, setting up Bryant's 31-yard field goal on the opening play of the fourth quarter. Seattle were able to get into Falcons territory later in the quarter, but Wilson threw an interception to Ricardo Allen who returned it 45 yards to the Seahawks' 46-yard line. Atlanta then drove 46 yards in 8 plays, the last one Ryan's three-yard touchdown pass to Sanu with 3:40 remaining to put the Falcons up by 23 points. Seattle were able to get back within 16 points after Hester returned the kickoff 78 yards and Wilson threw a 31-yard touchdown to Doug Baldwin, but Atlanta effectively sealed the game when Sanu recovered the resulting onside kick. On Seattle's final drive, Wilson was intercepted by Deion Jones. Ryan finished as the game's leading passer with 26 completions on 37 attempts for 338 yards and three touchdowns. Freeman rushed for 40 yards and a touchdown, while also catching four passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Wilson threw for 225 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, and also finished as the Seahawks' leading rusher with 49 yards. Hester returned five kickoffs for 198 yards.New England Patriots 34, Houston Texans 16
New England's defense intercepted Houston three times, while running back Dion Lewis scored three touchdowns—one rushing, one receiving and one kickoff return—as the Patriots advanced to the AFC Championship Game for the sixth year in a row. Big plays enabled New England to take a 14–3 lead after just 6 offensive plays. Following a three-and-out from both teams, Texans cornerback A. J. Bouye committed a 30-yard pass interference penalty while trying to cover Chris Hogan, giving New England a first down on Houston's 35-yard line. Quarterback Tom Brady completed two consecutive passes—the first to Hogan for 22 yards and the second to Lewis for a 13-yard touchdown completion. Houston responded by moving the ball 62 yards in 14 plays to score on Nick Novak's 33-yard field goal. On the ensuing kickoff, Lewis returned the ball 98 yards for a touchdown, the first kickoff return touchdown for the Patriots in postseason history. Houston had to punt after three plays, but on the first play of the second quarter, Brady threw a pass that went off the hands of Michael Floyd and was intercepted by Bouye, who returned it 7 yards to the Patriots' 27-yard line. Houston failed to get the ball into the end zone, but Novak kicked another field goal to make the score 14–6. Texans linebacker Akeem Dent forced and recovered a fumble from Lewis on the kickoff, getting the ball back for his team on the New England 12-yard line. This time, Houston was able to take it all the way, scoring on Brock Osweiler's 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end C. J. Fiedorowicz that made the score 14–13. After three consecutive punts, Brady's 48-yard completion to Julian Edelman gave New England a first down on the Houston 16-yard line. Eventually they got a first and goal from the 3-yard line, but could not score a touchdown, with a Stephen Gostkowski field goal giving the Patriots a 17–13 lead at halftime. After punts from each team at the start of the second half, Brady completed two passes to Edelman for 40 yards and one to Hogan for 22 yards before finding running back James White in the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown, putting the Patriots up 24–13. Later in the quarter, Devin McCourty's interception of an Osweiler pass gave New England the ball on their 44-yard line, but could not convert this into points. After a few punts, Brady threw a pass that was intercepted by Andre Hal, who returned it 6 yards to the Patriots' 34-yard line. Houston capitalized with Novak's third field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter, making it 24–16. New England had to punt on their next drive, but in what turned out to be a crucial play, Osweiler's first pass after the punt was intercepted and returned 23 yards by Logan Ryan, giving New England the ball on the Texans' 6-yard line. After a 5-yard carry, Lewis added a 1-yard touchdown run that gave the Patriots a 31–16 lead. The Texans were unable to achieve a first down on their next drive and New England drove 43 yards in 10 plays for Gostkowski's 43-yard field goal that gave them a 34–16 lead with under 7 minutes left. Houston's final drive resulted in Osweiler's third interception, this one to Duron Harmon. Brady completed 18 of 38 passes for 287 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, equaling his regular season total. Lewis rushed for 41 yards, caught two passes for 23 yards and returned three kickoffs for 124 yards, and became the first player in NFL postseason history to score touchdowns by rushing, receiving and kick return. Edelman caught eight passes for 137 yards and returned four punts for 24 yards, while Hogan had four receptions for 95 yards. Osweiler completed 23 of 40 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown, with three interceptions. The Patriots advanced to the AFC Championship Game for the sixth consecutive year, surpassing the Oakland Raiders ofSunday, January 15, 2017
NFC: Green Bay Packers 34, Dallas Cowboys 31
In a hard-fought back-and-forth game in which both teams gained over 400 yards of offense, Packers kicker Mason Crosby propelled the team to victory with two 50+ yard field goals in the final two minutes of the game, the second one set up by Aaron Rodgers's 36-yard completion to Jared Cook on 3rd-and-20 with three seconds left. Dallas took the opening kickoff and drove 43 yards in 8 plays, scoring on Dan Bailey's 50-yard field goal to take a 3–0 lead. Green Bay appeared to go three-and-out when Aaron Rodgers threw an incompletion on 3rd down, but a defensive holding penalty on Benson Mayowa gave them a first down. Taking advantage of their second chance, Ty Montgomery rushed for 15 yards and Randall Cobb caught a pass for 16 yards before Aaron Rodgers finished the drive with a 34-yard touchdown pass to tight endAFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 18, Kansas City Chiefs 16
This game was supposed to have started at 1:05 p.m., EST, but was pushed back to 8:00 due to inclement weather, making this game the first ever divisional round playoff game in NFL history to premiere on Sunday Night Football. Although Pittsburgh was unable to get into the end zone, Chris Boswell's postseason record six field goals were enough for them to become the first team to win a playoff game without scoring a touchdown since the 2006 Indianapolis Colts on their run to a victory in Super Bowl XLI. The Steelers scored on the game's opening drive, moving the ball 65 yards in 11 plays on the way to Boswell's 22-yard field goal. Kansas City quickly struck back after Demetrius Harris returned Boswell's short kickoff 25 yards to their 45-yard line. The Chiefs then drove 55 yards in six plays, including a 21-yard catch by Travis Kelce, to score on Alex Smith's 5-yard touchdown pass to Albert Wilson, giving them a 7–3 lead. Pittsburgh stormed right back, as Ben Roethlisberger's 52-yard completion to Antonio Brown led to another Boswell field goal that made the score 7–6. On their next drive, they went 53 yards in 14 plays, scoring on Boswell's third field goal, to give them a 9–7 lead with just over 9 minutes left in the half. The Steelers soon got another chance to score when linebacker Ryan Shazier intercepted a pass from Smith on the Chiefs' 44-yard line. Three plays later, Roethlisberger returned the favor with an interception toConference championships
Sunday, January 22, 2017
NFC: Atlanta Falcons 44, Green Bay Packers 21
In the final football game played at the Georgia Dome, Atlanta racked up 493 yards, scored on eight of their first nine drives, and converted 10 of 13 third downs as they advanced to their first Super Bowl since 1998. In the first half alone, the Falcons gained 325 yards as they stormed to a 24–0 lead. On the game's opening drive, they moved the ball 80 yards in 13 plays, featuring a 31-yard reception by seldom-used fullback Patrick DiMarco. Matt Ryan finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown shovel pass to Mohamed Sanu that gave them an early 7–0 lead. Green Bay responded with a drive to the Falcons' 23-yard line, mainly the result of Jordy Nelson's two receptions for 41 yards, but they were unable to score as Mason Crosby, who had made an NFL record 23 consecutive postseason field goals before this game, missed from 41 yards. Ryan then led the Falcons back for more points, completing 4 of 7 passes for 56 yards on a 14-play, 59-yard drive. Matt Bryant kicked a 28-yard field goal that increased the lead to 10–0 with 14 seconds left in the first quarter. Green Bay's next drive was remarkably similar to their last one: two key receptions from one receiver ( Randall Cobb) picked up 39 yards as they drove to the Falcons' 23-yard line, but lost the ball with a fumble from fullback Aaron Ripkowski, forced and recovered by cornerback Jalen Collins. Back on offense, Ryan completed passes to Julio Jones for gains of 17, 20, and 19 yards, respectively, before he scrambled for a 14-yard touchdown. Later in the quarter, Falcons safety Ricardo Allen intercepted a pass from Aaron Rodgers on the Falcons' 32-yard line. This time, Ryan completed 5 of 7 passes for 59 yards and rushed for 9 additional yards on a 68-yard drive. Faced with 3rd-and-1 on the Packers' 5-yard line with 7 seconds left in the half, he finished the possession with a touchdown pass to Jones; the Falcons led 24–0, having scored on 4 of their 5 first-half drives. Atlanta scored another touchdown in the first minute of the second half after forcing Green Bay to punt. From his own 27-yard line, Ryan threw a 10-yard pass to Jones, who caught the ball and broke two tackles as he raced all the way to the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown completion. This time Green Bay managed to respond, with tight end Jared Cook catching 3 passes for 50 yards on a 75-yard drive that ended with Rodgers' 2-yard touchdown toss to Davante Adams, cutting the deficit to 31–7. Atlanta extended this to 37–7, with Devonta Freeman rushing 5 times for 28 yards on their own 75-yard drive, and finishing it off with a 4-yard touchdown catch. Rodgers rushed for a 28-yard gain on the first play of Green Bay's next possession, and later completed an 18-yard pass to Cook. With 38 seconds left in the third quarter, he finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Nelson; Ripkowski scored a 2-point conversion that cut the score to 37–15. Sanu recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt, returning it 9 yards to the Packers' 32-yard line. Atlanta then drove to their final score of the game, a 3-yard run by Tevin Coleman three minutes into the fourth quarter. Green Bay then drove 75 yards in 14 plays to score on Rodgers' 1-yard touchdown pass to Cook with six minutes left, culminating the scoring at 44–21. Ryan completed 27 of 38 passes for 392 yards and four touchdowns, as well as three carries for 23 yards and a touchdown. Jones caught nine passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns, while Freeman rushed for 42 yards, caught 4 passes for 42 yards, and scored a touchdown. Rodgers completed 27 of his 45 passing attempts for 287 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.AFC: New England Patriots 36, Pittsburgh Steelers 17
New England advanced to their seventh Super Bowl in the last 16 seasons under quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick, racking up 431 yards and 26 first downs. Pittsburgh's offense had 368 yards, but could only score 17 points, eight of them on a touchdown late in the game with the outcome already decided. Meanwhile, the Steelers' rushing attack, that had been so critical to their earlier playoff wins, was crippled by an early injury to running back Le'Veon Bell, finishing the game with just 54 total yards on the ground. On the game's opening drive, Brady's 41-yard completion to Julian Edelman set up Stephen Gostkowski's 31-yard field goal, giving New England a 3–0 lead less than two minutes into the game. Following several punts, the Patriots went on an 80-yard, 11-play drive, the longest gain being a 26-yard catch by receiver Chris Hogan. Brady finished it off with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Hogan, for a 10–0 lead. On the second play of Pittsburgh's next drive, Bell suffered a game-ending groin injury. However, his replacement DeAngelo Williams caught two passes for nine yards and rushed four times for 25 yards, the last carry a five-yard touchdown run to complete the 13-play, 84-yard drive early in the second quarter. Chris Boswell missed the extra point, with the score remaining 10–6. New England stormed right back, driving 82 yards in nine plays and scoring on Brady's 34-yard touchdown pass to Hogan on a flea flicker play. Pittsburgh then moved the ball to the Patriots' 19-yard line, where Ben Roethlisberger threw a pass to tight endSuper Bowl LI: New England Patriots 34, Atlanta Falcons 28 ()
Despite the Falcons taking a 28–3 lead midway through the third quarter, the Patriots scored 25 unanswered points to tie the game at 28 with less than a minute left in regulation and take the game to the first overtime period in Super Bowl history. On the first possession of overtime, Patriots running back James White punched in the game-winning score to give his team a 34–28 comeback victory. Additionally, this was the first Super Bowl since XLVII four years earlier to not have both #1 seeds from their respective conferences against each other, as Atlanta was the #2 seed in the NFC.Television coverage
All playoffs games were televised nationally on network television. ABC simulcasted one AFC Wild Card game withReferences
{{DEFAULTSORT:2016-17 NFL playoffs