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2002–03 NFL playoffs: Difference between revisions

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*'''TV announcers ([[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]]):''' [[Dick Stockton]] and [[Daryl Johnston]]
*'''TV announcers ([[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]]):''' [[Dick Stockton]] and [[Daryl Johnston]]


The hyped quarterback duel between [[Donovan McNabb]] and Michael Vick never materialized, as the Eagles' defense sacked Vick three times and intercepted him off twice, including [[Bobby Taylor]]'s 39-yard return for a touchdown. With the Eagles leading 13-6 in the third quarter, a 20-yard touchdown run by Vick that could have tied the game was called back bt a holding penalty. Jay Feely then missed a 37-yard field goal a few plays later. The Eagles then put the game away in the fourth quarter with McNabb's 35-yard touchdown pass to James Thrash.
The hyped quarterback duel between [[Donovan McNabb]] and Michael Vick never materialized, as the Eagles' defense sacked Vick three times and intercepted him off twice, including [[Bobby Taylor]]'s 39-yard return for a touchdown. With the Eagles leading 13-6 in the third quarter, a 20-yard touchdown run by Vick that could have tied the game was called back by a holding penalty. Jay Feely then missed a 37-yard field goal a few plays later. The Eagles then put the game away in the fourth quarter with McNabb's 35-yard touchdown pass to James Thrash.


*'''Scoring'''
*'''Scoring'''

Revision as of 08:04, 27 December 2005

The NFL playoffs following the 2002 NFL season led up to Super Bowl XXXVII.

Prior to the 2002-03 season, the league realigned the teams into eight divisions (four in each conference). Thus, the 12-team playoff format was modified:

  • The four division champions are seeded 1 through 4 based on their regular season won-lost-tied record.
  • Two "wild card" qualifiers (those non-division champions with the conference's best won-lost-tied percentages) are seeded 5 and 6 within the conference.

These changes meant that a wild card team could no longer host a playoff game during the first Wild Card round.

After the success of holding Saturday prime time playoff games during the 2001-02 postseason, the league revised all of the Sunday playoff games starting in 2002 to draw more television viewers. First, the Sunday wild card and divisional playoff games were moved from 12:30 PM and 4:00 PM North American Eastern Standard Time (EST) to 1:00 PM and 4:30 PM, respectively. [1]

The starting times for the Conference Championship Games were also changed, with the conferences continuing to alternate both the early and late games. The first game (in this case, the NFC) began at 3:00 PM EST, with the second game (the AFC this season) starting at 6:30 PM EST. [1]

Playoff seeds
Seed AFC NFC
1 Oakland Raiders (West winner) Philadelphia Eagles (East winner)
2 Tennessee Titans (South winner) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (South winner)
3 Pittsburgh Steelers (North winner) Green Bay Packers (North winner)
4 New York Jets (East winner) San Francisco 49ers (West winner)
5 Indianapolis Colts New York Giants
6 Cleveland Browns Atlanta Falcons

Wild-card round

Saturday January 4, 2003

AFC: New York Jets 41, Indianapolis Colts 0

1 2 3 4 Total
Colts 0 0 0 0 0
Jets 7 17 10 7 41

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

In his playoff debut, quarterback Chad Pennington threw three touchdowns as he led the Jets to a shutout victory over the Colts. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was limited to 14 out of 31 (45.2 percent) completions for 137 yards, with 2 interceptions.

  • Scoring
    • NYJ - Anderson 56 pass from Pennington (Hall kick)
    • NYJ - FG Hall 41
    • NYJ - Jordan 1 run (Hall kick)
    • NYJ - Moss 4 pass from Pennington (Hall kick)
    • NYJ - FG Hall 39
    • NYJ - Baker 3 pass from Pennington (Hall kick)
    • NYJ - Jordan 1 run (Hall kick)

NFC: Atlanta Falcons 27, Green Bay Packers 7

1 2 3 4 Total
Falcons 14 10 3 0 27
Packers 0 0 7 0 7

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

The Packers suffered their first playoff loss at home as the Falcons forced five turnovers and limited Green Bay to only 7 points. Quarterback Michael Vick passed for 117 yards and rushed for 64 yards. The Falcons also blocked a punt that was recovered for a touchdown.

  • Scoring
    • ATL - Jefferson 10 pass from Vick (Feely kick)
    • ATL - Ulmer 1 blocked punt return (Feely kick)
    • ATL - Duckett 6 run (Feely kick)
    • ATL - FG Feely 22
    • GB - Driver 14 pass from Favre (Longwell kick)
    • ATL - FG Feely 23

Sunday January 5, 2003

AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 36, Cleveland Browns 33

1 2 3 4 Total
Browns 7 10 7 9 33
Steelers 0 7 7 22 36

at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Journeyman quarterback Tommy Maddox led the Steelers to 29 points to overcome a 17-point deficit. A 3-yard touchdown run by Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala with 54 seconds left capped the game-winning 58-yard drive. The Browns had a chance to attempt a game tying field goal when they reached the Pittsburgh 45-yard line with seven seconds left, but Andre King could not run out of bounds on his 16-yard catch to stop the clock.

  • Scoring
    • CLE - Green 1 run (Dawson kick)
    • CLE - Northcutt 32 pass from Holcomb (Dawson kick)
    • PHI - Randle El 66 punt return (Reed kick)
    • CLE - FG Dawson 31
    • CLE - Northcutt 15 pass from Holcomb (Dawson kick)
    • PIT - Burress 6 pass from Maddox (Reed kick)
    • CLE - FG Dawson 24
    • PIT - Tuman 3 pass from Maddox (Reed kick)
    • CLE - Davis 22 pass from Holcomb (Pass failed)
    • PIT - Ward 5 pass from Maddox (Reed kick)
    • PIT - Fuamatu-Ma'afala 3 run (Tuman pass from Randle El)

NFC: San Francisco 49ers 39, New York Giants 38

1 2 3 4 Total
Giants 7 21 10 0 38
49ers 7 7 8 17 39

at San Francisco Stadium at Candlestick Point, San Francisco

The Steelers' comeback earlier in the day was matched by San Francisco's similar late drive. Down 38-14 in the third quarter, the 49ers' offense led by quarterback Jeff Garcia scored 25 unanswered points, including Tai Streets' 13-yard touchdown reception on what proved to be the game-winning touchdown with one minute left. However, the Giants did have a chance to win on the final play of the game with a field goal attempt. But a botched snap by Trey Junkin resulted into a feeble pass play that fell incomplete. The Giants were also called for having an illegal man downfield on the play, and the game ended. The following day, it was revealed that the penalized player had in fact checked in as an eligible receiver before the field goal attempt. Furthermore, the 49ers should have been called for pass interference, which would have given the Giants another chance to win.

  • Scoring
    • SF - Owens 76 pass from Garcia (Chandler kick)
    • NYG - Toomer 12 pass from Collins (Bryant kick)
    • NYG - Shockey 2 pass from Collins (Bryant kick)
    • SF - Barlow 1 run (Chandler kick)
    • NYG - Toomer 8 pass from Collins (Bryant kick)
    • NYG - Toomer 24 pass from Collins (Bryant kick)
    • NYG - Barber 6 run (Bryant kick)
    • NYG - FG Bryant 21
    • SF - Owens 26 pass from Garcia (Owens pass from Garcia)
    • SF - Garcia 14 run (Owens pass from Garcia)
    • SF - FG Chandler 25
    • SF - Streets 13 pass from Garcia (pass failed)

Byes

Divisional round

Saturday January 11, 2003

AFC: Tennessee Titans 34, Pittsburgh Steelers 31 (OT)

Template:Linescore AmfootballOT

at Nashville Coliseum, Nashville, Tennessee

The third time was the charm for Titans kicker Joe Nedney. After missing the potential game-winning field goal at the end of regulation time, and a second failed kick in overtime was negated because of a roughing-the-kicker penalty on Pittsburgh's Dewayne Washington, Nedney won the game from 26 yards out 2:15 into overtime. Steelers coach Bill Cowher was incensed, saying he called a timeout before the winning kick took place. Earlier in the game, the Titans jumped to an early 14-0 lead before the Steelers converted three turnovers into 20 points. Two Tennessee touchdowns made it 28-20 by the end of the third quarter, but a 21-yard Hines Ward touchdown and subsequent two-point conversion tied the game at 28. The teams traded field goals late in the final period to send the game into overtime.

  • Scoring
    • TEN - McNair 8 run (Nedney kick)
    • TEN - George 1 run (Nedney kick)
    • PIT - Ward 8 pass from Maddox (Reed kick)
    • PIT - FG Reed 30
    • PIT - FG Reed 39
    • PIT - Zereoue 31 run (Reed kick)
    • TEN - Wycheck 7 pass from McNair (Nedney kick)
    • TEN - Kinney 2 pass from McNair (Nedney kick)
    • PIT - Ward 21 pass from Maddox (Burress pass from Ward)
    • PIT - FG Reed 40
    • TEN - FG Nedney 42
    • TEN - FG Nedney 26

NFC: Philadelphia Eagles 20, Atlanta Falcons 6

1 2 3 4 Total
Falcons 0 6 0 0 6
Eagles 10 3 0 7 20

at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia

The hyped quarterback duel between Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick never materialized, as the Eagles' defense sacked Vick three times and intercepted him off twice, including Bobby Taylor's 39-yard return for a touchdown. With the Eagles leading 13-6 in the third quarter, a 20-yard touchdown run by Vick that could have tied the game was called back by a holding penalty. Jay Feely then missed a 37-yard field goal a few plays later. The Eagles then put the game away in the fourth quarter with McNabb's 35-yard touchdown pass to James Thrash.

  • Scoring
    • PHI - Taylor 39 interception return (Akers kick)
    • PHI - FG Akers 34
    • PHI - FG Akers 39
    • ATL - FG Feely 34
    • ATL - FG Feely 52
    • PHI - Thrash 35 pass from McNabb (Akers kick)

Sunday January 12, 2003

NFC: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31, San Francisco 49ers 6

1 2 3 4 Total
49ers 3 3 0 0 6
Buccaneers 7 21 3 0 31

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

The Buccaneers, with the league's top ranked defense during the 2002 regular season, forced five turnovers, sacked quarterback Jeff Garcia four times, and limited the 49ers to only two field goals. Tampa Bay quarterback Brad Johnson, who had been sidelined for a month, returned to throw for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Fullback Mike Alstott scored two touchdowns, while the Buccaneers held onto the ball for 36:46.

  • Scoring
    • TB - Alstott 2 run (Gramatica kick)
    • SF - FG Chandler 24
    • TB - Jurevicius 20 pass from B. Johnson (Gramatica kick)
    • SF - FG Chandler 40
    • TB - Dudley 12 pass from B. Johnson (Gramatica kick)
    • TB - Alstott 2 run (Gramatica kick)
    • TB - FG Gramatica 19

AFC: Oakland Raiders 30, New York Jets 10

1 2 3 4 Total
Jets 3 7 0 0 10
Raiders 3 7 7 13 30

at Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland, California

Chad Pennington's dream season came to an end in as the Jets quarterback threw two interceptions and was sacked four times. Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns as Oakland pulled away from a 10-10 halftime tie to score twenty consecutive second half points.

  • Scoring
    • NYJ - FG Hall 38
    • OAK - FG Janikowski 29
    • OAK - Crockett 1 run (Janikowski kick)
    • NYJ - Sowell 1 pass from Pennington (Hall kick)
    • OAK - Porter 29 pass from Gannon (Janikowski kick)
    • OAK - Rice 9 pass from Gannon (Janikowski kick)
    • OAK - FG Janikowski 34
    • OAK - FG Janikowski 31

Conference championships

Sunday January 19, 2003

NFC: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27, Philadelphia Eagles 10

1 2 3 4 Total
Buccaneers 10 7 3 7 27
Eagles 7 3 0 0 10

at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia

Tampa Bay won on the road for the first time in playoff history, and in temperatures below 32°F (0°C), in the last football game played at Veterans Stadium. Eagles running back Duce Staley opened the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown with less than a minute into the game. But Mike Alstott put Tampa in the lead for good with a touchdown late in the first quarter, with the key play in that drive being a 68-yard pass play from Brad Johnson to Joe Jurevicius. The Eagles fumbled twice in the second quarter, while Keyshawn Johnson's 9-yard touchdown reception gave Tampa Bay a 17-10 lead by halftime. Ronde Barber capped off the win with a 92-yard fourth-quarter interception return for a touchdown.

  • Scoring
    • PHI - Staley 20 run (Akers kick)
    • TB - FG Gramatica 48
    • TB - Alstott 1 run (Gramatica kick)
    • PHI - FG Akers 30
    • TB - K. Johnson 9 pass from B. Johnson (Gramatica kick)
    • TB - FG Gramatica 27
    • TB - Barber 92 interception return (Gramatica kick)

AFC: Oakland Raiders 41, Tennessee Titans 24

1 2 3 4 Total
Titans 7 10 7 0 24
Raiders 14 10 3 14 41

at Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland, California

Quarterback Rich Gannon led the Raiders to their first Super Bowl since 1984 with three touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown. Raiders wide receiver Jerry Porter scored first with four minutes into the game, but the Titans countered with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Steve McNair to Drew Bennett to tie it up five minutes later. The Raiders recaptured the lead for good after Charlie Garner caught another touchdown pass late in the first quarter. All but abandoning the run for the first three quarters, Oakland scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns on the ground to seal the victory.

  • Scoring
    • OAK - Porter 3 pass from Gannon (Janikowski kick)
    • TEN - Bennett 33 pass from McNair (Nedney kick)
    • OAK - Garner 12 pass from Gannon (Janikowski kick)
    • TEN - FG Nedney 29
    • TEN - McNair 9 run (Nedney kick)
    • OAK - Jolley 1 pass from Gannon (Janikowski kick)
    • OAK - FG Janikowski 43
    • OAK - FG Janikowski 32
    • TEN - McNair 13 run (Hentrich kick)
    • OAK - Gannon 2 run (Janikowski kick)
    • OAK - Crockett 7 run (Janikowski kick)

Notes

Preceded by NFL playoffs
2002-03 		Succeeded by
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