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The 2002 NFL playoffs led up to Super Bowl XXXVI.
Begining in 2001, the system of how playoff teams were determined was changed. With each conference now having four divisions - named the Eastern, Southern, Northern (formerly Central) and Western Divisions - the top two division champions recieved byes, while the third and fourth divisional champions played the two wild card teams, down from three. Also, game times in the first two rounds were changed in an attempt to attract more television viewers, with the Saturday games starting respectively at 4:30 PM and 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time in the USA, and the Sunday games starting at 1:00 PM and 4:30 PM US EST.
Wild Card round
January 12, 2002
- Eagles QB Donovan McNabb threw for 194 yards and a touchdown as Philadelphia dominated Tampa Bay at Veterans Stadium from start to finish. Bucs quarterback Brad Johnson was intercepted four times, one of which was returned 59 yards by Damon Moore for a touchdown.
- Raiders wide reciever Jerry Rice was the hero at Network Associates Coliseum, catching nine passes for 183 yards and a touchdown. Running back Charlie Gardner ran eighty yards for a touchdown to clinch the game with 1:27 remaining.
January 13, 2002
- Green Bay exploded in the second half with Brett Favre throwing for 226 yards in the second half at Lambeau Field. A late San Francisco comeback attempt was thwarted when a long Jeff Garcia pass was intercepted by Tyrone Williams late in the fourth quarter, and Ahman Green scored the clinching touchdown with 1:55 left.
- The Dolphins had another one of their late-season meltdowns at home in Pro Player Stadium, as the defending Super Bowl champions dominated every statistic. The Ravens' Terry Allen ran for 109 yards and a touchdown, with the 'Phins only tally was an Olindo Mare field goal just two minutes in the contest.
First Round Byes
Divisional round
January 19, 2002
- NFC: Philadelphia Eagles 33, Chicago Bears 19
- The Bears surprised everyone by finishing atop the NFC Central in 2001 with a 13-3 record behind quarterback Jim Miller. But when Miller was taken out of the last game at old Soldier Field in the second quarter with a separated shoulder, Philadelphia blew the game open. Miller's replacement, Shane Matthews threw for only 66 yards and was picked off twice. Donovan McNabb threw for 262 yards and ran for a touchdown. It also didn't matter much when the disc jockey on a critical third down play began playing the theme from "Rocky" over the PA system while "Da Bears" were on defense. It fired up the Eagles' offense as they made a first down on that play, and rolled from there because the fictional character and central figure of the movie, Rocky Balboa, resided in Philadelphia. Needless to say, two days after the game, the DJ was fired.
- AFC: New England Patriots 16, Oakland Raiders 13 (OT)
- The game, the final one in the history of Foxboro Stadium, played in a heavy snowfall, will be remembered for a controversial call near the end of the game, in which the referees initially ruled that New England quarterback Tom Brady had fumbled on a pass attempt, with Oakland protecting a three-point lead. Invoking the "tuck rule", where a ball is ruled an incomplete pass after the quarterback starts any forward throwing motion, the referee overturned the decision after reviewing the instant replay, calling the drop an incomplete pass rather than a fumble. The Patriots then tied the game on a 45-yard Adam Vinatieri field goal (a dramatic kick through heavy snowfall that barely cleared the crossbar) and subsequently won the game in overtime, again on a Vinatieri field goal.
January 20, 2002
- AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Baltimore Ravens 10
- Steelers' running back Jerome Bettis, sidelined for much of the regular season, was scheduled to make his return in the first playoff ever at their new home, Heinz Field, but the player known as "The Bus" backed out at the last minute. It didn't matter though: the "Steel Curtain" defense did all the work, causing four turnovers and three sacks and dethroning the champions. Baltimore's initial first down didn't come until there was three minutes left in the first half.
- NFC: St. Louis Rams 45, Green Bay Packers 17
- The matchup between two of the league's highly-rated quarterbacks at The Dome at America's Center — Green Bay's Brett Favre and St. Louis' Kurt Warner, who was named the NFL's MVP — was a walkover thanks to the Rams' improved defense. Favre threw for 281 yards, but tied a playoff record by tossing six interceptions. The visiting Packers generated most of their offense early in the contest, but the turnovers had them down 24-10 at halftime, and the third quarter wasn't any better as the Rams raised their game on both sides of the ball by scoring two touchdowns and putting the game away in the process.
Conference Championships
January 27, 2002
- AFC: New England Patriots 24, Pittsburgh Steelers 17
- The Patriots' storybook season continued at Heinz Field as Drew Bledsoe came into the game in the second quarter in place of an injured Tom Brady - who replaced Bledsoe himself early in the season when he suffered a sheared blood vessel. Bledsoe threw for a touchdown to David Patten on his fifth play from scrimmage. A late Pittsburgh comeback was thwarted by two Kordell Stewart interceptions in the last three minutes.
- NFC: St. Louis Rams 29, Philadelphia Eagles 24
- The Eagles left the field at the newly-rechristened Edward Jones Dome with a 17-13 lead at halftime, and had not allowed more then 21 points per game during the season and playoffs. The Rams roared back thanks to Kurt Warner completing two-thirds of his passes for 212 yards and Marshall Faulk's 159 yards rushing and two touchdowns to earn their second trip to the Super Bowl in three years.
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