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WILD CARD PLAYOFFS Saturday January 7 2006
''at Raymond James Stadium , Tampa, Florida ''
Although the Redskins gained only 120 yards on offense, the lowest total in NFL playoff history for a winning team they converted two turnovers into touchdowns. Midway through the first quarter, Washington linebacker LaVar Arrington 's 21-yard interception return set up running back Clinton Portis ' six-yard touchdown run. Then, Redskins linebacker Marcus Washington recovered Tampa Bay running back Carnell Williams ' fumble and returned it seven yards before losing it himself – into the arms of Safety Sean Taylor who then ran 51 yards for the Redskins' second touchdown. After the teams traded field goals in the second period, the Buccaneers marched on a seven play, 51-yard drive early in the third quarter that ended with quarterback Chris Simms ' two-yard touchdown run. With 3 minutes left in the game, Tampa Bay wide receiver Edell Shepherd caught what appeared to be a 35-yard touchdown reception, but he lost control of the ball as he was coming down in the end zone. The Redskins then clinched the victory in the last minute of the contest after Simms threw his second interception. This game was widely regarded by commentators as an "ugly" performance by both teams' offenses, rendering it a largely defensive game[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/07/AR2006010701520.html [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/07/AR2006010701494.html].
AFC: New England Patriots 28, Jacksonville Jaguars 3
''at Gillette Stadium , Foxborough, Massachusetts ''
The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Patriots, who for the first time in their dynasty would have to win three games to advance to the Super Bowl, crushed the Jaguars 28-3. Linebacker Willie McGinest set an NFL playoff record with 4.5 sacks (an official NFL stat since 1982), while quarterback Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes. The game remained scoreless until Brady led New England on a 6-play, 37-yard drive early in the second quarter, and scoring with wide receiver Troy Brown 's 11-yard touchdown reception. The Jaguars responded in the closing minute of the first half after a 12-play, 56-yard drive to set up Josh Scobee 's 36-yard field goal. Then on their first drive of the second half, Brady threw his second touchdown pass to wide receiver David Givens after leading the Patriots on a 12-play, 81-yard drive. Brady's third touchdown pass was to tight end Ben Watson , who broke several tackles enroute to a 63-yard score late in the third quarter. New England cornerback Asante Samuel capped the scoring with a 73-yard interception return for a touchdown on the first play of the final period. This game also marked three career playoff records: Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick set records for 10 straight postseason victories, eclipsing Vince Lombardi 's run with the Green Bay Packers in the 1960s. Also, McGinest set a career playoff sack record with his 16th sack.
Sunday, January 8 2006 NFC: Carolina Panthers 23, New York Giants 0
''at Giants Stadium , East Rutherford, New Jersey ''
The Panthers forced five turnovers, limited the Giants to only 109 yards of total offense, and became the first club to shut out a home playoff team since the Los Angeles Rams shut out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1980 NFC Championship Game . Although the Giants entered the game with a more vaunted rushing attack behind Pro Bowl er Tiki Barber , the Panthers running game, featuring DeShaun Foster and Nick Goings , outgained the Giants 223 yards to 41 on the ground. Carolina wide receiver Steve Smith scored two touchdowns, a 22-yard reception and a 12-yard run, while kicker John Kasay added three field goals. Meanwhile, quarterback Eli Manning threw three Interception s in his first playoff start.
AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Cincinnati Bengals 17
''at Paul Brown Stadium , Cincinnati, Ohio ''
The Steelers overcame a 10-point first quarter deficit and scored 24 unanswered points to defeat the Bengals. Cincinnati starting quarterback Carson Palmer suffered a season-ending knee injury on the Bengals' second Play From Scrimmage of the game, but his 66-yard pass to wide receiver Chris Henry set up kicker Shayne Graham 's 23-yard field goal, after backup quaterback Jon Kitna 's third down pass to wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh failed to gain the first down. Running back Rudi Johnson 's 20-yard touchdown run then increased the Bengals lead, 10-0. Later in the half, the teams traded touchdowns, and then the Steelers cut the score to 17-14 after quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed a five-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Hines Ward . Then in the third quarter, the Bengals botched a field goal attempt because of a high snap, which set up Pittsburgh running back Jerome Bettis ' five-yard touchdown run that put the Steelers up 21-17. Later in the period, Pittsburgh receiver Antwaan Randle El took a direct snap, ran to his right, and threw the ball back to Roethlisberger — who then connected with wide receiver Cedrick Wilson for a 43-yard touchdown reception that increased their lead, 28-17. The Steelers added a fourth quarter field goal to clinch the victory.
Byes
DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS Saturday January 14 2006 NFC: Seattle Seahawks 20, Washington Redskins 10
''at Qwest Field , Seattle, Washington ''
The Seahawks overcame an early injury (concussion) suffered by NFL MVP and rushing champion 's career-long 32-yard run. The Seahawks' win was their first since a 1984 AFC Wild Card Playoff win over the then- Los Angeles Raiders . Alexander would return for the NFC Championship Game the following week.
AFC: Denver Broncos 27, New England Patriots 13
''at INVESCO Field , Denver, Colorado ''
The Broncos converted four out of five turnovers into 24 points as they eliminated the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Patriots, 27-13, and won their first playoff game since defeating the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII . This game also ended New England's league-record ten-game postseason winning streak. After caught a 4-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead 24-13, but Elam added another field goal. Denver then all but clinched the game when safety John Lynch intercepted Brady's desperation pass with less than 3 minutes remaining. Brady finished the game completing 20 out of 36 passes for 341 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, but lost his first NFL postseason game. Also, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick lost his first postseason game since taking over the team in 2000.
Sunday January 15 2006 AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Indianapolis Colts 18 ''at RCA Dome , Indianapolis, Indiana ''
The Steelers jumped to a 21-3 lead, and held off a late rally in the closing minutes to beat the Colts. In the process, Pittsburgh became the first #6 playoff seed since the NFL expanded to a 12-team playoff format in 1990 to defeat a #1 seed, and also the first #6 seed to reach a conference championship game. The Steelers took a 14-0 lead in the first period with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger 's six yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Antwaan Randle El on the game's opening drive, and tight end Heath Miller 's seven yard touchdown reception. The Colts could only manage a field goal in the second quarter while running back Jerome Bettis 's one yard touchdown run late in the third period increased the Steelers' lead, 21-3. The Colts rallied in the final period to cut the deficit 21-18, with quarterback Peyton Manning 's 50-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Clark and running back Edgerrin James 's 3-yard touchdown run (and Reggie Wayne 's successful Two-point Conversion reception). James' touchdown came a few plays after an interception by Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu was overturned by Instant Replay (a reversal that the league would later admit was a mistake). But with 1:20 left in the game, Manning was sacked on fourth and 16 at the Colts' 2-yard line, and the ball was turned over to the Steelers on downs. At this point, the game appeared to be over. However, the Steelers were forced to advance the ball towards another score instead of taking a Quarterback Kneel because the Colts still had three timeouts remaining. But on Pittsburgh's first play, Bettis lost the football when linebacker Gary Brackett popped it from Bettis' hands with his helmet en route to what would have been an insurance touchdown. Indianapolis defensive back Nick Harper recovered the ball and appeared to be on his way for a touchdown when Roethlisberger made a season saving tackle at the Colts' 42-yard line, spinning around and grabbing his ankle. Eventually, the Colts then advanced to the Pittsburgh 28-yard line, but kicker Mike Vanderjagt , who had been perfect at home in the playoffs, missed a 46-yard game-tying field goal attempt with 17 seconds remaining. Roethlisberger's game-saving tackle would later be known as " The Immaculate Redemption ".
NFC: Carolina Panthers 29, Chicago Bears 21 ''at Soldier Field , Chicago, Illinois ''
The Panthers recorded 434 yards of total offense, and avenged a 13-3 regular season defeat by the Bears, to advance to their third NFC Championship Game in their eleven-year existence. Carolina wide receiver Steve Smith scored on two of quarterback Jake Delhomme 's three touchdown passes, the first coming 55 seconds into the contest. Panthers kicker John Kasay also contributed three second-quarter field goals. Although the Panthers lost key running back DeShaun Foster to a broken ankle in the third quarter, the team managed to hold out the Bears. Chicago took the opening kickoff of the second half and scored on quarterback Rex Grossman one yard touchdown pass to tight end Desmond Clark , cutting Carolina's lead to 16-14. The teams then exchanged touchdowns, with Smith's 39-yard reception and Bears running back Jason McKie 's three yard touchdown run. But the Panthers then pulled away for good with tight end Kris Mangum 's one yard touchdown reception with 8:04 left in the game.
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS Sunday January 22 2006 AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 34, Denver Broncos 17 ''at INVESCO Field , Denver, Colorado ''
The Steelers forced four turnovers and jumped to a 24-3 halftime lead en route to advancing to their sixth Super Bowl in team history. In doing so, Pittsburgh became the first #6 playoff seed (since the league expanded to a 12-team playoff format in 1990) to advance to the Super Bowl. Second-year quarterback Ben Roethlisberger , already in his fifth career playoff game, threw two touchdowns (one each to Cedrick Wilson and Hines Ward ) and ran for a third. Steelers running back Jerome Bettis rushed for the other touchdown. Meanwhile, the Broncos could only manage a field goal in the first half, and did not score a touchdown, a 30-yard pass from quarterback 's 3-yard touchdown run with 7:58 left in the game, but a Plummer fumble setup Roethlisberger's 4-yard touchdown run with 3:05 remaining to seal the victory.
NFC: Seattle Seahawks 34, Carolina Panthers 14 ''at Qwest Field , Seattle, Washington ''
The Seahawks forced four turnovers, and allowed only 36 rushing yards and 14 points, as they advanced to their first Super Bowl trip in the team's 30-year history. Seattle jumped to a 17-0 lead with quarterback 's 20-yard touchdown reception, and a second score by Alexander. By the time Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Drew Carter , their only offensive score of the game, there was only 5:34 left in the contest.
SUPER BOWL XL The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks , 21–10. Pittsburgh Wide Receiver Hines Ward , who had 5 receptions for 123 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 18 yards, was named the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player . BRACKET
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