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''Note: The San Diego Chargers (the AFC 1 seed) did not play the Oakland Raiders (the 4 seed) in the Divisional playoff round because both teams were in the same division.'' WILD CARD PLAYOFFS December 28 1980 AFC: Oakland Raiders 27, Houston Oilers 7
''at Oakland Coliseum , Oakland, California ''
Even though the Oilers recorded more yards, more first downs, and more time of possession, the Raiders scored on big plays to win, 27-7. Houston running back Earl Campbell lost a fumble on the first play of the game, setting up Oakland kicker Chris Bahr 's 47-yard field goal. The Oilers responded with a 55-yard drive to score on Campbell's 1-yard touchdown run. In the second quarter, Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Todd Christensen . Oakland did not score again until the fourth quarter when Plunkett threw a 44-yard touchdown to Arthur Whittington, followed by Bahr's 37-yard field goal. With about 6 minutes left in the game, cornerback Lester Haynes returned an interception 20 yards to the end zone to clinch the Raiders' victory.
NFC: Dallas Cowboys 34, Los Angeles Rams 13
''at Texas Stadium , Irving, Texas ''
After the game was tied at halftime, 13-13, Cowboys quarterback . Meanwhile, the Rams were never able to score in the second half.
DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS January 3 1981 AFC: San Diego Chargers 20, Buffalo Bills 14
''at Jack Murphy Stadium , San Diego ''
With 2:08 left in the game, Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts threw the 50-yard winning touchdown pass to receiver Ron Smith to defeat the Bills, 20-14. Buffalo jumped to a 14-3 halftime lead with running back Roosevelt Leaks' 1-yard touchdown run and quarterback Joe Ferguson's 9-yard pass to Frank Lewis. However, San Diego took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched 70 yards to score on quarterback Dan Fouts ' 9-yard touchdown completion to Charlie Joiner . Then early in the fourth quarter, the Chargers added a field goal to cut the Bills' lead, 14-13. San Diego took over at their own 31-yard line with less than 4 minutes remaining, but Buffalo cornerback Charles Romes almost intercepted Fouts on the play before the winning touchdown.
NFC: Philadelphia Eagles 31, Minnesota Vikings 16
''at Veterans Stadium , Philadelphia ''
The Eagles forced 8 turnovers in the second half en route to a 31-16 victory. The Vikings scored 14 unanswered points in the first half with wide receiver Sammy White's 30-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Tommy Kramer and running back Ted Brown's 1-yard touchdown run. However, Philadelphia scored before halftime by finishing off an 85-yard drive with quarterback Ron Jaworski 's 9-yard touchdown completion to wide receiver Harold Carmichael. The Eagles then tied the game on the opening possession of the second half with Wilbert Montgomery's 8-yard touchdown run. Minnesota scored a safety when Jaworski was sacked in the end zone, but Montgomery then scored on a 5-yard rushing touchdown. Then the Vikings lost two fumbles, which led to 10 points for the Eagles, and Kramer threw interceptions on each of his team's final 4 drives.
January 4 1981 AFC: Oakland Raiders 14, Cleveland Browns 12
''at Cleveland Stadium , Cleveland, Ohio ''
In a play that has become to be known as Red Right 88 , Browns quarterback Brian Sipe 's pass was intercepted in the end zone by Raiders safety Mike Davis with 41 seconds left in the game to preserve Oakland's 14-12 victory. Instead of opting for a game winning field goal, Cleveland decided to attempt a passing play because Browns kicker Don Cockroft had previously missed two field goal attempts, had another aborted following a bad snap, and had one extra point blocked. With the game-time temperature at 4° F , the coldest NFL game since the Ice Bowl of December 31 , 1967 , Cleveland scored first when Ron Bolton returned an interception 42 yards to the end zone. However, Cockroft's ensuing extra point was blocked and the Raiders responded by driving 64 yards to score on a 1 yard touchdown run by Mark Van Eeghen . Cockroft made two field goals in the third quarter, but in the fourth period, Oakland marched 80 yards to score on van Eeghen's second touchdown.
NFC: Dallas Cowboys 30, Atlanta Falcons 27
''at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium , Atlanta, Georgia ''
The Cowboys scored 3 touchdowns in the fourth quarter to come from behind and defeat the Falcons, 30-27. Atlanta jumped to a 10-0 lead, aided by quarterback . In the fourth quarter, the Cowboys scored on Robert Newhouse's 1-yard touchdown run, but Atlanta added another field goal to increase the lead 27-17. Dallas then marched 62 yards to score on Drew Pearson's 14-yard touchdown reception with 3:04 left in the game. Then after forcing the Falcons to punt, the Cowboys advanced 70 yards to score on Pearson's 23-yard winning touchdown with less than 2 minutes left.
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS January 11 1981 AFC: Oakland Raiders 34, San Diego Chargers 27
''at Jack Murphy Stadium , San Diego ''
In the first quarter alone, Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett threw 2 touchdown passes and scored a rushing touchdown. By the time the first period ended, Oakland was up 21-7, with Plunkett recording a 65-yard touchdown to Raymond Chester, a 21-yard touchdown to running back Kenny King, and a 5-yard scoring run. The Chargers lone score in the opening period was quarterback Dan Fouts's 48-yard touchdown completion to Charlie Joiner. Early in the second quarter, Oakland's Mark van Eeghen rushed for a 3-yard touchdown, but Fouts responded with an 8-yard touchdown to Joiner. Then San Diego scored on its first two drives of the second half to cut the Raiders lead, 27-24. However, Oakland scored two field goals by Chris Bahr . The Chargers then scored on a 27-yard field goal midway through the final period, but the Raiders held onto the ball for the last 6:43 of the game to clinch the victory.
NFC: Philadelphia Eagles 20, Dallas Cowboys 7
''at Veterans Stadium , Philadelphia ''
Running back Wilbert Montgomery led the Eagles to a victory by rushing for 194 yards. Montgomery scored on Philadelphia's first drive of the game with a 42-yard rushing touchdown, but the Cowboys tied the game in the second quarter with running back Tony Dorsett's 3-yard touchdown. But from that point on, Dallas never posed a threat again. In the third quarter, a fumble recovery by Eagles defensive end Dennis Harrison on the Dallas 11-yard set up kicker Tony Franklin's 26-yard field goal. Then on the Cowboys next drive, Philadelphia linebacker Jerry Robinson picked up Dorsett's fumble and returned it 22 yards to the Dallas 38-yard line. Six plays later, running back Leroy Harris scored a 9-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 17-7 lead. Franklin later added another field goal to close out the scoring.
SUPER BOWL Oakland Raiders (AFC) 27, Philadelphia Eagles (NFC) 10, at Louisiana Superdome , New Orleans, Louisiana BRACKET
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