December 30.2C 1995 1995–96 NFL playoffs

at rich stadium, orchard park, new york

game time: 12:30 p.m. est
game weather: 30 °f (−1 °c), cloudy
game attendance: 73,103
referee: red cashion
tv announcers (abc): brent musburger , dick vermeil

although dolphins quarterback dan marino completed 33 out of 64 passes 422 yards, bills jumped 27–0 lead going fourth quarter, forced 4 turnovers, , rushed 341 yards, second highest amount in nfl postseason history , since chicago gained 382 rushing yards in 1940 nfl championship game.

buffalo started scoring 58-yard drive, 45 yards came 3 receptions steve tasker (who played on special teams). thurman thomas finished off possession 1-yard touchdown run give bills 7–0 lead. miami had punt on next drive, , john kidd s kick went 29 bills 44-yard line. 3 carries thomas 26 yards on following drive set steve christie s 48-yard field goal. @ end of miami s next possession, kidd s 48-yard punt pinned buffalo @ own 1-yard line. buffalo drove 98 yards, receiver bill brooks picking 21 yards on end-around run , kelly completing 26-yard pass tasker. darick holmes 34-yard run moved ball dolphins 1, far drive go, defensive gene atkins intercepted kelly s pass in end zone on first play of second quarter.

still, miami unable build momentum. managed drive buffalo territory, turn ball on over downs @ bills 32. thomas went work, breaking off 13-yard run on next play, , later taking off 32-yard gain dolphins 21-yard line. on next play, buffalo scored on holmes 21-yard touchdown run, increasing lead 17–0. on dolphins next drive, dan marino threw pass deflected phil hansen , picked off linebacker marlo perry, giving buffalo ball on 38-yard line. following 18-yard run , 7-yard reception thomas, kelly capitalized on turnover 37-yard touchdown throw tasker, increasing bills lead 24–0. next 3 drives end poorly both teams. first miami turned ball on over downs again when linebacker cornelius bennett tackled terry kirby 1 yard short of first down on 4th , 10 bills 40-yard line. buffalo gave ball right when kelly threw pass intercepted troy vincent. miami went on drive 61 yards, including marino s 31-yard completion wide receiver gary clark, bills 35-yard line, drive ended there , pete stoyanovich missed 53-yard field goal attempt on last play of half.

the situation didn t better miami in third quarter. on first drive marino intercepted defensive fimel johnson. on next possession, marino fumbled snap out of shotgun formation, , bills lineman bryce paup recovered it, resulting in christie s second field goal gave bills 27–0 lead. dolphins responded driving 67 yards, including marino s 31-yard completion o. j. mcduffie, cut score 27-7 mcduffie s 5-yard touchdown catch in fourth quarter. after bills punt, dolphins turned ball on over downs @ bills 39. following 2 carries thomas 17 yards, fullback tim tindale, rookie canada s western ontario university had never gained more 6 yards in single carry before game, took off 44-yard touchdown run, giving bills 34-7 lead.

the game on now, there plenty more scoring. miami stormed back, driving 68 yards in 7 plays score on marino s 45-yard bomb randal hill. buffalo responded 3 carries tindale 23 yards set christie s 42-yard field goal. miami moved ball 73 yards in 9 plays. key player on drive running terry kirby, caught 3 passes 46 yards , finished off 1-yard touchdown run, making final score of game 37-22. dolphins managed recover onside kick, lost ball when marino intercepted rookie defensive ken irvin.

both teams combined playoff record 1,038 total yards (502 miami, 536 buffalo). thomas rushed 158 yards, caught 3 passes 48 yards, , scored touchdown. tasker rushed 7 yards, while catching 5 passes 108 yards , score, giving him first career 100-yard receiving game (he have 1 more before retirement after 1997 season). holmes rushed 87 yards , touchdown, while tindale compiled 68 yards (more entire career regular season total) , score of own. mcduffie dolphins top offensive performer 11 receptions 154 yards , touchdown. final game in career of dolphins head coach don shula, retired nfl s all-time leader in coaching wins. marked continuation of dominance against miami bills coach marv levy. since taking on buffalo s coach in 1986, levy recorded 17-5 record against dolphins, including 3-0 in playoffs. of 2016, bills recent playoff victory.

nfc: philadelphia eagles 58, detroit lions 37

at veterans stadium, philadelphia

game time: 4:00 p.m. est
game weather: 38 °f (3 °c), clear
game attendance: 66,099
referee: ron blum
tv announcers (abc): al michaels, frank gifford, , dan dierdorf

prior game, detroit tackle lomas brown famously guaranteed on television lions win. eagles responded opening 51–7 lead on lions. eagles scored 31 points in second quarter, recorded 6 interceptions, , held running barry sanders 40 rushing yards en route 58–37 victory in second highest scoring game in nfl postseason history. eagles 58 points third highest total in nfl postseason history, behind lions 59 points in 1957 , bears 73 points in 1940 nfl championship game. 31-second quarter points second highest single quarter total in postseason game, behind redskins 35 second quarter points in super bowl xxii. 2 redskins players game, defensive barry wilburn , linebacker kurt gouveia playing on philadelphia s defense in one, , both record interception in game.

philadelphia scored first after defensive mark mcmillian intercepted pass detroit qb scott mitchell , returned 16 yards lions 15-yard line, setting charlie garner s 15-yard touchdown run. detroit responded mitchell s 32-yard touchdown pass tight end david sloan. philadelphia exploded in second quarter, starting 30-yard garner run set gary anderson s 21-yard field goal. after punt, eagles increased lead 17-7 rodney peete s 22-yard touchdown wide receiver fred barnett. wilburn returned interception 24 yards score less minute later, , gouveia picked off pass mitchell give team first down @ lions 34. following 2 13-yard catches barnett, ricky watters 1-yard touchdown run made score 31-7. later on 5 second left in half, eagles receiver rob carpenter caught 43-yard touchdown reception on hail mary pass on 3rd , 25, making score 38-7 going halftime.

in second half, 45-yard touchdown reception watters , 2 more field goals anderson increased eagles lead, 51–7, still more 9 minutes remaining in third quarter. there, backup quarterback don majkowski replaced mitchell , threw 68-yard touchdown pass herman moore. lions linebacker chris spielman recovered eagles fumble , majkowski converted touchdown, 7-yard toss receiver johnnie morton, cutting score 51-21. philadelphia linebacker william thomas put thoughts of lions comeback rest returning interception 30 yards touchdown 23 seconds fourth quarter. lay ahead lions pair of meaningless touchdowns, 2-yard catch sloan , 1-yard run ron rivers make final score 58-37.

peete completed 17 of 25 passes 270 yards , 3 touchdowns, while rushing 17 yards. barnett caught 8 passes 109 yards , touchdown. watters rushed 49 yards, caught 3 passes 64 yards, , scored 2 touchdowns. lions receiver herman moore caught 7 passes 133 yards , touchdown.