| Qualifying
Round
49ers 30, Jaguars 24 (OT)
"Luckily, this was the one
game I cared the least about winning," Jaguars coach Cyd
Zeigler said after his team lost to the 49ers, 30-24, in
overtime. And, given that it was the biggest upset by
seed in the tournament, it's a good thing.
In typical Action 2000 form,
the visiting underdog San Francisco 49ers mounted a 24-10
lead, and held onto it going into the fourth quarter.
However, two successful touchdown drives by the Jaguars tied
the game with 1:15 left.
After three plays by the 49ers
ate up almost a minute of the clock and gained 9 yards, San
Francisco had to punt. The punt was blocked and the Jags
had 13 seconds to go about 20 yards for a field goal
attempt. Two incomplete passes later, the clock ran out.
In overtime, it was a swift six
play, 70 yard drive for the 9ers as they took the win in
Jacksonville.
"I couldn't care less
about the 49ers," said coach Jim Buzinski.
"But, it was aweful nice to beat Cyd."
The series is now tied, 7-7.
Bills 30, Giants 24 (OT)
It was almost Cyd's third upset
victory in the last four games. Almost.
Late in the third quarter,
Cyd's Giants were up 24-14 when quarterback Danny Kanell threw
an interception in the endzone from the 8 yard line.
"At that point," Cyd
said dejectedly after the game, "Jim had won the
game."
Jim proceeded to score 10
straight points to force overtime, when he won the game on a
40-yard pass from Doug Flutie to Eric Moulds with one minute
left in OT.
"It was a wacky, wacky
game," Jim said afterward. "I'm just glad the
computer came around and the Bills won.
Flutie was dreadful through the
first three quarters, throwing 6-18 with 2
interceptions. In the fourth quarter, he started going
to Moulds with winning results.
Cyd continues to make bone-head
risky calls. Just one week after punting the ball from
the other team's 20-yard-line, Cyd called an onside kick after
going up 7-0, which led to a tie game two minutes later.
Broncos 21, Seahawks 7
It was a game of turnovers and
penalties, and the Seahawks had their share. Turning the
ball over five times and committing 11 penalties for 94 yards,
it wasn't Jim's day.
"Well, the computer just
had it in for me today," said Jim. "I
couldn't do anything."
Despite outgaining the Broncos,
the Seahawks were undermined by a holding call that brought
back a field goal and a fumble in the red zone. And,
after jumping out to a 7-0 lead, the rotating quarterbacks of
Jon Kitna and Glenn Foley for Seattle couldn't do anything as
the Broncos scored 21 straight for the win.
Cyd added, "it was
the kind of game that, if we were watching it on TV., we'd
have shut it off half-way through the first quarter."
In a new whining low, Cyd lamented the whole game how he was
going to lose ... even though he led by 14 for almost all of
the game.
Falcons 21, Saints 20
The Falcons trailed the entire
second half, until Chris Chandler found Tony Martin in the end
zone with one second left in the game and survived the
potentially biggest upset in the history of the playoffs,
21-20.
With the Falcons up, 7-0, late
in the first quarter, Chandler went down with a slight
concussion - which brought Steve DeBerg in for relief at
quarterback. DeBerg played within his game until about
six minutes left in the first half. An interception, a
fumble, and another interception later, and the Saints took a
17-7 lead into halftime.
"When we couldn't score
for another 20 minutes, I knew we were in trouble," said Cyd.
With just 10 minutes left in
the game, the computer decided it had had enough and led Jim's Falcons down the field for two touchdowns and the
win.
Jim was also in rare whining form, cursing the game from the
moment a penalty wiped out what would have been a 14-0 lead
for the Falcs.
Raiders
26, Chiefs 17
Every time these two teams
meet, it seems like they write a new chapter on wacky
games. If this game did anything, it lived up to its
billing. The 1997 Chiefs had one of the best defenses of
the decade and didn't give up a run longer than 20 yards at
home all season.
Enter Napoleon Kaufman and
Tyrone Wheatley.
The two Raiders running backs
combined for over 320 yards on the ground - Kaufman running in
two touchdowns from over 50 yards out.
"The game was so wacky, it
was almost okay to lose," Chiefs coach Jim Buzinski said
afterward.
With five minutes left in the
first half, the Chiefs were up 7-0 and their defense was in
control of the game. The Raiders then marched 70 yards
to tie the game, before giving up a field goal with no time
remaining in the half.
Going into the second half, the
Chiefs were up 10-7. And the Raiders ran the ball.
And ran the ball. And ran it some more. The Chiefs
had five players keying on the two Oakland running backs, but
they would not be denied.
And, with the Raiders up 24-17
with two minutes left, the Chiefs had first and 10 from their
own three yard line.
Safety. Game.
Eagles 21, Lions 14
It was a text-book playoff
game.
The underdog Lions came in on
fire, while Ty Detmer couldn't generate a thing on offense. On
Barry Sanders' legs, it was a quick 14-0 lead for Detroit in
the first quarter. Which left plenty of time for the
Eagles.
On turnovers and big pass
plays, the Eagles ran off 21 straight points and toppled the
Lions, 21-14.
Jets 43, Ravens 13
The controversy surrounding
these two teams just doesn't stop. After the league
suspiciously cancelled this game two weeks ago after the
Ravens marched 80 yards for a 7-0 lead in the early minutes,
the suspicions of conspiracy started early in game #2. On the
first play of the new game, the Jets picked off the Raven's
Vinny Testaverde and scored a defensive touchdown, setting the
tone for a game that just wasn't meant to be.
"It certainly seems
suspicious," said the Ravens' Testaverde.
"We had their
number," said the Jets' Testaverde. The New York offense
was just too much for the Ravens, who had closed the lead to 7
before losing the game in the second half.
Tampa Bay 24, Cincinnati
10
Washington 31, Arizona
28
Colts 31, Chargers 10
Panthers 24, Vikings 21 (OT)
Patriots 30, Browns 0
Titans 20, Oilers 17
Rams 43, Steelers 14
|