Saturday, December 28, 1991 AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 10, Los Angeles Raiders 6 Chiefs quarterback
Steve DeBerg completed a play-action 11-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Fred Jones in the second quarter, which was the difference in Kansas City's narrow 10–6 win over long-time rival Los Angeles. Kansas City running back
Barry Word was arguably the Chiefs' most effective offensive weapon, rushing for 133 yards. This was Kansas City's first postseason win since
Super Bowl IV in the
1969 season. The Raiders started rookie quarterback
Todd Marinovich over veteran
Jay Schroeder. Marinovich, who performed well in a loss to Kansas City the week before, instead threw four interceptions in the wild card rematch, including the one to
Deron Cherry that set up DeBerg's touchdown. Kansas City's defense managed to hold Los Angeles to six points despite losing star linebacker
Derrick Thomas, who was diagnosed with a rapid heartbeat and rushed to the hospital near the end of the first half. The Chiefs controlled most of the first quarter, with Word rushing for 36 yards on 13 carries, but missed a chance to score when their normally reliable kicker
Nick Lowery missed a 33-yard field goal. Marinovich promptly gave the Chiefs another scoring chance with an interception to Cherry, who returned the ball 17 yards. However, their ensuing drive ended with another missed field goal from Lowery, a 47-yard attempt early in the second quarter. On the Raiders' next drive, Cherry intercepted Marinovich again, this time returning the ball 29 yards to the LA 11-yard line. DeBerg then put Kansas City up 7–0 with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jones. However, Marinovich finally managed to compose himself, putting together a 10-play, 65-yard drive that culminated with
Jeff Jaeger's 33-yard field goal, cutting the deficit to 7–3 with 26 seconds left in the half. Marinovich, who was rattled in the first half, found a rhythm in the second half, leading the team 62 yards in 11 plays with their first drive. Running back
Nick Bell, who finished the game with 107 rushing yards, gained 46 yards on eight carries, while Jaeger finished the possession with a 26-yard field goal that made the score 7–6. Later in the quarter, LA appeared to be headed for a go-ahead score. But linebacker
Lonnie Marts managed to force a fumble from
Marcus Allen and defensive tackle
Dan Saleaumua recovered the ball. Kansas City then drove 61 yards to the Raiders' 1-yard line where Lowery's 18-yard field goal in the fourth quarter put the Chiefs up 10–6. Los Angeles responded with a drive to the Kansas City 25, but after linebacker
Chris Martin sacked Marinovich for an 8-yard loss,
Eric Everett intercepted the ball and returned it 23 yards. Still, the Raiders defense held firm, forcing a punt that gave their offense one last chance to drive for a game winning score. Marinovich's 28-yard completion to tight end
Ethan Horton and an 8-yard completion to running back
Steve Smith moved the ball to the Chiefs' 24-yard line. However, the team suddenly self-destructed in a barrage of penalties. Right tackle
Steve Wright was flagged for a face mask and a false start on consecutive snaps, and then an offensive pass interference penalty on
Tim Brown left the team facing first and 30 from their own 41. On the next play, Marinovich's pass bounced off the hands of Horton and was intercepted by Marts with 2:15 left in regulation, enabling Kansas City to run out the rest of the clock. The game was also significant in that it featured what was at the time the oldest starting player in the NFL (DeBerg; age 38) and the second-youngest player to start at quarterback in a playoff game: Marniovich at age 22 (Cleveland's
Bernie Kosar being the youngest). "This is the first playoff game I have ever won", said DeBerg after the game. "I'm going to enjoy it and hopefully this won't be the last one I get to enjoy. Todd was in a tough situation. He made some plays. But in the playoffs, for a rookie to get the job done...it is very, very difficult." This was the third postseason meeting between the Raiders and Chiefs. Both teams split the previous two meetings as members of the AFL.
NFC: Atlanta Falcons 27, New Orleans Saints 20 Falcons quarterback
Chris Miller completed the game-winning 61-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Michael Haynes with 2:41 left in the contest. Miller completed 18 out of 30 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns. The Saints scored first on a 78-yard drive in which they started with a punt after three plays, but kept the ball due to a roughing the punter penalty against
Tracy Johnson. Quarterback
Bobby Hebert completed five passes on the drive, the last a 26-yard touchdown to wide receiver
Floyd Turner. On the Saints' next drive, they moved the ball all the way to the Falcons' 3-yard line. But tight end
John Tice dropped a catchable pass and then
Deion Sanders intercepted Hebert's pass in the end zone to avoid a facing a fourteen-point deficit. In the second quarter,
Morten Andersen's 45-yard field goal gave the Saints a 10–0 lead. The Falcons later got a huge break when an apparent fumble by
Mike Rozier was ruled down on contact on the field and instant replay couldn't reverse it. On the next play, Miller threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to
Andre Rison. With 37 seconds left in the half, Atlanta tied the game on
Norm Johnson's 44-yard field goal. However, Saints running back
Fred McAfee returned the ensuing kickoff 39 yards, with a facemask penalty against Sanders adding five more and giving New Orleans the ball on the Falcons' 41. On the next play, Hebert completed a 26-yard pass to running back
Dalton Hilliard, enabling New Orleans to retake the lead before halftime, 13–10, on Andersen's 35-yard field goal. Atlanta started off the second half with a 9-play, 80-yard drive to take their first lead of the game on Miller's 20-yard scoring pass to Haynes. The rest of the quarter would belong to the Saints, who consumed a franchise playoff record 10:49 by driving 80 yards in 19 plays and going back up 20–17 with a 1-yard touchdown run by Hilliard. New Orleans was aided by another key penalty against the Falcons defense, an offsides penalty against linebacker
Jessie Tuggle on an Andersen field goal attempt that gave the Saints a first down. With 7:43 left in the game, Johnson kicked a field goal to tie the score at 20 at the end of a 45-yard drive. The next time they got the ball, Haynes took off past cornerback
Milton Mack, caught a short slant from Miller, and raced 61 yards to the end zone, giving Atlanta a 27–20 lead. After Haynes scored the winning touchdown for the Falcons, the Saints reached the Atlanta 35-yard line before Hebert threw an interception to Falcons corner
Tim McKyer to clinch the victory. Haynes caught six passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns. McAfee rushed for 49 yards and returned four kickoffs for 98. Saints defensive tackle
Frank Warren had two of New Orleans's five sacks. This was the first postseason meeting between the Falcons and Saints. Butler narrowed the gap to 10–6 with a 43-yard field goal, but Dallas responded with a 75-yard, 14-play drive to go up 17–6 on
Steve Beuerlein's 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end
Jay Novacek. In the fourth quarter, the Bears drove to the Dallas 7-yard line, only to turn the ball over on downs with Harbaugh's fourth-down incompletion. Following a Cowboys punt, Chicago managed to score their first touchdown on Harbaugh's 6-yard touchdown pass to
Tom Waddle, cutting the deficit to 17–13. Their defense then forced a
three-and-out, giving Chicago a chance to drive for the winning touchdown. However, this was made difficult by
Mike Saxon's 52-yard punt, which pinned the Bears back on their own 4-yard line with 1:50 left in regulation. Three plays later, Bates intercepted a pass from Harbaugh on the Bears' 16, enabling Dallas to run out the clock. "We're on a mission to kind of make a name for ourselves", Dallas nose tackle
Russell Maryland said. "People said a couple of years ago that our defense was like a three-ring circus out there. Now we're out to prove that we're the greatest show on earth." "We just don't get any credit", added safety
Ray Horton, describing a defense that did not have any
Pro Bowl selections. "We come up and do what we have to do. Hey, we've won 12 games! Other higher-ranked defenses are at home right now. So it's not like we're riding the coattails of our offense." Smith finished the game with 105 rushing yards and a touchdown, the most rushing yards ever allowed by Chicago in a playoff game. Waddle caught nine passes for 104 yards and a score. This was the second postseason meeting between the Cowboys and Bears. Dallas won the only prior meeting.
AFC: Houston Oilers 17, New York Jets 10 After leading 14–10 at halftime, the Oilers stopped the Jets twice inside the 5-yard line in the second half to preserve the victory. Houston got the ball first and on their opening play, they lost three yards on a screen pass. Once that was done, quarterback
Warren Moon got them rolling all the way to the end zone. Despite two fumbled snaps on the drive, he completed 8/10 passes for 64 yards, including a 24-yarder to
Haywood Jeffires, on a 16-play, 80-yard drive that took 9:14 off the clock and ended with his 5-yard touchdown pass to receiver
Ernest Givins. New York had to punt on their first possession, but got the ball back with great field position when
Erik McMillan intercepted Moon's pass on the Oilers' 39-yard line. The Jets then cashed in on their opportunity with a 9-play drive to score on
Ken O'Brien's 10-yard touchdown pass to
Al Toon, who made an athletic catch in the back of the end zone while barely managing to keep his feet in bounds. Later on,
Bo Orlando intercepted a long pass from O'Brien on the Oilers' 25, and Moon led the team to a touchdown from there, completing passes to
Drew Hill and Givins for 20 and 35 yards before Givins's 20-yard touchdown reception made the score 14–7 with 3:56 left in the half. New York ended up punting, but at the 1:10 mark, Houston's
Al Del Greco missed a 46-yard field goal wide right. O'Brien then completed a pair of passes to Toon for 36 total yards on a drive to the Oilers' 16-yard line where
Raúl Allegre kicked a 33-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14–10 going into halftime. The Jets then took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched to the Houston 8-yard line, but O'Brien threw an interception to
Bubba McDowell. Houston took the ball back at their own 3-yard line and moved into scoring range. Despite two sacks by the Jets on the drive, Moon completed 7/8 passes, including a 17-yarder to running back
Lorenzo White, moving the team close enough for Del Greco to make a franchise postseason record 53-yard field goal to increase their lead to 17–10. New York responded with a drive to the Oilers' 3-yard line. Facing fourth down and inches, running back
Freeman McNeil tried to advance the ball but was tackled for no gain. Late in the game, New York had another chance to score when safety
Lonnie Young forced a fumble while sacking Moon and
Tony Stargell recovered for the Jets on the Oilers' 26-yard line, but they turned it over on downs again. With just over a minute left, New York managed to get the ball back for one last drive, but McDowell intercepted a pass from O'Brien on the game's final play. Moon completed 28/40 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. Toon caught eight passes for 91 yards and a score. New York linebacker
Mo Lewis had two sacks. This would be the final post-season victory for the Houston Oilers; as by the time of the franchise's
next postseason victory; the team had relocated from Houston to Nashville and had been renamed the
Tennessee Titans. This was the first postseason meeting between the Jets and Oilers. The Oilers’ victory over the Jets started a streak of playoff success for
Houston-based teams against their
New York City counterparts. Following the Oilers’ victory, the
NBA’s
Houston Rockets defeated the
New York Knicks in the
1994 NBA Finals, and then the
MLB’s
Houston Astros defeated the
New York Yankees in the MLB postseason in
2015,
2017,
2019, and
2022. ==Divisional playoffs==