NFL Divisional Playoffs Capsules

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Posted: Sunday January 10, 1999 09:11 PM

Jamal Anderson led the Falcons to their first divisional playoff victory AP

The numbers make it official, even before either championship game will be played: this is the best final four in NFL playoff history.

This year's four remaining teams finished the regular season with a combined record of 55-9, winning 86 percent of their games. The Jets brought four losses to the lineup, with the Falcons and Broncos losing two each and the Vikings just one.

That puts that foursome just ahead of the 1972 semifinalists -- 14-0 Miami, 11-3 Pittsburgh, 11-3 Washington and 10-4 Dallas, who had held the best combined mark with a 46-10 record (.821). The next-best quartet came in 1990, when the 13-3 Bills, 12-4 Raiders, 13-3 Giants and 14-2 49ers combined for a .812 mark.

The combination of home-field advantage and last week's bye helped to bring about another oddity -- the teams with the four best regular-season records (OK, the 49ers matched the Jets' 12-4 mark, but humor us) were the final four teams. Actually, that's happened four times in the nine years since the NFL went to six wild cards, but not at all since the 1994 season.

Incidentally, the worst foursome from any NFL season since 1970 goes to 1979, when the 11-5 Oilers, 12-4 Steelers, 9-7 Rams and 10-6 Broncos combined to win just 66 percent of their games.

While we're on the topic of unprecedented playoff happenings, this year's NFC Championship game will be the first conference title game to be played indoors, and its winner will be the first domed team to advance to a Super Bowl, which is a bit strange, considering that eight Super Bowls themselves have been played indoors.

NFL Divisional Playoffs Preview Teams Key Stat Key to Victory MVP Falcons 20 (14-2) 49ers 18 (12-4) The 49ers didn't rush for a first down until late in the fourth quarter and finished with 46 total rushing yards. Atlanta intercepted Steve Young three times, twice deep in Falcons territory, to keep the 49ers off the scoreboard. Atlanta's Jamal Anderson rushed 29 times for 113 yards and two crucial first-half touchdowns as Atlanta built an early lead. Stats and recap Broncos 38 (14-2) Dolphins 3 (10-6) John Elway, Denver's third-best rusher Sunday, had more yards (19) than the Dolphins could manage as a team (14). Denver's Terrell Davis controlled the game, rushing for 199 yards and helping the Broncos put the game away early. Davis rushed for two touchdowns and finished with the fourth-best game in NFL history while averaging 9.5 yards per carry. Stat s and recap Jets 34 (12-4) Jaguars 24 (10-6) The Jets offense had 29 first downs and 429 yards and had nearly a 2-to-1 edge on time of possession over the Jaguars. New York was able to build a 17-0 lead on three long scoring drives in the first half, and Jacksonville's mistakes did the rest. Jets receiver Keyshawn Johnson caught a touchdown, ran in for another, recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass in the final minute. Stats and recap Vikings 41 (15-1) Cardinals 21 (9-7) Leroy Hoard and Mario Bates each scored three TDs, tying them with 28 others for second-most ever in a playoff game. The Vikings offense barely stuttered with five TDs in 10 possessions, easing their way to 24 first-half points. Vikings QB Randall Cunningham threw for three touchdowns and 236 yards on an economic 27 pass attempts. Stats and re cap

 

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