Instead, the play was overturned via replay because it was deemed Bryant did not complete the process of making a catch -- despite multiple steps and lunging to the goal line. The overall series is led by Dallas 19-15. Standings . "We lost the championship game (in 1998) and in 2000 my last season there I have no idea how we get blown out in the championship game, but it was a bit eerie how that game unfolded." A penalty would have allowed the Saints to run out most of the clock and put them in better position for a TD. 10. The Dolphins took the opening kickoff and marched 70 yards in 11 plays. Had the organization been a bit less aggressive in free agency at . UNITED STATES - CIRCA 2000: New York Giants' running back Greg Comella crosses the goal line for a score against the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game at Giants Stadium. But those teams were at an extreme end of pushing money forward into future salary-cap seasons. Two months later, the NFL passed a rule that makes it illegal for an offensive player wearing an eligible number -- between 1 and 49, or 80 to 89 -- to report as ineligible and line up outside the tackle box. Matt Ryan's pass was incomplete, and the 49ers advanced to the Super Bowl with a 28-24 road win. Graeme Souness has called on fans to learn CPR and help save lives. New York wide receiver Ike Hilliard had 10 receptions for 155 yards and two touchdowns. New England had new life, drove for a game-tying field goal and then won it in overtime. The Panthers trailed Denver 3-0 in the first quarter of Super Bowl L when league MVP Cam Newton hit Jerricho Cotchery over the middle on first-and-10 from the Carolina 15-yard line. The home team . I have no idea how we get blown out in the championship game, but it was a bit eerie how that game unfolded. There are many to choose from here over the past decade, from the Calvin Johnson catch rule to Calvin Johnson's batted ball out of the end zone to Trey Flowers' phantom hands-to-the-face against Green Bay. The Cowboys-Vikings rivalry is a rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings. For those who aren't Vikings fans, the 1998 NFC title game with the Falcons is viewed as one of the greatest postseason games of all time. But Indianapolis failed to reach the end zone and had to settle for another field goal from Vanderjagt. The Titans reached midfield with 6:55 remaining, but Steve McNairs pass ricocheted off of Eddie Georges hands, then into the hands of Ray Lewis for the interception, who then returned it 50 yards for a touchdown to seal the victory for Baltimore. For his part, Griffith said those teams remain a mystery to him, even all these years later. It ended with no points because of a missed field goal attempt by David Akers, but the team got the ball back with good field position after receiving Mark Royals' 27-yard punt on their own 43-yard line. [1], at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Then on the second to last play of the quarter, Robert Tate's interception of a Brooks pass gave the Vikings a first down on the Saints 29-yard line, and they went on to clinch the game with Smith's 2-yard touchdown run. Basically, the Toronto newspaper alleged that the Giants knew what plays Minnesota was going to run before each snap during the matchup. The top-seeded Eagles manhandled the San Francisco 49ers, 31-7, in the NFC championship game Sunday and will meet either the . He also caught 3 passes for 18 yards. Early in the fourth quarter, the Saints drove 74 yards in five plays and scored with Brooks' 49-yard touchdown pass to Jackson. Getty Images. Griffith added that a 41-0 loss was difficult to believe without Minnesota having to deal with something strange in New York that day. The Lions were leading 20-17 and driving when the flag was thrown and then picked up on a third down. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. -- Rich Cimini. It started poorly and stayed that way, with the Giants scoring on the opening drive, Minnesota kick returner Troy Walters failing to field the ensuing kickoff, the Giants recovering, and the Giants scoring again, and yada yada yada it was 34-0 at halftime and 41-0 when . When a play gets its own hashtag, you know you were jobbed. "So whoever's watching that in New York should stay off the bottle." "There is no way that that team gets blanketed 41-0 without a little questionable situations," Griffith said. San Francisco's season once again ended in the NFC title game. The three division winners were seeded 1 through 3 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card teams were seeded 4 through 6. Rather, the champion is decided by the NFC Championship Game as part of the post-season playoffs involving the teams with the best regular season records. A season-ticket holder even filed a lawsuit, which was quickly thrown out. Business; Politics; Military; Elections; Law; Immigration; Technology. In the history of the Minnesota Vikings, one of . The Raiders then drove 54 yards in 12 plays to make the score 27-0 on Tyrone Wheatley's 2-yard touchdown run. Then came the 1989 NFC Championship game. In the fourth quarter, Ray Lewis recovered a fumble from Gannon on the Raiders 6-yard line, setting up Stover's third field goal to close out the scoring. The Dolphins were offside on the play, but the Colts elected to decline the penalty and attempt a 49-yard field goal to win the game. The call came after Cincinnati's Vontaze Burfict was flagged for a 15-yard penalty for taking out Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown. I've seen some bad calls, but the stakes were so high in that game.'' Ravens GM says he covets QBs, Montana SB jersey breaks Brady's auction record, Colts GM pins moving up to 'guy worthy of it', McCarthy: 'New voice' calling plays will help Dak, Out of dark, Rodgers vows decision coming soon, Survey: Vikes, Fins, Raiders top FA report cards, Chargers GM halts speculation: Allen staying put. The Giants sacked Elway for a safety on the play following the throw to Kay to make the score 10-9. But that was deemed inconclusive, so the call of incomplete stood. ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN The Cardinals were 42 seconds from their first Super Bowl trophy, up 23-20 with the Steelers at the Cardinals' 6-yard line. Philadelphia then scored with McNabb's 10-yard touchdown pass to Small, making the score 2010, but their subsequent onside kick failed and the Giants held the ball for the rest of the game. If a team makes ONE MORE PLAY than the other team, usually that team is the winner. On the CBS broadcast, Pat Summerall and John Madden both believed the pass was a completion. Miami responded with a drive to the Colts 20-yard line, only to have Olindo Mare miss a 38-yard field goal attempt with 31 seconds left in the half. #DezCaughtIt, Jan. 11, 2015. "I was complaining, but it was already over with,'' White said. Bruce caught seven passes for 127 yards and a touchdown, while Faulk added seven catches for 99 yards and a touchdown. [1], at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey. "Yes, we had some extremely talented teams, but we were never firing on all of our cylinders. Rams cornerback Dr Bly recovered the ensuing onside kick. After a Dolphins punt, Oakland drove 41 yards in 10 plays to score on Sebastian Janikowski's 36-yard field goal. New York receiver Amani Toomer recovered it, but then fumbled the ball, and Luther Broughton recovered it for the Eagles on the Giants 8-yard line. -- Mike DiRocco, Steve McNair's TD should have counted, Nov. 12, 2001. With visiting Chicago protecting a 13-6 lead with 32 seconds to play, Green Bay quarterback Don Majkowski evaded Bears defensive end Trace Armstrong and scrambled outside the pocket, where he threw an apparent 14-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Sharpe. Develop Then Dilfer completed a 13-yard pass to Brandon Stokley and a 24-yard pass to tight end Ben Coates on a 51-yard drive that ended with another field goal by Stover. AFC Championship: Bengals (3) vs Chiefs (1) Final Score: Chiefs 23, Bengals 20 . -- Courtney Cronin, Roddy was held, Jan. 20, 2013. But Manning led the Colts back, completing a 13-yard pass to Marcus Pollard, a 38-yard pass to Marvin Harrison, and an 18-yard pass to Pathon. 5 throwing two TDs. No team has won more than two consecutive NFC championships. Theres no way that that team we fielded gets blanketed 41-0. Then Giants safety Lyle West recovered a fumble from kick returner Moe Williams on the Vikings 18-yard line and Collins capitalized with an 18-yard touchdown pass to fullback Greg Comella on the next play, giving New York a 140 lead before the Vikings offense had even stepped onto the field. It was their last game as division rivals, as the Saints moved to the NFC South in 2002. Houston's drive eventually stalled, and the Texans settled for a field goal in a 27-20 loss to the Raiders. The Jaguars went three-and-out after the turnover, and the Patriots responded with their first of two fourth-quarter touchdowns. So they settled for a field goal, but the extra four points would have been useful. Too late, however. The Jaguars were leading the Patriots 20-10 early in the fourth quarter of the AFC title game when the Patriots used a trick play in which receiver Danny Amendola threw a pass to running back Dion Lewis. The call that still resonates, though, was the picked-up pass interference flag thrown on Dallas linebacker Anthony Hitchens in the Lions' wild-card game against Dallas. The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional playoff games then meet in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed. But after Couch's spike stopped the clock, officials interjected and declared they would go back and review whether Morgan caught the ball. Adam Schefter breaks down Saints owner Gayle Benson's comments about the controversial missed pass interference call in New Orleans' loss to the Rams. Later on, Tory James forced a fumble from Lamar Smith that was recovered by Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson on the Miami 43-yard line. Tight end Dave Casper briefly kicked it around himself before falling on it in the end zone, giving the Raiders an improbable victory. . The Giants could do nothing wrong and the Vikings could do nothing right, and Griffith still doesn't buy the explanation that the Vikings team was simply outplayed. The Patriots won 24-20. In an AFC divisional-round playoff game in Oakland, the Patriots led 21-17 with 1:24 to play. He didn't specify the plays, but the penalties on Locklear (which negated a completion to the Steelers' 1-yard line) and Hasselbeck (which put Pittsburgh 15 yards closer to what would be the clinching touchdown) were both in the final frame. It wasn't until coach Tony Dungy called timeout that officials decided to review the play. 2005-2023 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. On second-and-10 at San Francisco's 45, Theismann threw deep for receiver Art Monk. NFL Nation: Analysis for every pick Baltimore got an early scoring chance when Ray Lewis intercepted a pass from Denver quarterback Gus Frerotte on the Broncos 39-yard line. Rams quarterback Kurt Warner committed four turnovers (three interceptions and a fumble), while running back Marshall Faulk, who shredded the Saints with 220 rushing yards during their encounter in the regular season, was held to a season-low 24 yards on the ground. You can be the judge of that. These are the languages that filled Isha Moorjani's (12) life, shaping the way she views the world. Brock Purdy injury leads to ugly loss to Eagles, end of 49ers' promising season. While San Francisco can tie the record for most wins, it can also extend its lead with the most losses in NFC Championship Game history. Official Jerry Markbreit made the call from behind the action, ruling a fumble because he couldn't decipher attempts to push the ball forward. 3) Jim Everett, Los Angeles Rams vs San Francisco 49ers, 1989 NFC Championship Game. The NFL did not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there were no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. Five plays later, the Raiders scored the game-winning touchdown. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/ALLSPORT) Daunte Culpepper. Although no longer playing the game, Griffith remains very busy and very much involved with football. In an AFC divisional playoff game, the Ravens fumed about the Patriots' use of deceptive ineligible receiver plays, which ultimately resulted in a 35-31 loss. The Titans scored first on the game's opening drive after marching 68 yards in 11 plays to reach the end zone on running back Eddie George's 2-yard touchdown run. Seriously. After that, Colts defensive end Chad Bratzke gave his team another great scoring opportunity when he intercepted Fiedler's screen pass at the Dolphins 25-yard line. CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND Instead of a first down putting Detroit in field goal range, the Lions punted, gave up a drive for a touchdown and lost 24-20, continuing the team's playoff losing streak. The Saints and Rams were tied with 1:49 remaining in the NFC Championship Game when the officials missed a blatant PI call against Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman (who admitted that he intentionally "whacked" receiver Tommylee Lewis to keep him from scoring). In the history of the Minnesota Vikings, one of the franchises most embarrassing losses was easily when they were steamrolled 41-0 by the New York Giants in the 2000 NFC Championship. Do you have a blog? With time running out in the half, Culpepper ripped off a 30-yard gain on a QB scramble, and then threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Carter on the next play, giving the team a 173 lead going into halftime. The Broncos went on to win the Super Bowl, a destiny that may well have been waiting for the Chiefs had Gonzalez been given the touchdown. In the third quarter the Eagles drove 75 yards to the New York 12-yard line, only to have Akers miss a 30-yard field goal attempt. Their 2000 squad went 7-9. . Its almost as if the Giants knew exactly what plays Minnesota were going to run before the ball was even snapped.