The National Football League playoffs for the 1993 season began on January 8, 1994. The postseason tournament concluded with the Dallas Cowboys defeating the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVIII, 30–13, on January 30, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia.
Since the 1993 regular season was conducted over 18 weeks (two byes per team), the traditional bye week between the conference championship games and Super Bowl was removed.
Participants
Bracket
Schedule
These playoffs marked the final season that CBS was the NFC network. Fox would then take over the rights to the NFC before the start of the following season. ABC continued to broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games, and NBC televised the rest of the AFC games. CBS would not televise an NFL game again until 1998 when it replaced NBC as the AFC network.
NBC was also the broadcaster of Super Bowl XXVIII.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:92%; text-align:center;"
! Away team !! Score !! Home team !! Date !! Kickoff<br />(ET / UTC–5) !! TV
|-
! colspan="6"|Wild Card playoffs
|-
| Pittsburgh Steelers || 24–27 || Kansas City Chiefs || January 8, 1994 || 12:30 p.m. || ABC
|-
| Green Bay Packers || 28–24 || Detroit Lions || January 8, 1994 || 4:00 p.m. || ABC
|-
| Minnesota Vikings || 10–17 || New York Giants || January 9, 1994 || 12:30 p.m. || CBS
|-
| Denver Broncos || 24–42 || Los Angeles Raiders || January 9, 1994 || 4:00 p.m. || NBC
|-
! colspan="6"|Divisional playoffs
|-
| Los Angeles Raiders || 23–29 || Buffalo Bills || January 15, 1994 || 12:30 p.m. || NBC
|-
| New York Giants || 3–44 || San Francisco 49ers || January 15, 1994 || 4:00 p.m. || CBS
|-
| Green Bay Packers || 17–27 || Dallas Cowboys || January 16, 1994 || 12:30 p.m. || CBS
|-
| Kansas City Chiefs || 28–20 || Houston Oilers || January 16, 1994 || 4:00 p.m. || NBC
|-
! colspan="6"|Conference Championships
|-
| Kansas City Chiefs || 13–30 || Buffalo Bills || January 23, 1994 || 12:30 p.m. || NBC
|-
| San Francisco 49ers || 21–38 || Dallas Cowboys || January 23, 1994 || 4:00 p.m. || CBS
|-
! colspan="6"|Super Bowl XXVIII<br /><small>Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia</small>
|-
| Dallas Cowboys || 30–13 || Buffalo Bills || January 30, 1994 || 6:00 p.m. || NBC
|}
Wild Card playoffs
Saturday, January 8, 1994
AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 24 ()
Chiefs kicker Nick Lowery made the winning 32-yard field goal after 11:03 of overtime, to earn themselves a win over the Steelers in a game in which both teams combined for 770 yards, no fumbles lost, and no interceptions.
The Steelers scored first by driving 66 yards, featuring a 32-yard reception by running back Merril Hoge, and scoring on Neil O'Donnell's 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Adrian Cooper. Later in the first quarter, Kansas City drove 75 yards in seven plays and tied the game after backup quarterback Dave Krieg, who temporarily replaced injured starter Joe Montana, threw a 23-yard touchdown to wide receiver J. J. Birden.
The Steelers responded with a long 15-play drive to retake the lead on Gary Anderson's 30-yard field goal, making the score 10–7. After a punt, Pittsburgh drove back to the Chiefs 35-yard line, only to turn the ball over on downs. Kansas City then took over and drove to the Steelers 42, but on fourth down and 1, defensive end Gerald Williams sacked Montana for a 7-yard loss, giving his team the ball on their own 49 with under a minute left. The Steelers made the most of their opportunity, scoring on O'Donnell's 26-yard touchdown completion to Ernie Mills that increased their lead to 17–7 at the end of the half.
Most of the third quarter was a defensive struggle until the Chiefs put together a 49-yard drive to score on Lowery's 23-yard field goal. Then in the fourth quarter, Montana connected with Willie Davis for 22 yards and Birden for 19 on the way to Marcus Allen's 2-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 17. O'Donnell led the Steelers right back though, completing a 26-yard pass to Dwight Stone before hooking up with Eric Green for a 22-yard touchdown throw to retake the lead, 24–17.
In the final minutes of regulation, tight end Keith Cash blocked a Pittsburgh punt and Fred Jones returned it 31 yards to the Steelers 9-yard line. On fourth down, Montana threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tim Barnett, tying the game at 24 with 1:43 left in the game. Then after forcing Pittsburgh to punt, Kansas City drove 47 yards to set up Lowery's 43-yard field-goal attempt in the closing seconds, but the kick was wide right and thus the game went into overtime.
Kansas City won the coin toss to receive the overtime kickoff, but went three and out. Pittsburgh then drove to midfield before they also had to punt. At this point, Montana completed several passes, including an 18-yarder to Cash to move the Chiefs into position for Lowery's game winning score.
Montana finished the game 23/42 for 276 passing yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions. O'Donnell completed 23/42 passes for 286 yards and three scores.
This was the Chiefs last playoff win at home until the 2018 season.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Steelers and Chiefs.
NFC: Green Bay Packers 28, Detroit Lions 24
In week 17, the Lions defeated Green Bay 30–20, intercepting four passes from quarterback Brett Favre and winning despite playing without their best offensive star, running back Barry Sanders. The win gave them homefield advantage for this game. But even though Sanders recovered from his injury in time for the playoffs, this time the Packers won by overcoming a 17–7 third quarter deficit and pulling ahead on Favre's 40-yard game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Sterling Sharpe with 55 seconds left.
Detroit held the ball for over 10 minutes in the first quarter, but could only score three points. Early in the game, a 25-yard run by Sanders with an additional 15 yards added on by a facemask penalty on LeRoy Butler sparked a drive deep into Green Bay territory, but it ended with no points when Terrell Buckley intercepted a pass from Erik Kramer in the end zone. After forcing a punt, the Lions drove 59 yards, mostly on receptions by Brett Perriman, and scored on Jason Hanson's 47-yard field goal on the last play of the first quarter.
Green Bay responded to the field goal by driving 80 yards and scoring on Favre's 12-yard touchdown pass to Sharpe. Then Green Bay caught a break when their kickoff hit the ground near the sideline, bounced into returner Mel Gray and then bounced out of bounds at the Lions 5-yard line. But it didn't stop Detroit as they still drove 95 yards, featuring a 44-yard run by Sanders and a 13-yard third down conversion reception by Perriman after the ball bounced off Sanders' hands, and scored on Perriman's one handed 1-yard touchdown reception to take a 10–7 lead at the end of the half.
Midway through the third quarter, Jim Arnold's punt pinned Green Bay at their own 5-yard line. Two plays later, Melvin Jenkins intercepted a pass from Favre and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown to extend the Lions' lead, 17–7. But the Packers countered with a 72-yard drive to score on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Favre to Sharpe. Detroit responded by driving 74 yards, including a 31-yard catch by Perriman, to a 2nd and goal on the Green Bay 5-yard line. On the next play, Packers safety George Teague intercepted Kramer's pass in the end zone and returned it a playoff record 101 yards to give the Packers a 21–17 lead. But on their ensuing drive Lions would regain the lead by moving the ball 89 yards to score on running back Derrick Moore's 5-yard touchdown with 8:27 left in the fourth quarter.
Corey Harris' 45-yard kickoff return gave the Packers good field position, but they were unable to take advantage and had to punt after demoralizing third down play in which Favre overthrew wide open receiver Mark Clayton near the end zone. After forcing a punt, Robert Brooks' 21-yard return gave Green Bay the ball on their own 29-yard line with 2:24 left in regulation. Favre started off the drive with an 11-yard completion to Edgar Bennett. His next pass to tight end Ed West moved the ball 9 yards to midfield. Following a 4-yard run by Bennett, Favre's 6-yard completion to Sharpe advanced the team to the Lions 40-yard line. On the next play, he took the snap and ran left. Kevin Scott, who was covering Sharpe one on one along the right sideline, slowed down a bit when he saw Favre running, just enough for Sharpe to pull ahead of him and Favre launched a 40-yard pass to Sharpe in the end zone for the game winning score. Gray was tackled by Green Bay's Marcus Wilson after returning the ensuing kickoff just 8 yards to the 19-yard line, leaving Detroit with 51 seconds and all three timeouts left to drive for the winning touchdown. Over the next four plays, Tony Bennett sacked Kramer for 2-yard loss, Sanders picked up 3 yards on a swing pass, and Kramer threw two incompletions.
Sanders had the best postseason performance of his career, finishing the game with 167 rushing yards. Kramer completed 22/31 passes for 248 yards and a touchdown, with two interception. Perriman caught 10 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown. Favre completed 15/26 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception. Sharpe, who had not practiced in the last eight weeks due to turf toe (though he was still able to play in games) and had set the NFL single season record for receptions in their week 17 meeting against Detroit, caught five passes for 101 yards and tied a playoff record with three touchdowns. This was Scott's last game in the NFL.
The Lions lost despite significantly outgaining the Packers in total yards (410–293), first downs (25–16), and time of possession (35:34–24:26). "It's just a shame," Lions coach Wayne Fontes said after the game. "This team played an excellent football game today and lost. They couldn't slow us down."
This was the final playoff game at the Pontiac Silverdome. This was the last time the Lions hosted a playoff game until 2024. It was the franchise's first home playoff loss.
This was featured on NFL's Greatest Games as Favre to Sharpe.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Packers and Lions.
The Giants had the wind again in the third quarter, and on their first drive of the second half, Hampton scored on a 51-yard rushing touchdown, the longest run in Giants postseason history. Then Harry Newsome's punt went just 21 yards to the Minnesota 26-yard line. Hampton subsequently converted a fourth and 1 situation with a 2-yard run and rushed for five yards on third and 2 as the team drove to another touchdown on his 2-yard score. On the extra point attempt, the snap sailed right through Horan's hands and went right into the arms of Treadwell. However, Treadwell managed to run the ball into the end zone for a successful conversion, giving the team a 17–10 lead.
Although the Vikings held the wind advantage again during the final quarter, the Giants defense managed to shut them down to preserve the victory. The Vikings had a great chance to tie the game when Carter caught a deep pass from backup quarterback Sean Salisbury and appeared to be on his way to a sure touchdown, but safety Myron Guyton caught up with him from behind and knocked the ball out of his hands. Jackson recovered it for the Giants on the Vikings 15-yard line to put the game away.
Hampton finished the game with 33 carries for 161 yards and two touchdowns, along with six receptions for 24 yards.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Vikings and Giants. This was the most recent NFL playoff game played in the city of Los Angeles until 2017, and the last playoff game won by an LA-based team until 2018.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Broncos and Raiders. Denver won the only prior meeting.
San Francisco started off the game with an 80-yard drive in which Steve Young completed his first four passes, including a 31-yard completion to John Taylor on the way to a 1-yard touchdown run by Watters. Kicker Mike Cofer missed the extra point, but little else would go wrong for San Francisco for the rest of the game. Following a Giants punt, San Francisco went up 9–0 on Cofer's 29-yard field goal. Then linebacker Bill Romanowski deflected a Simms pass into the arms of Tim McDonald, who returned the ball four yards to the Giants 41. Eight plays later, Watters scored another 1-yard touchdown run to give the 49ers a 16–0 lead. After another New York punt, San Francisco drove 92 yards, featuring a 43-yard reception by Taylor, to score on Watters' third touchdown of the day, this one from two yards out. New York eventually cut the score to 23–3 at halftime with a 25-yard field goal from kicker David Treadwell after they stopped the 49ers on fourth and 1 on their own 21-yard line, but this would be their only score.
Watters added two more touchdowns in the second half. He actually had a chance to score a sixth touchdown, but he was taken out of the game early in the fourth quarter with the ball on the Giants 11-yard line. Instead, he got to sit on the bench as Marc Logan scored the 49ers final points on a 2-yard run.
"There was no question who was the best team out there today", said Giants coach Dan Reeves. "I'm disappointed that we came in and played this way. It hurts; it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. The 49ers took us out of our element very quickly. They struck quickly and repeatedly, and took the running game away from us."
Although he didn't throw any touchdown passes, Young was near-perfect in the game, completing 17 of 22 passes for 226 yards, and rushing for 17 yards on the ground.
This was also the final game for Giants legends Lawrence Taylor and Phil Simms. The Giants would retire both of their numbers by 1995.
This was the sixth postseason meeting between the Giants and 49ers. New York won three of the previous five meetings.
Favre finished the game with 331 passing yards, just one yard short of a Packers playoff record, and two touchdowns, but was picked off twice. His top target was Sharpe, who caught six passes for 128 yards. Aikman completed 28 of 37 passes for 302 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions, while Irvin recorded nine receptions for 126 yards. Butler had a sack, an interception, and a fumble recovery.
This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Packers and Cowboys. Green Bay won two of the previous three meetings. Then with just over five minutes left in the third quarter, San Francisco running back Ricky Watters ran for a 4-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 28–14. However, 30-year-old Dallas backup quarterback Bernie Kosar responded by leading the Cowboys 82 yards to a momentum-shattering touchdown, including a critical 12-yard completion to Michael Irvin on third and 9 from the Dallas 19. On the last play, he connected with wide receiver Alvin Harper for a 42-yard touchdown. Cowboys kicker Eddie Murray later added a 50-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory.
Mostly due to Johnson's famous guarantee, ESPN named the game one of the 10 most memorable in the history of Texas Stadium in 2008. "I don't think anybody in a million years thought it would be this type of game", said 49ers coach George Seifert. "I expected us to be more stout. In the early stages of the game, Dallas was extremely explosive and pretty much had their way with us."
This would be CBS's final NFL telecast (due to their losing the NFC package to Fox in December 1993) before resuming coverage in 1998. CBS used a goodbye montage featuring the instrumental background "After the Sunrise" composed by Yanni.
Dallas had 377 yards of offense without any turnovers. Aikman completed 14 of 18 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns, while Kosar completed five of nine passes for 83 yards and a score. Smith was the Cowboys leading rusher and receiver with 88 rushing yards and seven receptions for 85 yards. Young threw for 287 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, while also rushing for 38 yards and a score. Watters, who rushed for over 100 yards and scored five touchdowns in the divisional round, had just 12 carries for 37 yards. This was the first NFC Championship Game featuring a rematch between both teams from the previous year since the 1971 season. Incidentally, that game also involved the Cowboys defeating the 49ers for the second year in a row.
Aikman later said he had no memory of playing in this game. According to his agent, Leigh Steinberg, who spoke to Aikman at the hospital after the game, Aikman had to ask him where he was, why he was at the hospital, who he had been playing against, and if his team had won. Despite this, Aikman still returned to lead the Cowboys to victory in the Super Bowl just one week later.
This was the sixth postseason meeting between the 49ers and Cowboys. Dallas won four of the previous five meetings.