The National Football League playoffs for the 1998 season began on January 2, 1999. The postseason tournament concluded with the Denver Broncos defeating the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII, 34–19, on January 31, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida.
It would mark the last season until 2025 where the postseason would not feature Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, or Patrick Mahomes.
Participants
Bracket
Schedule
Under the new U.S. television broadcast contracts that took effect starting this season, CBS replaced NBC as the broadcaster of most of the AFC playoff games. ABC continued to broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games. Fox televised the rest of the NFC games and Super Bowl XXXIII.
{| 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
|-
| Buffalo Bills || 17–24 || Miami Dolphins || January 2, 1999 || 12:30 p.m. || ABC
|-
| Arizona Cardinals || 20–7 || Dallas Cowboys || January 2, 1999 || 4:00 p.m. || ABC
|-
| New England Patriots || 10–25 || Jacksonville Jaguars || January 3, 1999 || 12:30 p.m. || CBS
|-
| Green Bay Packers || 27–30 || San Francisco 49ers || January 3, 1999 || 4:00 p.m. || Fox
|-
! colspan="6"|Divisional playoffs
|-
| San Francisco 49ers || 18–20 || Atlanta Falcons || January 9, 1999 || 12:30 p.m. || Fox
|-
| Miami Dolphins || 3–38 || Denver Broncos || January 9, 1999 || 4:00 p.m. || CBS
|-
| Jacksonville Jaguars || 24–34 || New York Jets || January 10, 1999 || 12:30 p.m. || CBS
|-
| Arizona Cardinals || 21–41 || Minnesota Vikings || January 10, 1999 || 4:00 p.m. || Fox
|-
! colspan="6"|Conference Championships
|-
| Atlanta Falcons || 30–27 || Minnesota Vikings || January 17, 1999 || 12:30 p.m. || Fox
|-
| New York Jets || 10–23 || Denver Broncos || January 17, 1999 || 4:00 p.m. || CBS
|-
! colspan="6"|Super Bowl XXXIII<br><small>Pro Player Stadium, Miami, Florida</small>
|-
| Denver Broncos || 34–19 || Atlanta Falcons || January 31, 1999 || 6:00 p.m. || Fox
|}
Wild Card playoffs
Saturday, January 2, 1999
AFC: Miami Dolphins 24, Buffalo Bills 17
The Dolphins forced five Bills turnovers, including Buffalo quarterback Doug Flutie's fumble at the Miami 5-yard line with 17 seconds left in the game. Buffalo's wide receiver Eric Moulds set an NFL postseason record with 240 receiving yards, including a 32-yard touchdown catch.
The Bills had a great scoring chance when Moulds caught a 65-yard pass from Flutie on the first play from scrimmage, but Terrell Buckley knocked the ball out of his hands and safety Brock Marion recovered the fumble, returning it 17 yards to the Miami 29. Miami then drove 57 yards in 16 plays to score on kicker Olindo Mare's 31-yard field goal. After forcing a punt, Miami went on another long field goal drive, this one covering 66 yards in 11 plays, including a 22-yard reception by Ed Perry and two pass interference calls against Buffalo for a total of 26 yards.
Mare's 40-yard field goal gave the Dolphins a 6–0 lead with over 10 minutes left in the second quarter, but a failed surprise onside kick attempt gave Buffalo the ball on the Dolphins 42. Moulds then caught a 37-yard pass to set up Thurman Thomas' 1-yard touchdown run. Near the end of the half, Buffalo drove to the Dolphins 6-yard line, but Marion intercepted a pass from Flutie in the end zone with less than a minute left on the clock. Miami also blew a scoring chance as Dan Marino completed a 52-yard pass to Oronde Gadsden at the Bills 9-yard line on the next play, but Mare missed a 26-yard field goal on the last play of the half.
In the third quarter, Miami got an early scoring chance when Derrick Rodgers forced a fumble while sacking Flutie that linebacker Zach Thomas recovered on the Bills 40-yard line. But the Bills defense only allowed three yards over the next three plays and forced a punt. Miami's defense then returned the favor by forcing Buffalo to punt after three plays, and O. J. McDuffie returned Chris Mohr's 39-yard kick 20 yards to the Dolphins 48-yard line. Miami went on to take a 14–7 lead with a 12-play, 52-yard drive to score on Karim Abdul-Jabbar's 3-yard run (and Stanley Pritchett's 2-point conversion). However, Buffalo stormed right back with a 4-play, 81-yard touchdown drive to tie the game, taking advantage of a pass interference call against Patrick Surtain that gave them 29 yards. On the next play, Flutie's 23-yard completion to Moulds moved the ball to the Miami 32-yard line, and he ended up finishing the drive with a 32-yard touchdown completion to Moulds with less than a minute left in the quarter.
On Miami's opening drive of the fourth quarter, Marino completed 5/5 passes for 54 yards on a 75-yard drive that ended with Mare's third field goal, giving the Dolphins a 17–14 lead. Then Jerry Wilson forced a fumble while tackling Andre Reed, and Buckley recovered the ball for Miami at midfield, leading to Marino's 11-yard touchdown pass to Lamar Thomas that made the score a 10-point game at 24–14 with 3:42 left on the clock.
With time running out in the game, Flutie completed a 31-yard pass to Moulds and then threw the ball to Reed, who was tackled on the Miami 1-yard line. Believing he had scored, Reed argued vehemently with the referee Steve Zimmer and bumped into him, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct foul that got the receiver ejected from the game. It also pushed the Bills back 15 yards and left them facing second and goal from the 15 instead of the 1. Flutie's next two passes were incomplete, forcing the Bills to settle for Steve Christie's 33-yard field goal with 1:47 left. Buffalo subsequently recovered an onside kick and drove 64 yards in 10 plays to the Dolphins 5-yard line. But as Flutie stepped up to make a throw, he lost the ball while being sacked by Miami's Trace Armstrong and defensive tackle Shane Burton recovered the fumble.
"There wasn't any doubt he was in", Bills coach Wade Phillips said about Reed's ejection after the game. "That game looks a lot different at the end. With Andre Reed in the game and us only down 3, we would have done some different things at the end."
This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Bills and Dolphins. Buffalo won all three previous meetings.
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|+
|-
!Buffalo leads 3–0 in all-time playoff games
|-
|
|}
NFC: Arizona Cardinals 20, Dallas Cowboys 7
Quarterback Jake Plummer passed for 213 yards and two touchdowns as he led the Cardinals to their first playoff victory since 1947, ending the longest playoff win drought in NFL history. Their victory was especially satisfying against the Cowboys, who defeated them twice during the season (38–10 on opening day and 35–28 in week 11). Arizona running back Adrian Murrell rushed for 95 yards and caught two passes for 16 yards and a touchdown, while their defense sacked Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman four times (twice by linebacker Jamir Miller and two more by Andre Wadsworth) and intercepted three of his passes (two by cornerback Aeneas Williams).
Dallas had a chance to score on their second drive when Tyrone Hughes returned an Arizona punt 11 yards to the Cowboys 38. Aikman then led the team to the Cardinals 19-yard line, but the drive ended there and Richie Cunningham missed a 36-yard field goal attempt. On the first play of the Cardinals' following possession, Plummer completed a 59-yard pass to receiver Frank Sanders, setting up Murrell's 12-yard touchdown catch a few plays later.
In the second quarter, the Cowboys got another scoring opportunity when cornerback Kevin Mathis picked off a pass from Plummer on the Dallas 37. Dallas went on to drive to the Cardinals 7-yard line. On fourth and 1, the Cowboys tried to convert with a run by Emmitt Smith, but he was stopped by linebacker Mark Maddox, who broke through the line and dropped him for a 1-yard loss. Dallas' three remaining drives of the half would result in an interception by Williams and two punts, the second which was returned 10 yards to the Cardinals 38 by running back Eric Metcalf with less than two minutes left in the half. Plummer then completed a 15-yard pass to receiver Rob Moore and a 20 yarder to Metcalf, setting up a 37-yard Chris Jacke field goal that gave Arizona a 10–0 lead going into halftime.
On the second play of the second half, Murrell took off for a 74-yard run to the Cowboys 3-yard line. It was the longest postseason run ever surrendered by the Cowboys in their 52-postseason game history. On the next play, Plummer threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to fullback Larry Centers, making the score 17–0. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Williams recorded his second interception from Aikman, setting up a 46-yard field goal by Jacke. Now desperate for points, Dallas tried to convert a fourth and 1 deep in their own territory, only to have Aikman get sacked by Miller for a 10-yard loss. An interception by Darren Woodson prevented Arizona from scoring, but with only ten minutes remaining on the clock, there was little hope for a comeback. All Dallas could do was avoid a shutout when Deion Sanders' 41-yard punt return set up Aikman's 6-yard touchdown pass to Billy Davis with 3:33 left in the game.
It was the last time ABC aired a game between these two teams, after six games on Monday Night Football. ESPN finally aired a game between these two in 2017 (though they did meet on Sunday night on ESPN once). It was the last playoff game at Texas Stadium until 2007.
Arizona ended a nine-game losing streak at Texas Stadium; their previous win was during the Cowboys' 1–15 season of 1989. This was just the Cardinals' second victory vs. the Cowboys in the previous 18 meetings, the other being a 25–22 overtime victory in week two of 1997 at Sun Devil Stadium. Arizona lost its last four visits to Texas Stadium between 1999 and 2005, and finished with an all-time mark of 5–27 in the facility.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Cardinals and Cowboys.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Cardinals and Vikings. Minnesota won the only prior meeting when the Cardinals were in St. Louis. Fox Sports ranked it the third most exciting NFC Championship Game ever.
Atlanta took the opening kickoff and moved the ball 76 yards in 12 plays to score with Chris Chandler's 5-yard pass to Jamal Anderson. Aided by a 30-yard pass interference penalty on Falcons cornerback Ray Buchanan, Minnesota struck right back on their first drive with Randall Cunningham's 31-yard scoring strike to Randy Moss.
In the second quarter, Vikings linebacker Ed McDaniel recovered a fumble from Harold Green on the Minnesota 40-yard line, which the team converted into a Gary Anderson field goal. Then on the first play of Atlanta's following drive, Orlando Thomas forced a fumble from tight end O. J. Santiago that Robert Griffith recovered and returned nine yards to the Falcons 33-yard line. Cunningham completed an 18-yard pass to Moss on the next play, and eventually finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run that increased his team's lead to 17–7 with five minutes left in the half. Atlanta had to punt after three plays on their ensuing drive, and Dan Stryzinski's 42-yard kick gave Minnesota good field position on their own 43-yard line. The Vikings blew a chance at another touchdown when Moss dropped a pass in the end zone, but Anderson kicked another field goal to make the score 20–7. After forcing another Atlanta punt, Stryzinski's 44-yard kick sent the ball back to the Vikings on their own 18-yard line with 1:17 left in the half. Rather than simply run out the clock, the team decided to attempt to make a drive for points, but their gamble backfired horribly as Falcons defensive end Chuck Smith forced a fumble from Cunningham that Atlanta defensive end Travis Hall recovered on the Vikings 14, setting up Chandler's 14-yard touchdown pass to Terance Mathis to cut their deficit to 20–14 by the end of the half. It was the turning point for the Falcons, as the game's momentum began to shift their way (albeit subtly).
Atlanta forced the Vikings to punt on the opening drive of the second half, and two plays by receiver Tim Dwight, a 26-yard punt return and a 21-yard run, set up Morten Andersen's 27-yard field goal to cut their deficit to three points. The Vikings countered on their ensuing possession, driving 82 yards in 15 plays and scoring on Matthew Hatchette's 5-yard reception (his only touchdown of the season) to make the score 27–17 with just over 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Receiver Cris Carter made two big receptions on the drive, converting a third and 10 with a 12-yard catch and later hauling in a 17-yard gain on third and 8.
Atlanta responded with Chandler's 70-yard completion to Tony Martin setting up a score on Andersen's 24-yard field goal that narrowed the gap to 27–20 with 11:02 left in the game. After a punt from each team, Atlanta got a chance to score when defensive end Shane Dronett recovered a fumbled snap from Cunningham on the Vikings 30-yard line. However, they turned the ball over on downs with Chandler's incomplete pass on a fourth and 4 attempt with six minutes left in regulation.
Minnesota then drove to the Falcons' 20-yard line, setting up a 38-yard field goal attempt for Anderson, who had not missed a field goal all season. Another successful kick would have wrapped up the NFC title for Minnesota, but Anderson's kick sailed wide left, giving the ball back to Atlanta with 2:07 left and new life. Chandler then led his team down to the Vikings 16-yard line, including a 29-yard completion to seldom-used receiver Ronnie Harris. Following a near interception by Griffith, Mathis' 16-yard touchdown catch tied the game with 49 seconds left. Vikings coach Dennis Green then chose to kneel down and sent the game into overtime. By this point, the Vikings had lost five starting players to injury, including Hall of Fame defensive tackle John Randle.
After the first three possessions of overtime ended in punts, Vikings punter Mitch Berger's 52-yard kick gave Atlanta the ball at their own 9-yard line. Chandler, now visibly limping due to an ankle injury, completed two passes to Santiago for gains of 15 and 26 yards on a 70-yard drive to the Minnesota 21-yard line where Andersen kicked a 38-yard field goal to win the game.
Chandler had one of the best games of his career, throwing for 340 yards and three touchdowns. Martin caught five passes for 129 yards. Cunningham also had a solid performance, throwing for 266 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 13 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Dwight had 173 all-purpose yards (four kick returns for 110 yards, two punt returns for 35 yards, and three carries for 28 yards).
This was the first NFC championship game since 1987 and 1991 not to feature the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys or the Green Bay Packers as they had been in the 1988-1990, 1992-1997 championship games.
Numerous references to this game are made in "Little Minnesota", an episode from the television series How I Met Your Mother.
The game was featured as one of the NFL's Greatest Games as Andersen and Anderson.
This was the first NFC Championship Game to go to overtime (since, there have already been five other instances, with the 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2018 NFC Championship Games going to overtime).
This was the second postseason meeting between the Falcons and Vikings. Minnesota won the only prior meeting.