The National Football League playoffs for the 2002 season began on January 4, 2003. The postseason tournament concluded with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeating the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII, 48–21, on January 26, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California.
Prior to the 2002–03 season, the league realigned its teams into eight divisions (four in each conference). Thus, the 12-team playoff format was modified. The league abided by this updated system until 2020:
- The four division champions are seeded 1–4 based on their regular season won-lost-tied record.
- Two "wild card" qualifiers (those non-division champions with the conference's best won-lost-tied percentages) are seeded 5 and 6 within the conference.
As a result, a wild card team could no longer host a playoff game during the opening Wild Card round. Prior to the 2002–03 playoffs, a team could finish second in its division and host a playoff game as the number 4 seed (best wild-card team). The new rules meant that the number 4 seed was awarded to a division champion and not a wild card team (non-division champion). Under the new system, a wild card team could host a playoff game only if the number 5 and number 6 seeds in one conference advance to a Conference Championship Game, in which case a number 5 seed would host the game (which, under this format, never happened).
This would be the last season until 2022–23 in which the Divisional Round did not include Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning or Ben Roethlisberger.
Participants
Bracket
Schedule
During the 2001–02 NFL playoffs, the NFL experimented with playing Saturday prime time playoff games. The league was pleased with the results, and decided to revise its entire playoff schedule, beginning with the 2002 season. Wild Card and Divisional Saturday games continued to be played at 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. EST, as they had in the previous season. Sunday wild card and divisional playoff games were moved from 12:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. EST to 1:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively.
The start times for the Conference Championship Games were also changed, from 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. EST to 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. respectively. The conferences would then begin to annually alternate between the early and late games, with the first game during this 2002–03 season being the NFC title game and the second the AFC title game. Since then, the NFC title game is first in even-numbered seasons (2002, 2004, etc.) and the AFC title game first in odd-numbered seasons (2003, 2005, etc.). This continued an unofficial rotation that began with the Conference Championships in the 1996 NFL Playoffs.
This change would also avoid the future possibility of having to reschedule a 9:30 a.m. PST/10:30 a.m. MST Conference Championship Game if both contests took place in those time zones. Conference Championship Games in those time zones now start no earlier than 12 p.m. local time. When Denver and San Francisco hosted the AFC and NFC Championship Games in 1990, the league moved both contests back an hour, but it also forced the networks to reluctantly change or move their prime time lineups. Holding the games on separate days like in 1982–83 was rejected due to the short notice. And for the third time in recent few years, there was no bye week before Super Bowl.
In the United States, ABC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games and Super Bowl XXXVII. CBS telecast the rest of the AFC playoff games and Fox the rest of the NFC games.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 92%; text-align:center"
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! Round !! Away team !! Score !! Home team !! Date !! Kickoff<br>(ET / UTC-5)!! TV !! Viewers (millions) !! TV Rating
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! rowspan=4 | Wild Card playoffs
| Indianapolis Colts || 0–41 || New York Jets || January 4, 2003 || 4:30 p.m. || ABC || 19.7 || 13.0
|-
| Atlanta Falcons || 27–7 || Green Bay Packers || January 4, 2003 || 8:00 p.m. || ABC || 26.3 || 16.0
|-
| Cleveland Browns || 33–36 || Pittsburgh Steelers || January 5, 2003 || 1:00 p.m. || CBS || 27.5 || 18.1
|-
| New York Giants || 38–39 || San Francisco 49ers || January 5, 2003 || 4:30 p.m. || Fox || 29.8 || 18.2
|-
! rowspan=4 | Divisional playoffs
| Pittsburgh Steelers || 31–34 || Tennessee Titans || January 11, 2003 || 4:30 p.m. || CBS || 28.5 || 18.1
|-
| Atlanta Falcons || 6–20 || Philadelphia Eagles || January 11, 2003 || 8:00 p.m. || Fox || 24.9 || 14.8
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| San Francisco 49ers || 6–31 || Tampa Bay Buccaneers || January 12, 2003 || 1:00 p.m. || Fox || 28.1 || 18.3
|-
| New York Jets || 10–30 || Oakland Raiders || January 12, 2003 || 4:30 p.m. || CBS || 35.1 || 22.1
|-
! rowspan=2 | Conference Championships
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers || 27–10 || Philadelphia Eagles || January 19, 2003 || 3:00 p.m. || Fox || 38.7 || 23.8
|-
| Tennessee Titans || 24–41 || Oakland Raiders || January 19, 2003 || 6:30 p.m. || CBS || 41.5 || 24.6
|-
! Super Bowl XXXVII<br>
| Oakland Raiders || 21–48 || Tampa Bay Buccaneers || January 26, 2003 || 6:30 p.m. || ABC || 88.6 || 40.7
|}
Wild Card playoffs
Saturday, January 4, 2003
AFC: New York Jets 41, Indianapolis Colts 0
In his playoff debut, Jets quarterback Chad Pennington completed 19 of 25 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns as he led the Jets to a shutout victory over the Colts. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning completed only 14 of 31 passes for 137 yards and two interceptions. The Jets gained 396 yards and didn't commit any turnovers, while the Colts gained only 176 yards and turned the ball over three times.
On the Jets' fifth play of the game, fullback Richie Anderson caught a screen pass from Pennington and took off down the left sideline for a 56-yard touchdown, the longest play in Jets postseason history. The Colts responded by driving deep into Jets territory, with Manning completing three passes to Marvin Harrison for 38 yards, but the drive stalled and Mike Vanderjagt missed a 41-yard field goal attempt.
After the missed field goal, Pennington completed a 13-yard pass to Santana Moss and a 23-yard pass to Wayne Chrebet, setting up John Hall's 41-yard field goal. Then Ray Mickens recovered a fumble from Troy Walters that had been forced by Khary Campbell on the ensuing kickoff, giving the Jets the ball on the Colts' 39-yard line. Six plays later, LaMont Jordan scored on a 1-yard touchdown run that gave the Jets a 17–0 lead. Later in the quarter, the Jets got the ball with great field position by receiving Hunter Smith's 32-yard punt on the Colts' 42-yard line, and they ended up increasing their lead to 24–0 with Pennington's 4-yard touchdown pass to Moss, who made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone with 37 seconds left in the half.
Early in the third quarter, Hall kicked another field goal on the end of a drive that was set up by a 70-yard kickoff return from receiver Chad Morton. Later on, Pennington completed 5 out of 6 passes for 59 yards on a 74-yard drive, the last one a 3-yard touchdown toss to rookie tight end Chris Baker. Then on the Colts' ensuing drive, Damien Robinson intercepted a pass from Manning and returned it 24 yards to the Jets' 36-yard line. The Jets then drove 64 yards in 13 plays, 11 of them runs by Jordan for 59 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown run to make the final score of the game 41–0. Jets linebacker James Darling then put the finishing touches on the win by intercepting Manning's final pass of the game.
This turned out to be the Jets' final playoff home game at Giants Stadium as well as the final playoff win for both the Giants and the Jets at the stadium. Coincidentally, the Giants' last playoff win in Giants Stadium, the 2000 NFC Championship Game, had the same final score as this game. This was also the last playoff win until 2020 for an AFC East division champion that was not by the New England Patriots. Jordan finished the game with 20 carries for 102 yards, a reception for nine yards, and two touchdowns.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Colts and Jets. The Jets won the previous meeting when the Colts were in Baltimore.
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
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!NY Jets leads 1–0 in all-time playoff games
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NFC: Atlanta Falcons 27, Green Bay Packers 7
The Packers suffered their first home playoff loss in franchise history as the Falcons forced five turnovers and limited the Packers to only one touchdown. 22-year-old quarterback Michael Vick passed for 117 yards and rushed for 64 yards. The Packers, playing without Pro Bowl safety Darren Sharper and their top receiver Terry Glenn due to injuries, fell down 24–0 in the first half and could not recover. Packers quarterback Brett Favre threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, while Ryan Longwell missed two field goals.
The Falcons stormed out to a 7–0 lead by driving 76 yards on the opening drive, including an 18-yard reception and 12-yard run by running back Warrick Dunn, scoring with Vick's 10-yard touchdown pass to Shawn Jefferson. Then over the next three plays, but at the end of the Packers' next drive, Falcons linebacker Mark Simoneau blocked Josh Bidwell's punt and Artie Ulmer recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown to increase their lead to 14–0. The Packers responded with a drive to the Falcons' 20-yard line. But after Brady Smith sacked Favre for a 9-yard loss, Longwell missed a 47-yard field goal attempt.
Early in the second quarter, cornerback Tyrone Williams, a blocker on the Packers' punt return team ran into returner Eric Metcalf. As a result, Metcalf muffed the kick and Falcons fullback George Layne recovered the ball on the Packers' 21-yard line. Packers head coach Mike Sherman did not challenge the call, a mistake considering replays showed the punted ball bouncing off a Falcons player's left shoulder. Sherman said he spoke with an official on the field, "but he [mistakenly] led me to believe it would not be reviewable."[https://web.archive.org/web/20030106105504/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/2003/playoffs/news/2003/01/04/falcons_packers_ap/] Four plays after the turnover, T. J. Duckett's 6-yard touchdown run increased the Falcons' lead to 21–0. The Packers responded by driving to a first and goal situation on the Falcons' 1-yard line, but over the next three plays, Favre threw two incomplete passes and Ahman Green was tackled by Smith and safety Johndale Carty for a 1-yard loss. On fourth down and 2, Green was dropped for a 4-yard loss by nose tackle Ellis Johnson. Then Vick led the Falcons 90 yards in 16 plays, one of them a 21-yard run by Dunn, to go up 24–0 on Jay Feely's 22-yard field goal on the last play of the half.
The Packers regrouped on the opening drive of the second half, moving the ball 73 yards in 10 plays, the longest a 25-yard completion from Favre to wide receiver Donald Driver. Favre finished the drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Driver, but Driver was knocked out of the game on the play, and the Falcons responded with a 73-yard scoring drive of their own. The key play of the drive was a 22-yard scramble by Vick, while Feely finished it off with a 23-yard field goal that gave the Falcons a 27–7 lead. There was still 3:46 left in the third quarter, but this would be the game's final score. The Packers responded with a drive to the Falcons' 26-yard line, only to have Longwell miss a 44-yard field goal attempt.
The fourth quarter played out like comedy, as Feely missed two field goal attempts while the Packers turned the ball over three times: once on downs, the second time when Patrick Kerney recovered a fumble from Favre, and the third when Favre threw his second interception of the game to Carpenter. This would be the Falcons' final road playoff victory until 2017.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Falcons and Packers. The Packers won the only prior meeting.
This was the seventh postseason meeting between the Giants and 49ers. Both teams had split the prior six meetings.
Despite the 49ers' 10–6 record, the NFC West title, and their Wild Card playoff win against the New York Giants, 49ers head coach Steve Mariucci was fired three days after this game. The 49ers would not return to the playoffs until 2011.
This was the first postseason meeting between the 49ers and Buccaneers. Jurevicious was initially not expected to play, but decided at last minute to make the trip.
Early in the second quarter, Lee Johnson's 64-yard punt pinned the Buccaneers back on their own 2-yard line. This time the Eagles' defense was able to take advantage of the field position, forcing a three-and-out that earned the offense a first down on the Buccaneers' 38-yard line after Tom Tupa's 36-yard punt. The Eagles then drove 26 yards to tie the game 10–10 on a 30-yard field goal from David Akers, but the Buccaneers responded with an 80-yard, 12-play drive. Johnson completed a 31-yard pass to running back Michael Pittman and a 22-yard strike to Keyshawn Johnson before finishing the drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Keyshawn Johnson that gave the team a 17–10 lead. With time running out in the half, Donovan McNabb led the Eagles to the Buccaneers' 24-yard line, only to lose a fumble while being sacked by his high school teammate Simeon Rice, who stripped the ball away and recovered it himself.
On the Eagles' first drive of the third quarter, McNabb lost another fumble due to a tackle from cornerback Ronde Barber, and Buccaneers defensive tackle Ellis Wyms recovered it. Later on, the Buccaneers took advantage of a 15-yard fair catch interference penalty against the Eagles that gave them a first down on their own 48-yard line. They drove 41 yards, including a 19-yard catch by tight end Ken Dilger to set up a 27-yard Martín Gramática field goal. With 1:02 left in the third quarter, the Buccaneers had stretched out to a 20–10 lead.
Late in the fourth quarter, McNabb drove the Eagles 73 yards to the Buccaneers' 10-yard line. With 4:00 left in regulation, on 2nd and 7 at the 24-yard line, McNabb shook off sack attempts by Warren Sapp and Greg Spires, then scrambled to find Antonio Freeman for a 14-yard catch to the 10-yard line. One play later, on 1st and goal with 3:27 left, McNabb's pass intended for Freeman was intercepted by Ronde Barber, who ran it back 92 yards for a touchdown. Barber faked a blitz, then dropped back into coverage and stepped in front of Freeman, who fell down on the play. Barber's touchdown sealed the victory, and is often regarded as the biggest play in Buccaneers franchise history.
This game was somewhat devoid of offensive stars. Jurevicius's single reception for 71 yards made him the leading receiver, while the leading rusher was Staley with a mere 58 yards. Brad Johnson threw for 259 yards and one touchdown. Mitchell, the NFL's all-time leader in both regular season and postseason kickoff return yards, returned four kickoffs for 125 yards and four punts for 34 yards in the final playoff game of his career. The Bucs pass defense continued to show its dominance, as McNabb threw for 243 yards, but no touchdowns, one interception, and a 58.5 passer rating.
This was the last Eagles game played at Veterans Stadium, which was demolished following the 2003 Major League Baseball season. In a Sports Illustrated list of the worst losses in Philadelphia sports history since the city's last title in 1983 published in 2008, this game was ranked first.
Until the Jacksonville Jaguars' appearance in the 2017 AFC championship game, this was the last conference title game to feature a team from Florida. This was also the Buccaneers' last NFC championship appearance until 2020.
This was the first NFC Championship game ever to not feature either the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams, Green Bay Packers, or Minnesota Vikings.
This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Buccaneers and Eagles. The Eagles had won two of the previous three meetings.