1987 – 88 NFL playoffs The NFL playoffs following the 1987 NFL season led up to Super Bowl XXII . Wild Card playoffs . January 3 , 1988 . NFC : Minnesota Vikings 44 , New Orleans Saints 10 . In the Saints ' first playoff game in history , the Vikings dominated the game by recording 2 sacks , forcing 4 turnovers , and allowing only 149 yards . New Orleans scored first after Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer ' s fumble on a bad snap led to Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert ' s 10 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Eric Martin . Kramer then had to leave the game midway through the first quarter after reaggravating a pinched nerve in his neck that bothered him throughout the entire season . However , Minnesota took control of the contest from that point on . Backup quarterback Wade Wilson threw two touchdown passes , running back D . J . Dozier rushed for an 18 - yard touchdown , and kicker Chuck Nelson made 3 field goals . Wide receiver Anthony Carter recorded an NFL playoff record 84 - yard punt return for a touchdown , and finished the game with a postseason record 143 total punt return yards . Carter also scored a touchdown on a 10 - yard halfback option pass from Allen Rice . New Orleans ' only other score in the game was a 40 - yard field goal by Morten Andersen . Wilson finished the game with 11 of 20 completions for 189 yards and 2 touchdown . AFC : Houston Oilers 23 , Seattle Seahawks 20 ( OT ) . Oilers kicker Tony Zendejas won the game with a 42 - yard field goal 8 : 05 into overtime . Although Houston outgained Seattle with 427 total offensive yards to 250 , the game remained close until the very end . The Seahawks scored first on wide receiver Steve Largent ' s 20 - yard touchdown reception from quarterback Dave Krieg . The Oilers then scored 13 unanswered points with two field goals by Zendejas and running back Mike Rozier ' s 1 - yard rushing touchdown . However , Seattle tied the game in the third quarter after kicker Norm Johnson made his second field goal of the game . Later in the third period , Houston quarterback Warren Moon threw a 29 - yard touchdown pass to Willie Drewrey to give his team a 20 - 13 lead . With only 1 : 47 left in regulation , Krieg threw his second touchdown pass to Largent , a 12 - yarder , to tie the game . Largent finished the game with 7 receptions for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns . Divisional playoffs . January 9 , 1988 . AFC : Cleveland Browns 38 , Indianapolis Colts 21 . Browns defensive back Felix Wright ' s interception deep inside his own territory sparked his team to score 17 unanswered points . Cleveland started off the game with an impressive 15 - play , 86 - yard drive , converting five third downs on the way to Bernie Kosar ' s 15 - yard touchdown pass to Earnest Byner . The Colts stormed right back , as quarterback Jack Trudeau threw completions for gains of 18 and 21 yards before finishing the drive with a 2 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Pat Beach . Cleveland responded by driving from their own 35 to the Indianapolis 2 - yard line , but on third down and goal , Colts safety Freddie Robinson intercepted Kosar ' s pass in the end zone . After an exchange of punts , the Browns took a 14 - 7 lead on Kosar ' s 39 - yard scoring strike to Reggie Langhorne with 1 : 51 left in the second quarter . Once again , the Colts responded with a touchdown drive of their own , moving the ball 59 yards in seven plays and tying the score on Trudeau ' s 19 - yard touchdown pass to Eric Dickerson with 40 second left in the half Indianapolis took the second half kickoff and stormed down the field , overcoming some blown plays along the way . During the drive , Trudeau was sacked for an 11 - yard loss on second down and 11 , but a defensive holding penalty negated the play and gave the Colts a first down . Later on , Dickerson fumbled the ball , but Trudeau picked it up and threw a 15 - yard first down completion to Bill Brooks . Eventually , Indianapolis reached the Browns 20 - yard line , but blitzing linebacker Eddie Johnson hit Trudeau as he threw a pass , causing the ball to go straight up in the air where it was intercepted by Wright at the 14 . After the interception , Kosar completed 5 of 7 passes for 65 yards while Byner rushed six times for 20 and capped off the drive with a 2 - yard touchdown run , putting the Browns back in the lead , 21 - 14 . Then after forcing a punt , Matt Bahr ' s 22 - yard field goal gave the Browns a 10 - point lead with just over 11 minutes left in the game . Following another punt , Byner fumbled the ball on a 25 - yard run , but running back Herman Fontenot recovered the ball at the Colts 6 - yard line , turning the play into a 41 - yard gain . Three plays later , Kosar ' s 2 - yard touchdown pass to receiver Brian Brennan made the score 31 - 14 with 3 : 44 left . However , the Colts were not quite out of the game . With 1 : 07 remaining in regulation , Albert Bentley ' s 1 - yard touchdown run cut the score to 31 - 21 . Then Indianapolis recovered an onside kick on their own 41 - yard line . But on the first play after that , Browns defensive end Al Baker sacked Trudeau for a 9 - yard loss , knocking him out of the game . One play later , backup quarterback Sean Salisbury ' s pass was intercepted by Frank Minnifield , who returned the ball 48 yards for a touchdown to put the game away . Byner finished the game with 122 rushing yards , 4 receptions for 36 yards , and 2 touchdowns . Kosar completed 20 of 31 passes for 229 yards and 3 touchdowns , with 1 interception . NFC : Minnesota Vikings 36 , San Francisco 49ers 24 . Aided by wide receiver Anthony Carter ' s 10 receptions for an NFL playoff record 227 receiving yards , the Vikings upset the top seeded 49ers , who had earned the league ' s best record during the regular season at 13 - 2 . After the teams traded field goals in the first quarter , quarterback Wade Wilson completed a 7 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Carl Hilton . Minnesota then jumped to a 20 - 3 lead before halftime with Chuck Nelson ' s 23 - yard field goal and defensive back Najee Mustafaa a . k . a . Reggie Rutland ' s 45 - yard interception return for a touchdown . In the third period , San Francisco defensive back Jeff Fuller returned an interception 48 yard for a touchdown , but it was countered with Wilson ' s 5 - yard touchdown pass to Hassan Jones . 49ers backup quarterback Steve Young , who replaced starter Joe Montana midway through the game , scored a rushing touchdown and threw another . But it was not enough as Nelson made 3 more field goals in the second half to put the game out of reach . Until 2008 , this was the last time the # 1 seed in the NFC did not advance to the NFC Championship game . January 10 , 1988 . NFC : Washington Redskins 21 , Chicago Bears 17 . The Redskins overcame a 14 - 0 Bears lead by scoring three touchdowns . Chicago ' s first score was running back Calvin Thomas ' 2 - yard rushing touchdown . Bears quarterback Jim McMahon then threw a 14 - yard touchdown pass to Ron Morris . However , Washington tied the game before halftime with George Rogers ' s 3 - yard touchdown run and quarterback Doug Williams ' 18 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Clint Didier . In the third quarter , Redskins cornerback Darrell Green scored on a 52 - yard punt return for a touchdown , a play made even more memorable when Green injured his ribs hurdling over a Chicago defender en route to the end zone . Chicago responded with kicker Kevin Butler ' s 25 - yard field goal , but were shut down for the rest of the game . This was the final game in the Hall - of - Fame career of Bears running back Walter Payton , who rushed for 85 yards and caught 3 passes for 20 yards . AFC : Denver Broncos 34 , Houston Oilers 10 . The Broncos jumped to a 14 - 0 early lead by converting two turnovers into two touchdowns . Denver defensive back Steve Wilson recovered a lateral pass by Oilers quarterback Warren Moon at the Houston 1 - yard line , setting up Gene Lang ' s 1 - yard rushing touchdown . Then on the Oilers next drive , linebacker Karl Mecklenburg intercepted a pass , and Broncos quarterback John Elway completed a 27 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Clarence Kay . Both teams exchanged field goals in the second period before Elway threw a 1 - yard touchdown to Kay . In the fourth quarter , Moon completed a 19 - yard touchdown to wide receiver Ernest Givins , but it was countered with Elway ' s 3 - yard touchdown run . Broncos receiver Vance Johnson caught 4 passes for 105 yards , but was injured in the game and had to miss the rest of the postseason . Conference championships . January 17 , 1988 . NFC Championship : Washington Redskins 17 , Minnesota Vikings 10 . In a defensive battle , the Redskins played a little better by limiting the Vikings to only 76 rushing yards and forcing 8 sacks . Washington scored first on a 98 - yard drive that was capped by running back Kelvin Bryant ' s 42 - yard touchdown reception from quarterback Doug Williams . However , Minnesota tied the game before halftime with quarterback Wade Wilson ' s 23 - yard touchdown pass to Leo Lewis . In the third quarter , Redskins linebacker Mel Kaufman returned an interception 10 yards to the Minnesota 17 - yard line to set up kicker Ali Haji - Sheikh ' s 28 - yard field goal . In the final period , Vikings kicker Chuck Nelson made an 18 - yard field goal to tie the game , 10 - 10 . The Redskins then marched 70 yards to score on Williams ' 7 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Gary Clark to take the lead , 17 - 10 , with 5 : 06 remaining in the game . Minnesota then advanced to the Washington 6 - yard line , but Wilson ' s fourth down pass , intended for running back Darrin Nelson was dropped . With 52 seconds remaining , the Redskins ran out the clock . AFC Championship : Denver Broncos 38 , Cleveland Browns 33 . This game is best remembered for The Fumble when Browns running back Earnest Byner fumbled at the Broncos ' 3 - yard line with 65 seconds remaining . Also , these two teams were scheduled to meet during the regular season , however , the game happened to be scheduled during the week of games that was canceled ( they were to meet on " Monday Night Football " ) . Several early Cleveland miscues helped the Broncos jump to an early 14 - 0 lead . First , Cleveland kick returner Gerald McNeil was tackled by Tony Boddie on his own 12 - yard line . Then after a sack by Denver lineman Simon Fletcher , Bernie Kosar threw a pass that went through the arms of Webster Slaughter and into the hands of linebacker Freddie Gilbert on the Browns 17 , setting up John Elway ' s 8 - yard touchdown pass to Ricky Nattiel . On Cleveland ' s next drive , FB Kevin Mack lost a fumble while being tackled by Tony Lilly . One play later , Gene Lang ' s 42 - yard run ( easily surpassing the team ' s longest run of the season ; 29 yards ) gave Denver a first and goal situation . Elway eventually threw an incomplete pass on third and goal from the Browns 3 - yard line , but a defensive holding penalty on Frank Minnifield gave Denver a first down at the 1 , and running back Steve Sewell scored a touchdown on the next play . After the ensuing kickoff , Kosar completed a 25 - yard pass to tight end Ozzie Newsome and a 19 - yarder to Clarance Weathers on 3rd down and 17 on the way to a 29 - yard field goal by Matt Bahr two minutes into the second quarter . But Denver stormed right back on an 80 - yard drive that ended with a 1 - yard touchodown run by Lang , making the score 21 - 3 . A sack by Denver ' s Rulon Jones helped force the Browns to a three and out . This time all the Broncos could manage was a missed field goal by Rich Karlis . But once again Cleveland could not move the ball and turned it over with a fumble from receiver Brian Brennan that was recovered by cornerback Randy Robbins . This time the Browns defense stepped up , sacking Elway twice and forcing Denver ' s first punt of the game . After that , Kosar ' s 24 - yard comepletion to Slaughter set up a 45 - yard field goal attempt by Bahr , but he sent it wide right as time expired in the half . Four plays into the second half , Browns defensive back Felix Wright intercepted a pass from Elway , setting up Kosar ' s 18 - yard touchdown pass to Reggie Langhorne . But less than a minute and a half later , Elway threw a short pass to receiver Mark Jackson , who broke a tackle from Mark Harper and evaded a tackle attempt from Wright on the way to an 80 - yard touchdown reception ( the longest play in Denver postseason history ) , giving the Broncos a 28 - 10 lead . Cleveland responded with two consecutive touchdowns . First Kosar threw a 32 - yard touchdown pass to Byner . Then Broncos returner Ken Bell muffed the kickoff and was downed inside his own 10 - yard line . Following a three and out , McNeil returned their punt to the Broncos 42 . Kosar then completed four consecutive passes en route to a 4 - yard touchdown run by Byner , making the score 28 - 24 with less than four minutes left in the third quarter . Denver struck back with a 38 - yard field goal from Karlis to give them a seven point lead going into the final period . In the fourth quarter , the Browns drove 87 yards and tied the score with Kosar ' s 4 - yard touchdown pass to Webster Slaughter , but it was countered by Elway ' s 20 - yard touchdown pass to running back Sammy Winder with 4 minutes left in the game . After the ensuing kickoff , the Browns got the ball on their own 25 - yard line . Byner started out the drive with a 16 - yard burst and a 2 - yard run , and then Kosar completed two passes to Brennan for 33 total yards . Following an encroachment flag on defensive lineman Andre Townsend and 6 - yard run by Byner , an offsides penalty on Denver linebacker Karl Mecklenburg moved the ball to the Broncos 8 - yard line with 1 : 12 remaining in regulation . The Browns had moved 67 yards in just six plays covering 2 : 41 . On the next play , Byner took a handoff and appeared to be on his way to score the game - tying touchdown . But he was stripped of the ball by Broncos defensive back Jeremiah Castille , and fumble d at the 3 - yard line . The Broncos recovered the fumble ( Castille made the recovery ) , gave the Browns an intentional safety , and went on to win 38 - 33 . Byner ' s fumble ruined an otherwise superb performance , as he finished the game with 67 rushing yards , 7 receptions for 120 yards , and 2 touchdowns . Elway finished the game with 14 of 26 completions for 281 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception , and also rushed for 36 yards . His top target was receiver Mark Jackson , who caught 4 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown . Nattiel added 5 receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown . This game was later featured on NFL ' s Greatest Games