1984 – 85 NFL playoffs The NFL playoffs following the 1984 NFL season led up to Super Bowl XIX . The two wild card games were held on different days because both venues were in the Pacific Standard Time Zone . The NFL did not schedule prime time playoff games on the east coast until 2002 . Normally , playoff games started at either 12 : 30 p . m . Eastern Standard Time / 9 : 30 a . m . Pacific Standard Time or 4 p . m . EST / 1 p . m . PST . A 9 : 30 a . m . PST game was considered too early to be played on the west coast . Wild Card playoffs . December 22 , 1984 . AFC : Seattle Seahawks 13 , Los Angeles Raiders 7 . The Seahawks ran for 205 rushing yards while Seattle ' s defense forced 2 interceptions and 6 sacks . Although Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg only completed 4 passes in 10 attempts , he threw a 26 - yard touchdown to Daryl Turner . Meanwhile , running back Dan Doornink recorded 29 carries for 126 rushing yards , and kicker Norm Johnson made two field goals . Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett threw a 46 - yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter , but his team could not overcome his 2 interceptions or Seattle ' s ball control offense . December 23 , 1984 . NFC : New York Giants 16 , Los Angeles Rams 13 . In a defensive struggle , the Giants ended up scoring one more field goal than the Rams . Giants kicker Ali Haji - Sheikh made 3 field goals while the Rams ' Mike Lansford made 2 . In the first quarter , New York defensive back Bill Currier recovered a fumble at Los Angeles 23 - yard line , setting up running back Rob Carpenter ' s touchdown run . Running back Eric Dickerson recorded a 14 - yard touchdown run in the third quarter . Divisional playoffs . December 29 , 1984 . AFC : Miami Dolphins 31 , Seattle Seahawks 10 . The Dolphins ran off 70 plays , gained 405 yards of total offense , and scored 17 unanswered points in the second half . Miami scored first with Tony Nathan ' s 14 - yard touchdown run , but the Seahawks responded with a field goal . In the second quarter , Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino threw a 34 - yard pass to wide receiver Jimmy Cefalo , but Seattle wide receiver Steve Largent recorded a 56 - yard touchdown reception , and Miami only lead 14 - 10 before halftime . However , the Dolphins dominated the Seahawks in the second half . Marino threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter : a 3 - yard pass to tight end Bruce Hardy , and a 33 - yarder to wide receiver Mark Clayton after the Dolphins recovered a fumble . NFC : San Francisco 49ers 21 , New York Giants 10 . Quarterback Joe Montana threw for 309 yards and 3 touchdown passes as he led the 49ers to a victory , while receiver Dwight Clark caught 9 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown . The 49ers defense also played exceptionally well , holding the Giants offense to a single field goal even though Montana was intercepted 3 times . On San Francisco ' s first drive of the game , Montana completed a 21 - yard touchdown pass to Clark . Then defensive back Ronnie Lott intercepted a pass to set up Montana ' s 9 - yard pass to Russ Francis . In the second quarter , New York kicker Ali Haji - Sheikh ' s 46 - yard field goal and linebacker Harry Carson ' s 14 - yard interception return for a touchdown cut the score , 14 - 10 . But Montana responded with a 29 - yard touchdown to Freddie Solomon . Both defenses then controlled the rest of the game , allowing no points in the second half . December 30 , 1984 . NFC : Chicago Bears 23 , Washington Redskins 19 . The Bears upset the two - time NFC champion Redskins with clutch plays and a stout defense that forced 3 turnovers and 7 sacks . Chicago ' s victory was Washington ' s first - ever playoff defeat at RFK Stadium . With the scored tied 3 - 3 in the second quarter , the Bears executed a halfback option play at the Redskins ' 19 - yard line , with running back Walter Payton throwing a 19 - yard touchdown to Pat Dunsmore . Then on the second play in the third period , Bears wide receiver Willie Gault caught a short pass from quarterback Steve Fuller , evaded Redskins defensive back Darrell Green who was too aggressive in trying to make an interception , and turned upfield for a 75 - yard touchdown . Redskins running back John Riggins capped off a 74 - yard drive with a 1 - yard touchdown run then cut the lead , 16 - 10 . But a roughing the passer penalty call against Ken Coffey set up Dennis McKinnon ' s 16 - yard reception to cap a Chicago 77 - yard scoring drive to push their lead back to 13 at 23 - 10 . Washington attempted a comeback late in the third quarter . Rich Milot recovered a Fuller fumble at the Chicago 36 - yard line , setting up a one - yard touchdown run by Riggins to cut the Bears lead to six . Then after being backing up deep in their own territory on fourth down with eight minutes left in the game , Chicago punter Dave Finzer stepped out of the end zone and give the Redskins an intentional safety to make it 23 - 19 . Washington then advanced to the Bears 24 - yard line , but quarterback Joe Theismann threw three straight incompletions and Mark Moseley missed a 41 - yard field goal attempt . Two other Washington possessions went nowhere and Chicago moved on to the NFC championship game . Payton finished the game with a career postseason high 104 rushing yards , and caught one pass for 12 . AFC : Pittsburgh Steelers 24 , Denver Broncos 17 . The Broncos scored first after linebacker Tom Jackson ' s fumble recovery set up quarterback John Elway ' s 9 - yard touchdown pass to Jim Wright . But Pittsburgh then scored 10 unanswered points in the second quarter , including running back Frank Pollard ' s 1 - yard touchdown . Denver tied the game in the third period with a 21 - yard field goal . Then Elway completed a 20 - yard touchdown pass to Steve Watson to take the lead . But the Steelers tied the game with a quarterback Mark Malone ' s 10 - yard touchdown to Louis Lipps . With 3 minutes left in the game , Steelers safety Eric Williams returned an interception to the Broncos ' 2 - yard line to set up Pollard ' s winning touchdown . Malone finished the game with 227 passing yards and a touchdown . This was Elway ' s first playoff game as a starter ; because of the Broncos ' elimination , he was denied the opportunity to play in the only Super Bowl to be held at his college home field , Stanford Stadium . Conference championships . January 6 , 1985 . AFC Championship : Miami Dolphins 45 , Pittsburgh Steelers 28 . In a shootout , quarterback Dan Marino led the Dolphins to a victory by throwing for 421 yards and 4 touchdowns with 1 interception . Steelers quarterback Mark Malone recorded 312 yards and 3 touchdowns , but was intercepted 3 times . Miami scored first on Marino ' s 40 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mark Clayton , but Pittsburgh countered with running back Rich Erenberg 7 - yard rushing touchdown . Then after Dolphins kicker Uwe von Schamann made a 26 - yard field goal , the Steelers took the lead , 14 - 10 , with wide receiver John Stallworth ' s 65 - yard touchdown reception . Marino threw a 41 - yard touchdown to wide receiver Mark Duper , and an interception then set up a 2 - yard touchdown run by Tony Nathan to give Miami a 24 - 14 lead before halftime . On the opening drive of the second half , Marino completed a 36 - yard touchdown to Duper . Then after Stallworth caught a 19 - yard touchdown , the Dolphins scored two more touchdowns , including Marino ' s fourth score , to clinch the victory . Malone threw a 29 - yard touchdown pass in the final period to close out the scoring . Duper finished the game with 5 receptions for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns . Clayton caught 4 passes for 95 yards and a score . Nathan rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown , while also catching 8 passes for 114 yards . Stallworth caught 4 passes for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns in the final postseason game of his Hall of Fame career . NFC Championship : San Francisco 49ers 23 , Chicago Bears 0 . The 49ers passed for 228 yards while limiting the Bears to only 37 passing yards and no points . San Francisco kicker Ray Wersching made 3 field goals , running back Wendell Tyler scored on a 9 - yard touchdown on the 49ers first possession of the third quarter , and quarterback Joe Montana threw a 10 - yard score to Freddie Solomon early in the fourth quarter . Chicago quarterback Steve Fuller threw one interception and was sacked 9 times . Bears safety Gary Fencik intercepted Montana twice in the first half , but Chicago could not convert those turnovers into points .