1983 – 84 NFL playoffs The NFL playoffs following the 1983 NFL season led up to Super Bowl XVIII . Due to Christmas , the two wild card playoff games were played in a span of three days . " Note : As per the rules of the NFL playoffs prior to the 1990 season ( notwithstanding the strike - shortened 1982 season ) , the Los Angeles Raiders ( the AFC 1 seed ) did not play the Seattle Seahawks ( the 4 seed ) in the Divisional playoff round because both teams were in the same division . " Wild Card playoffs . December 24 , 1983 . AFC : Seattle Seahawks 31 , Denver Broncos 7 . The Seahawks won their first playoff game in team history with quarterback Dave Krieg ' s 200 passing yards and 3 touchdowns . They also got a big performance out of rookie running back Curt Warner , who rushed for 99 yards and caught 3 passes for 22 yards . Seattle scored first with Krieg ' s 17 - yard pass to wide receiver Steve Largent , but the Broncos responded before the end of the first quarter with Jesse Myles ' 13 - yard touchdown reception from Steve DeBerg . The Seahawks then controlled the rest of the game by scoring 24 unanswered points . Tight end Pete Metzelaars recorded a 5 - yard touchdown reception to end a 73 - yard drive in the third quarter . In the fourth period , wide receiver Paul Johns caught an 18 - yard touchdown and running back David Hughes , scored on a 2 - yard run . December 26 , 1983 . NFC : Los Angeles Rams 24 , Dallas Cowboys 17 . The Rams converted 3 turnovers in the second half into 17 points to upset the heavily favored Cowboys in Texas . Los Angeles scored first in the first quarter on quarterback Vince Ferragamo ' s 18 - yard touchdown pass to Drew Hill after an 85 - yard drive . The Cowboys then tied the game just before halftime after quarterback Danny White capped a 70 - yard drive with a 14 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tony Hill . Dallas then took the lead in the third period with Rafael Septien ' s 41 - yard field goal . But then the Rams took advantage of the Cowboys ' turnovers . Los Angeles ' Mike Wilcher recovered a muffed punt at the Dallas 16 - yard line , setting up wide receiver Preston Dennard ' s 16 - yard touchdown reception . Then linebacker Jim Collins ' interception set up Ferragamo ' s 8 yard pass to wide receiver George Farmer . Finally , defensive back LeRoy Irvin ' s 94 - yard interception return set up Mike Lansford ' s 20 - yard field goal . By the time White threw a 2 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Doug Cosbie , the game was out of reach . Divisional playoffs . December 31 , 1983 . AFC : Seattle Seahawks 27 , Miami Dolphins 20 . The Seahawks converted three turnovers in the second half into 13 points , while running back Curt Warner rushed for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns . Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter : A 19 - yard pass to tight end Dan Johnson and a 32 - yard pass to wide receiver Mark Duper . Seattle ' s only score in the first half was quarterback Dave Krieg ' s 6 - yard touchdown pass to running back Cullen Bryant . In the third quarter , a fumble led to Warner ' s 1 - yard touchdown . A fourth quarter interception from Marino then led to Norm Johnson ' s 27 - yard field goal to give Seattle a 17 - 13 lead . After the Dolphins regained the lead off of running back Woody Bennett ' s 3 - yard touchdown , Seattle responded with Warner ' s 2 - yard touchdown . On the ensuing kickoff , Miami returner Fulton Walker fumbled , setting up Norm Johnson ' s 37 - yard field goal . NFC : San Francisco 49ers 24 , Detroit Lions 23 . Lions kicker Eddie Murray made 3 field goals but missed the winning 43 - yard attempt with 5 seconds left in the game . Murray put the Lions in the lead first with a 37 - yard kick , but then Detroit quarterback Gary Danielson threw two interceptions that led to two touchdowns by the 49ers : a 1 - yard score from running back Roger Craig and a 2 - yarder from running back Wendell Tyler . Murray then scored two more field goals in the second quarter , a 21 - and a 54 - yarder , before San Francisco kicker Ray Wersching made a 19 - yard filed goal in the third period . In the fourth quarter , running back Billy Sims scored two touchdowns to give the Lions a 23 - 17 lead with five minutes left to play . But then 49ers quarterback Joe Montana completed 6 consecutive passes , including a 14 - yard touchdown pass to Freddie Solomon to retake the lead . Danielson then completed 4 passes to set up Murray ' s 43 - yard field goal attempt with 5 seconds remaining , but the kicker missed and San Francisco escaped with the win . January 1 , 1984 . NFC : Washington Redskins 51 , Los Angeles Rams 7 . The Redskins crushed the Rams by scoring on their first five possessions to build a 51 - 7 win , the largest margin of victory in any game in their team history . Washington drove 65 yards in eight plays on their opening possession , with Running back John Riggins rushing six times for 23 yards and scoring with a 3 - yard touchdown run . Five minutes later , quarterback Joe Theismann threw a 40 - yard touchdown to receiver Art Monk . An interception by Anthony Washington then set up kicker Mark Moseley ' s 42 - yard field goal with less than a minute left in the first quarter . Then early in the second period , Nick Giaquinto returned a punt 48 yards to set up a one - yard touchdown run by Riggins to give the Redskins a 24 - 0 lead with nearly 14 minutes left until halftime . Moseley ' s two field goals were the only scoring in the third quarter . Then in the fourth quarter , defensive back Darrell Green intercepted Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo ' s pass after it bounced off running back Eric Dickerson and returned it 72 yards for a touchdown . Riggins recorded 119 yards and three touchdowns . Theismann completed 18 out of 23 passes for 302 and two touchdowns with no interceptions . Washington receiver Charlie Brown caught 6 passes for 171 yards . Meanwhile , Ferragamo was limited to just 20 of 43 completions for 175 yards and a touchdown , with 3 interceptions . And Dickerson , who led the league in rushing during the regular season , was limited to only 16 yards on 10 carries , and 9 yards on 6 receptions . AFC : Los Angeles Raiders 38 , Pittsburgh Steelers 10 . The Raiders scored 3 touchdowns in the third quarter en route to a 38 - 10 win over the Steelers . In the first quarter , Pittsburgh advanced on a 78 - yard drive , but when faced with fourth down and inches near the goal line , they opted for kicker Gary Anderson ' s 17 - yard field goal . But the Raiders controlled the rest of the game , as Lester Hayes returned an interception 18 yards for a touchdown . A 4 - yard touchdown by running back Marcus Allen and a 45 - yard field goal gave the Raiders a 17 - 3 lead . The Raiders then scored three touchdowns in the third period , including Allen ' s 49 - yard run . Allen finished the game with 121 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on just 13 carries , while also catching 5 passes for 38 yards . The Steelers ' lone score in the second half was wide receiver John Stallworth ' s 58 - yard touchdown reception . Conference championships . January 8 , 1984 . NFC Championship : Washington Redskins 24 , San Francisco 49ers 21 . After the 49ers overcame a 21 - 0 deficit in the fourth quarter , two controversial penalties against San Francisco led to the Redskins ' kicker Mark Moseley overcoming an awful day and kicking the winning field goal . The first quarter was scoreless . The closest either team came was Washington ' s drive inside the 49ers 30 - yard line that ended when Joe Washington lost a fumble that was recovered by San Francisco lineman Lawrence Pillers . In the second quarter , Washington managed to fool the 49ers with a trick play when punt returner Nick Giaquinto threw the ball across the field to Darrell Green who took it all the way to the end zone , but Giaquinto inadvertently threw a forward pass rather than a lateral and the score was called back . The Redskins still managed to drive into 49ers territory , but ended up with no points when Moseley drove a 45 - yard field goal attempt wide right . After forcing a punt , Joe Theismann ' s 46 - yard completion to tight end Clint Didier moved the ball to the 49ers 18 - yard line , setting up a 4 - yard touchdown run by fullback John Riggins with 6 : 16 left in the half . Later in the quarter , the Redskins drove deep into San Francisco territory , featuring a first down run by Jeff Hayes on a fake punt , but once again Moseley sent a field goal wide right , this time from 35 yards , and the score remained 7 - 0 at the end of the half . San Francisco started the second half with a drive into Washington territory , aided by a controversial ruling in which running back Wendell Tyler dropped the ball just a second after catching it and then dove on it . Officials ruled the play a fumble and recovery for the 49ers rather than an incompletion . But kicker Ray Wersching later slipped on the muddy field while attempting a 50 - yard field goal and it fell well short . On Washington ' s next drive , they ran another trick play , this time a pass from Riggins , who threw a 36 - yard completion to Charlie Brown inside the 49ers 15 - yard line . But all that led to was Moseley ' s third missed field goal of the day , this one from 38 yards , that he once again sent wide right . Midway through the third quarter , San Francisco receiver Freddie Solomon lost a fumble while being tackled by Green that linebacker Rich Milot recovered on the 49ers 36 - yard line . A few plays later , a pass interference penalty on defensive back Ronnie Lott moved the ball to the 6 - yard line , and Riggins took it the final six yards to the end zone with two more runs , making the score 14 - 0 . Then on their next drive , Theismann completed a 70 - yard touchdown pass to Brown , giving Washington a 21 - 0 lead with just over a minute left until the final period . But with 14 : 37 left in the game , 49ers quarterback Joe Montana completed a 5 - yard touchdown pass to Mike Wilson . San Francisco subsequently forced a punt , but returner Dana McLemore fumbled the ball and Washington ' s Mark Murphy recovered it . Still , the Redskins were unable to capitalize , failing to get a first down and once again coming up empty when Moseley missed his fourth field goal of the day , a 41 yarder . On the next play , Solomon scored a 76 - yard touchdown reception from Montana . Later with 7 : 08 remaining , Wilson tied the game , 21 - 21 with a 12 - yard touchdown reception . The Redskins then marched on a 13 - play , 78 - yard drive that took 6 : 12 off the clock and set up Moseley ' s 25 - yard field goal with 40 seconds left in the game . This possession was aided by two controversial penalties : The 49ers got the ball back one last time , but Montana was intercepted by Vernon Dean on the final play of the game , sealing Washington ' s victory . Brown finished the game with 5 receptions for 137 yards and a touchdown , while Riggins rushed for 123 yards and 2 scores . In addition , his 36 - yard completion to Brown was the only completion he would ever throw during his 14 - season career . This was the only postseason meeting between Hall of Fame coaches Bill Walsh and Joe Gibbs , two of the most successful coaches of the 1980s . The game was featured as part of the " NFL ' s Greatest Games " , known as The Forgotten Classic . AFC Championship : Los Angeles Raiders 30 , Seattle Seahawks 14 . Seattle had defeated Los Angeles twice during the regular season , but this game had a very different outcome . The Raiders jumped to a 20 - 0 halftime lead en route to a 30 - 14 victory . The Seahawks were held to 65 rushing yards while Raiders Running back Marcus Allen ran for 154 yards , caught 7 passes for 62 yards , and scored 2 touchdowns . Lester Hayes ' interception on Seattle ' s first drive of the game set up a 20 - yard field goal . In the second quarter , Raiders running back Frank Hawkins then scored two touchdowns . In the second half , Seahawks starting quarterback Dave Krieg was benched and replaced by Jim Zorn . Zorn threw two touchdown passes , but it was not enough as Allen ' s 3 - yard touchdown reception and another Raiders field goal put the game away . Seahawks running back Curt Warner , the AFC ' s leading rusher during the regular season , was held to just 26 yards on 11 carries .