NFL playoffs , 1979 - 80 The NFL playoffs following the 1979 NFL season led up to Super Bowl XIV . " Note : As per the rules of the NFL playoffs prior to the 1990 season ( notwithstanding the strike - shortened 1982 season ) , the Dallas Cowboys ( the NFC 1 seed ) did not play the Philadelphia Eagles ( the 4 seed ) in the Divisional playoff round because both teams were in the same division . " Wild Card playoffs . December 23 , 1979 . AFC : Houston Oilers 13 , Denver Broncos 7 . The Oilers managed to shut down the Broncos offense for most of the game en route to a 13 - 7 win . After Toni Fritsch kicked a 31 - yard field goal on Houston ' s first drive , Denver marched 80 yards in 13 plays to score on quarterback Craig Morton ' s 7 - yard touchdown pass to running back Dave Preston . From that point on , the Oilers controlled the rest of the game . With less than 3 minutes left in the first half , Houston advanced 74 yards to score on running back Earl Campbell ' s 3 - yard touchdown run . Although Campbell and starting quarterback Dan Pastorini were both knocked out the game during the second half with injuries , the Oilers defense continued to dominate . In the fourth quarter , an interception by linebacker Gregg Bingham set up Fritsch ' s 20 - yard field goal to close out the scoring . NFC : Philadelphia Eagles 27 , Chicago Bears 17 . Eagles Quarterback Ron Jaworski threw for 204 yards and 3 touchdown passes as Philadelphia overcame a 17 - 10 Bears halftime lead . The Eagles scored first when Jaworski threw a 17 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Harold Carmichael . Chicago responded with an 82 - yard drive to score on running back Walter Payton ' s 2 - yard rushing touchdown . Then after Philadelphia added a field goal , Payton scored again on a 1 - yard touchdown to give the Bears a 17 - 10 lead . In the third quarter , Carmichael ' s 29 - yard touchdown reception tied the game . Then on their next drive , Chicago advanced deep into Philadelphia territory only to see Bobby Howard intercept a pass in the end zone . A few plays later , Jaworski threw a 63 - yard touchdown to running back Billy Campfield to take the lead for good . Carmichael finished the game with 6 receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns . Divisional playoffs . December 29 , 1979 . AFC : Houston Oilers 17 , San Diego Chargers 14 . The Oilers offense , playing without starting quarterback Dan Pastorini , receiver Ken Burrough , and running back Earl Campbell , could only generate 259 yard compared to San Diego ' s 385 . But they still won the game , largely due to the effort of rookie safety Vernon Perry , who set a playoff record with 4 interceptions as the Oilers defeated the Chargers , 17 - 14 . In his first career playoff game , Chargers future hall of fame quarterback Dan Fouts threw for 333 yards , but was intercepted 5 times . The Chargers high powered offense scored on their first possession of the game and of the second half but turnovers prevented further scoring . San Diego scored first on running back Clarence Williams ' 1 - yard rushing touchdown , but on the Chargers ' next drive , Perry intercepted a pass at the Houston 18 - yard line . In the second quarter , Perry blocked a field goal attempt and returned the ball 57 yards to the San Diego 28 - yard line , setting up Toni Fritsch ' s 26 - yard field goal . Perry recorded another interception on the Chargers 38 - yard line on the ensuing possession , and Boobie Clark ran for a 1 - yard touchdown to give the Oilers a 10 - 7 lead . In the third period , San Diego regained the lead with running back Lydell Mitchell ' s 8 - yard touchdown run . However , Houston defensive back J . C . Wilson ' s interception later set up Mike Renfro ' s 47 - yard touchdown reception to take the lead for good . Perry recorded two more interceptions as the Oilers defense shut down the Chargers offense for the rest of the game . After the game , it was revealed that the Oilers coaching staff was able to figure out the Chargers ' coaches ' signs as they signaled the play call from the sideline ; this was one reason their defensive backs seemed to always be in the right place at the right time . " We pretty much knew ahead of time when they were going to pass , and where they were going to pass it . " said Oilers defensive coordinator Ed Biles . NFC : Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24 , Philadelphia Eagles 17 . The Buccaneers won their first playoff game in team history by holding the Eagles to 48 rushing yards , while running back Ricky Bell recorded 142 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns . Tampa Bay marched on an 18 - play , 80 - yard opening drive that took 9 : 34 off the clock to score on Bell ' s 4 - yard touchdown run . Then after the Buccaneers added a field goal , defensive lineman Randy Crowder recovered a fumble which led to Bell ' s 1 - yard touchdown to give Tampa Bay a 17 - 0 advantage . The Eagles scored just before halftime with quarterback Ron Jaworski ' s 11 - yard touchdown pass to Charlie Smith , then they added a field goal in the third quarter to make the score 17 - 10 . However , quarterback Doug Williams threw a 9 - yard touchdown to Jimmie Giles to increase Tampa Bay ' s lead , 24 - 10 . Although Philadelphia scored a late touchdown , they could not overcome the deficit before time expired . December 30 , 1979 . AFC : Pittsburgh Steelers 34 , Miami Dolphins 14 . The Steelers scored 20 points in the first quarter and held the Dolphins to 25 rushing yards . Miami future hall of fame running back Larry Csonka was held to just 20 rushing yards on 10 carries in the final game of his career , while Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw for 230 yards and 2 touchdowns . On the opening drive of the game , Pittsburgh marched 62 yards to score on running back Sidney Thornton ' s 1 - yard touchdown run . On their second possession , the Steelers advanced 62 yards again to score on wide receiver John Stallworth ' s 17 - yard touchdown reception ( although the extra point was blocked ) . And on their third drive , wide receiver Lynn Swann made a 20 - yard touchdown reception . Miami finally scored in the third quarter after a muffed punt led to quarterback Bob Griese ' s 7 - yard touchdown pass to Duriel Harris . However , the Steelers responded by advancing 69 yards to score on running back Rocky Bleier ' s 1 - yard touchdown . Running back Franco Harris ' 5 - yard touchdown in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach . NFC : Los Angeles Rams 21 , Dallas Cowboys 19 . Nobody gave the aging Rams much of a chance in this game , especially considering that the Cowboys had soundly defeated a injured L . A . Rams team during the regular season , 30 - 6 , and had shut them out in last season ' s NFC title game , 28 - 0 . Quarterback Vince Ferragamo led the Rams to a victory by throwing for 3 touchdown passes , the last one with 2 : 06 left in the game . The Cowboys scored first when defensive tackle Randy White sacked Ferragamo in the end zone for a safety . However , Ferragamo responded by throwing a 32 - yard touchdown pass to running back Wendell Tyler . Dallas kicker Rafael Septien kicked a 33 - yard field goal with 52 seconds left in the first half , but Ferragamo completed a 43 - yard touchdown pass to Ron Smith before time expired to make it a 14 - 5 halftime lead . The Cowboys , led by quarterback Roger Staubach in what proved to be his last NFL game of his hall of fame career , then scored 2 unanswered touchdowns in the second half to take the lead , 19 - 14 . With about 2 minutes left in the game and the Rams at midfield , Ferragamo found wide receiver Billy Waddy on a short crossing route and Waddy sprinted the rest of the way for a game winning 50 - yard touchdown . Staubach was unable to engineer a late fourth quarter comeback like the ones that made him famous throughout his career . The Rams defense forced a sack , and then pressured the Dallas quarterback to throw a pass illegally to an ineligible receiver , guard Herbert Scott , on fourth down ; the last pass of his career . Conference championships . January 6 , 1980 . AFC Championship : Pittsburgh Steelers 27 , Houston Oilers 13 . The Steelers held the Oilers to only 24 rushing yards , but was also aided by a controversial non - touchdown call to come away with a 27 - 13 win . Houston jumped to a 7 - 0 lead with just 2 : 30 into the game when Vernon Perry returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown . Then after the teams exchanged field goals , Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw completed two touchdown passes , a 16 - yarder to tight end Bennie Cunningham and a 20 - yard one to wide receiver John Stallworth . With the Steelers leading 17 - 10 , the controversial play occurred during the last seconds of the third quarter after the Oilers advanced to the Pittsburgh 6 - yard line . Quarterback Dan Pastorini threw a pass to Mike Renfro at the back of the end zone , and Renfro appeared to have caught it for a touchdown with both feet in bounds before he fell out of the end zone . TV replays conclusively confirmed a catch for a touchdown ; however , the officials ruled the pass incomplete , saying that he did not have complete control of the ball before going out of bounds . The Houston Oilers then had to settle for a 23 - yard field goal . The Steelers would then score 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory . A 78 - yard drive ended with a field goal and running back Rocky Bleier scored on a 4 - yard rushing touchdown . Steelers running back Franco Harris rushed for 85 yards and caught 6 passes for 50 yards . Houston running back Earl Campbell , the NFL ' s leading rusher during the season , finished the game with just 15 yards on 17 carries . NFC Championship : Los Angeles Rams 9 , Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0 . In a defensive battle in which the Rams squandered numerous scoring opportunities , Rams kicker Frank Corral kicked 3 field goals to win the game . Los Angeles was able to record 369 yards of total offense , while running backs Cullen Bryant and Wendell Tyler rushed for 106 and 86 yards , respectively . Meanwhile , the Buccaneers only had 177 total offensive yards , including 92 rushing yards and 85 passing yards . Most of Tampa Bay ' s passing yards came from a 42 - yard halfback option pass from Jerry Eckwood to wide receiver Larry Mucker in the fourth quarter . During the game , two touchdowns were nullified by penalties , one by each team : A four yard run by Bryant and a 27 - yard reception by Buccaneers ' tight end Jimmie Giles .