NFL playoffs , 1993 - 94 The NFL playoffs following the 1993 NFL season led up to Super Bowl XXVIII . Since the 1993 regular season was conducted over 18 weeks ( two byes per team ) , the traditional bye week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl was removed . Wild Card playoffs . January 8 , 1994 . AFC : Kansas City Chiefs 27 , Pittsburgh Steelers 24 ( OT ) . Chiefs kicker Nick Lowery made the winning 32 - yard field goal after 11 : 03 of overtime . The Steelers scored first on tight end Adrian Cooper ' s 10 - yard touchdown reception from quarterback Neil O ' Donnell . Kansas City then tied the game after backup quarterback Dave Krieg , who temporarily replaced injured starter Joe Montana , threw a 23 - yard touchdown to wide receiver J . J . Birden . However , Pittsburgh scored 10 unanswered points in the second quarter : kicker Gary Anderson ' s 30 - yard field goal and O ' Donnell ' s 26 - yard touchdown completion to wide receiver Ernie Mills . After Lowery made a 23 - yard field goal in the third quarter , the Chiefs eventually tied the game in the fourth period with running back Marcus Allen ' s 2 - yard touchdown . However , the Steelers marched 74 - yards to take the lead on O ' Donnell ' s third touchdown pass of the game , a 22 - yard score to tight end Eric Green . In the final minutes of regulation , Keith Cash blocked a Pittsburgh punt and Fred Jones returned it to the Steelers 9 - yard line . On fourth down , wide receiver Tim Barnett scored on a 7 - yard touchdown reception from Montana to tie the game . Then after forcing Pittsburgh to punt , Kansas City drove 47 yards to set up Lowery ' s 43 - yard field - goal attempt in the closing seconds , but the kick was wide right and thus the game went into overtime . Montana finished the game with 276 passing yards and a touchdown , with no interceptions . NFC : Green Bay Packers 28 , Detroit Lions 24 . In week 17 , the Lions defeated Green Bay 30 - 20 , intercepting four passes from quarterback Brett Favre and winning despite playing without their best offensive star , running back Barry Sanders . The win gave them homefield advantage for this game . But even though Sanders recovered from his injury in time for the playoffs , this time the Packers won by overcoming a 17 - 7 third quarter deficit and pulling ahead on Favre ' s 40 - yard game - winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Sterling Sharpe with 55 seconds left . Detroit held the ball for over 10 minutes in the first quarter , but could only score 3 points . Early in the game , a 25 - yard run by Sanders with an additional 15 yards added on by a facemask penalty on LeRoy Butler sparked a drive deep into Green Bay terrority , but it ended with no points when Packers defensive back Terrell Buckley intercepted a pass from Erik Kramer in the end zone . After forcing a punt , the Lions drove back , mostly on receptions by Brett Perriman , and scored on Jason Hanson ' s 47 - yard field goal on the last play of the first quarter . Green Bay responded to the field goal with Favre ' s 12 - yard touchdow pass to Sharpe . Then Green Bay caught a break when their kickoff hit the ground near the sideline , bounced into returner Mel Gray and then bounced out of bounds at the Lions 5 - yard line . But it didn ' t stop Detroit as they still drove 95 yards , featuring a 44 - yard run by Sanders and a 13 - yard 3rd down conversion reception by Perriman after the ball bounced off Sanders ' hands , and scored on Perriman ' s one handed 1 - yard touchdown reception to take a 10 - 7 lead at the end of the half . Midway through the third period , Jim Arnold ' s punt pinned Green Bay at their own 5 - yard line . Two plays later , Detroit defensive back Melvin Jenkins intercepted a pass from Favre and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown to extend the Lions ' lead , 17 - 7 . But the Packers countered with a 28 - yard touchdown pass from Favre to Sharpe . Then with Detroit deep inside Green Bay territory , Packers safety George Teague intercepted Kramer ' s pass in the end zone and returned it a playoff record 101 yards to give the Packers a 21 - 17 lead . But on their very next drive Lions would regain the lead on running back Derrick Moore ' s 5 - yard touchdown with 8 : 27 left in the fourth quarter . Corey Harris ' 45 - yard kickoff return gave the Packers good field position , but they were unable to take advantage and had to punt after demoralizing third down play in which Favre overthrew wide open receiver Mark Clayton near the end zone . After forcing a punt , Robert Brooks ' 21 - yard return gave Green Bay the ball on their own 29 - yard line with 2 : 24 left in regulation . Favre started off the drive with an 11 - yard completion to Edgar Bennett . His next pass to tight end Ed West moved the ball to midfield , and he followed it up with a completion to Sharpe on the Lions 40 - yard line . On the next play , he took the snap and ran left . Defensive back Kevin Scott , who was covering Sharpe one on one along the right sideline , slowed down a bit when he saw Favre running , just enough for Sharpe to pull ahead of him and Favre launched a 40 - yard pass to Sharpe in the end zone for the game winning score . Sanders had the best postseason performance of his career , finishing the game with 167 rushing yards . Perriman caught 10 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown . Sharpe , who had not practiced in the last 8 weeks due to turf toe ( though he was still able to play in games ) and had set the NFL single season record for receptions in their week 17 meeting against Detroit , caught five passes for 101 yards and tied a playoff record with 3 touchdown receptions . This was Scott ' s last game in the NFL . This was featured on NFL ' s Greatest Games as Favre to Sharpe . January 9 , 1994 . NFC : New York Giants 17 , Minnesota Vikings 10 . A howling , gusting wind dominated the game as both teams could only score with the wind . However , the Giants managed to score two touchdowns , both by running back Rodney Hampton in the third quarter , to pull ahead for good . New York had the wind advantage in the first quarter , but could only score on kicker David Treadwell ' s 26 - yard field goal . But after the teams switched sides at the start of second period , the Vikings scored 10 unanswered points : a 40 - yard touchdown completion from quarterback Jim McMahon to wide receiver Cris Carter , and kicker Fuad Reveiz ' s 52 - yard field goal . The Giants had the wind again in the third quarter , and on their first drive of the second half , Hampton scored on a 51 - yard rushing touchdown . Then after a short punt gave New York the ball at the Minnesota 26 - yard line , Hampton rushed for a 2 - yard touchdown . Although the Vikings held the wind advantage again during the final period , the Giants defense managed to shut them down to preserve the victory . Hampton finished the game with 33 carries for 161 yards and 2 touchdowns , along with 6 receptions for 24 yards . AFC : Los Angeles Raiders 42 , Denver Broncos 24 . After a 21 - 21 tie at halftime , Raiders running back Napoleon McCallum scored three rushing touchdowns in the second half to lead his team to the victory . In the first half , both Raiders quarterback Jeff Hostetler and Broncos quarterback John Elway each threw 3 touchdowns . However , in the third quarter , a short punt enabled Los Angeles to take over the ball at the Denver 35 - yard line , and to set up McCallum ' s 26 - yard touchdown . Another short punt by the Broncos allowed the Raiders to take over at the Denver 48 - yard line , and Hostetler ' s 33 - yard pass to tight end Ethan Horton enabled McCallum to record a 2 - yard touchdown . After Broncos kicker Jason Elam made a 23 - yard field goal to cut the lead , 35 - 24 , in the fourth quarter , the Raiders marched 76 yards to score on McCallum ' s 1 - yard touchdown to clinch the victory . Hostetler had one of the best performances of his career , completing 13 of 19 passes for 294 yards and 3 touchdowns . Elway completed 29 of 47 passes for 302 yards and 3 touchdowns , with 1 interception , while also rushing for 23 yards . Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe tied a playoff record with 13 receptions for 156 yards and a touchdown . To date , this was the most recent NFL playoff game played in the city of Los Angeles . Divisional playoffs . January 15 , 1994 . AFC : Buffalo Bills 29 , Los Angeles Raiders 23 . In one of the coldest games in NFL history , the Bills overcame a 17 - 6 Raiders lead by scoring three times in a span of 6 : 18 in the second half . After a scoreless first quarter , Los Angeles took a 3 - 0 lead with kicker Jeff Jaeger ' s 30 - yard field goal . Buffalo countered with running back Kenneth Davis ' 1 - yard touchdown but the extra point attempt failed . The Raiders then jumped to a 17 - 6 lead with two touchdowns by running back Napoleon McCallum . But aided by a 37 - yard pass interference penalty , Bills running back Thurman Thomas scored on an 8 - yard touchdown with 50 seconds left in the first half to cut the lead , 17 - 13 . Buffalo then scored three times a span of 6 : 18 of the final two periods to put the game away . Quarterback Jim Kelly first threw a 25 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Bill Brooks . Then after Bills defensive back Henry Jones recovered a fumble by McCallum , kicker Steve Christie made a 29 - yard field goal . On the Raiders ' next possession , wide receiver Tim Brown scored on an 86 - yard touchdown reception from quarterback Jeff Hostetler . But Buffalo then drove 71 yards to score on Brook ' s 22 - yard game - clinching touchdown reception from Kelly . Brown had the best postseason performance of his career , catching 5 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown . Kelly completed 27 of 37 passes for 287 yards and 2 touchdowns . Brooks caught 6 passes for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns . NFC : San Francisco 49ers 44 , New York Giants 3 . 49ers running back Ricky Watters rushed for 118 yards , caught 5 passes for 46 yards , and scored an NFL playoff record 5 touchdowns as San Francisco crushed the Giants , 44 - 3 . San Francisco kicker Mike Cofer added a 29 - yard field goal while running back Marc Logan recorded a 2 - yard touchdown . Meanwhile the 49ers defense held the Giants to 41 rushing yards and intercepted quarterback Phil Simms twice . New York ' s lone score was a 25 - yard field goal from kicker David Treadwell in the second quarter . The game was also notable in that it would end up being the final game in the storied career of New York linebacker Lawrence Taylor , and as it turned out , it would be the final game for Simms as well . January 16 , 1994 . NFC : Dallas Cowboys 27 , Green Bay Packers 17 . The Cowboys broke the game open by scoring 10 points in the final 23 seconds of the first half . After the Packers stopped Dallas on a fake punt attempt , Chris Jacke ' s 30 - yard field goal gave them a 3 - 0 lead . But on the next drive , Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman completed a 25 - yard touchdown to wide receiver Alvin Harper . With 23 seconds left in the first half , Cowboys kicker Eddie Murray made a 41 - yard field goal . On the ensuing kickoff , Dallas ' Joe Fishback recovered Green Bay returner Corey Harris ' fumble , and Aikman threw a 6 - yard touchdown to tight end Jay Novacek to give the Cowboys a 17 - 3 lead before halftime . In the third quarter , Dallas wide receiver Michael Irvin caught a 19 - yard touchdown reception . Packers quarterback Brett Favre completed two touchdowns in the second half , a 13 - yarder to wide receiver Robert Brooks and a 29 - yarder to Sterling Sharpe , but it was not enough . Favre finished the game with 331 passing yards , just 1 yard short of a Packers playoff record . His top target was Sharpe , who caught 6 passes for 128 yards . Aikman completed 28 of 37 passes for 302 yards , while Irvin recorded 9 receptions for 126 yards . AFC : Kansas City Chiefs 28 , Houston Oilers 20 . Chiefs quarterback Joe Montana threw three touchdown passes in the second half to give his team a 28 - 20 win . The Oilers jumped to a 10 - 0 lead in the first quarter with kicker Al Del Greco ' s 49 - yard field goal and running back Gary Brown ' s 2 - yard touchdown . Then after a scoreless second period , Montana threw a 7 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Keith Cash in the third quarter . In the fourth period , Del Greco kicked a 43 - yard field goal to give Houston a 13 - 7 lead . But aided by a 38 - yard pass interference penalty , the Chiefs advanced 71 yards to score on wide receiver J . J . Birden ' s 11 - yard touchdown reception form Montana . On the Oilers ' next possession , Kansas City defensive lineman Dan Saleaumua recovered a fumble by Houston quarterback Warren Moon , setting up Montana ' s 18 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Willie Davis . The Oilers then drove 80 yards to score on wide receiver Ernest Givins ' 7 - yard touchdown catch , but the Chiefs responded with running back Marcus Allen ' s game - clinching 21 - yard touchdown that capped off a 79 - yard drive . The City of Houston would not host another playoff game until 2011 . As of 2012 , this was the last time that the Chiefs won a playoff game . Conference championships . January 23 , 1994 . AFC Championship : Buffalo Bills 30 , Kansas City Chiefs 13 . Running back Thurman Thomas led the Bills to the 30 - 13 victory by recording 186 rushing yards , 3 receptions for 22 yards , and three touchdowns . Buffalo scored first on Thomas ' 12 - yard touchdown run before Chiefs kicker Nick Lowery kicked two field goals . In the second quarter , Thomas scored on a 3 - yard touchdown and Bills kicker Steve Christie made two field goals to extend the lead 20 - 6 . With 21 seconds left in the first half , the Chiefs reached the Buffalo 5 - yard line , but quarterback Joe Montana ' s pass was intercepted by Bills defensive back Henry Jones . Montana later suffered a concussion during the third play of the third quarter and left the game . Kansas City backup quarterback Dave Krieg then led his team on a 90 - yard drive to score on running back Marcus Allen ' s 1 - yard touchdown . However , Buffalo scored 10 unanswered points in the final period , an 18 - yard field goal by Christie and a 3 - yard touchdown by Thomas , to preserve the victory . For the Bills , this was the third straight year they defeated a future Hall of Fame quarterback to advance to the Super Bowl . They beat John Elway and his Denver Broncos in the 1991 AFC Championship game and Dan Marino and his Miami Dolphins in 1992 . For Montana , this was his seventh start in a conference championship game , the most of any quarterback , breaking his tie with Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach . He also joined the select group to start in the conference championship for two different franchises , joining Craig Morton ( Cowboys and Broncos ) , Doug Williams ( Buccaneers and Redskins ) and Jay Schroeder ( Redskins and Raiders ) . This was also Jim Kelly ' s fifth Conference Championship game which is tied for fifth most with Ken Stabler , John Elway , Tom Brady , and Brett Favre . NFC Championship : Dallas Cowboys 38 , San Francisco 49ers 21 . Before the game , Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson famously guaranteed that his team would win the game , and his team did not disappoint . The Cowboys jumped to a 28 - 7 halftime lead by scoring four touchdowns in their first five possessions . Dallas took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards to score on running back Emmitt Smith ' s 5 - yard touchdown . Early in the second quarter , the 49ers tied the game on quarterback Steve Young ' s 7 - yard touchdown pass to running back Tom Rathman . But then the Cowboys scored 3 unanswered touchdowns before halftime : Running back Daryl Johnston ' s 4 - yard run , Smith ' s 11 - yard reception from quarterback Troy Aikman , and Aikman ' s 19 - yard score to tight end Jay Novacek . In the third quarter , Aikman was knocked out of the game with a concussion , and San Francisco running back Ricky Watters ran for a 4 - yard touchdown to cut the lead , 28 - 14 . However , Dallas backup quarterback Bernie Kosar connected with wide receiver Alvin Harper for a 42 - yard touchdown . Cowboys kicker Eddie Murray later added a 50 - yard field goal in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory . Mostly due to Johnson ' s famous guarantee , ESPN named the game one of the ten most memorable in the history of Texas Stadium in 2008 . This would be CBS ' final NFL telecast ( due to them losing the NFC package to Fox in December 1993 ) before resuming coverage in 1998 .