2014–15 NFL Playoffs
From Iwe
The National Football League playoffs for the 2014 season will begin on January 3, 2015, and end with Super Bowl XLIX on February 1 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Contents |
Participants
| Playoff seeds | |||||
| Seed | AFC | NFC | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New England Patriots (East winner) | Seattle Seahaks (West winner) | |||
| 2 | Denver Broncos (West winner) | Green Bay Packers (North winner) | |||
| 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers (North winner) | Dallas Cowboys (East winner) | |||
| 4 | Indianapolis Colts (South winner) | Carolina Panthers (South winner) | |||
| 5 | Cincinnati Bengals (wild card) | Arizona Cardinals (wild card) | |||
| 6 | Baltimore Ravens (wild card) | Detroit Lions (wild card) | |||
| For details on the NFL playoff format, see National Football League playoffs#Current playoff system | |||||
Bracket
| Jan. 4 – Lucas Oil Stadium | Jan. 11 – Sports Authority Field | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Cincinnati | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Indianapolis | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Indianapolis | 26 | Jan. 18 – Gillette Stadium | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | Denver | 13 | ||||||||||||||||
| See Re-seeding below | ||||||||||||||||||
| AFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 3 – Heinz Field | 4 | Indianapolis | 7 | |||||||||||||||
| Jan. 10 – Gillette Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | New England | 45 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Baltimore | 30 | AFC Championship | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | Baltimore | 31 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Pittsburgh | 17 | Feb. 1 – University of Phoenix Stadium | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | New England | 35 | ||||||||||||||||
| Wild Card Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Divisional Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 4 – AT&T Stadium | A1 | New England | 28 | |||||||||||||||
| Jan. 11 – Lambeau Field | ||||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Seattle | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Detroit | 20 | Super Bowl XLIX | |||||||||||||||
| 3 | Dallas | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Dallas | 24 | Jan. 18 – CenturyLink Field | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | Green Bay | 26 | ||||||||||||||||
| See Re-seeding below | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 3 – Bank of America Stadium | 2 | Green Bay | 22 | |||||||||||||||
| Jan. 10 – CenturyLink Field | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Seattle | 28* | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Arizona | 16 | NFC Championship | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | Carolina | 17 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Carolina | 27 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Seattle | 31 | ||||||||||||||||
- * Indicates overtime victory
NFL Playoff schedule
| Game | Date | Kickoff (ET) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card playoffs | |||
| Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers | January 3, 2015 | 4:35 pm | ESPN |
| Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers | January 3, 2015 | 8:15 pm | NBC |
| Cincinnati Bengals at Indianapolis Colts | January 4, 2015 | 1:05 pm | CBS |
| Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys | January 4, 2015 | 4:40 pm | Fox |
| Divisional playoffs | |||
| TBA at New England Patriots | January 10, 2015 | 4:35 pm | NBC |
| TBA at Seattle Seahawks | January 10, 2015 | 8:15 pm | Fox |
| TBA at Green Bay Packers | January 11, 2015 | 1:05 pm | Fox |
| TBA at Denver Broncos | January 11, 2015 | 4:40 pm | CBS |
| Conference Championships | |||
| NFC Championship Game | January 18, 2015 | 3:00 pm | Fox |
| AFC Championship Game | January 18, 2015 | 6:30 pm | CBS |
| Super Bowl XLIX University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona | |||
| AFC Champion vs. NFC Champion | February 1, 2015 | 6:30 pm | NBC |
Wild Card Playoffs
Saturday, January 3, 2015
NFC: Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers
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AFC: Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
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Sunday, January 4, 2015
AFC: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Indianapolis Colts
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NFC: Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys
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Divisional Playoffs
Saturday, January 10, 2015
AFC: New England Patriots 35, Baltimore Ravens 31
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With only 13 rushing attempts for 14 total yards, New England put the game almost entirely in the hands of quarterback Tom Brady, who proved up to the task, completing 33 of 50 passes for 367 yards and 3 touchdowns while also rushing for a score as he led the team back from two 14-point deficits to earn their 9th AFC championship appearance in his 14 years as the team's starter.
Baltimore stormed to an early lead on their first drive, as Joe Flacco connected with Steve Smith, Sr. for 19 yards and Torrey Smith for 22 before getting the ball into the end zone with a 19-yard completion to Kamar Aiken. Following a New England punt, Ravens running back Justin Forsett rushed 4 times for 32 yards, while Flacco completed 5 of 6 passses for 40 yards, the last one a 9-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith to give Baltimore a 14–0 lead with 4:44 left in the first quarter.
However, this time New England managed to respond. Faced with 3rd and 8 from his own 24-yard line, Brady completed a 16-yard pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski. On the next play, he completed a 46-yard pass to Gronkowski on the Ravens' 14-yard line, and eventually he finished the 8-play, 78-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. After the next three drives ended in punts, New England drove 67 yards, including a 23-yard reception by Gronkowski on 3rd and 8, to tie the score at 14–14 with Brady's 15-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola with 3:37 left in the second quarter. But just before halftime, Ravens linebacker Daryl Smith intercepted a pass from Brady at the Baltimore 43-yard line. Aided by a 20-yard pass interference penalty, the Ravens drove 57 yards in 6 plays and took a 21–14 lead on Flacco's 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Owen Daniels with 10 seconds left in the half.
Baltimore retook their 14-point lead with the first drive of the second half, after Flacco's 35-yard completion to Torrey Smith on the Patriots' 1-yard line. A taunting penalty against Torrey Smith moved the ball back to the 16-yard line, but the Ravens still scored on the next play with Flacco's 16-yard completion to Forsett. New England responded by making some key adjustments to their formation for their ensuing drive. Having already lost starting center Bryan Stork for the game with an injury, the Patriots went with 4 linemen, while playing tight end Michael Hoomanawanui and running back Shane Vereen on the line next to them. This confused the Baltimore defense as to which players were eligible receivers – though they did announce it to officials as required – aiding the Patriots on a 9-play, 80-yard touchdown drive in which the team never faced a third down. This proved so infuriating to Ravens coach John Harbaugh that he stormed onto the field to argue with officials about the legality of New England's methods, earning his team a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Shortly after, Brady threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski, cutting the score to 28–21. After a Baltimore punt, Brady tossed a lateral pass across the field to receiver Julian Edelman, who promptly threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Amendola, tying the game at 28 with under 4 minutes left in the third quarter. Then Patriots safety Devin McCourty gave his team a great chance to take the lead by intercepting a pass from Flacco on the Ravens' 37-yard line. However, New England was unable to move the ball and punted rather than try a long field goal attempt.
Early in the 4th quarter, Ravens kicker Justin Tucker finished a 16-play, 73-yard drive, which included Flacco's 11-yard completion to fullback Kyle Juszczyk on 4th and 1 from the Patriots' 36-yard line, with a 25-yard field goal, giving his team the lead at 31–28. Taking the ball back at their own 26-year line, New England drove 74 yards in 10 plays for what turned out to be the game winning score. On the third play of the drive, Baltimore recovered a fumble from Vereen, only to see it overturned by replay review. Later, Brady converted the only 3rd down on the drive, hitting Amendola with a 6-yard pass on 3rd and 6. Finally with 5:13 left on the clock, he thew a 23-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandon LaFell, giving New England their first lead of the game, 35–31. Baltimore responded with a drive to the New England 36-yard line, but with 1:37 left in the game, Flacco's pass was intercepted in the end zone by safety Duron Harmon. The Ravens still managed to force a punt with a few seconds left on the clock. On the final play of the game, Flacco's Hail Mary pass to the end zone was knocked down for an incompletion.
After the game, Harbaugh complained bitterly about New England's unusual formation use on their third quarter touchdown drive. "It's not something that anybody has ever done before," Harbaugh said. "They're an illegal type of a thing and I'm sure that [the league will] make some adjustments and things like that. We wanted an opportunity to be able to identify who the eligible players were, because what they were doing was they would announce the eligible player and Tom would take it to the line right away and snap the ball before [we] even figured out who was lined up where. And that was the deception part of it. It was clearly deception." "Maybe those guys gotta study the rule book and figure it out," Brady countered in response. "We obviously knew what we were doing and we made some pretty important plays. It was a real good weapon for us. Maybe we'll have something in store next week." The NFL sided with New England, finding that their methods were legal.
Flacco finished the game 28-for-45 for 292 yards and 4 touchdowns, with 2 interceptions. Forsett rushed for 129 yards, while also catching 2 passes for 17 yards and a score. Gronkowski was the top receiver of the game with 7 receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown.
Tom Brady and Patriots coach Bill Belichick set numerous NFL and franchise playoff records in the game. Brady became the NFL's career postseason leader in passing yards and touchdown passes (46), surpassing Joe Montana on his final touchdown pass of the game. He set a franchise record for completions in a postseason game (33), while also tying a franchise playoff record for career rushing touchdowns (5). This was Belichick's 20th postseason win, tying the all time record held by Tom Landry. This was also the first time in playoff history that a team had come back from two 14-point deficits to win a game.
NFC: Seattle Seahawks 31, Carolina Panthers 17
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Russell Wilson threw 3 touchdown passes and the Seahawks' defense forced 3 turnovers as Seattle defeated Carolina 31–17 to advance to their second consecutive NFC Championship game.
After both teams opened with punts on their first two possessions, Seattle forced the first turnover of the game when Richard Sherman intercepted Cam Newton at the Seahawks' 38-yard line. Following another Seahawks punt, Carolina again turned the ball over when Newton fumbled the handoff on an option play and it was recovered by Seattle's Tony McDaniel at Carolina's 28-yard line. On the ensuing possession Seattle opened the scoring when Wilson connected with Doug Baldwin on a 16-yard touchdown pass. Carolina responded with a 14-play, 79-yard drive which consumed over 8 minutes and ended with a Newton 7-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin to tie the game. Seattle then retook the lead when, on a 3rd-and-7 play, Wilson passed to Jermaine Kearse who made a one-handed catch and ran 63 yards for a touchdown, the longest touchdown reception in Seahawks playoff history. Carolina then mounted a 13-play drive into Seattle territory to close out the half. After driving to the Seattle 24-yard line, Earl Thomas appeared to intercept Newton at the 2-yard line, but the interception was overturned after a review. While attempting a 40-yard field goal, Graham Gano missed wide left but Kam Chancellor was called for running into the kicker. Gano then converted a 35-yard field goal as time expired with Seattle leading 14–10 at halftime.
On the first drive of the second half, Seattle got into Carolina territory before Wilson was sacked on 3rd down by Mario Addison to force a punt. After a Carolina punt, Seattle mounted a 12-play, 69-yard drive which included a 25-yard Marshawn Lynch run and reached the Carolina 7-yard line but settled for a 37-yard Steven Hauschka field goal when Wilson was sacked by Thomas Davis. Seattle forced another Carolina punt, and on their next drive Wilson found Luke Willson for a 29-yard pass to the Carolina 25-yard line and then connected with Willson again for a 25-yard touchdown to take a 24–10 lead. Facing a 3rd-and-13 from their own 17-yard line, on Carolina's next drive, Newton converted with a 19-yard pass to Ed Dickson, then connected with Greg Olsen on a 31-yard pass to the Seattle 19-yard line. Newton, however, was then intercepted for a second time by Chancellor, who returned it 90 yards for a touchdown. Down by 21 points, Newton threw a 15-yard touchdown to Benjamin with 2:34 remaining to make the score 31–17, but Carolina was unable to recover the onside kick and Seattle ran out the clock for the victory.
Wilson finished as the leading passer, going 15-for-22 for 268 yards and 3 touchdowns. Kearse recorded 129 yards and a touchdown on 3 receptions. Rookie Benjamin led Carolina with 7 receptions for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns. The win was Seattle's eighth consecutive home playoff win. Seattle also became the first defending Super Bowl champion to win a playoff game since the 2005 season.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
NFC: Green Bay Packers 26, Dallas Cowboys 21
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In the first playoff game between these teams in Green Bay since the 1967 NFL Championship Game, immortalized as the Ice Bowl, Aaron Rodgers threw two second half touchdowns as the Green Bay Packers overcame an 8-point deficit to defeat the Dallas Cowboys 26–21.
After a Dallas punt on their opening possession, Green Bay mounted a 10-play drive which featured 45 rushing yards from Eddie Lacy and ended when Rodgers threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Quarless. Dallas responded with their own 12-play drive which was prolonged with a Brad Jones holding penalty on 3rd down. After a Tramon Williams pass interference call put the ball on the Green Bay 1-yard line, Tony Romo connected with Tyler Clutts for a touchdown. On their next drive Green Bay drove to the Dallas 27-yard line before Rodgers was strip-sacked by Jeremy Mincey, who recovered the fumble for Dallas. Five plays later Romo threw a 38-yard touchdown to Terrance Williams to give Dallas a 14–7 lead. After forcing a Green Bay punt – Green Bay's first punt at home in the first half in 5 games – Dallas drove to the Green Bay 33-yard line before Romo connected with Jason Witten on 2nd-and-7 for what appeared to be a first down. Upon review, however, the ball was spotted one-yard short and Dallas failed to convert the 3rd down to force a field goal. Dan Bailey's 50-yard attempt, however, was partially blocked by Datone Jones and missed wide right. On a 2nd-and 20 on their next drive Rodgers converted with a 31-yard pass to Randall Cobb, and Mason Crosby hit a 40-yard field goal as time expired to cut Green Bay's deficit to 14–10 at halftime.
Green Bay was forced to punt on the opening drive of the second half, but on Dallas' ensuing possession Julius Peppers forced a fumble by DeMarco Murray which was recovered by Jones at the Dallas 44-yard line. Lacy then ran for 29 yards to the 16-yard line before Rodgers hit Davante Adams to get inside the 10-yard line. T. J. Lang, however, was called for unnecessary roughness and Green Bay was unable to convert a 3rd-and-16 and settled for a Crosby 30-yard field goal. Romo then threw a 20-yard pass to Dez Bryant and a 15-yard pass to Witten before Murray rushed for 26 yards to the Green Bay 1-yard line and scored a touchdown on the next play to make the score 21–13. On Green Bay's ensuing drive Rodgers converted a 3rd down with a 16-yard pass to Adams, hit Cobb for a 26-yard gain, then on 3rd-and-15 connected with Adams for a 46-yard touchdown to get within one entering the fourth quarter. After a Dallas punt, Rodgers completed 7 consecutive passes including a 13-yard touchdown to Richard Rodgers. The two-point conversion attempt, however, was unsuccessful, and Green Bay led 26–21 with 9:10 remaining. Driving into Green Bay territory, Romo completed a 9-yard pass to Cole Beasley to set up a 4th-and-2 from Green Bay's 32-yard line. Romo threw a pass down the sideline to Bryant, who caught the ball over Sam Shields and was downed at the 1-yard line. Green Bay challenged the call, however, and upon review it was determined that the ball came loose when Bryant hit the ground, making it incomplete. Taking possession with 4:06 remaining, Green Bay converted two third downs including a 26-yard pass to Adams and a 12-yard pass to Cobb and were able to run out the clock to seal the victory.
Rodgers finished 24-for-35 for 316 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions, ensuring that he would end the season without throwing an interception at home. He finished the game going 9-for-9 in the fourth quarter, the most attempts without an incompletion in the fourth quarter of a playoff game in 25 years. Murray was the leading rusher with 123 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, while Lacy had 101 yards on 19 attempts. Adams and Cobb both had over 100 yards receiving for Green Bay, with Adams catching 7 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown and Cobb having 8 receptions for 116 yards.
AFC: Indianapolis Colts 24, Denver Broncos 13
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The Indianapolis Colts held the Denver Broncos, who finished the season with the NFL's 2nd-highest scoring offense, to 288 total yards and just two field goals in the final 55 minutes and prevailed 24–13 to advance to their first AFC Championship since the 2009 season. During the regular season, Denver averaged 35 points per game at home, and had finished 8–0.
After forcing an Indianapolis 3-and-out on the opening possession, Denver advanced into Colts territory after an Arthur Jones roughing the passer penalty before Peyton Manning hit Julius Thomas for a 32-yard pass to the 2-yard line and then Demaryius Thomas for a 1-yard touchdown. Both teams then punted on their next possessions before Indianapolis drove to the Denver 6-yard line including 20- and 23-yard passes to T. Y. Hilton. The Colts capped off the drive with a Dan Herron 6-yard touchdown run at the beginning of the second quarter to tie the game. On Denver's next possession Manning was strip-sacked by Jonathan Newsome and the fumble was recovered by the Colts' Jerrell Freeman at the Denver 41-yard line. Indianapolis drove inside the 10-yard line after an Andrew Luck 22-yard pass to Donte Moncrief before Luck hit Dwayne Allen for a 3-yard touchdown. After forcing a Denver punt, Indianapolis got inside Broncos territory again but came up empty when Adam Vinatieri missed a 44-yard field goal. On Indianapolis' next possession Luck was intercepted by Bradley Roby at the Denver 47-yard line. Manning then converted a 3rd down with a 17-yard pass to Emmanuel Sanders before Connor Barth kicked a 45-yard field goal with 0:02 left in the half to make the score 14–10 at halftime.
Denver opened the second half with a 3-and-out before Indianapolis mounted an 11-play drive which included a 32-yard pass Luck pass to Coby Fleener on 3rd-and-16. Luck then connected with Hakeem Nicks for a 15-yard touchdown to give Indianapolis a 21–10 lead. When Denver punted again on their next possession, Josh Cribbs was tackled by Omar Bolden and the fumble was recovered by Denver's Andre Caldwell. After review, however, Cribbs was ruled down by contact and Indianapolis retained possession. Luck threw his second interception to Rahim Moore, and Denver responded with a 14-play drive during which Manning went 7-for-9 for 38 yards and C. J. Anderson converted on 4th down with a 7-yard run but had to settle for a 41-yard Barth field goal to cut the deficit to 8 points. Both teams then punted on their next possessions before Indianapolis went on a 13-play drive which consumed more than 8 minutes and ended with a Vinatieri 30-yard field goal. Now down by 11 points with 4:06 remaining, Manning hit Wes Welker for a 20-yard completion but a 4th-and-8 pass to Anderson came up one yard short of a first down. Denver was able to force an Indianapolis punt and take possession with 1:52 remaining, but got no further than the Colts' 23-yard line before time expired.
Luck went 27-for-43 for 265 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He finished with 1,703 career postseason passing yards, the most by a quarterback in their first five postseason games. Manning finished 26-for-46 for 211 yards and 1 touchdown; he went just 7-for-18 (38.9%) in the first half, his lowest completion percentage in a first half of any game since 2007. Anderson was the leading rusher with 80 yards on 18 carries, while Hilton led all receivers with 72 yards on 4 receptions. The loss was Manning's 9th in his team's first playoff game, with no other quarterback having more than 4 such losses.
