Wikipedia

2005–06 NFL playoffs

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by NoseNuggets (talk | contribs) at 05:05, 15 January 2006 (→AFC: [[Denver Broncos]] 27, [[New England Patriots]] 13). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The National Football League playoffs following the 2005 regular season will lead up to Super Bowl XL, which will be played in Detroit, Michigan on Sunday, February 5 2006.

The Wild Card playoffs were held on January 7 and January 8 2006. The Divisional Playoffs will be played on January 14 and January 15. The Conference Championship games will be played on January 22 2006.

For more information on seeding and matchups, see NFL playoffs.

Within each conference, the four division winners and the top two non-division winners with the best overall regular season records) qualified for the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1–4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card teams are seeded 5–6. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. In the first round, dubbed the wild-card playoffs or wild-card weekend, the third-seeded division winner hosts the sixth-seed wild card, and the fourth seed hosts the fifth. The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference received a first-round bye. In the second round, the divisional playoffs, the number 1 seed hosts the worst-surviving seed from the first round (seed 4, 5, or 6), while the number 2 seed will play the other team (seed 3, 4, or 5). The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional playoff games met in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed. Although the Super Bowl, the championship round of the playoffs, is played at a neutral site, the designated home team is based on an annual rotation by conference.[1]

Playoff seeds
Seed AFC NFC
1 Indianapolis Colts (South winner) Seattle Seahawks (West winner)
2 Denver Broncos (West winner) Chicago Bears (North winner)
3 Cincinnati Bengals (North winner) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (South winner)
4 New England Patriots (East winner) New York Giants (East winner)
5 Jacksonville Jaguars (wild card) Carolina Panthers (wild card)
6 Pittsburgh Steelers (wild card) Washington Redskins (wild card)

Wild Card playoffs

Saturday January 7, 2006

NFC: Washington Redskins 17, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10

1 2 3 4 Total
Redskins 14 3 0 0 17
Buccaneers 0 3 7 0 10

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Although the Redskins gained only 120 yards on offense, the lowest total in NFL playoff history for a winning team[1], they converted two turnovers into touchdowns. Midway through the first quarter, Washington linebacker LaVar Arrington's 21-yard interception return set up running back Clinton Portis' 6-yard touchdown run. Then, Redskins linebacker Marcus Washington recovered Tampa Bay running back Carnell Williams' fumble and returned it 7 yards before losing it himself – into the arms of Safety Sean Taylor who then ran 51 yards for the Redskins' second touchdown. After the teams traded field goals in the second period, the Buccaneers marched on a 7-play, 51-yard drive early in the third quarter that ended with quarterback Chris Simms' 2-yard touchdown run. With 3 minutes left in the game, Tampa Bay wide receiver Edell Shepherd caught what appeared to be a 35-yard touchdown reception, but he lost control of the ball as he was coming down in the end zone. The Redskins then clinched the victory in the last minute of the contest after Simms threw his second interception. This game was widely regarded by commentators as an "ugly" performance by both teams' offenses, rendering it a largely defensive game[2][3].

  • Scoring
    • 1st Quarter
      • WAS - Portis 6 run (Hall kick), Redskins 7-0. Drive: One play, six yards, five seconds.
      • WAS - Taylor 51 fumble return (Hall kick), Redskins 14-0.
    • 2nd Quarter
      • TB - FG Bryant 43, Redskins 14-3. Drive: 11 plays, 38 yards, 5:28.
      • WAS - FG Hall 47, Redskins 17-3. Drive: 10 plays, 40 yards, 4:28.
    • 3rd Quarter
      • TB - Simms 2 run (Bryant kick), Redskins 17-10. Drive: Seven plays, 51 yards, 3:23.
    • 4th Quarter
      • None.

AFC: New England Patriots 28, Jacksonville Jaguars 3

1 2 3 4 Total
Jaguars 0 3 0 0 3
Patriots 0 7 14 7 28

at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Patriots, who for the first time in their dynasty would have to win three games to advance to the Super Bowl, crushed the Jaguars 28-3. Linebacker Willie McGinest set an NFL playoff record with 4.5 sacks (an official NFL stat since 1982), while quarterback Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes. The game remained scoreless until Brady led New England on a 6-play, 37-yard drive early in the second quarter, and scoring with wide receiver Troy Brown's 11-yard touchdown reception. The Jaguars responded in the closing minute of the first half after a 12-play, 56-yard drive to set up Josh Scobee's 36-yard field goal. Then on their first drive of the second half, Brady threw his second touchdown pass to wide receiver David Givens after leading the Patriots on a 12-play, 81-yard drive. Brady's third touchdown pass was to tight end Ben Watson, who broke several tackles enroute to a 63-yard score late in the third quarter. New England cornerback Asante Samuel capped the scoring with a 73-yard interception return for a touchdown on the first play of the final period.

This game also marked three career playoff records: Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick set records for 10 straight postseason victories, eclipsing Vince Lombardi's run with the Green Bay Packers in the 1960s. Also, McGinest set a career playoff sack record with his 16th sack.

  • Scoring
    • 1st Quarter
      • None.
    • 2nd Quarter
      • NE - Brown 11 pass from Brady (Vinatieri kick), Patriots 7-0. Drive: Six plays, 37 yards, 2:05
      • JAX - FG Scobee 36, Patriots 7-3. Drive: 12 plays, 56 yards, 5:45.
    • 3rd Quarter
      • NE - Givens 3 pass from Brady (Vinatieri kick), Patriots 14-3. Drive: 12 plays, 81 yards, 6:42.
      • NE - Watson 63 pass from Brady (Vinatieri kick), Patriots 21-3. Drive: Five plays, 71 yards, 2:53.
    • 4th Quarter
      • NE - Samuel 73 interception return (Vinatieri kick), Patriots 28-3.

Sunday, January 8, 2006

NFC: Carolina Panthers 23, New York Giants 0

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 0 10 7 6 23
Giants 0 0 0 0 0

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

The Panthers forced five turnovers, limited the Giants to only 109 yards of total offense, and became the first club to shut out a home playoff team since the Los Angeles Rams shut out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1980 NFC Championship Game. Although the Giants entered the game with a more vaunted rushing attack behind Pro Bowler Tiki Barber, the Panthers running game, featuring DeShaun Foster and Nick Goings, outgained the Giants 223-41 on the ground. Carolina wide receiver Steve Smith scored two touchdowns, a 22-yard reception and a 12-yard run, while kicker John Kasay added 3 field goals. Meanwhile, quarterback Eli Manning threw 3 interceptions in his first playoff start.

  • Scoring
    • 1st Quarter
      • None.
    • 2nd Quarter
      • CAR - Smith 22 pass from Delhomme (Kasay kick), Panthers 7-0. Drive: 12 plays, 77 yards, 7:46.
      • CAR - FG Kasay 31, Panthers 10-0. Drive: Four plays, two yards, 58 seconds.
    • 3rd Quarter
      • CAR - Smith 12 run (Kasay kick), Panthers 17-0. Drive: One play, 12 yards, six seconds.
    • 4th Quarter
      • CAR - FG Kasay 45, Panthers 20-0. Drive: 10 plays, 55 yards, 6:07.
      • CAR - FG Kasay 18, Panthers 23-0. Drive: 14 plays, 55 yards, 8:55.

AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Cincinnati Bengals 17

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 14 14 3 31
Bengals 10 7 0 0 17

at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

The Steelers scored 24 unanswered points en route to a 31-17 victory. Bengals starting quarterback Carson Palmer suffered a season-ending knee injury on Cincinnati's second play from scrimmage of the game, but his 66-yard pass to wide receiver Chris Henry set up kicker Shayne Graham's 23-yard field goal. Running back Rudi Johnson's 20-yard touchdown run then increased the Bengals lead, 10-0. Later in the half, the teams traded touchdowns, and then the Steelers cut the score to 17-14 after quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed a 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Hines Ward. Then in the third quarter, the Bengals botched a field goal attempt because of a high snap, which set up Pittsburgh running back Jerome Bettis' 5-yard touchdown run that put the Steelers up 21-17. Later in the period, Pittsburgh receiver Antwaan Randle El took a direct snap, ran to his right, and threw the ball back to Roethlisberger — who then connected with wide receiver Cedrick Wilson for a 43-yard touchdown reception that increased their lead, 28-17. The Steelers added a fourth quarter field goal to clinch the victory.

  • Scoring
    • 1st Quarter
      • CIN - FG Graham 23, Bengals 3-0. Drive: Nine plays, 84 yards, 4:25.
      • CIN - R. Johnson 20 run (Graham kick), Bengals 10-0. Drive: Seven plays, 76 yards, 3:26.
    • 2nd Quarter
      • PIT - Parker 19 pass from Roethlisberger (Reed kick), Bengals 10-7. Drive: Eight plays, 60 yards, 2:58.
      • CIN - Houshmandzadeh 7 pass from Kitna (Graham kick), Bengals 17-7. Drive: 14 plays, 57 yards, 6:58.
      • PIT - Ward 5 pass from Roethlisberger (Reed kick), Bengals 17-14. Drive: Six plays, 76 yards, 2:25.
    • 3rd Quarter
      • PIT - Bettis 5 run (Reed kick), Steelers 21-17. Drive: Eight plays, 66 yards, 4:39.
      • PIT - Wilson 43 pass from Roethlisberger (Reed kick), Steelers 28-17. Drive: Three plays, 50 yards, 1:25.
    • 4th Quarter
      • PIT - FG Reed 21, Steelers 31-17. Drive: Six plays, 37 yards, 2:56.

Byes

Divisional playoffs

Saturday January 14, 2006

NFC: Seattle Seahawks 20, Washington Redskins 10

1 2 3 4 Total
Redskins 0 3 0 7 10
Seahawks 0 7 7 6 20

at Qwest Field, Seattle, Washington

The Seahawks overcame an early injury (concussion) suffered by NFL rushing champion Shaun Alexander and managed to end their 21-year playoff victory drought. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck led the offense, completing 16-of-26 passes for 215 yards. He connected on a touchdown pass with Darrell Jackson in the second quarter, and he ran for the team's other touchdown in the third quarter. Despite this, the Redskins hung in the game to the very end. John Hall had a chance to cut the Seahawk lead to four points late in the fourth quarter, but he missed a 36-yard field goal. The Seahawks then drove to the game-clinching field goal, led by fullback Mack Strong's career-long 32-yard run. The Seahawks' win was their first since a 1984 AFC Wild Card playoff win over the Los Angeles Raiders.

  • Scoring
    • 1st Quarter
      • None.
    • 2nd Quarter
      • WAS - FG Hall 26, Redskins 3-0. Drive: 10 plays, 32 yards, 5:02.
      • SEA - D. Jackson 29 pass from Hasselbeck (Brown kick), Seahawks 7-3. Drive: 12 plays, 74 yards, 5:37.
    • 3rd Quarter
      • SEA - Hasselbeck 6 run (Brown kick), Seahawks 14-3. Drive: 10 plays, 81 yards, 4:20.
    • 4th Quarter
      • SEA - FG Brown 33, Seahawks 17-3. Drive: Six plays, 48 yards, 2:39.
      • WAS - Moss 20 pass from Brunell (Hall kick), Seahawks 17-10. Drive: Four plays, 76 yards, 2:17.
      • SEA - FG Brown 31, Seahawks 20-10. Drive: Nine plays, 60 yards, 5:07.

AFC: Denver Broncos 27, New England Patriots 13

1 2 3 4 Total
Patriots 0 3 3 7 13
Broncos 0 10 7 10 27

at INVESCO Field, Denver, Colorado

  • Game time: 8:00 pm EST (0100 Sunday UTC)
  • Game weather: 51°F (Clear)
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Phil Simms (color commentator), Bonnie Bernstein (field reporter)

The Broncos won their first post-season game since since John Elway's last game defeating the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami, Florida, eliminating the two-time defending champions, thanks to 24 points off four out of five Patriot turnovers. Mike Anderson had two touchdowns of one yard each and Rod Smith's four-yard catch of a Jake Plummer pass was all the Broncos needed. No one on the Pats was immune: Kevin Faulk fumbled the ball, Ellis Hobbs fumbled on the kickoff following Anderson's first touchdown, Tom Brady was intercepted twice, the first time since Super Bowl XXXVIII, Adam Vinatieri missed a field goal, and the usually sure-handed Troy Brown muffed a Todd Sauerbraun punt. One of Brady's interceptions was returned by Champ Bailey for 100 yards, and in a scene reminding those of Leon Lett and Don Beebe in Super Bowl XXVII, Ben Watson knocked the ball out of bounds because Bailey was winded from the long run.

  • Scoring
    • 1st Quarter
      • None.
    • 2nd Quarter
      • NE - Vinatieri FG 40, Patriots 3-0. Drive: Seven plays, 67 yards, 2:22.
      • DEN - Mike Anderson 1 run (Elam kick), Broncos 7-3. Drive: Two plays, 40 yards, 18 seconds.
      • DEN - Elam FG 50, Broncos 10-3. Drive: Four plays, seven yards, 59 seconds.
    • 3rd Quarter
      • NE - Vinatieri FG 32, Broncos 10-6. Drive: 11 plays, 58 yards, 5:31.
      • DEN - Mike Anderson 1 run (Elam kick), Broncos 17-6. Drive: One play, one yard, four seconds.
    • 4th Quarter
      • DEN - Smith 4 pass from Plummer (Elam kick), Broncos 24-6. Drive: Three plays, 15 yards, 1:32.
      • NE - Givens 4 pass from Brady (Vinatieri kick), Broncos 24-13. Drive: Two plays, 77 yards, 33 seconds.
      • DEN - FG Elam 34, Broncos 27-13. Drive: Eight plays, 61 yards, 4:45.

Sunday January 15, 2006

AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts

at RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0
Colts 0
  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST (1800 UTC)
  • Game weather: Indoors (Domed stadium)
  • TV announcers (CBS): Dick Enberg (play-by-play), Dan Dierdorf (color commentator), Armen Keteyian (field reporter)
  • Favorite: Indianapolis by 9 1/2

NFC: Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 0
Bears 0
  • Game time: 4:30 pm EST (2130 UTC)
  • TV announcers (FOX): Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (color commentator), Pam Oliver (field reporter)
  • Favorite: Bears by 3

Conference Championships

Sunday January 22, 2006

AFC: Denver Broncos at Indianapolis Colts OR Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos

at RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana OR at INVESCO Field, Denver, Colorado

  • Game time: 3:00 PM EST (2000 UTC)
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Phil Simms (color commentator), Bonnie Bernstein and Armen Keteyian (field reporters)

NFC: Carolina Panthers or Chicago Bears at Seattle Seahawks

at Qwest Field, Seattle, Washington

  • Game time: 6:30 PM EST (2330 UTC)
  • TV announcers (FOX): Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (color commentator), Pam Oliver and Chris Myers (field reporters)

Super Bowl XL

Further information: Super Bowl XL

At Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan, Sunday February 5, 2006, 6:30 pm US EST (2330 UTC), (ABC)

References

Preceded by NFL playoffs
2005-06 		Succeeded by
NFL playoffs, 2006-07
  1. ^ "NFL Playoff Procedures and Tiebreakers". Yahoo! Sports. December 31, 2006. Archived from the original on January 1, 2010.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2005–06_NFL_playoffs&oldid=35236007"