L’Observateur / January 6, 1999

The march to Miami for Super Bowl XXXIII has begun and already there have been controversial calls, a record-setting performance, one upset and two games that have gone down to the wire. And that was just in the wild cardplayoffs.

The craziness started Saturday afternoon in Miami. Doug Flutie ralliedBuffalo twice but the Bills still trailed 24-14 heading into the final two minutes. Flutie drove the Bills inside the Dolphins’ 10-yard line andappeared to pull them within 24-21 on a pass to Andre Reed but Reed was ruled down at the one. Reed jumped up to argue the call and was ejectedfrom the game. The Bills had to settle for a Steve Christie field goal afterthe ensuing penalty.

Still needing a few breaks, the Bills got one by recovering the ensuing on- sides kick. Flutie again drove the Bills down field, reaching the Miami 5-yard line with 17 seconds left. But Trace Armstrong, rushing in from theright side, leveled Flutie has he went to throw on first down. Flutiefumbled with Shane Burton recovering for the Dolphins to seal the victory.

It was a wild ending to cap a wild game, one that saw Eric Moulds catch nine passes for a playoff record 240 yards. The game opened with Mouldsfumbling after catching a 65-yard pass. The Dolphins took advantage totake an early 6-0 lead on two field goals but then tried an on-sides kick that failed and led to a Buffalo touchdown. Late in the first half with theDolphins trailing by one, Dan Marino threw a Hail Mary pass that Orlando Gadsden caught among three defenders and lateraled to O.J. McDuffie to putset up a field goal attempt. Olindo Mare’s kick would sail right, however.The day’s second game would not be as close but would be just as historical. Arizona’s 20-7 victory over Dallas was the Cardinals first in52 years and just their second in the last 18 games against the Cowboys.

The Cardinals had not won a playoff game since 1947 when they were based in Chicago and defeated Philadelphia for the NFL Championship. Theyhad not even played in the postseason since 1982.

But Arizona shook off any pressure it may have felt to dominate the NFC East champions. The Cardinals jumped out to a 20-0 lead and allowed onlya late touchdown to the team that had scored 73 points on them in the regular season. Arizona intercepted Troy Aikman three times, two bySouthern alum Aeneas Williams, and held the Cowboys to 260 total yards.

Defense also played a big part in Jacksonville’s 25-10 victory over New England Sunday afternoon, the first home playoff victory for the Jaguars.

Jacksonville held New England, playing without starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe, to 206 yards, including 54 in the first half. New Englandovercame the lack of productivity to pull to within 12-10 in the fourth quarter, but Jimmy Smith outran Ty Law to the corner of the end zone and made a diving catch of a 37-yard pass from Mark Brunell to swing the momentum back to the Jaguars. Rookie Fred Taylor helped lead the Jaguarswith 162 yards rushing.

The first round of the playoffs ended just as dramatically as they began.

Trailing Green Bay, 27-23, in the final 1:47, Steve Young led San Francisco on one final drive from the 49ers’ 24-yard line. The drive was kept aliveby a controversial non-call on an apparent fumble by Jerry Rice. With theclock ticking down, Young found Terrell Owens, who had fumbled once and dropped four passes in the game, in the end zone among three defenders on a 25-yard pass. Owens held on to the ball despite being leveled by twoPackers for the go-ahead score with three seconds left.

Green Bay had one last opportunity as Roell Preston returned the kickoff and broke outside but fumbled out of bounds as he looked to lateral the ball off. The results in the weekend may have seen the end of twodynasties – Dallas and Green Bay – and the survival of another one – San Francisco. They also mean there will be a NFC champion other than thePackers and Cowboys for the first time since 1995. And they set up someintriguing matchups in the division playoffs this weekend.

Miami will travel to Denver in a rematch of their contest in mid-December when the Dolphins defeated the Broncos, 31-21, in Miami. It is also achance for two members of the quarterback class of 1983, Dan Marino and John Elway, to meet, probably for the last time. Jacksonville travels toNew York to play the Jets where Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin gets the opportunity to face off against his mentor, Jets coach Bill Parcells.

In the NFC, San Francisco travels to Atlanta in a matchup of NFC West teams. The teams split this year with each team winning at home. AndArizona, having already toppled one divisional champion, will look to do it again at Minnesota, facing the team with the best record in the league – the 15-1 Vikings. But this week will have a ways to go to top thedramatics of this past weekend.

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