The National Football League playoffs for the 1986 season began on December 28, 1986. The postseason tournament concluded with the New York Giants defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI, 39–20, on January 25, 1987, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Participants
Bracket
Schedule In the United States, NBC broadcast the AFC playoff games, while CBS televised the NFC games and Super Bowl XXI.
Round Away team Score Home team Date Kickoff(ET / UTC−5) TV Wild-card round Kansas City Chiefs 15–35 New York Jets December 28, 1986 12:30 p.m. NBC Los Angeles Rams 7–19 Washington Redskins 4:00 p.m. CBS Divisional round New York Jets 20–23 Cleveland Browns January 3, 1987 12:30 p.m. NBC Washington Redskins 27–13 Chicago Bears 4:00 p.m. CBS San Francisco 49ers 3–49 New York Giants January 4, 1987 12:30 p.m. CBS New England Patriots 17–22 Denver Broncos 4:00 p.m. NBC Conference championships Denver Broncos 23–20 Cleveland Browns January 11, 1987 12:30 p.m. NBC Washington Redskins 0–17 New York Giants January 11, 1987 4:00 p.m. CBS Super Bowl XXI Denver Broncos 20–39 New York Giants January 25, 1987 6:00 p.m. CBS
Wild-card round
Sunday, December 28, 1986
AFC: New York Jets 35, Kansas City Chiefs 15
Quarterback Pat Ryan led the Jets to victory with three touchdown passes, while New York's defense held the Chiefs to 241 yards (the lowest total allowed by their defense all season) and forced three turnovers, in Kansas City's first postseason appearance since 1971.
The Chiefs scored first as backup quarterback Todd Blackledge, filling in for injured starter Bill Kenney, led the team on a 67-yard drive capped by running back Jeff Smith's 1-yard touchdown run, but Nick Lowery was unsuccessful with the following PAT. On their ensuing possession, the Jets faced fourth down and 6 on the Kansas City 33-yard line. Rather than attempt a long field goal, Ryan faked a pitch to Freeman McNeil and rushed for a 24-yard gain. Two plays later, McNeil scored on a 4-yard rushing touchdown to give the Jets a 7–6 lead.
New York now had the momentum and would not give it up for the rest of the game. On Kansas City's ensuing drive, New York defenders Harry Hamilton and Russell Carter shared a tackle on running back Larry Moriarty, forcing a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Kyle Clifton. Ryan then converted the turnover with a 1-yard touchdown pass to McNeil. The Chiefs were forced to punt on their next possession due to a sack by Mark Gastineau, and the Jets increased their lead to 21–6 with another score. The key player on this drive was receiver Al Toon, who made a 30-yard reception from Ryan, and later finished the drive with an 11-yard touchdown catch.
On the first play of the third quarter, Jets linebacker Kevin McArthur increased his team's lead to 28–6 by returning an interception 21 yards for a touchdown, which would be the only score of the quarter. Most of it would be taken up by the Chiefs' ensuing drive, which ended with a failed fourth and 1 conversion attempt. In the fourth quarter, they finally managed to score when cornerback Albert Lewis recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown. However, this was quickly countered on the Jets next possession as Ryan completed a 38-yard pass to Wesley Walker before finishing it with a 6-yard touchdown throw to tight end Billy Griggs (his first NFL reception). The only other score of the game would be an intentional safety when Jets punter Dave Jennings ran out of the end zone in the game's closing minutes.
McNeil finished the game with 135 rushing yards, three receptions for 16 yards, and two touchdowns.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Chiefs and Jets. Kansas City won the only prior meeting when both teams were in the AFL. This was the first home postseason win for the Jets since the 1968 American Football League Championship Game. It would also be the last playoff win for the Jets until 1998.
+Kansas City leads 1–0 in all-time playoff games
NFC: Washington Redskins 19, Los Angeles Rams 7
Although they outgained Washington in total yards 324–228, the Rams turned over the ball six times en route to a defeat against the Redskins.
In the first quarter, a fumble lost by Los Angeles running back Eric Dickerson led to Washington kicker Jess Atkinson's 25-yard field goal. The Redskins then extended their lead, 10–0, driving 60 yards to quarterback Jay Schroeder's 14-yard touchdown to running back Kelvin Bryant. A key play on the drive was a controversial pass interference penalty against Rams Pro Bowl cornerback LeRoy Irvin, which gave the Redskins 28 yards; 13 from the initial penalty and another 15 against Irvin for arguing with officials about it. LA had a great chance to respond when quarterback Jim Everett completed a 45-yard pass to Kevin House on the Redskins 28, but the drive ended with no points when Dickerson lost another fumble.
In the second quarter, Rams tight end David Hill lost a fumble due to a hit by Monte Coleman. Linebacker Neal Olkewicz recovered the ball and returned 19 yards to Rams 30-yard line, setting up Atkinson's 20-yard field goal. Hill's fumble was confirmed by a replay review that lasted nearly five minutes, prompting Redskins safety Curtis Jordan to declare "I thought they were trying to get in touch with Oliver North." This was the first time in NFL postseason history a replay was used to confirm a field call of a fumble.
Atkinson made two more field goals in the second half. The Rams' lone score of the game was Everett's 12-yard touchdown pass to House during the final quarter at the end of a 96-yard drive that was set up by Dickerson's 65-yard run. It seemed that Dickerson was headed for the end zone but he was caught from behind by Redskins defensive back Darrell Green. Later on, the Rams had a chance to score again, but Dickerson lost his third fumble of the day, this one while trying to convert a fourth and 1 on the Redskins 39.
Redskins running back George Rogers finished the game with 119 rushing yards, while Dickerson rushed for 158. Atkinson, who had been signed by Washington a few weeks before this game and had not kicked any field goals in over a year, set a postseason franchise record with four field goals.
This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Rams and Redskins. Los Angeles had won two of the prior three meetings.
+Los Angeles/ Cleveland Rams leads 2–1 in all-time playoff games
Divisional round
Saturday, January 3, 1987
AFC: Cleveland Browns 23, New York Jets 20 ()
Thirty-eight-year-old Browns kicker Mark Moseley, a former Washington Redskin whom Cleveland had talked out of retirement in order to replace the injured Matt Bahr less than two months earlier, made the game-winning 27-yard field goal after 2:02 elapsed of the second overtime period, making this the third longest game in NFL history and giving Cleveland their first postseason win since 1969.
After Mosely missed a 46-yard field goal attempt on Cleveland's opening possession, the Jets scored first on their third drive of the game with an 82-yard drive. Quarterback Pat Ryan started it off with a 28-yard completion to Al Toon and finished it with a 42-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Wesley Walker on a flea flicker play. Cleveland responded with Kosar completing passes to Ozzie Newsome for gains of 21 and 23 yards as he led the team 98 yards to score on his 37-yard completion to running back Herman Fontenot. Midway through the second quarter, Jeff Gossett's 39-yard punt pinned New York back on their own 4-yard line. The Jets were unable to get a first down with their drive, and to make matters worse, a 3rd down sack on Ryan by a gang of Browns defenders knocked him out of the game. New York's punt gave Cleveland on the ball at midfield, and they were able to take advantage of the field position, as Kosar's 25-yard completion to fullback Kevin Mack set up a 38-yard Mosely field goal that gave the Browns a 10–7 lead. The Jets, now led by Ken O'Brien, responded with less than two minutes left in the half on a last-second field goal drive to tie the game, featuring his season-long 16-yard run on fourth down and four to keep the drive alive.
Cleveland had to punt on the opening drive of the third quarter, and Kurt Sohn gave the Jets great field position with a 9-yard return to the Browns 41-yard line. New York then drove to a 37-yard Pat Leahy field goal to break the tie. Cleveland responded with a drive to the Jets 26-yard line, but it ended with no points on another missed field goal attempt by Moseley. Early in the fourth quarter, the Browns drove all the way to the New York 3-yard line, only to come up empty when Russell Carter intercepted a pass from Kosar in the end zone. Then after a punt, Kosar's next pass attempt was intercepted again, this time by Jerry Holmes, which set up Freeman McNeil's 25-yard touchdown run on the next play to give his team a 20–10 lead with 4:14 left in regulation. This led Jets announcer Charley Steiner to prematurely declare, "The Jets are gonna win this football game!"
But the Browns then drove 68-yards to score on Mack's 1-yard touchdown run with 1:57 left on the clock, on a drive that was aided by a roughing the passer penalty on Mark Gastineau that nullified an incompletion on second down and 24 from Cleveland's 18-yard line. After a failed onside kick attempt, the Browns stopped New York on two consecutive runs and then sacked O'Brien on a quarterback draw, bringing up 4th down on the Browns 48-yard line. Then they got another lucky break when a punt that would have pinned them inside their own 10-yard line was called back by a Jets holding penalty. On the second punt, Gerald McNeil returned the ball 10 yards to the Browns 32 with 53 seconds on the clock and no timeouts left. Following a 26-yard pass interference penalty on Carl Howard, Kosar completed a 37-yard pass to wide receiver Webster Slaughter on the Jets 5-yard line with 37 seconds to go. However, the Browns hurt themselves with excessive celebration after the catch, costing them several seconds before Kosar could break them up and get his team back to the line of scrimmage. The clock ran down to 15 seconds before the next snap, in which Kosar threw a pass that was broken up and nearly intercepted by Carter. Now with 11 seconds and no timeouts remaining, the Browns decided to play for overtime and had Moseley kick a game-tying 22-yard field goal.
After forcing the Jets to punt on the opening drive of overtime, Cleveland had a great chance to win after Kosar's 35-yard completion to Reggie Langhorne landed them at the Jets 5-yard line. They attempted a field goal on first down, but Moseley missed the 23-yard attempt. Still their defense continued to hold down New York, forcing them to punt on two more possessions. After the first punt, disaster nearly struck Cleveland when Mack fumbled the ball near his own 40-yard line, but Browns guard Paul Farren recovered it. With 2:38 left in the first overtime period, Cleveland got the ball on their own 31 following Dave Jennings' playoff record 14th punt of the game. After moving the ball to the Jets 42, receiver Brian Brennan made a key play when he broke up an errant pass that was nearly intercepted by Lester Lyles. This turned out to be crucial as the Browns running game would go on to take total control of the drive. First, Fontenot rushed for seven yards and then Mack added 26 yards on his next three carries, moving the ball to the 9-yard line to set up Moseley's second game-winning field goal attempt. This time, his kick was good, winning the game for the Browns after 17:02 of overtime play on an 11-play, 59-yard drive.