The Denver Broncos raced to a big lead, suffered a mini-collapse, then trampled over the Jacksonville Jaguars to avenge a numbing loss to their upstart opponents in the play-offs last year.
The lop-sided 42-17 result in the AFC wild card game still held anxious moments for the Broncos, a team with a tendency to blow comfortable leads. So when the Jaguars cut the Broncos' 21-0 lead to make it a 21-17 game in the third quarter, there must have been heart palpitations among Denver fans at Mile High Stadium.
Last year, the Broncos squandered a 12-0 cushion over the Jaguars. This time, the Jaguars failed to capitalise on a couple of Denver turnovers after clawing themselves back into the game. Once let off the hook, the Broncos went wild, scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter behind a dominant offensive line.
"This is the best I've seen an offensive line play," said John Elway, who passed for 223 yards and one touchdown. "We dominated from the get go. In the air, on the ground. We are a tough offence to stop."
In the fourth quarter deluge, Derek Loville, replacing Terrell Davis at running-back, scored two touchdowns and Vaughn Hebron got the final touchdown. Before going off with bruised ribs, Davis inflicted heavy damage. One of the NFL's best backs, Davis rushed for two touchdowns and 184 yards, a Denver play-off record, a remarkable feat for someone suffering from a slightly separated shoulder.
Elway started masterfully as the Broncos rattled off 21 unanswered points with Davis repeatedly carving his way through Jacksonville's soft middle. By contrast, Natrone Means failed to make much impact against Denver's much-maligned run defence. The Broncos were too good for the Jaguars this year in all facets. Denver outgained Jacksonville 511 yards to 237 and held the ball nearly 41 minutes to 19.
The place to see a whole stadium in shock was at the Meadowlands where New York Giants fans watched incredulously as the Minnesota Vikings overcame a wretchedly sloppy start to snatch victory in the NFC wild card game in the dying seconds. At half-time the Vikings were behind 16 points.
Giants fans were already starting to celebrate as their team led 22-13 in the last two minutes. But their world began to fall apart as Randall Cunningham, in Minnesota colours after many years as quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, fired a 30-yard touchdown pass to Jake Reed with just one-and-a-half minutes left. The next play was an on-side kick by the Vikings recovered by their own Chris Walsh.
Cunningham, shrugging off an interception and two fumbles on consecutive snaps in the first half, marched the Vikings upfield, allowing Eddie Murray to finish the Giants off with a 24-yard field goal.
New England Patriot's defence overpowered Miami Dolphins, with interceptions producing one touchdown and setting up another in a 17-3 romp in last night's National football League play-off in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
The Patriot's first-round victory decided next week's NFL quarter-final pairings in the American Conference, with New England going to Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver visiting Kansas City.
