Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

American Football: Jets' propulsion seizes up as Buffalo take title: AFC play-off contenders are checked as Steelers fall prey to Seahawks and Broncos are bucked by Buccaneers

Matt Tench
Tuesday 28 December 1993 00:02 GMT
Comments

AS WINTER'S chill bit into America at the weekend, the race for the play-offs reached fever pitch. The gridiron tradition that games are never postponed means that players and fans have to endure extraordinarily cold temperatures. Right now, though, those in Buffalo and Green Bay will be thawing out with a warm glow.

When the match between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets kicked off at at Rich Stadium, New York the temperature was -12C, with a chill wind that made it 28 below. It was never a classic and, in the end, field goals proved decisive. Buffalo's Steve Christie succeeded with three from 38, 36 and 40 yards, while his Jet counterpart, Cary Blanchard, missed three, including a 42-yarder with 52 seconds remaining. That left the Bills 16-14 winners and champions of the AFC East for the fifth time in six years.

Blanchard's late miss meant Christie's 40-yarder with 3:53 left was the game-winner, though he readily admitted to a touch of luck. 'I couldn't feel the ball. You know where the ball is, you think you know where your foot is. Hopefully, the two will meet,' he said.

The Bills, along with the Oilers, who won at San Francisco on Saturday, were exceptions to the AFC rule which saw the primary play-off hopefuls displaying all the resilience of melting snowmen. The Jets were joined in defeat by the Pittsburgh Steelers of the Central Division, and all three contenders from the West.

The previously highly fancied Steelers lost their fourth game out of six in Seattle, where Rick Mirer threw a touchdown pass and John Kasay notched a trio of field goals. It was Seattle's first win in five weeks.

In the West the Los Angeles Raiders got the division off to a dismal start by being frozen out on a rock-hard Lambeau Field, where the wind chill took it to -22. The Packers' 28-0 victory ensured a play-off place for the first time in 21 years (excluding the strike-hit season of 1982).

If the manner of the Raiders' defeat was a surprise, Denver's loss at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was one of the shocks of the season. The Broncos, traditionally impregnable at home, were confronting a side that had chalked up just four wins this season. The Bucs made it five with Craig Erickson throwing a couple of touchdown passes in a 17-10 victory.

Denver's defeat meant the Kansas City Chiefs were champions of the AFC West whatever happened in their game with the Minnesota Vikings. What did happen was that the Chiefs were thrashed 30-10, with Joe Montana throwing a couple of interceptions. Scottie Graham, who was working in a chemist's six weeks ago, ran for 166 yards, his second consecutive 100-yard game.

In the NFC Green Bay were joined in the play-offs by the Detroit Lions, who conceded 55 points at home last week but conjured a 20-14 victory in Chicago. Detroit play Green Bay on Sunday with the NFC Central title going to the winner.

On the same day the NFC East title will also be on the line, when the Dallas Cowboys visit the New York Giants. This week's results suggest the Cowboys will prevail: they thrashed the Washington Redskins 38-3, while the Giants went down 17-6 in Phoenix.

Troy Aikman, the Cowboys quarterback, has just signed a dollars 50m ( pounds 34m) contract that makes him the league's highest paid player and will keep him a Cowboy for the next eight years. Aikman celebrated the deal, which includes an immediately payable dollars 11m signing bonus, with a couple of touchdown passes.

Five of the NFC's six play-off places are now decided. Definitely out of contention are the Atlanta Falcons, whose defeat at Cincinnati may cost their head coach Jerry Glanville his job. The New Orleans Saints remain in the hunt but are a shadow of the side that opened the season with five victories. Defeat in Philadelphia was their fourth in a row.

The Saints have conceded 330 points this season, 71 more than the New England Patriots. After a difficult start there are distinct signs that the Pats, under their new head coach, Bill Parcells, are becoming a team to respect. The 38-0 defeat of Indianapolis was their third win in a row. A shame that only 26,571 were at Foxboro Stadium to see it. Then again, when the temperature is -20 perhaps the fans need the prospect of a division title to tempt them out.

NFL: Buffalo 16 NY Jets 14; Detroit 20 Chicago 14; Cincinnati 21 Atlanta 17; Green Bay 28 LA Raiders 0; New England 38 Indianapolis 0; Philadelphia 37 New Orleans 26; Dallas 38 Washington 3; Tampa Bay 17 Denver 10; Cleveland 42 LA Rams 14; Phoenix 17 NY Giants 6; Seattle 16 Pittsburgh 6; Minnesota 30 Kansas City 10.

----------------------------------------------------------------- NFL DIVISIONAL STANDINGS ----------------------------------------------------------------- AMERICAN CONFERENCE ----------------------------------------------------------------- Eastern Division W L T Pct. PF PA *Buffalo. . . . . . 11 4 0 .733 299 232 Miami. . . . . . . . 9 5 0 .643 302 273 NY Jets. . . . . . . 8 7 0 .533 270 223 Indianapolis. . . . .4 11 0 .267 179 348 New England. . . . . 4 11 0 .267 205 259 Central Division *Houston. . . . . . 11 4 0 .733 344 238 Pittsburgh. . . . . .8 7 0 .533 292 272 Cleveland. . . . . . 7 8 0 .467 295 291 Cincinnati. . . . . .3 12 0 .200 174 299 Western Division *Kansas City. . . . 10 5 0 .667 294 267 Denver. . . . . . . .9 6 0 .600 343 251 LA Raiders. . . . . .9 6 0 .600 273 296 San Diego. . . . . . 6 8 0 .429 245 253 Seattle. . . . . . . 6 9 0 .400 256 280 ----------------------------------------------------------------- NATIONAL CONFERENCE ----------------------------------------------------------------- Eastern Division Dallas. . . . . . . 11 4 0 .733 360 216 NY Giants. . . . . .11 4 0 .733 275 189 Philadelphia. . . . .7 8 0 .467 256 281 Phoenix. . . . . . . 6 9 0 .400 299 259 Washington. . . . . .4 11 0 .267 221 331 Central Division Green Bay. . . . . . 9 6 0 .600 320 252 Detroit. . . . . . . 9 6 0 .600 268 272 Minnesota. . . . . . 8 7 0 .533 263 281 Chicago. . . . . . . 7 8 0 .467 228 210 Tampa Bay. . . . . . 5 10 0 .333 220 344 Western Division *San Francisco . . .10 5 0 .667 439 258 New Orleans. . . . . 7 8 0 .467 297 330 Atlanta. . . . . . . 6 9 0 .400 306 358 LA Rams. . . . . . . 4 11 0 .267 201 361 ----------------------------------------------------------------- * clinched division title clinched play-off berth -----------------------------------------------------------------

(Photographs omitted)

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in