Divisional Round: Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles (Veterans Stadium), with a Conference Championship spot at stake. Kickoff: Sat January 3, 1981 at 12:30pm. Winner advances to the Conference Championship. The losing team's season is over.[1][2]
The divisional round is where the bracket is supposed to take its real shape. Minnesota Vikings traveling to Philadelphia Eagles at Veterans Stadium, with the league watching to see whether the better team or the better matchup wins. Bye-week home favorites carry the weight of expectation; the visiting wild-card winner walks in with no one expecting them and nothing to lose.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Veterans Stadium shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
Minnesota Vikings versus Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of Minnesota Vikings-Philadelphia Eagles cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Browns | 11-5 | W1 |
| Houston Oilers | 11-5 | W3 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 9-7 | L1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 6-10 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | 11-5 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 10-6 | W2 |
| Miami Dolphins | 8-8 | L1 |
| Baltimore Colts | 7-9 | L3 |
| New York Jets | 4-12 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland Raiders | 11-5 | W2 |
| San Diego Chargers | 11-5 | W2 |
| Denver Broncos | 8-8 | W1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 8-8 | W1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 4-12 | L9 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | 12-4 | L1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 11-5 | W2 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 6-10 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 1-15 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Detroit Lions | 9-7 | W2 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 9-7 | L1 |
| Chicago Bears | 7-9 | W1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 5-10-1 | L4 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5-10-1 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 12-4 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 12-4 | L1 |
| Washington Redskins | 6-10 | W3 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 5-11 | L2 |
| New York Giants | 4-12 | L2 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Vikings | Sammy White 30 yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick) | 7-0 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Vikings | Ted Brown 1 yard rush (Rick Danmeier kick) | 14-0 |
| Eagles | Harold Carmichael 9 yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) | 14-7 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Eagles | Wilbert Montgomery 8 yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) | 14-14 |
| Vikings | Safety, Martin and Blair tackled Jaworski in end zone | 16-14 |
| Eagles | Wilbert Montgomery 5 yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) | 16-21 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Eagles | Tony Franklin 33 yard field goal | 16-24 |
| Eagles | Perry Harrington 2 yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) | 16-31 |
Philadelphia Eagles defeated Minnesota Vikings 31-16 at Veterans Stadium in the Divisional Round. The final scoring play was Eagles: Perry Harrington 2 yard rush (Tony Franklin kick). Top line of the day: Tommy Kramer: 209 pass yards on 19-of-39, 1 TD, 5 INT. Philadelphia Eagles move on to the conference final.[1][2]
Philadelphia Eagles walked out of Veterans Stadium as the team that survived a Divisional Round Minnesota Vikings will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 31-16. The final scoring play came from Eagles: Perry Harrington 2 yard rush (Tony Franklin kick). Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. Philadelphia Eagles move on to a conference championship.
Philadelphia Eagles 31, Minnesota Vikings 16.
Round: Divisional Round.
Q1: 1 scoring play.
Q2: 2 scoring plays.
Q3: 3 scoring plays.
Q4: 2 scoring plays.
Top performers:
- Tommy Kramer: 209 pass yards on 19-of-39, 1 TD, 5 INT
- Wilbert Montgomery: 74 rush yards on 26 carries
- Harold Carmichael: 7 catches for 84 yards
Divisional Round, played at Veterans Stadium. Final: Minnesota Vikings 16, Philadelphia Eagles 31, with Philadelphia Eagles taking the result by 15.
First quarter
- Vikings: Sammy White 30 yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick)
Second quarter
- Vikings: Ted Brown 1 yard rush (Rick Danmeier kick)
- Eagles: Harold Carmichael 9 yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick)
Third quarter
- Eagles: Wilbert Montgomery 8 yard rush (Tony Franklin kick)
- Vikings: Safety, Martin and Blair tackled Jaworski in end zone
- Eagles: Wilbert Montgomery 5 yard rush (Tony Franklin kick)
Fourth quarter
- Eagles: Tony Franklin 33 yard field goal
- Eagles: Perry Harrington 2 yard rush (Tony Franklin kick)
Top performers
- Tommy Kramer: 209 pass yards on 19-of-39, 1 TD, 5 INT
- Wilbert Montgomery: 74 rush yards on 26 carries
- Harold Carmichael: 7 catches for 84 yards
| Vikings | Eagles | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 14 | 24 |
| Total Yards | 215 | 305 |
| Turnovers | 8 | 3 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 19/39 | 17/38 |
| Pass yards | 209 | 190 |
| Pass TD | 1 | 1 |
| Interceptions | 5 | 2 |
| Sacks taken | 3 | 2 |
| Sack yards lost | 30 | 11 |
| Net pass yards | 179 | 179 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 13 | 42 |
| Rush yards | 36 | 126 |
| Rush TD | 1 | 3 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 3 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 3 | 1 |
| Penalties | 5 | 4 |
| Penalty yards | 27 | 30 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIN | |||||
| Tommy Kramer | 19/39 | 209 | 1 | 5 | 34 |
| PHI | |||||
| Ron Jaworski | 17/38 | 190 | 1 | 2 | 47 |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIN | ||||
| Doug Paschal | 4 | 26 | 0 | 14 |
| Ted Brown | 5 | 14 | 1 | 5 |
| Robert Miller | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Rickey Young | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sammy White | 1 | -6 | 0 | -6 |
| PHI | ||||
| Wilbert Montgomery | 26 | 74 | 2 | 12 |
| Leroy Harris | 7 | 27 | 0 | 11 |
| Rodney Parker | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Louie Giammona | 7 | 11 | 0 | 4 |
| Perry Harrington | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIN | ||||
| Rickey Young | 6 | 57 | 0 | 23 |
| Sammy White | 2 | 52 | 1 | 30 |
| Ted Brown | 4 | 25 | 0 | 15 |
| Joe Senser | 4 | 25 | 0 | 22 |
| Ahmad Rashad | 1 | 23 | 0 | 23 |
| Doug Paschal | 1 | 19 | 0 | 19 |
| Bob Bruer | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| PHI | ||||
| Harold Carmichael | 7 | 84 | 1 | 27 |
| Keith Krepfle | 2 | 27 | 0 | 20 |
| Wilbert Montgomery | 2 | 26 | 0 | 15 |
| Billy Campfield | 2 | 21 | 0 | 11 |
| Scott Fitzkee | 2 | 19 | 0 | 13 |
| Leroy Harris | 2 | 13 | 0 | 11 |
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