Divisional Round: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Green Bay Packers (Lambeau Field), with a Conference Championship spot at stake. Kickoff: Sun January 4, 1998 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. Tampa Bay Buccaneers traveling to Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, 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. Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Lambeau Field shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers versus Green Bay Packers 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 Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Green Bay Packers 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 11-5 | W2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 11-5 | L1 |
| Tennessee Oilers | 8-8 | W1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 7-9 | W3 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 6-9-1 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 10-6 | W1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 9-7 | L2 |
| New York Jets | 9-7 | L1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 6-10 | L3 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 3-13 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Chiefs | 13-3 | W6 |
| Denver Broncos | 12-4 | W1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 8-8 | W2 |
| Oakland Raiders | 4-12 | L5 |
| San Diego Chargers | 4-12 | L8 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco 49ers | 13-3 | L1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7-9 | L1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 7-9 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 6-10 | L1 |
| St. Louis Rams | 5-11 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 13-3 | W5 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 10-6 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 9-7 | W2 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 9-7 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 4-12 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | 10-5-1 | W3 |
| Washington Redskins | 8-7-1 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 6-9-1 | L3 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 6-10 | L5 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 4-12 | -- |
1997 NFC Divisional Playoff Tampa Bay v Green Bay
1997 NFC Divisional Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Green Bay Packers
NFL on FOX - 1997 Divisional Playoffs open - Buccaneers vs Packers
1998 NFL on FOX Postgame Report (Packers vs. Buccaneers: 1997 NFC Divisional Playoff Game)
NFL on FOX - 1997 NFC Divisional Playoffs - Jan. 4, 1998 Pregame Show - Q&A: Buccaneers vs Packers
1998 NFL on FOX Halftime Report (Packers vs. Buccaneers: 1997 NFC Divisional Playoff Game)
1997 NFC Divisional Round: Bucs vs Packers - Thoughts
1997 NFC Playoffs Buccaneers vs Packers NFL Primetime Highlights (Fox Intro)Tampa Bay Buccaneers None, Green Bay Packers None
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 00777 |
| Green Bay Packers | 7 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 713132121 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Packers | Mark Chmura 3 yard pass from Brett Favre ( Ryan Longwell kick) | 0-7 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Packers | Ryan Longwell 21 yard field goal | 0-10 |
| Packers | Ryan Longwell 32 yard field goal | 0-13 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers | Mike Alstott 6 yard rush ( Michael Husted kick) | 7-13 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Packers | Dorsey Levens 2 yard rush ( Brett Favre run) | 7-21 |
Green Bay Packers defeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21-7 at Lambeau Field in the Divisional Round. The final scoring play was Packers: Dorsey Levens 2 yard rush ( Brett Favre run). Top line of the day: Trent Dilfer: 200 pass yards on 11-of-36, 0 TD, 2 INT. Green Bay Packers move on to the conference final.[1][2]
Green Bay Packers walked out of Lambeau Field as the team that survived a Divisional Round Tampa Bay Buccaneers will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 21-7. The final scoring play came from Packers: Dorsey Levens 2 yard rush ( Brett Favre run). Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. Green Bay Packers move on to a conference championship.
Green Bay Packers 21, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7. Round: Divisional Round. Attendance: 60327. Q1: 1 scoring play. Q2: 2 scoring plays. Q3: 1 scoring play. Q4: 1 scoring play. Top performers:
- Trent Dilfer: 200 pass yards on 11-of-36, 0 TD, 2 INT
- Dorsey Levens: 112 rush yards on 25 carries
- Antonio Freeman: 4 catches for 75 yards
Divisional Round, played at Lambeau Field. Final: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7, Green Bay Packers 21, with Green Bay Packers taking the result by 14. **First quarter**
- Packers: Mark Chmura 3 yard pass from Brett Favre ( Ryan Longwell kick)
Second quarter
- Packers: Ryan Longwell 21 yard field goal
- Packers: Ryan Longwell 32 yard field goal
Third quarter
- Buccaneers: Mike Alstott 6 yard rush ( Michael Husted kick)
Fourth quarter
- Packers: Dorsey Levens 2 yard rush ( Brett Favre run)
Top performers
- Trent Dilfer: 200 pass yards on 11-of-36, 0 TD, 2 INT
- Dorsey Levens: 112 rush yards on 25 carries
- Antonio Freeman: 4 catches for 75 yards
| Buccaneers | Packers | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 15 | 16 |
| Total Yards | 263 | 289 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 12/37 | 15/28 |
| Pass yards | 200 | 190 |
| Pass TD | 0 | 1 |
| Interceptions | 2 | 2 |
| Sacks taken | 2 | 4 |
| Sack yards lost | 27 | 19 |
| Net pass yards | 173 | 171 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 27 | 32 |
| Rush yards | 90 | 118 |
| Rush TD | 1 | 1 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 2 | 3 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 1 |
| Penalties | 3 | 7 |
| Penalty yards | 38 | 90 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TAM | |||||
| Trent Dilfer | 11/36 | 200 | 0 | 2 | |
| Steve Walsh | 1/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| GNB | |||||
| Brett Favre | 15/28 | 190 | 1 | 2 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TAM | ||||
| Warrick Dunn | 18 | 64 | 0 | 12 |
| Mike Alstott | 7 | 21 | 1 | 6 |
| Reidel Anthony | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Steve Walsh | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GNB | ||||
| Dorsey Levens | 25 | 112 | 1 | 21 |
| William Henderson | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Brett Favre | 5 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TAM | ||||
| Dave Moore | 3 | 54 | 0 | 28 |
| Reidel Anthony | 1 | 52 | 0 | 52 |
| Horace Copeland | 4 | 44 | 0 | 17 |
| Warrick Dunn | 2 | 34 | 0 | 22 |
| Robb Thomas | 1 | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| John Davis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GNB | ||||
| Antonio Freeman | 4 | 75 | 0 | 26 |
| Derrick Mayes | 2 | 37 | 0 | 23 |
| Dorsey Levens | 4 | 29 | 0 | 13 |
| Robert Brooks | 1 | 21 | 0 | 21 |
| Mark Chmura | 2 | 20 | 1 | 17 |
| William Henderson | 2 | 8 | 0 | 5 |
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