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AFC-N-24             1/3/01

CONTACT: DAN MASONSON (212/450-2081)

 

MIAMI AT OAKLAND SATURDAY, BALTIMORE AT TENNESSEE
SUNDAY IN AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS


SATURDAY, JANUARY 6
MIAMI DOLPHINS-AFC EAST (12-5) AT OAKLAND RAIDERS-AFC WEST (12-4)
SERIES

  DOLPHINS RAIDERS
LEADER   17-9-1 (Includes playoffs)
STREAKS Last 3  
COACHES VS. OPP. Wannstedt: 1-1 Gruden: 0-2
VS. COMMON OPP. Mia: 3-3 (Ind 1-1; NYJ 0-2; SD 1-0; Sea 1-0)

Oak: 5-1 (Ind 1-0; NYJ 1-0; SD 2-0; Sea 1-1)

PLAYOFF RECORD 20-17 21-15
LAST WEEK W 23-17 (OT) vs. Colts (Wild Card) Bye (Week 17: W 52-9 vs. Panthers)
LAST GAME 10/31/99: Dolphins 16 at Raiders 9. Miami’s Olindo Mare kicks 3 field goals and Dolphins defense holds Raiders to 187 yards while posting 5 sacks.
LAST GAME AT SITE 10/31/99.
LAST PLAYOFF 12/21/74: Dolphins 26 at Raiders 28. Oakland QB Ken Stabler throws game-winning eight-yard touchdown pass with 26 seconds remaining in fourth quarter.
BROADCAST CBS (1:00 PM PT): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms, Armen Keteyian (field reporter). CBS Radio: Tony Roberts, Boomer Esiason, Rick Walker (Field reporter). Game will be televised live in United Kingdom by Sky Sports.

2000 STAT LEADERS

QBs Fiedler: 204-357-2,402-14-14-74.5 Gannon: 284-473-3,430-28-11-92.4 (3C)
RBs Smith: 309-1,139-3.7-14 (T2C) Wheatley: 232-1,046-4.5-9
WRs Gadsden: 56-786-14.0-6 Brown: 76-1,128-14.8-11
OFFENSE 278.8 361.0 (3C)
TAKE/GIVE +15 +17 (T3L)
DEFENSE 289.8 328.1
SACKS Armstrong: 16.5 (1C) Jackson: 8.0
INTs Walker: 7 (T1C) Allen, Thomas: 6 (T3C)
PR Ogden: 17.0 Gordon: 8.9
KOR Denson: 24.8 Dunn: 24.4
PUNTING Turk: 42.1 Lechler (R): 45.9 (2L)
KICKING Mare: 117 (33/34 PAT; 28/31 FG) Janikowski (R): 112 (46/46 PAT; 22/32 FG)

NOTES

FIRST PLAYOFF GAME IN OAKLAND since 1980 (W 27-7 vs. Houston, 12/28)......Clubs meet in Oakland for fifth consecutive season (Dolphins won 3 of past 4)......Game features 2 of 3 AFC clubs with at least 20 playoff wins – Oakland 21, Miami 20 (Pittsburgh 21).

DOLPHINS: Aim for first AFC Championship Game appearance since 1992...... Miami 1 of 2 teams making fourth consecutive playoff appearance (Minnesota, five)......Club won first AFC East title since 1994......Dolphins have won five consecutive road games......JAY FIEDLER (Dartmouth) is only Ivy League QB to win a playoff start since 1970......RB LAMAR SMITH had NFL postseason-record 40 carries & NFL playoff No. 2 all-time 209 rush yards vs. Colts. He has 13 TD runs in last 10 games……Defense ranked third in NFL in points allowed (14.1)……"D" topped league with 28 INTs…… Miami had No. 1 NFL defensive passer rating (57.5)……DEs TRACE ARMSTRONG (16.5) & JASON TAYLOR (14.5) finished 1-2 in AFC in sacks, becoming second duo to finish first and second in a conference (Carolina’s KEVIN GREENE & LAMAR LATHON in 1996). The duo’s 31 sacks topped all NFL tandems. Armstrong has 9.0 playoff sacks & needs 1.5 to tie RICHARD DENT for fourth in NFL postseason history……K OLINDO MARE is the second most-accurate FG kicker in NFL history (.836; 117 of 140), behind RYAN LONGWELL, .847.......Held foes avg. drive start to 26.1-yard line – tied with Denver for tops in AFC......Club has 5 Pro Bowlers (Armstrong, LARRY IZZO, SAM MADISON, BROCK MARION, Taylor). Defense tied with Baltimore & Tampa Bay for NFL-high with 3 All-Star starters – DEs Armstrong & Taylor and CB Madison.

RAIDERS: Aim for first AFC Championship Game appearance since 1990......Have won past 4 playoff games in Oakland (last loss 24-13 vs. Steelers in 1974 AFC Championship Game). Club has won 10 of 12 all-time playoff games in Oakland......Raiders have won 9 of past 10 home games......Team is 11-4 (.733) all-time in divisional playoff games – most wins by any AFC/AFL club in the round...... Raiders ranked second in AFC with 29.9 points per game avg. (Denver) ……Offense made AFC-high 65 red-zone trips (38 TDs, 17 FGs)……QB RICH GANNON makes first career playoff start. He tied for second in AFC with 28 TD passes (ELVIS GRBAC). Gannon topped AFC QBs with 529 rushing yards...... Oakland had NFL’s top ground game (154.4) & AFC-most 23 TD runs......WR TIM BROWN has 317 receiving yards (17 catches, 18.6 avg. & 2 TD) in 5 career playoff games. Brown (1,128 receiving yards) is tied with Minnesota’s CRIS CARTER for top active streak & second-best all-time string with 8 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons (JERRY RICE, 11 from 1986-96). He also has five 1,000s after age 30 – tying with Rice for best such total in NFL history......Club had fewest giveaways (20) in AFC......Rookie SHANE LECHLER had NFL-best 38.0 net punting average.


SUNDAY, JANUARY 7
BALTIMORE RAVENS-AFC CENTRAL (13-4) AT TENNESSEE TITANS-AFC CENTRAL (13-3)
SERIES

  RAVENS TITANS
LEADER   6-4
STREAKS 2 of past 3  
COACHES VS. OPP. Billick: 2-2 Fisher: 6-4
VS. COMMON OPP. Balt: 8-2 (Cin 2-0; Cle 2-0; Dall 1-0; Jax 2-0; Pitt 1-1; Wash 0-1)

Ten: 9-1 (Cin 2-0; Cle 2-0; Dall 1-0; Jax 1-1; Pitt 2-0; Wash 1-0)

PLAYOFF RECORD 1-0 12-14
LAST WEEK W 21-3 vs. Denver (Wild Card) Bye (Week 17: W 31-0 vs. Cowboys)
LAST GAME 11/12/00: Ravens 24 at Titans 23. Baltimore QB Trent Dilfer throws game-winning two-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Johnson with 25 seconds left in fourth quarter.
LAST GAME AT SITE 11/12/00
LAST PLAYOFF --
BROADCAST CBS (11:30 PM CT): Dick Enberg, Dan Dierdorf, Bonnie Bernstein (Field reporter). CBS Radio: Brad Sham, Bob Trumpy, James Lofton (Field reporter). Game will be televised live in United Kingdom by Sky Sports.

2000 STAT LEADERS

QBs Dilfer: 134-226-1,502-12-11-76.6 McNair: 248-396-2,847-15-13-83.2
RBs Ja. Lewis (R): 309-1,364-4.4-6 George: 403-1,509 (2C)-3.7-14
WRs Sharpe (TE): 67-810-12.1-5 Wycheck (TE): 70-636-9.1-4
OFFENSE 313.4 334.4
TAKE/GIVE +23 (1L) 0
DEFENSE 247.9 (2L) 238.4 (1L)
SACKS Burnett: 10.5 Kearse: 11.5
INTs Starks: 6 (T3C) Rolle: 7 (T1C)
PR Je. Lewis: 16.1 (1L) Mason: 13.0 (3C)
KOR Harris: 23.3 Mason: 27.0 (1C)
PUNTING Richardson: 40.2 Hentrich: 40.8
KICKING Stover: 135 (1L) (30/30 PAT; 35/39 FG) Del Greco: 118 (3C) (37/38 PAT; 27/33 FG)

NOTES

GAME FEATURES NFL’s TOP 2 DEFENSES – No. 1 Tennessee (238.4) & No. 2 Baltimore (247.9). Marks sixth time in history that top two defensive units meet in playoff game......Five of past seven meetings between teams decided by 4 points-or-less.

RAVENS: Have won 8 in row – top current NFL streak……Baltimore had 6-2 road mark in ’00 & is only NFL visitor to win at Adelphia Coliseum (24-23 on 11/12)......QB TRENT DILFER has won 9 of past 11 Dec./Jan. starts (including 2-1 in playoffs). He is 8-1 as Ravens starter (1-0 in postseason)……Club’s 33:19 avg. possession time finished second in NFL to Titans (33:48)……RB JAMAL LEWIS (110 yards vs. Broncos in Wild Card) has 1,037 rush yards in last 9 games. Ravens are 6-0 when Lewis rushes for 100 yards (includes 1-0 in playoffs). Lewis rushed for 2,677 yards in 3 years at Univ. of Tenn. (1997-99)……Ravens set NFL 16-game season record with 165 points allowed (old record: 187 by ’86 Bears)……Defense has allowed only 11 TDs over last 14 games (including WC game)……Club finished second in league in total defense (247.9) & led in rush defense (60.6). Run defense yielded 970 yards – NFL-best in 16-game season (previous record: 1,061 by ’95 49ers)......Defense topped NFL in yards-per-carry avg. (2.69) & has NFL-best 34 games in row (including WC) without allowing 100-yard rusher...…Ravens had NFL-high 49 takeaways & 26 FRs......Allowed NFL-fewest 27 red-zone trips & had AFC-best 29.6 defensive-TD rate......Defense tied for NFL high with Miami & Tampa Bay with 3 All-Star starters – DT SAM ADAMS, LB RAY LEWIS & S ROD WOODSON.

TITANS: Club has won 11 of past 12 Dec./Jan. games (includes 3-1 in ’99 playoffs)……Have won 16 of 17 games at Adelphia Coliseum (including 1-0 in ’99 playoffs)……Head coach JEFF FISHER 3-1 all-time in postseason & needs 1 win to match BUM PHILLIPS’ club record for playoff victories......QB STEVE MC NAIR tops AFC 2000 playoff QBs with 4 career postseason starts. He has 7.0 yards/carry avg. in postseason (209 rush yards in 4 games). McNair has won 21 of past 26 starts. Had 63.9 third-down completion pct. in 2000 – tied for second in AFC……Club topped NFL with 33:48 avg. time of possession......RB EDDIE GEORGE has 11 TDs in his past 6 games. Needs 2 touchdowns & 28 carries to pass EARL CAMPBELL (4 & 135) for most total touchdowns & rush attempts in club playoff history. George averages 112.3 rushing yards per playoff game. He led NFL with 403 carries. One of 2 players in history with 1,200 rushing yards in each of first 5 seasons (ERIC DICKERSON)......WR-KR DERRICK MASON set NFL record with 2,690 all- purpose yards in 2000……Club topped AFC with 55 sacks. DE JEVON KEARSE has 8 sacks in his past 7 games (vs. 3 in first 9) ……Defense has yielded 2 TDs in past 24 quarters……Pass defense (151.5) topped NFL......K AL DEL GRECO has FG in 8 consecutive playoff games and needs 1 vs. Ravens to tie KEVIN BUTLER and SCOTT NORWOOD for second in category (behind TONI FRITSCH, 13). His 53-yard FG vs. Jets in 1991 is third-longest in playoff history......Club started avg. drive on 33.2-yard line – tops in NFL...... Tennessee tied with Tampa Bay for NFL-high 8 Pro Bowl selections (SS BLAINE BISHOP, George, T BRAD HOPKINS, Kearse, Mason, G BRUCE MATTHEWS, CB SAMARI ROLLE and TE FRANK WYCHECK).