FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2001
PLAYOFF PASSING DEBUTS: In his playoff debut against the New Orleans Saints last week, Minnesota Vikings quarterback DAUNTE CULPEPPER completed 17 of 31 passes for 302 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions for a 120.6 passer rating. Culpepper’s rating is the best ever in Vikings playoff history for a single game and puts him in position to become the seventh quarterback to achieve a passer rating of 100.0 or more in his first postseason. Following are the six players to accomplish that feat:
| Player | Team | Year |
Comp. |
Att. |
Yards |
TD |
INT |
Passer Rating |
| Tony Eason | New England | 1985 |
29 |
48 |
367 |
5 |
0 |
119.0 |
| Tobin Rote | Detroit | 1957 |
28 |
49 |
494 |
5 |
1 |
117.2 |
| Erik Kramer | Detroit | 1991 |
50 |
71 |
590 |
4 |
1 |
108.3 |
| Sammy Baugh | Washington | 1937 |
18 |
33 |
335 |
3 |
1 |
107.5 |
| Jim McMahon | Chicago | 1985 |
39 |
66 |
636 |
3 |
0 |
106.6 |
| Lynn Dickey | Green Bay | 1982 |
36 |
59 |
592 |
5 |
3 |
101.8 |
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME APPEARANCES: The New York Giants on Sunday will play in their 17th championship game (NFL, 1933-69 and NFC, 1970-present). The Giants are tied with the Dallas Cowboys for most championship games played (16). Teams with most championship-game appearances:
| Team | Championship Games |
| Dallas Cowboys | 16 |
| New York Giants | 16 |
| Chicago Bears | 13 |
| Cleveland/Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams | 13 |
| Green Bay Packers | 13 |
MAGNIFICENT MOSS: Minnesota wide receiver RANDY MOSS had two receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns in the Divisional Playoffs against New Orleans. Moss moved into a second place tie with JAMES LOFTON for consecutive playoff games with a touchdown pass (5). In his five-game postseason career, Moss ranks first all-time in touchdowns per game average (1.4) as well as yards per game average (116.8). The top five in each category (minimum five games played):
| Player | Games |
TDs |
TDs per game |
Player | Games |
Yards |
Yards per game |
|||||||
| Randy Moss | 5 |
7 |
1.4 |
Randy Moss | 5 |
584 |
116.8 |
|||||||
| Harold Carmichael | 7 |
6 |
0.9 |
Tom Fears | 6 |
587 |
97.8 |
|||||||
| Tom Fears | 6 |
5 |
0.8 |
John Jackson | 5 |
431 |
86.2 |
|||||||
| Ernest Givens | 10 |
8 |
0.8 |
Michael Irvin | 16 |
1,315 |
82.2 |
|||||||
| Jerry Rice | 23 |
19 |
0.8 |
Dwight Clark | 9 |
726 |
80.7 |
|||||||
PLAYOFF REGULARS: The Minnesota Vikings will play in their 40th playoff game this Sunday and break their second-place tie with the San Francisco 49ers behind the Dallas Cowboys (53) for most playoff games in history. Following are the most playoff games played:
| Team | Playoff Games |
| Dallas Cowboys | 53 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 39 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 39 |
| Miami Dolphins | 37 |
| Boston/Washington Redskins | 37 |
| Cleveland/Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams | 37 |
*** NFC ***
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: Since 1975, when home field advantage in the playoffs was no longer predetermined, 15 of the 25 NFC teams (60 percent) to win home field have won the conference championship and advanced to the Super Bowl. Twelve of those 25 (48 percent) have won the Super Bowl. The New York Giants will attempt to become the 16th team with the top seed in the playoffs to advance to Super Bowl.
*** NFC ***
GEORGE HALAS TROPHY: EDWARD and VIRGINIA MC CASKEY of the Chicago Bears Board of Directors will present the winner of the NFC Championship Game with the GEORGE HALAS TROPHY. The presentation will take place on the field after the game. Halas, the late owner of the Chicago Bears and a founder of the NFL, is the second-winningest coach in NFL history (324-151-31) behind DON SHULA (347-173-6). He won six NFL championships with the Bears and is a charter enshrinee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Virginia McCaskey is the daughter of George Halas.
HONORARY CAPTAINS: The teams will be represented by players from their last Super Bowl teams. Honorary captains for the Vikings will be quarterback FRAN TARKENTON, tackle RON YARY and safety PAUL KRAUSE, who played in Super Bowl XI. Honorary captains for the Giants will be linebacker LAWRENCE TAYLOR and running back OTTIS ANDERSON, who played in Super Bowl XXV.