Ineligible to play against Dallas, the Eagles instead played the number two seed Buccaneers in the Divisional Round while the Cowboys faced the Rams. The Eagles' wild card victory therefore ensured that a team other than the Cowboys, Rams or Minnesota Vikings would reach the NFC Championship Game for the first time since the Washington Redskins' appearance in the 1972 title game. This was the first postseason meeting between the Bears and Eagles. AFC: Houston Oilers 13, Denver Broncos 7 The Oilers managed to shut down the Broncos offense for most of the game en route to a 13–7 win, holding the Broncos to 216 yards and recording six sacks. Oilers quarterback Dan Pastorini's 41-yard completion to running back Ron Coleman set up the game's first score on Toni Fritsch 31-yard field goal. Denver then marched 80 yards in 13 plays to score on quarterback Craig Morton's 7-yard touchdown pass to running back Dave Preston. From that point on, the Oilers controlled the rest of the game. With less than 3 minutes left in the first half, Houston advanced 74 yards to score on running back Earl Campbell's 3-yard touchdown run. Although Campbell, Pastorini, and receiver Ken Burrough all missed the second half with injuries, the Oilers defense continued to dominate. In the fourth quarter, a 15-yard interception return to the Broncos 20-yard line by linebacker Gregg Bingham set up Fritsch's 20-yard field goal with 4:18 left in regulation. This was the first postseason meeting between the Broncos and Oilers. Divisional playoffs Saturday, December 29, 1979 NFC: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24, Philadelphia Eagles 17 The Buccaneers won their first playoff game in team history by jumping to a 17–0 lead and holding the Eagles to 48 rushing yards, while running back Ricky Bell recorded 142 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. This would have been an incredible accomplishment by itself, but it was made historic by the fact that the Bucs had gone 0-26 in their first two seasons just two years ago. Tampa Bay marched on an 18-play, 80-yard opening drive that took 9:25 off the clock to score on Bell's 4-yard touchdown run. Philadelphia responded with a drive into scoring range, but their drive ended ugly. First they attempted a fake 47-yard field goal, but they failed to snap the ball before the play clock ran out. Then Tony Franklin's 52-yard field goal was no good. Tampa Bay took