AFC Finally Learns to Play Football the NFC Way

The American Football Conference finally may be learning. Maybe, after eight consecutive losses in the Super Bowl, the AFC is learning to play the game the National Football Conference way.

Power football. The running game. Big, bullying defense.

That has been the trademark of the NFC teams -- the Chicago Bears, the Washington Redskins, the New York Giants and, to a lesser extent, the San Francisco 49ers -- that have dominated the Super Bowl since 1985. And that’s the trademark of at least two of the teams still in contention for the AFC’s berth this year.

The San Diego Chargers, who play Sunday at Miami, does it the tried-and-true NFC way. Just ask the Kansas City Chiefs, who were pummeled by the Chargers’ defense and hammered by the Chargers’ ground attack in a 17-0 loss in last weekend’s wild-card action.

“San Diego will beat Miami,” Chiefs cornerback Kevin Ross says. “I think they’ll handle the Dolphins relatively easily. San Diego’s got the running game to do it, and that defense will box up (Dan) Marino. If the Chargers lose, it won’t be the defense that gets beat. To beat San Diego, you’ll have to defeat their offense.”

The Pittsburgh Steelers, who play host to the Buffalo Bills Saturday, do it the NFC way, too. The Steelers brought in Ron Erhardt, the architect of the Giants’ Super Bowl-winning offense in 1991, to put together the running game that took them to the AFC Central Division title this season.

“Now we’re playing a team like the New York Giants or the Washington Redskins,” Bills defensive coordinator Walt Corey says. “They’re that kind of team. They play good, power football.”

Which isn’t good news for Buffalo. In the past two Super Bowls, the Bills lost to the Giants and the Redskins.

It was instructive, then, for Corey to watch his defense in the second half of Sunday’s 41-38 overtime victory against the Houston Oilers. The Bills played their nickel-and-dime packages -- extra defensive backs playing in place of linebackers -- in the first half to counter the Oilers’ run-and-shoot offensive attack and were behind, 35-3, early in the third quarter.

When Corey decided to get more physical and put linebackers Darryl Talley and Marvcus Patton back on the field in the second half, Houston stopped scoring and Buffalo stormed to the greatest comeback in National Football League history.

“It had a little bit more meaning when the linebackers made the contact,” Corey says. “I told them if we’re going to get beat, we’re going to do it the old-fashioned way.”

Followers of AFC football should watch this weekend’s playoff games with a great deal of interest, because both matchups pit power (San Diego and Pittsburgh) against finesse (Miami and Buffalo). Finesse hasn’t cut it in the Super Bowl for eight years running.

It’s about time for the conference to try something new.

Here’s a more detailed look at the matchups:

SAN DIEGO at MIAMI

Last weekend, the Chargers faced an inconsistent offense that was having trouble scoring points and shut it out. In Miami, San Diego faces

The difference is that San Diego will have to defense Dan Marino this time instead of Dave Krieg.

“Marino is the type of quarterback that can pick us apart as a secondary if we are not disciplined,” cornerback Gill Byrd says. “We’ll have to be at the top of our game.”

The Chargers can do it, especially if their pass rush holds up. They sacked Krieg seven times last weekend, led the AFC in sacks during the regular season and have 34 sacks in their current eight-game winning streak. The Dolphins’ offensive line allowed Marino to be sacked 28 times, the most in his career.

“We know how tough a team they can be from our game against them late last year when they played well against us and prevented us from clinching a playoff berth,” Marino says.

That game -- won 38-30 by San Diego after the Dolphins blew a 23-10 lead in what Coach Don Shula called “a total collapse” -- is the latest in a series that includes two playoff meetings a decade ago. In 1983, Miami won, 34-13, when San Diego quarterback Dan Fouts threw five interceptions; and in 1982, the Dolphins lost, 41-38, in the classic overtime game that featured 13 receptions by Chargers tight end Kellen Winslow.

In both those games, Miami’s defensive coordinator was Bill Arnsparger, who now coordinates the Chargers’ defense.

“I’m not sure it’s a great opportunity to face Dan Marino,” Arnsparger says. “But it’s a great opportunity to have won and earned the right to play.”

Arnsparger’s defense won’t have to face Miami’s top ballcarrier, though, because Mark Higgs is out with cartilage damage in his right knee. Bobby Humphrey, who will replace him, started only one game this season and gained 21 yards in eight carries against San Francisco. Humphrey’s per-carry average, however, is a full yard better (4.6 to 3.6) than Higgs’.

The keys for the Dolphins are clear: Protect Marino and generate a ground game.

“What we’re going to have to do to beat them is run against them,” Miami tackle Richmond Webb says. “I know we’re going to have our hands full with them, but if we can do that, everything will fall into place. Everyone saw again on Saturday that they have a great defense. But we were able to score on them last year, and if we run and throw with effectiveness, we’ll be OK again.”

When the Chargers have the ball, they will run their big backs -- Marion Butts and Rod Bernstine, who is expected to play after spraining his left ankle against the Chiefs -- straight into Miami’s defense. The Dolphins are better against the run than they have been in the past -- they allowed 100 yards per game on the ground in ‘92, compared with 144 in ’91 -- but they will have trouble with the mix of backs San Diego can use. If it isn’t Bernstine and Butts, the bull-runners, it’s Ron Harmon and Eric Bieniemy, the quicker scat-backs.

Kansas City could not cope. The Chargers did to the Chiefs in the second half last weekend exactly what the Redskins did to the Vikings in Minnesota: They crunched the ball down their throats.

“San Diego has that makeup to go a long way in this tournament,” Kansas City cornerback Albert Lewis says. “They are physical up front on both sides of the ball. The Chargers are a team of attrition. Great defense. Big, strong running backs. We could shut them out for almost three quarters, but we couldn’t beat them. San Diego is like a 15-round fighter. They endure. They start to wear you down. Then they knock you out.”

That is a familiar look, if you have been watching the way the NFC plays the game.

BUFFALO AT PITTSBURGH

If Buffalo has anything left after its unbelievable comeback against Houston, this will make for an intriguing game. But that’s a big if.

Not only did the Bills come all the way back from a 35-3 deficit in the second half, they also came all the way back with Frank Reich playing quarterback instead of Jim Kelly (knee), with Carlton Bailey playing inside linebacker instead of Cornelius Bennett (hamstring) and with Kenneth Davis playing running back in the second half instead of Thurman Thomas (hip). Those are three of the NFL’s best players.

The Bills can be forgiven if they don’t muster the same sort of emotion for a road game at Pittsburgh.

“I think when you’re in the playoffs, a veteran team like Buffalo will be able to handle that,” Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher says. “Buffalo is very mature and a veteran team. They’re aware of the steps they need to take to get back to the Super Bowl.”

It is uncertain whether Kelly, Thomas and Bennett will be healthy enough to play in Pittsburgh. But even if they are, taking on the Steelers will be difficult after the Oilers’ game. The Bills’ character will get tested again.

These two teams met in Week 10 of the regular season, and Buffalo won rather handily, 28-20, at home. But the Bills were in the middle of a five-game winning streak then, and they are stumbling into the divisional playoff round. They finished the regular season with three losses in their last five games and then nearly lost at home to Houston. This isn’t the time to be playing a power team on the road.

“They’re a very good ball-control offense,” Buffalo free safety Mark Kelso says. “They’re going to grind the clock and make us play. They’re very similar to the Giants of a couple of years ago. They’re going to run the ball and try to get four yards on first down and four yards on second down. They’re not going to make mistakes.”

Kelso and his defensive mates will see plenty of Barry Foster, the AFC’s leading rusher (1,690 yards), which puts pressure on Bennett and Shane Conlan, the two inside linebackers. Foster gained 78 yards on 22 carries in the first meeting, one of the four games he failed to rush for 100 yards. Conlan, who was hurt, did not play in that game.

It will be a big adjustment for the Bills, who have been fed a steady diet of the Oilers’ run-and-shoot offense the past two weeks.

“We’ve got to control him, definitely,” defensive end Phil Hansen says. “Our run defense hasn’t been tested lately, and I think they’re going to test it.”

When the Bills have the ball, they’ll have to contend with one of the league’s best-pursuing defenses and most-physical secondaries, led by cornerback Rod Woodson and strong safety Carnell Lake. Lake likely will be charged with checking Thomas out of Buffalo’s backfield.

“I don’t know when they’re going to name him (Lake) an All-Pro, but he definitely deserves it,” Bills wide receiver James Lofton says. “They have fantastic team speed and very seldom do you ever catch them out of position or give them something they’re not ready for. Rod Woodson is all-world. And they’re so disciplined. There are things you think you ought to be able to do against them because they pursue so well, but they pursue in lanes. They just don’t pursue wildly.”

The Bills are not likely to enjoy the sort of coverage breakdowns in Pittsburgh that made much of their second-half comeback against Houston a cakewalk. Against the Oilers, Andre Reed’s three touchdown receptions and Don Beebe’s one scoring catch looked easy.

They don’t make it easy in the NFC.