January 6.2C 1996 1995–96 NFL playoffs

at 3 rivers stadium, pittsburgh, pennsylvania

game time: 12:30 p.m. est
game weather: 21 °f (−6 °c), clear
game attendance: 59,072
referee: larry nemmers
tv announcers (nbc): marv albert , cris collinsworth

running bam morris scored 2 touchdowns in fourth quarter steelers stopped bills, minus hall of fame defensive end bruce smith fell ill day before game, coming 20-0 deficit. end of game, steelers outgained them in total yards 409-250 , forced 4 turnovers.

pittsburgh started off scoring 76-yard drive in receiver yancy thigpen caught 43-yard pass , fullback john l. williams finished off 1-yard touchdown run. bills responded drive steelers 21-yard line, darick holmes tackled 13-yard loss defensive carnell lake , steve christie missed 52-yard field goal attempt. morris rushed 44 yards on 58-yard possession ended on neil o donnell s 13-yard touchdown completion ernie mills.

early in second quarter, steelers receiver andre hastings returned punt 12 yards bills 43-yard line, setting norm johnson s 45-yard field goal. facing 17-0 deficit, bills offense self-destructed on next drive. facing 3rd , 8, jim kelly sacked linebacker kevin green , fumbled ball. center kent hull recovered fumble buffalo, didn t much. on next play, lee flowers stormed backfield , tackled punter chris mohr on bills 12-yard line, leading johnson field goal gave pittsburgh 20-0 lead. buffalo responded drive steelers 30-yard line, lose ball when lake forced fumble thurman thomas recovered defensive chris oldham. however, bills got ball excellent field position after rohn stark punted ball 33 yards steelers 49. kelley got team 1-yard line 3 completions, hitting tony cline 17 yards, andre reed 5, , steve tasker 26. thomas ran ball end zone, cutting score 20-7. 45 seconds remained in half, o donnell proved challenge of earning team more points, completing 4 consecutive passes 53 yards team bills 16-yard line. johnson finished drive third field goal, giving steelers 23-7 halftime lead.

in third quarter, lake intercepted pass kelly , returned 3 yards buffalo 25-yard line, leading johnson s fourth field goal put team 26-7. both teams had punt on following drives, , tasker returned stark s 30-yard punt 4 yards steelers 42-yard line. few plays later, took handoff on reverse , ran 40 yards 3. alex van pelt (who replaced injured jim kelly) finished drive 2-yard touchdown pass cline, making score 26-14.

early in fourth quarter, buffalo took advantage of yet poor punt stark, 1 31-yard kick gave them ball on pittburgh 36. van pelt guided team 11-yard line, kelly returned field , hit thomas 9-yard scoring completion, cutting score 26-21 11:23 left in game. pittsburgh marched 76 yards, including o donnell s 3rd down conversion passes thigpen , andre hastings gains of 21 , 17 yards, score on morris 13-yard touchdown run, increasing lead 33-21. following 3 drives result in interceptions, kelly throwing pick jerry olsavsky , matt darby nabbing pass o donnell. on next play, linebacker levon kirkland intercepted pass kelly , returned 4 yards bills 23-yard line set morris 2-yard score 1:58 remaining clinch victory.

with steelers win, snapped bills 10 game postseason winning streak against afc dating 1990. morris rushed 106 yards , caught 2 passes 7. lake had interception , fumble recovery.

nfc: green bay packers 27, san francisco 49ers 17

at 3com park @ candlestick point, san francisco

game time: 4:00 p.m. est/1:00 p.m. pst
game weather: 59 °f (15 °c), clear
game attendance: 69,311
referee: bob mcelwee
tv announcers (fox): dick stockton , matt millen

for first time ever since becoming head coach of packers, mike holmgren coaching against former team offensive coordinator , quarterbacks coach 6 seasons.

the packers jumped 21–0 lead en route 27–17 victory. green bay quarterback brett favre threw 222 yards in first half, , ended completing 21 out of 28 passes 299 yards , 2 touchdowns. receiver robert brooks caught 4 passes 103 yards. meanwhile, defense sacked 49ers quarterback steve young 3 times , intercepted him twice. young ended setting playoff record 65 pass attempts, completed 32 of them 328 yards. added 77 yards on ground. second playoff game in row, green bay did not lose turnovers, while 49ers turned ball on 4 times.

the packers took opening kickoff , held onto ball 7:11 before kicker chris jacke s 44-yard field goal attempt blocked 49ers defensive tim mcdonald. on san francisco s first play, running adam walker fumbled after being hit linebacker wayne simmons. rookie defensive craig newsome picked ball , returned 31 yards touchdown. after forcing 49ers punt, packers advanced 62 yards, favre completing 35-yard pass tight end keith jackson , 20-yarder brooks, score on favre s 3-yard touchdown jackson, finished day 4 receptions 101 yards.

green bay later drive 72 yards in 7 plays score on tight end mark chmura s 13-yard touchdown reception before young s 32-yard completion jerry rice set jeff wilkins 21-3 field goal cut lead 21–3 @ end of half. in second half, jacke kicked 2 field goals while 49ers manage 2 touchdowns: 1-yard run young , 2-yarder running derek loville.

this time during 1990s nfc team won divisional playoff game on road. rice finished game 11 receptions 117 yards, while 49ers tight end brent jones had 8 catches 112.