Conference championships 1995–96 NFL playoffs

1 conference championships

1.1 january 14, 1996

1.1.1 afc championship: pittsburgh steelers 20, indianapolis colts 16
1.1.2 nfc championship: dallas cowboys 38, green bay packers 27

conference championships
january 14, 1996
afc championship: pittsburgh steelers 20, indianapolis colts 16

at 3 rivers stadium, pittsburgh

game time: 12:30 p.m. est
game weather: 50 °f (10 °c), clear
game attendance: 61,062
referee: bernie kukar
tv announcers (nbc): dick enberg, phil simms, , paul maguire

on steelers opening drive, neil o donnell s first pass of game tipped defensive tackle tony siragusa , intercepted jeff herrod, returned pittsburgh 24-yard line. colts drive halted when ray seals tackled running lamont warren loss on third down , one. on next play, cary blanchard hit right upright on 34-yard field goal, still bounced in , colts took 3–0 lead. after each team punted, pittsburgh s norm johnson kicked field goal game under 2 minutes left in first quarter. field goal occurred after kordell stewart dropped pass in end zone. replays showed colts safety jason belser made contact stewart before ball arrived, no penalty flag thrown.

in second quarter, 30-yard reception colts receiver sean dawkins set blanchard s second field goal. later on, pittsburgh drove 80 yards in 17 plays, featuring 3 third down conversion runs kordell stewart, , scored on o donnell s 5-yard third , goal touchdown pass stewart 13 seconds left in half make 10–6. replays showed stewart had put half foot out of bounds before making catch, have made him ineligible receiver, penalty not called.

on indianapolis first drive of second half, drove 61 yards in 9 plays, featuring 29-yard completion jim harbaugh tight end ken dilger. blanchard finished drive third field goal cut deficit 10–9. after forcing 3 , punt, indy drove 35 yards in 9 plays set field goal try, have put colts 12–10. time blanchard s 47-yard attempt sailed wide right. taking on over own 37, pittsburgh mounted drive in colts territory johnson s 37-yard field goal put them 4 points, @ 13–9.

early in fourth quarter, long punt return steelers receiver andre hastings gave them ball @ midfield. got out of great field position missed field goal. after that, harbaugh threw 47-yard touchdown pass wide receiver floyd turner take lead, 16–13. after steelers punt, defense got big chance when warren fumbled deep in colts territory, guard joe staysniak recovered ball in mid-air keep drive going. later on, defensive willie williams tackled warren behind line on third down , 1 force punt, giving pittsburgh ball 3:03 left in game.

pittsburgh marched 67 yards score winning touchdown. running byron bam morris scored game-winning 1-yard touchdown run 1:34 remaining in game pull pittsburgh ahead good. drive aided o donnell s 9-yard completion hastings on fourth down , 3 47-yard line, earlier dropped potential interception went in , out of arms of linebacker quentin coryatt. on next play after hastings fourth down conversion catch, o donnell completed 37-yard pass ernie mills on indianapolis 1-yard line, setting morris 1-yard scoring run. colts got ball , advanced steelers 29 5 seconds left, narrowly avoiding turnover when defensive chris oldham dropped wide open interception. on game s final play, harbaugh attempted hail mary pass lofted high , came down crowd of players in end zone; ball momentarily against colts wr aaron bailey s chest hit turf before haul in.

the colts first no. 5 seed advance conference championship game since 1990 playoff expansion. harbaugh completed 21 of 33 passes 267 yards , touchdown.

the game featured 1 of nfl s greatest games 60 minutes. marked end of thrilling , hard-fought season colts, in 15 of 19 games decided 1 score, including 3 went overtime.

nfc championship: dallas cowboys 38, green bay packers 27

at texas stadium, irving, texas

game time: 4:00 p.m. est/3:00 p.m. cst
game weather: 78 °f (26 °c), clear
game attendance: 65,135
referee: ed hochuli
tv announcers (fox): pat summerall , john madden

running emmitt smith rushed 150 rushing yards , 3 touchdowns, while catching 2 passes 17 yards cowboys overcame packers 27–24 lead in fourth quarter.

green bay got off slow start quarterback brett favre threw incompletions on first 6 pass attempts of game , team failed gain yards on first 9 plays. however, packers linebacker bernardo harris blocked punt john jett on game s opening drive gave team ball @ dallas 23 , enabled them score first on chris jacke s 46-yard field goal. dallas stormed right 11-play, 80-yard drive, featuring 35-yard reception deion sanders. troy aikman finished drive 6-yard touchdown pass michael irvin. dallas lineman leon lett intercepted screen pass favre on packers 13, , scored touchdown on aikman s 4-yard throw irvin, giving team 14-3 lead. however, favre s first completion of day turned out big one, 73-yard touchdown bomb robert brooks. dallas forced punt on next drive, , antonio freeman gave team great field position 39-yard return, additional 15 yards coming facemask penalty on jett. gave packers ball on dallas 35, , 2 plays second quarter, favre threw 24-yard touchdown pass tight end keith jackson. despite holding ball 2:53 in first quarter, green bay had lead @ 17-14.

the cowboys responded 2 long drives 10 points , 24-17 halftime lead. chris boniol tied game 29th consecutive field goal, putting through uprights 34 yards conclude 60-yard drive. packers punter craig hentrich subsequently pinned dallas @ own 1-yard line 57-yard kick, smith bailed team out 25-yard run on next play, starting off playoff-record 99-yard drive. irvin made 2 big receptions on it, converting drive s third down 10-yard catch , later hauling in pass 28-yard gain on packers 16-yard line. 24 seconds left in half, smith finished drive 1-yard touchdown run.

personal fouls against lett , dixon edwards helped start 2 green bay scoring drives in third quarter. opened half 52-yard drive score on jacke s 37-yard field goal. next time got ball, favre s 54-yard completion tight end keith jackson set 1-yard touchdown pass brooks gave packers 27-24 lead. dallas regained lead few plays fourth quarter after smith s 5-yard touchdown run capped off 90-yard possession. green bay responded drive past midfield, cowboys cornerback larry brown put end intercepting favre s pass , returning 28 yards dallas 48. irvin made juggling reception near sidelines 36-yard gain on next play, , smith took ball end zone 16-yard run ice game. green bay s final 2 possessions each end turnover on downs.

aikman completed 21 of 33 passes 255 yards , 2 touchdowns. irvin caught 7 passes 100 yards , 2 scores. favre threw 307 yards , 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions. brooks finished game 6 receptions 105 yards , 2 touchdowns. freeman had 212 all-purpose yards (10 rec, 148 kr, 54 pr)

after contest, reggie white visibly upset, started shouting @ television crews filming him on sidelines. third consecutive year dallas eliminated green bay playoffs (all 3 games played in dallas). keep coming down here , getting lessons, said packers coach mike holmgren, team had lost 6 in row in dallas since october 1993. m tired of getting lessons.

meanwhile, cowboys jubilant making third super bowl appearance in last 4 seasons. re going home , irvin said after game. let else borrow our house last year, re going belong. m going check lease, make sure cleaned after themselves.