December 31.2C 1995 1995–96 NFL playoffs

at lambeau field, green bay, wisconsin

game time: 12:30 p.m. est/11:30 a.m. cst
game weather: 33 °f (1 °c), foggy
game attendance: 60,453
referee: dick hantak
tv announcers (fox): pat summerall , john madden

the packers scored 13 unanswered points in second quarter en route 37–20 victory on falcons.

green bay got scoring opportunity when george teague intercepted pass falcons quarterback jeff george , returned 30 yards atlanta 22-yard line on second play of game. however, 3rd down sack chris doleman pushed packers 28 , chris jacke missed 46-yard field goal attempt. atlanta scored first on quarterback jeff george s 65-yard touchdown pass wide receiver eric metcalf. green bay countered, starting antonio freeman s 42-yard kickoff return packers 48-yard line. 52 yards , 8 plays later, packers scored on edgar bennett s 8-yard touchdown run. on green bay s next drive, took advantage of 35-yard pass interference penalty against defensive ron davis, driving 78 yards score on brett favre s 14-yard touchdown pass robert brooks.

on second play of second quarter, morten andersen s 31-yard field goal made score 14-10 @ end of drive featured 55-yard completion george receiver terrance mathis. however, packers wide receiver antonio freeman returned punt 76 yards touchdown, , green bay extended lead 20–10 (after two-point conversion attempt failed). in closing minutes of first half, packers marched 85-yards in 14 plays score on favre s 2-yard touchdown tight end mark chmura reach 27–10 halftime lead.

after first 5 drives of third quarter ended in punts, atlanta started 80-yard drive ended on george s 27-yard touchdown pass j. j. birden, making score 27-17 less 2 minutes fourth quarter. however, atlanta s comeback hopes dashed green bay went on drive 70 yards score on favre s 18-yard touchdown pass running dorsey levens. key play of drive favre s 20-yard completion brooks on 3rd , 8 falcons 45-yard line, favre s longest completion of game. remained point field goal each team on next 2 possessions.

bennett turned in best postseason performance of career, finishing game 108 rushing yards, 3 receptions 11 yards, , touchdown. favre threw 199 yards , 3 touchdowns. freeman had 72 punt return yards, 54 kickoff return yards, , 14 receiving yards. matcalf had 227 all-purpose yards (8 receptions 114 yards, 6 kickoff returns 107 yards 2 punt returns 6 yards) , touchdown.

afc: indianapolis colts 35, san diego chargers 20

at jack murphy stadium, san diego

game time: 4:00 p.m. est/1:00 p.m. pst
game weather: 66 °f (19 °c), cloudy
game attendance: 61,182
referee: gary lane
tv announcers (nbc): dick enberg, phil simms, , paul maguire

rookie running zack crockett, had 1 rushing attempt during regular season, found himself thrust starting lineup replace injured starter marshall faulk on first play of game. proved task, rushing franchise playoff record 147 yards , scoring 2 touchdowns colts win first playoff game in 24 years. san diego gained 429 yards of total offense, quarterback stan humphries threw 4 interceptions, 2 safety jason belser. chargers running ronnie harmon caught 10 passes 133 yards, while andre coleman added 6 kickoff returns 122.

the chargers jumped 3–0 lead on first drive moving 30 yards , scoring john carney s 54-yard field goal. later in period, colts linebacker steve grant intercepted pass humphries , returned 13 yards chargers 33-yard line. team unable capitalize on turnover. 5 plays later, san diego linebacker junior seau picked off pass jim harbaugh @ san diego 1-yard line.

a 46-yard punt return colts defensive ray buchanan chargers 27 set harbaugh s 2-yard touchdown pass tight end ken dilger minute second quarter. san diego recaptured lead on ensuing possession moving ball 68 yards in 18 plays, converting 5 third downs on drive in no play gained more 10 yards. humphries s 6-yard scoring pass tight end alfred pupunu @ end of made score 10–7. however, colts came right 80-yard drive in harbaugh completed 4 of 5 passes 43 yards , rushed 2 before crockett scored on 33-yard touchdown run give colts 14–10 lead. chargers countered drive indianapolis s 17-yard line. 17 seconds left in first half, humphries pass intercepted in end zone colts defensive ray mcelroy.

4 minutes third quarter, san diego put long scoring drive, 1 covering 90 yards in 12 plays, longest 24-yard reception harmon. humphries finished off 11-yard touchdown pass shawn jefferson, giving chargers 17-14 lead. indianapolis struck 7-play, 81-yard drive in harbaugh completed 4/5 passes 67 yards, last 42-yarder wide receiver sean dawkins.

in fourth quarter, runs terrell fletcher , aaron hayden respective gains of 20 , 15 yards set carney s 30-yard field goal cut indianapolis lead 21–20. on colts next drive, crockett ran 66-yard touchdown , colts never looked back. on chargers next possession, belser intercepted pass humphries , returned 32 yards san diego 23-yard line. harbaugh completed 21-yard pass floyd turner before taking ball end zone himself on 3-yard run. chargers had 3 more drives, result in belser interception, turnover on downs, , time expiring in game.