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| A mad scramble to catch the ball on Jim Harbaugh's Hail Mary pass on the final play of the 1995 AFC Championship Game. |
But there is one “Hail Mary” that even though it wasn’t completed, it is so memorable that it made the game in which it happened, one of the most memorable in NFL history.
It occurred in the 1995 AFC Championship Game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts.
The Steelers entered the 1995 season as favorites to win the AFC after losing in the 1994 AFC Title Game when quarterback Neil O’ Donnell’s pass for Barry Foster on 4th-and-goal at the three-yard-line with over a minute was batted down incomplete, sending the San Diego Chargers to the Super Bowl.
But Pittsburgh got off to a rocky start in 1995 as they went 3-4 over their first seven games, before turning it around and winning eight of their last nine games to finish the season with a 11-5 record, an AFC Central title, and the #2 seed in the AFC Playoffs.
A big contributor in that turnaround would be Stewart, who come in the game sometimes as quarterback or running back or wide receiver which earned him the nickname “Slash”.
In the Divisional Playoffs, the Steelers took care of the Buffalo Bills 40-21 to advance to their second straight AFC Championship Game, which they would host for the second year in a row thanks to their opponent.
The Colts entered the AFC Title Game as the NFL’s Cinderella team as they finished the regular season with a 9-7 record , thanks in large part their quarterback Jim Harbaugh, who was in his 2nd year in Indianapolis after being cast off by the Chicago Bears.
Harbaugh led the Colts to several 4th quarter comeback victories, giving the nickname or borrowing it from former Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, “Captain Comeback”.
But the Colts were not expected to go far in the 1995 playoffs, especially without their star running back Marshall Faulk who has hampered by a toe injury.
However, the Colts went on the road and upset the defending AFC Champion San Diego Chargers 35-20 in the Wild Card Round and then stunned the AFC’s #1 seed, the Kansas City Chiefs 10-7 in Arrowhead Stadium to earn a trip to the AFC Championship Game for the first time since 1971.
Despite their previous wins, the Colts entered the game as double-digit underdogs as they travel to Pittsburgh.
However, they gave the Steelers an incredible fight in a game that literally would come down to the final second.
The Steelers got the ball to start the game but gave it right back to the Colts on the second play of the game when defensive tackle Tony Siragusa tipped a O'Donnell pass that was intercepted by linebacker Jeff Herrod, who returned it 17 yards to the Pittsburgh 24-yard-line.
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| Colts quarterback Jim Harbaugh lead Indianapolis to eight victories where the margin was less than a touchdown in the Colts' Cinderella run to the 1995 AFC Championship Game. |
The Steelers got the ball to start the game but gave it right back to the Colts on the second play of the game when defensive tackle Tony Siragusa tipped a O'Donnell pass that was intercepted by linebacker Jeff Herrod, who returned it 17 yards to the Pittsburgh 24-yard-line.
However on 3rd-and-1 at the 15, Warren was stopped for a two-yard-loss by linebacker Greg Lloyd and defensive end Ray Seals, forcing the Colts to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Cary Blanchard to give Indianapolis a 3-0 lead just 2:43 into the game.
After an exchange of punts, the Steelers drove from their own 47-yard-line to the Colts’ 20-yard-line where they had a 1st-and-10.
After a one-yard run by Bam Morris, O’Donnell went to the air and fired a strike toward Stewart who was wide open in the end zone.
But just before the ball got to Stewart, he was hit from behind by Colts free safety Jason Belser and was unable to make the catch.
The Steelers were hoping for a pass interference call on Belser but did not get it and were forced to settle for a field goal, a 31-yarder by Norm Johnson that tied the game 3-3 with 1:50 left in the first quarter.
The Colts started their next possession at their own 20-yard-line and were at the Steelers’ 18-yard-line after a 30-yard pass from Harbaugh to Sean Dawkins on a 3rd-and-1 until the Pittsburgh defense rose up and forced to the Colts to settle for another field goal, this one from 36 yards out by Blanchard that gave Indianapolis a 6-3 lead with 12:08 before halftime.
After another exchange of punts, the Steelers took over at their own 20 and embarked on a 15-play, 80-yard touchdown drive with the star of the drive being Stewart.
On three separate occasions, Stewart got a 1st down for the Steelers on 3rd-and-short.
The first one come on a 3rd-and-1 at the Pittsburgh 29 when Stewart took over for O’Donnell at quarterback and snuck for the 1st down.
The second occasion was another 3rd-and-1 with Stewart again lining up at the quarterback position, this time running for the 1st down on a quarterback option.
The third and final occasion was when he took a pitch from O'Donnell on 3rd-and-2 and gained 5 yards, giving Pittsburgh a 1st down at the Colts’ 32-yard-line.
Five plays later, Stewart made his biggest play of the game when he lined up at receiver on 3rd-and-goal from the five-yard-line, and then catching a O'Donnell pass at the back of the end zone for the first touchdown of the game.
But the touchdown shouldn’t have counted as replays showed that Stewart stepped out of bounds before he made the touchdown catch, making him an illegal receiver.
But because referees did not use instant replay to review plays during this time(instant replay would be instituted in 1999) the touchdown stood and the Steelers had a 10-6 lead as the first half came to a close.
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| Kordell Stewart catches a five-yard touchdown pass to give the Steelers a 10-6 lead late in the first half. |
The Colts got the ball to start the 2nd half and after Harbaugh hit Ken Dilger for 30 yards, then Dawkins for 14 more on the first two plays of the drive, Indianapolis was at the Pittsburgh 37-yard-line.
After an incomplete pass, Harbaugh would complete two more passes for 14 yards, then Warren ran for 10 more to give Indianapolis a 1st down at the Steelers’ 13-yard-line.
However, the momentum of the drive was killed on 2nd-and-9 when Harbaugh was sacked by Lloyd for a nine-yard loss, forcing another field goal attempt by Blanchard, this time from 37 yards out.
Blanchard made the kick to cut the lead to a single point, 10-9 with 9:57 to play in the third quarter.
The Colts forced the Steelers to go three-and-out on their next possession and got the ball back at their own 35-yard-line, where they drove to the Pittsburgh 28 where they had a 3rd-and-1.
Once again,the Steeler defense came up big as safety Carnell Lake dropped Warren for a two-yard loss to force the Colts to attempt another field goal.
But this time Blanchard could not come through as his 47-yard attempt was no good, giving the ball back to the Steelers who took over at their own 38-yard-line.
Pittsburgh drove 44 yards in seven plays to set up a 36-yard field goal by Johnson that pushed the lead back up to four points, 13-9 with 43 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Steelers forced the Colts to go three-and-out on their next possession and after Andre Hastings returned the punt 33 yards to the Colts’ 42-yard-line, it seemed that Pittsburgh was poised to break the game wide open.
But after reaching the Indianapolis 17-yard-line in four plays, O'Donnell threw three straight incomplete passes, forcing another field goal attempt, this time from 40 yards out.
But Johnson missed the kick and the Colts were still down only four when they took over at their own 30-yard line with 10:57 left in the fourth quarter.
Harbaugh went to work as he connected with Warren on back-to-back passes that gained 13 yards, then hit Crockett for 10 more to give Indianapolis a 1st down at the Steelers’ 47-yard-line.
Then, Harbaugh decided to go deep on found Floyd Turner on a corner route for a 47-yard touchdown to give the Colts a 16-13 lead with 8:46 to play in the game, silencing the raucous Pittsburgh crowd.
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| Steelers quarterback Neil O' Donnell would go 4-of-6 for 66 yards on Pittsburgh's game-winning touchdown drive. |
The Steelers drove to the 50-yard-line on their next possession but were forced to punt the ball back to the Colts, who took over at their nine-yard-line with 6:29 to go.
Disaster almost struck for the Colts on the first play of the drive when Warren fumbled the ball at the end of a 10-yard-run, only to have guard Joe Staysniak recover it, keeping the ball with the Colts.
Two plays later, the Colts were faced with a 3rd-and-1 at the 31-yard-line when Warren sees a large amount of space on the left side of the field and is poised for a long run, only to have cornerback Willie Williams make a shoestring tackle, stopping Warren for no gain and forcing the Colts to punt.
It was deja vu all over again for the Steelers as they needed drive down the field for a score as they took over at their 33-yard-line with 3:03 left in regulation and two timeouts.
On the first play of the drive, O'Donnell hit Stewart for 13 yards, then connected with fullback John L.Williams for seven yards on a screen pass.
But on 2nd-and-3, O'Donnell fired a pass that was heading straight toward linebacker Quentin Coryatt for a certain game-ending interception, only to have him drop it, keeping the Steelers alive.
But after O'Donnell threw a pass over Hastings’ head on the next play, the Steelers were faced with a 4th-and-3 to keep their season alive, just like the year before.
This time, the Steelers converted as O'Donnell connected with Hastings for nine yards and a 1st down at the Indianapolis 38-yard-line.
That is when O'Donnell decided to go deep and lofted a pass toward the right sideline intended for Ernie Mills.
Mills made a great catch, dragging his left foot across the turf, for a 37-yard reception that gave Pittsburgh a 1st-and-goal at the one-yard-line.
Two plays later, Morris punched it for the go-ahead touchdown to give Pittsburgh a 20-16 lead with 1:34 remaining.
But there was still enough time for “Captain Comeback” to pull off one more miracle as the Colts took over at their 16-yard-line and one timeout in their pocket.
After throwing an incomplete pass on 1st down, Harbaugh connected with Warren for seven yards, then found Turner for 18 on 3rd-and-3.
Then, Harbaugh scrambled for 8 yards and was forced to use Indianapolis’ last time out.
After two incomplete passes, the Colts were faced with a 4th-and-2 at their own 49-yard-line.
Harbaugh found Dawkins for 13 yards and a 1st down at the Steelers’ 38-yard-line.
Then, Harbaugh scrambled up the middle for nine more yards before spiking the ball to lead to a 3rd-and-1 at the Pittsburgh 29-yard-line with five seconds left.
Even though they only needed a yard for a 1st down, the Colts decided it was time to go to the “Hail Mary”.
Lined up in the shotgun formation, Harbaugh takes the snap and lofts a pass toward the right corner of the end zone where several Steeler defenders and Colt receivers were there to meet the ball.
As the ball came down, it seemed how find its way into the lap of Colts receiver Aaron Bailey.
But as Bailey tried to corral the ball to make the catch, it rolled off his lap and hit the ground for an incomplete pass, giving the Steelers a 20-16 win and sending Pittsburgh to the Super Bowl for the first time in 16 years(double-click to play).
Two weeks later, the Steelers would lose to the Dallas Cowboys 27-17 as two costly interceptions by O'Donnell set up two Dallas touchdowns in the second half, the last coming with four minutes left in the game.
O'Donnell would leave Pittsburgh in the offseason as he signed with the New York Jets as a free agent.
Almost a year later, the two teams would face off again in the postseason, this time in the wild card round.
However, that game was nowhere near as exciting as the year before as the Steelers trounced the Colts 42-14.
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