NFL Old School Game of the Week: Colts Shock Chiefs in Divisional Playoffs

Colts quarterback Jim Harbaugh lead Indianpolis to a stunning upset of the Kansas City Chiefs in their 1995 AFC Divsional Playoff game.

Most football fans under the age of 25 know Jim Harbaugh as the very animated coach who helped lead the
San Francisco 49ers to three straight NFC Championship games, including a trip to Super Bowl XLVII,
before his current job as the head coach of the University of Michigan.

But most football fans over the age of 25 remember Harbaugh as the quarterback of the Chicago Bears,
who after seven tumultuous years left to sign with the Indianapolis Colts, where he was part of one of the
great Cinderella stories in NFL history.

Harbaugh was in his second season in Indianapolis when led the Colts to four comeback victories earning
him the nickname “Captain Comeback” as Indianapolis under head coach Ted Marchibroda clinched a
playoff spot for the first time since 1987.

The Colts traveled to San Diego to face off with the defending AFC Champion Chargers in the Wild Card
Game where they lost running back Marshall Faulk early in the game to a knee injury.

No matter as Zack Crockett came in and ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns on just 13 carries
while Harbaugh accounted for three touchdowns, two through the air and one on the ground, as the Colts
earned their first postseason victory in 24 years as they defeated the Chargers 35-20 to earn a trip to
Kansas City to take on the Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.

Many experts expected the Chiefs to fall off in 1995 after the retirement of Joe Montana at quarterback,
but the Chiefs finished the season with a 13-3 record, best in the NFL, thanks to a defense that only allowed
241 points during the season and a ball-control offense with legendary running back Marcus Allen and
quarterback Steve Bono, a former backup in San Francisco in his first season as a starting quarterback
threw for 3,121 yards and 21 touchdown passes.

The Chiefs were coached by Marty Schottenheimer, who was making his tenth playoff appearance in 11
seasons(four with the Cleveland Browns and now sixth straight with the Chiefs), but had compiled a losing
record in the playoffs of 5-9, including three losses in the AFC Championship Game.

However, many experts felt that the ‘95 Chiefs were Schottenheimer’s best chance to get to the Super Bowl,
especially since they had the home field advantage throughout the AFC Playoffs as they had gone
undefeated during the season at Arrowhead Stadium.

Plus with temperatures nearing zero degrees at kickoff and a -15 wind chill to go along with the fact the
Colts played their home games in a dome and that Faulk and defensive tackle Tony Siragusa would not be
available, Kansas City was expected to easily dispatch the Colts.

The game started off as a exchange of punts as both teams would punt on their first possessions until the
Chiefs put together a five-play, 62-yard drive that ended with Bono throwing a 20-yard touchdown pass to
Lake Dawson to put Kansas City ahead 7-0 with 29 seconds to go in the opening quarter.

The Colts responded to the touchdown with a 18-play, 77-yard touchdown drive that saw them convert on
five 3rd down situations and one 4th down situation.

The first 3rd down conversion come on a 3rd-and-11 from their own 22 where Harbaugh scrambled for 18
yards, then complete a 13-yard pass to Aaron Bailey on 3rd-and-10 from the Colts’ 40-yard-line.

Indianapolis did not get a 1st down on the next 3rd down situation, as Harbaugh completed a three-yard pass
to Sean Dawkins, one yard short of the 1st down at the Kansas City 38-yard-line.

That is when Marchibroda decided to go for it on 4th & 1 and when Lamont Warren ran for four yards, the
Colts had another 1st down.

The next 3rd down situation saw Harbaugh complete a nine-yard pass to Dawkins for a 1st down at the
22-yard-line, then would convert another 3rd down thanks to a pass interference penalty on Chiefs defensiveback James Hasty that gave the Colts a 1st-and-goal at the five-yard-line.

Once again, the Colts were faced with another 3rd down and once again they converted as Harbaugh hit
Floyd Turner on a square-and-out pattern at the two-yard-line, then saw Turner ran in for the five-yard
touchdown to complete the drive that took 8:40 off the clock and tied the game 7-7 with 6:49 to go in the
first half.

Floyd Turner celebrates after scoring the game-tying touchdown in the second quarter.

After forcing the Chiefs to punt, the Colts got the ball back but went three-and-out and were forced to punt
the ball back to Kansas City.

However, Chiefs punt returner Tamarick Vanover fumbled the punt, which was recovered by Indianapolis’
Ray McElroy to give the Colts the ball back at their own 45-yard-line.

The Colts were drive to the Kansas City 29-yard-line, thanks in large part to a 24-yard pass from Harbaugh
to Bailey, but had to settle for a 47-yard field goal attempt by Cary Blanchard, which he missed,
giving the Chiefs the ball at their own 37-yard-line and a chance to take the lead 57 seconds before halftime.

Bono got the Chiefs down the Colts’ 17-yard-line but after two incomplete passes and little time left on the
clock, were forced to call on Lin Elliott for a 35-yard field goal attempt.

But Elliott’s kick sailed wide right and the score remained tied 7-7 as the first half came to a close.

After both teams went three-and-out on their opening possessions of the second half, the Colts took over at
their own 18-yard-line which saw Warren run for 20 yards on the first play from scrimmage and then saw
Harbaugh convert another 3rd down as he found Turner for 10 yards that put Indianapolis in Chiefs territory
at the Kansas City 46-yard-line.

But four plays later, the Colts would commit their first turnover of the game as Harbaugh was picked off by
Chiefs free safety giving Kansas City the ball back at their own 31-yard-line.

However, the Colts would get the ball back two plays later when Ashley Ambrose intercepted a pass
intended for Webster Slaughter, to give Indianapolis the ball at the Kansas City 48-yard-line.

After Harbaugh scrambled for three yards on another 3rd down and then hit Dawkins on back-to-back
passes totaling 20 yards, Blanchard came on and kicked a 30-yard field goal to give the Colts their first lead
of the game at 10-7 with 2:48 left in the third quarter.

The Chiefs responded losing to the lead by giving the ball to Marcus Allen who carried the ball six times for
30 yards as Kansas City drove 46 yards in 10 plays before the drive stalled at the Colts’ 22-yard-line where
Schottenheimer called on Elliott again to try and tie the game.

But once again Elliott missed as his 39-yard field goal sailed wide left keeping the Colts in the lead at 10-7
with 10:45 left in regulation.

Chiefs quarterback Steve Bono struggled throughout the game throwing three interceptions on 11-of-25 passing for 122 yards.

The Colts could do nothing on their ensuing possession as they went three-and-out, punting the ball back to
Kansas City who took over at their own 37-yard-line.

However, three plays later, Bono would throw his second interception of the game, as Colts linebacker
Quentin Coryatt made the pick and returned it 10 yards to the Chiefs’ 40-yard-line.

Three runs by Warren gained nine yards setting up a 4th-and-1 at the 31-yard-line but unlike in the first half,
Marchibroda decided not go for the 1st down and go for the field goal.

But Blanchard missed the 49-yarder keeping it at 10-7 and giving the Chiefs good field position as they took
over at their own 39-yard-line.

However, Bono would threw his third interception in his last seven pass attempts, this time by cornerback
Eugene Daniel, whose 13-yard return gave the Colts the ball at the Chiefs’ 47-yard-line.

Once again, the Chiefs defense and forced a three-and-out leading to a punt that gave the Chiefs the ball at
their own 18-yard-line with 4:12 to go in regulation and one timeout left in Kansas City’s pocket.

That is when Schottenheimer decided to pull Bono in favor of Rich Gannon, who had only attempted 11
passes during the season, in hopes of sparking the Kansas City offense and leading the Chiefs to a potential
game-winning score.

After Allen ran for 5 yards on the first play of the drive, Gannon completed three straight passes for 17 yards
putting Kansas City at their own 40-yard-line with a 2nd-and-5 when Allen got the ball again running for
only three yards, setting up a 3rd-and-2.

That is when Gannon found Dawson for 16 yards to give the Chiefs a 1st down at the Indianapolis
41-yard-line which was followed by a five-yard scramble by Gannon and a loss of three yards on a pass to
Slaughter, leading Kansas City to burn their final timeout as they prepared to face 3rd-and-8 at the Colts’
39-yard-line.

Gannon would come up large again as he ran for 14 yards on a 1st down at the 25-yard-line.

Gannon would spike the ball on 1st down, then threw an incomplete pass intended for tight end Derrick
Walker setting up a 3rd-and-10 where Gannon dropped back and threw a pass toward the middle of the end
zone that gazed off the hands off Dawson that would have been the go-ahead touchdown.

Instead, Schottenheimer had to call on Elliott to try and tie the game, despite having two missed field goals
already.

However the third time would not be the charm as Elliott’s 42-yarder sailed wide left with 42 seconds left,
allowing for Harbaugh to take a knee and the Colts to come away with the 10-7 upset.

Chiefs kicker Lin Elliott was 0-for-3 on field goal attempts, including one from 42 yards that would have tied the game with 42 seconds left in regulation.

The following week, the Colts traveled to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers for the AFC Championship where
they came within an eyelash of making it to the Super Bowl as Aaron Bailey could not hang on to Harbaugh’s
Hail Mary pass on the last play of the game, giving the Steelers a 20-16 win.

Harbaugh and the Colts would make the playoffs the following year again as a Wild Card, this time led by
head coach Lindy Infante, but fell in the Wild Card round 42-14 to the Steelers, which was followed by a
disastrous 3-13 season which eventually paved the way for the Colts to pick Peyton Manning as the #1 pick
of the 1998 NFL Draft, leading to the release of Harbaugh, who played three more years in the league
before retiring after the 2000 season and then going into coaching.

As for Schottenheimer, he would spend three more years with the Chiefs, making the playoffs one more
time in 1997 with a 13-3 record, but once again losing in the Divisional Round, this time to the Denver
Broncos 14-10.

Schottenheimer would take two years off from coaching before returning to the sidelines with the
Washington Redskins where he coached for one season before going to San Diego where he coached the
Chargers for five years and lead them to two playoff appearances, but going 0-2 in the playoffs including a
24-21 loss to the New England Patriots in the 2006 Divisional Playoffs after San Diego had gone 14-2
during the regular season.

That loss ultimately cost Schottenheimer his job and he has not been back in the NFL since as his
postseason record stands at 5-13.