NFL Old School Game of the Week: Montana Leads Chiefs to Comeback Win over Steelers in AFC Wild Card Game

Chiefs quarterback Joe Montana completed 28 of 43 passes for 276 yards and throw a touchdown in Kansas City's 1993 playoff win over the Steelers.

When the Kansas City Chiefs acquired quarterback Joe Montana, they were hoping that Joe still a little bit of that "Montana Magic" left in him.

That opportunity presented itself in the Chiefs' AFC Wild Card game with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1993 NFL Playoffs.

After spending 14 years with the San Francisco 49ers, Montana was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs to become its starting quarterback after spending Joe had spent the last seasons on the sidelines because of an elbow injury which led to him losing his job as the 49ers' starting quarterback after Steve Young had been the NFL's highest rated passer for the 1991 + 92 NFL seasons.

With Marcus Allen in the backfield, Montana lead the Chiefs to their first division title in 22 years as Kansas City went 11-5 during the 1993 regular season for the team's fifth straight winning season under head coach Marty Schottenheimer and fourth consecutive playoff berth.

The Chiefs were hoping Montana could lead them to success in the playoffs as Kansas City had gone 1-3 over the previous three seasons.

While the Chiefs were AFC West Champions, they could not get a first-round bye, meaning they had to play in the Wild Card Round for the fourth straight year as they hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers had endured a roller-coaster season to finish with a 9-7 record, good enough to earn the final playoff spot in the AFC under second-year head coach Bill Cowher.

The Steelers were led by quarterback Neil O' Donnell who had become only the second quarterback in team history to throw for over 3,000 yards in a season and all-pro cornerback Rod Woodson leading a stingy defense.

Pittsburgh entered Arrowhead Stadiums as seven-point underdogs as they prepared to face the Chiefs and Montana who was playing in his first postseason game since the 1990 NFC Championship Game.

After the Chiefs went three-and-out to start the game, the Steelers got the ball at their 34-yard-line for their opening possession of the game.

Pittsburgh would drive 66 yards in nine plays primarily on the right arm of O'Donnell who completed all four of his passes on the drive, which included two passes to Jeff Graham for 22 yards, a 27-yarder to running back Merrill Hoge on a 3rd & 17, and finally a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Adrian Cooper to give the Steelers a 7-0 lead with 8:45 left in the opening quarter.

Following an exchange of punts, the Chiefs had the ball at their 20-yard-line facing a 3rd & 15 just hoping to see if Montana could complete a pass as he had started out the game with seven incomplete passes.

Facing a blitz, Montana was able to get the pass off before he was crushed by Steelers defensive end Donald Evans and find Willie Davis for a 25-yard gain and a Kansas City 1st down at the Chiefs' 45-yard-line.

But the hit by Evans sent Montana to the sidelines with bruised ribs as Dave Krieg came in to take over at quarterback following the completion to Davis.

Krieg's first play would be a routine handoff to Allen who was stopped for a two-yard-loss only to become a 13-yard gain and another Kansas City 1st down as Steelers cornerback D.J. Johnson was called for unnecessary roughness after he kicked wide receiver Tim Barnett which resulted in Johnson's ejection from the game.

A 15-yard run by Kimber Anders and a four-yard run by Allen put Kansas City at the Pittsburgh 23-yard-line where Krieg threw a pass toward the right corner of the end zone where J.J. Birden made a diving catch for the touchdown to help Kansas City tie the game 7-7 with 1:39 remaining in the first quarter.

Chiefs running back Marcus Allen ran for 67 yards on 21 carries and caught four passes for 29 yards.

The Steelers would begin their next drive at their 24-yard-line where Pittsburgh would put together a 15-play, 63-yard drive that took over seven minutes and culminated with a 30-yard field goal by Gary Anderson to put the Steelers back in front 10-7 with 9:34 left in the second quarter.

When the Chiefs' offense came back onto the field to start their next possession, Montana was back in at quarterback as he would lead Kansas City to the Pittsburgh 36-yard-line as Joe completed passes of 15 yards to Barnett and 11 yards to tight end Keith Cash.

However, the drive would stall as a quarterback sack and a delay of game penalty pushed the Chiefs back to the Steelers' 41-yard-line where they would punt the ball back to Pittsburgh who would take over at its 20-yard-line following a touchback on the punt.

The Steelers would once again drive into Kansas City territory as O'Donnell completed a 35-yard pass to Graham on 3rd & 3 to give Pittsburgh a 1st down at the Chiefs' 38-yard-line.

Three straight running plays picked up only three yards to set up a 4th & 7 when Cowher decided to gamble and go for the 1st down.

The gamble would not pay off as O'Donnell's pass for Ernie Mills fell incomplete giving the Chiefs the ball at their 35-yard-line with 1:57 left in the first half.

Following an incomplete pass to start the drive, Montana would complete three passes in a row totaling 22 yards to set up 3rd & 2 when Montana handed the ball off to Allen who picked up only a yard to set up 4th & 1 from the Pittsburgh 42-yard-line.

Just like Cowher had done on the Steelers' previous possession, Schottenheimer decided to go for the 1st down only to see it backfire as Montana tripped over the feet of Allen leading to Montana being sacked by Steelers defensive end Gerald Williams for a seven-yard loss to give Pittsburgh the ball at its 48-yard-line with 55 seconds left before halftime.

After two incomplete passes and a Kansas City offsides penalty, O'Donnell hit Graham for 11 yards and a 1st down at the Kansas City 35-yard-line which was followed by another incomplete pass and a nine-yard run by Hoge to set up 3rd & 1 from the Chiefs' 26-yard-line.

That is when O'Donnell hit Mills for a 26-yard touchdown puss to increase the Pittsburgh lead to 17-7 with 18 seconds left in the first half.

The Chiefs would take a knee to end the first half as they went into the locker room down 10 points with the Steelers set to get the ball to start the second half.

Steelers quarterback Neil O' Donnell completed 23 of 42 passes for 286 yards and threw three TDs.

The Steelers would be given great field position to begin the second half as Woodson returned the opening kickoff 42 yards to the Pittsburgh 48-yard-line.

The Steelers would pick up one 1st down until the drive stalled thanks to an illegal man downfield penalty and a quarterback sack forcing them to punt the ball to the Chiefs who would take over at their 12-yard-line.

Following an exchange of punts, the Chiefs got the ball back at their 45-yard-line where three straight running plays gained a total of 14 yards to put Kansas City at the Pittsburgh 41-yard-line when Montana completed back-to-back passes to Anders for 22 yards, then connected with Barnett for eight yards and Birden for six yards to give Kansas City a 1st & goal at the Steelers' five-yard-line.

However, the Pittsburgh defense would stiffen and not allow another yard as the Chiefs had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Nick Lowery to cut the Steelers' lead to 17-10 with 1:09 left in the third quarter.

The Chiefs would force the Steelers to punt following their ensuing possession to get the ball back at their 20-yard-line just 44 seconds into the fourth quarter.

The drive would start with an eight-yard pass to Anders followed by a two-yard run by Allen for a Kansas City 1st & 10 that became 1st & 15 when the Chiefs were called for a delay of game penalty to push them back to their 25-yard-line.

Montana would get out of the hole by completing a 22-yard pass to Davis which was followed by two straight running plays that totaled 20 yards and put Kansas City at the Pittsburgh 33-yard-line.

Montana would then connect with Birden for 19 yards, then handed the ball off to Allen who picked up four yards before hitting Cash for eight yards to give Kansas City 1st & goal at the Pittsburgh two-yard-line.

That is when Montana handed the ball off to Allen who punched it in for the two-yard touchdown that with Lowery's extra point tied the game at 17 with 8:58 left in the fourth quarter.

The Steelers would begin their ensuing possession at their 26-yard-line with O' Donnell throwing a two-yard pass to Hoge, then connecting with running back Dwight Stone for a 26-yard gain to give Pittsburgh a 1st down at the Kansas City 46-yard-line.

Two straight runs by Leroy Thompson picked up 14 yards for another Pittsburgh 1st down as O' Donnell completed a seven-yard pass to Mills, then handed it off to Thompson who was stopped for no gain to set up 3rd & 3 where Thompson caught a five-yard pass to put the Steelers at the Chiefs' 20-yard-line.

After Thompson was stopped for a two-yard loss, O'Donnell found tight end Eric Green for a 22-yard touchdown pass to give Pittsburgh a 24-17 lead with 4:11 left in the fourth quarter.

Following a Kansas City three-and-out, the Steelers got the ball at their 48-yard-line with exactly three minutes and a chance to ice the game away with a few 1st downs.

Two runs by Thompson netted zero yardage to set up 3rd & 10 when O'Donnell fired a pass intended for Graham only to have Graham drop it to force 4th down as the Steelers were set to punt the ball away giving Montana a chance to drive down the field for the game-tying score.

That is when Cash burst through the line untouched and was able to block Mark Royals' punt as Fred Jones scooped the blocked punt and ran it down 31 yards before being knocked out of bounds at the Pittsburgh nine-yard-line.

Allen would run for one yard on 1st & goal which was followed by an incomplete pass and then another one-yard run by Allen to set up a do-or-die 4th & goal at the seven-yard-line.

Needing a touchdown to keep the Chiefs alive, Montana found Barnett in the back of the end zone for the seven-yard touchdown that with Lowery's extra point tied the game at 24 with 1:43 left in regulation.

Tim Barnett acknowledges the Kansas City fans after catching the game-tying touchdown.

The Steelers would get the ball back at their 22-yard-line but could only move five yards on three plays forcing them to punt the ball away to the Chiefs who took over at their 28-yard-line with 74 seconds left and no timeouts.

The drive would begin with a 15-yard pass from Montana to Danan Hughes for a Kansas City 1st down as the Chiefs ran up to spike the ball to stop the clock with 56 seconds left.

Montana would then hand it off to Allen, who ran for 11 yards and another Kansas City 1st down at the Pittsburgh 46-yard-line when Montana went back to the air and completed a four-yard pass to Cash, then an eight-yarder to Birden that put Kansas City at the Steelers' 34-yard-line when Montana spiked the ball with 19 seconds to go.

After running back Todd McNair was knocked out of bounds following a nine-yard catch, Schottenheimer sent in the field goal unit to try and win the game with a 43-yard field goal.

But Lowery's kick would sail wide right and no good allowing the Steelers to take a knee to run out the clock on regulation as the game moved into overtime with the two teams deadlocked 24-24.

The Chiefs won the coin toss to get the ball to start the overtime period but would go three-and-out to punt the ball to the Steelers who took over at their 26-yard-line.

The Steelers would drive to the 50-yard-line until they were forced to punt it back to the Chiefs who took over at their 20-yard-line with 9:56 to go in overtime.

The drive would began with back-to-back penalties on the Steelers as Woodson was called for holding to give Kansas City an automatic 1st down at its 25-yard-line when linebacker Greg Lloyd jumped offsides to give the Chiefs another five yards.

Montana would then complete a seven-yard pass to Allen for another 1st down, then found Birden for six yards which was followed by a six-yard pass to tight end Jonathan Hayes for a Kansas City 1st down at its 49-yard-line.

Then after an one-yard run by McNair, Montana fired a 18-yard pass for Cash to put Kansas City at the Pittsburgh 32-yard-line and in field goal range.

Two runs by Allen gained four yards to set up 3rd & 6 when Montana found Birden for 10 yards and another 1st down at the Steelers' 18-yard-line.

Two more running plays picked up four yards before Schottenheimer sent Lowery to try and win the game again with a 32-yard field goal.

This time, Lowery's kick sailed through the uprights to the Chiefs a 27-24 overtime win and a trip to the Astrodome to take on the Houston Oilers in the Divisional Round.

Nick Lowery kicks the game-winning 32-yard field goal in overtime of the Chiefs' Wild Card Win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Again down by 10 points at halftime, Montana would throw three touchdown passes in the second half to lead Kansas City a 28-20 win to send the Chiefs to the AFC Championship  Game where they would face off with the three-time defending AFC Champion Buffalo Bills.

That is when the Chiefs' playoff run ended as Montana was knocked out of the game with a concussion while Bills running back Thurman Thomas ran for 186 yards and three touchdowns to lead Buffalo to a 30-13 victory to send the Bills to their fourth Super Bowl in a row.

Montana would return for one more season with the Chiefs as he lead Kansas City to a 9-7 record, which included a 24-17 win over his former team the 49ers in Week 2(To read more about that game, click on the link highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2018/09/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-montana.html).

The Chiefs' season and Montana's NFL career would end in the Wild Card round of the 1994 playoffs as they were eliminated by the Miami Dolphins 27-17.