NFL Old School Game of the Week: Colts Upset Defending Super Bowl Champion 49ers

Colts quarterback Jim Harbaugh completed 12 of 18 passes for 175 yards and threw one touchdown in Indy's win over the 49ers in 1995.

The 1995 season for the Indianapolis Colts was a wild ride where the majority of the games would go down to the wire.

Such was the case in Week 7 when the Colts hosted the defending Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers.

The Colts entered the game with a 3-2 record as all five of their games had been decided by a touchdown or less with four of those games decided by a field goal or less.

Led by quarterback Jim Harbaugh, the Colts had staged memorable comeback wins over the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins were they had to overcome 21-point deficits in each game to win in overtime on field goals by Cary Blanchard.

The 3-2 start had given Indianapolis fans hope that the Colts would make the playoffs for the first time since 1987.

While the Colts were looking to end their playoff drought, the 49ers were trying to defend their Super Bowl title from the year before as they entered their game with the Colts with a 4-1 record.

The 49ers were led by head coach George Seifert and the famous "West Coast" offense under the direction of quarterback Steve Young and wide receiver Jerry Rice.

However, the 49ers were still searching to find a replacement for running back Ricky Watters, who had left the team in the offseason to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles, as Derek Loville and William Floyd looked to fill the void left by Watters.

Despite that, the 49ers were 10 point favorites for their trip to Indianapolis to take on the Colts, a team that had not beaten San Francisco dating back to 1968 as the Colts were one of the three NFL teams to move into the AFC following the AFL-NFL merger, meaning the 49ers and Colts rarely played in the regular season, playing only three times since the merger with the 49ers winning all three.

The Colts would get the ball at their 24-yard-line to start the game as they would drive 61 yards in 15 plays on a drive which took over nine minutes and ended with a 32-yard field goal by Blanchard to give Indianapolis a 3-0 lead with 5:53 left in the first quarter.

The 49ers would start its first possession of the game at their 18-yard-line where after picking up one 1st down gave the ball back to the Colts when Young was sacked by Indianapolis defensive end Tony Bennett, causing a fumble that was recovered by fellow defensive end Bernard Whittington at the San Francisco 30-yard-line.

However, the Colts could not convert the turnover into points as Indianapolis would drive to the San Francisco 16-yard-line until Harbaugh was intercepted by 49ers free safety Merton Hanks, whose 23-yard return gave the 49ers the ball at their 40-yard-line.

The 49ers would then hold the ball for over seven minutes as they drove 60 yards in 12 plays as Young completed all seven of his passes on the drive for 53 yards, including the five-yard touchdown pass to Rice to give San Francisco a 7-3 lead with 10:53 left in the second quarter.

49ers quarterback Steve Young completed 28 of 40 passes for 229 yards and threw one touchdown, but was sacked six times in the 49ers' loss to the Colts.

After both teams went three-and-out on their next possessions, the Colts got the ball back at their 41-yard-line when Harbaugh handed the ball off to Faulk, who picked up eight yards that became a 23-yard play when 49ers defensive lineman Junior Bryant get called for unnecessary roughness, drawing a 15-yard penalty and putting Indy at the San Francisco 36-yard-line.

From there, the Colts ran the ball five straight times, picking up 14 yards until Harbaugh was sacked by 49ers defensive end Jamal Fountaine on 3rd & 8, dropping him for a six-yard loss and forcing the Colts to settle for a 46-yard field goal by Blanchard to trim the San Francisco lead to 7-6 with 2:44 left in the first half.

When the 49ers got the ball back at their 26-yard-line, they went no-huddle in hopes of getting some points before halftime.

Young hit Loville for 13 yards on the second play of the drive, then connected with Floyd for 11 more yards to convert on 3rd & 10 at the San Francisco 39-yard-line to give the 49ers a 1st down at midfield.

Following a two-yard pass to Floyd, Young found John Taylor for 21 yards and a 1st down at the Colts' 27-yard-line with 1:15 left in the half.

After two incomplete passes, Young completed a 11-yard pass to  Rice to give the 49ers a 1st down at the Indianapolis 16-yard-line as San Francisco called timeout with 55 seconds left.

A five-yard run by Loville followed by a five-yard pass to Floyd gave San Francisco 1st & goal at the Colts' six-yard-line when Young hit a two-yard pass to Loville, then tried to run in for the touchdown only to be stopped at the one-yard-line by Colts linebacker Quentin Coryatt as the 49ers used their last timeout with 25 seconds left and needing one yard to get into the end zone.

That is when Coryatt stepped up again as he stopped for Young for no gain as the 49ers tried to get the field goal unit on before time expired in the first half when they got a repreive from the referees as a second football come onto the field allowing them to stop the clock with two seconds before 4th & 1.

Instead of taking the three points, Seifert gambled and went for the touchdown as Young handed the ball to Loville only to have Colts linebacker Trev Alberts break into the backfield causing Loville to move to his left where he was dropped for a two-yard loss by Indy free safety Jason Belser as time expired in the first half with the 49ers coming away with zero points and clinging to a 7-6 lead.

The 49ers would get the ball to start the second half from their 29-yard-line but would gave it right back to the Colts when on 3rd & 4 Young was intercepted by Colts linebacker Derwin Gray, whose 10-yard return gave Indianapolis the ball at the San Francisco 34-yard-line.

From there, Harbaugh would fire a 18-yard pass to Dilger, which was followed by an one-yard run by Faulk and then a 15-yard touchdown pass from Harbaugh to Dilger to give the Colts a 12-7 lead with 11:42 left in the third quarter.

Colts tight end Ken Dilger caught seven passes for 125 yards and scored the first touchdown of his NFL career.

The Colts would go for two to try and make it a seven-point game but Harbaugh's pass was picked off in the end zone by 49ers strong safety Tim McDonald to keep it 12-7.

The 49ers would get good field position to begin its next drive as Jamal Willis returned the ensuing kickoff 38 yards to the San Francisco 45-yard-line where after Loville picked up six yards on the first two plays of the drive, Young connected with Floyd for 10 yards to give San Francisco a 1st down at the Colts' 39-yard-line.

Young would then hit J.J. Stokes for 20 yards and another 1st down at the Colts' 19-yard-line as the 49ers would run the ball on the next four plays, culminating with Loville's four-yard touchdown run to give San Francisco a 14-12 lead midway through the third quarter.

Following an exchange of punts the Colts had the ball at the 21-yard-line when Dilger made his presence felt again as he caught a 41-yard pass from Harbaugh to give Indianapolis a 1st down at the 49ers' 38-yard-line.

From there, Faulk would run the ball three straight times, picking up nine yards before the Colts called on Blanchard again, this time to make a 45-yard field goal, which he did to give Indianapolis a 15-14 lead with 91 seconds left in the third quarter.

The game would move into the 4th quarter with Indianapolis still ahead 15-14 when the 49ers got the ball back at their 20-yard-line as the drive began with Young throwing an incomplete pass intended for Rice, only to have Colts cornerback Eugene Daniel get called for pass interference, drawing a 13-yard penalty and a 1st down at the Indy 33-yard-line.

Young would then find Taylor for 15 yards and another 1st down at the Indy 48-yard-line before connecting with Loville for nine yards to put San Francisco in Colts territory where after an incomplete pass on 2nd & 1, Loville ran for six yards and a 1st down at the Indianapolis 37-yard-line.

Young would then hit Rice for eight yards and then Jones for five yards for another 1st down at the 24-yard-line until back-to-back incomplete passes and a quarterback sack by Alberts for a nine-yard-loss led to Seifert calling on Doug Brien to attempt a 51-yard field goal.

Brien successfully made the field goal to give the 49ers a 17-15 lead with 7:29 to go in the fourth quarter.

The Colts would begin its ensuing possession at their 14-yard-line when the Harbaugh-to-Dilger connection struck again as the rookie tight end caught a five-yard pass to start the drive, then made a 33-yard catch to give Indianapolis a 1st down at the 49ers' 48-yard-line.

A five-yard-loss on a Warren run and an incomplete pass lead to a 3rd & 15 where Harbaugh found Floyd Turner for 16 yards to give the Colts a 1st down at the 49ers' 37-yard-line when Harbaugh handed the ball off to Warren, who ran for 10 yards and another 1st down at the San Francisco 27-yard-line.

Three straight running plays would only pick up three more yards, forcing the Colts to call on Blanchard again to kick a 41-yard field goal that would put Indianapolis in the lead.

Blanchard's kick sailed through the uprights to give the Colts a 18-17 lead with 2:25 to go in the game, plenty of time for Young and the 49ers to drive down for the winning score.

Colts kicker Cary Blanchard made all four of his field goal attempts, including the game-winning 41-yarder late in the 4th quarter.

The 49ers got another great return from Willis as his 39-yard return put the 49ers at their 41-yard-line to begin what they would hoped to be a game-winning drive.

Young would complete a five-yard pass to Rice, then hit Jones for 10 yards to give San Francisco a 1st down at the Colts' 44-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit.

A four-yard run by Floyd followed by a seven-yard pass to Jones gave the 49ers another 1st down at the Colts' 33-yard-line when Young was hit hard by Colts defensive tackle Ellis Johnson on a pass for Loville that went for no gain.

Young was shaken up on the play causing San Francisco to spend its final timeout with 1:05 remaining in hopes of not having to take out Young of the game.

However, Young could not recover in time for 2nd down, so backup quarterback Elvis Grbac went in and threw an incomplete pass intended for Jones before Young came back into the game for 3rd down where he hit Floyd for five yards to set up 4th & 5 when the Colts called timeout with 50 seconds to go.

The Colts figured Brien would make the field goal so the Colts where trying to preserve time in order to mount a scoring drive of their own assuming Brien made the 46-yard kick that would give the 49ers the lead.

But Brien's kick sailed wide right allowing the Colts to take a knee to run out the clock and come away with the 18-17 win, giving Indianapolis its first win over the 49ers since 1968.

The 49ers would go on to finish with a 11-5 record, good enough to win the NFC West for the fourth year in a row and 12th time out of the previous 15 seasons, as well as the #2 seed in the NFC playoffs.

But the 49ers would be stunned in the Divisional Round by the Green Bay Packers 27-17, ending their season and their reign as Super Bowl champions.

As for the Colts, the emotional roller coaster known as the 1995 season was just beginning as Indianapolis finished the regular season with a 9-7 record, good enough to earn a Wild Card spot as Cary Blanchard kicked a 30-yard field goal in the fourth quarter of the Colts' 10-7 win over the New England Patriots in the regular season finale, which sent the Colts to the playoffs for the first time since 1987.

In the playoffs, the Colts would knock off the defending AFC Champion San Diego Chargers 35-20 in the Wild Card Round, then shocked the #1 seed Kansas City Chiefs 10-7 in the Divisional Round(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2019/01/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-colts-shock.html) to advance to the AFC Championship Game, where they lost a 20-16 heartbreaker to the Pittsburgh Steelers as Harbaugh's "Hail Mary" pass for Aaron Bailey fell to the ground(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2017/11/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-steelers.html).

Still, the 1995 season was a magical one for the Indianapolis Colts and their win over the 49ers is one of their highlights.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Colts Comeback To Beat Cowboys

Colts quarterback Jim Harbaugh lead Indianapolis back from a 18-point deficit to beat the Cowboys in 1996.

When NFL fans hear the words "Captain Comeback", the first thought that comes into these fans' minds is former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach who lead the Cowboys to 23 game-winning drives in the 4th quarter, with 17 of those coming in the final two minutes or overtime.
However, in the mid 1990s, the nickname "Captain Comeback" would be bestowed to Jim Harbaugh as he lead the Indianapolis Colts to several 4th quarter comeback wins during the 1995 season.
Ironically, the Colts' version of "Captain Comeback" would Indianapolis to a dramatic comeback win over the Cowboys in Dallas during week 3 of the 1996 NFL season.
Harbaugh and the Colts entered their game with the Cowboys with a 2-0 record to begin the season after coming off a magical 1995 season in which the Colts come within a Hail Mary touchdown of making it to the Super Bowl.
Seven of the Colts' 11 victories in 1995 were by a touchdown or less and included a pair of comeback victories where Harbaugh led Indianapolis back from 21-point deficits against the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, earning him the nickname "Captain Comeback".
While "Captain Comeback" was back, head coach Ted Marchibroda was not, as he stepped down following the 1995 season and was replaced by offensive coordinator Lindy Infante.
Even though they had a new coach, the Colts had high hopes for the 1996 season, but knew their trip to Dallas could be huge in determining what direction their season would go.
The Cowboys were the defending Super Bowl champions, which was their third Super Bowl title in four years, with the famed "Triplets" of quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith, and wide receiver Michael Irvin, plus all-pro cornerback Deion Sanders, who joined the Cowboys for their run to the Super Bowl title in 1995.
But their quest for a fourth ring in five years got off to a rocky start as Irvin would miss the first five games of the season because of a suspension due to his no contest plea to a felony charge of cocaine possession and an embarrassing 22-6 loss to the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football in the first week of the season.
Though they were 1-1 and had no Irvin, the Cowboys were 10-point favorites as the Colts were without their starting running back, Marshall Faulk, who was out because of a dislocated toe.
For much of the first half, it looked like the Cowboys were going to prove the oddsmakers right.

Troy Aikman would complete 17 of 27 passes for 184 yards and throw one touchdown pass.

The Colts got the ball to start the game as they began their opening possession from their 28-yard-line.
With the running of Crockett, who carried the ball five times for 25 yards, and Harbaugh connecting with Sean Dawkins on two 3rd down situations, the Colts drove all the way to the Cowboys' one-yard-line where they had 1st & goal.
That is when disaster nearly struck as Crockett fumbled the football after he was hit by Cowboys defensive tackle Tony Casillas, only to have Colts right tackle Jason Matthews recover the ball for Indy at the two-yard-line.
Then on 2nd & goal, the Colts had an apparent touchdown as Harbaugh found tight end Ken Dilger in the end zone for a two-yard touchdown pass, only to have Dilger be called for offensive pass interference, negating the touchdown and pushing the Colts 10 yards back to the 12-yard-line.
The Colts would be forced to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Cary Blanchard to give Indianapolis a 3-0 lead with 4:55 left in the first quarter.
Following the ensuing kickoff, the Cowboys would take over at their 33-yard-line for their first drive as Smith would carry the ball five times for 37 yards until Dallas was faced with a 4th & 1 at the Colts' five-yard-line.
Instead of going for the chip shot field goal, Switzer decided to go for the 1st down which worked in the Cowboys' favor as Aikman hit fullback Daryl "Moose" Johnston for a five-yard touchdown to give Dallas a 7-3 lead with nine seconds left in the first quarter.
The Colts would get the ball back at their 28-yard-line as the second quarter began when after Crockett ran for three yards on 1st down, Cowboys defensive end Tony Tolbert blind-sided Harbaugh, knocking the ball loose which was picked up by Sanders, who then scampered in for a 22-yard touchdown to increase Dallas' lead to 14-3, 51 seconds into the second quarter.
Following Sanders' touchdown, the Colts took over at their 30-yard-line and drove to the Cowboys' 44-yard-line until Harbaugh was picked off by Dallas defensive back Roger Harper, whose 15-yard return set up shop for the Cowboys at the 50-yard-line.
Eight plays later, the Cowboys were in the end zone again as Smith punched it in from the one-yard-line to increase the Cowboys' lead to 21-3 with 8:37 left in the second quarter.

Emmitt Smith would carry the ball 26 times for 101 yards and score one touchdown.

Even though they were down 18 points, the Colts knew they were not out of the game yet, especially with their comebacks from the year before, but needed a big play to give them a spark.
They got that on the ensuing kickoff as Aaron Bailey's 50-yard return put the Colts at the Cowboys' 45-yard-line.
After three plays picked up nine yards, the Colts were faced with a 4th & 1 at the Dallas' 36-yard-line when Infante decided to gamble and go for the 1st down.
It paid off as Harbaugh connected with Harrison for four yards and a 1st down at the Dallas' 32-yard-line, which was followed one play later by a 20-yard run by Clif Groce.
However, the Cowboys defense would stiffen and allow only five more yards, forcing the Colts to settle for another field goal by Blanchard, this one from 25 yards out, which cut the Dallas lead to 21-6 with 2:31 left before halftime.
Then, the Colts' defense would force a three-and-out to get the ball to Harbaugh and the offense at their 35-yard-line.
Two runs by Harbaugh for eight yards and three completed passes for 23 yards put the Colts at the Dallas' 35-yard-line and gave Blanchard a shot at a 52-yard field goal.
Blanchard would make the kick, cutting the deficit to 12 points at 21-9 as the first half came to a close.
Despite getting six points after being down 18, the Colts knew they had to make another big stop on defense as the Cowboys would get the ball to start the second half.
Indy would get that stop and get the ball back at their 34-yard-line as they would drive to the Dallas' 48-yard-line when Harbaugh threw a screen pass to tight end Marcus Pollard, who turned the short pass into a 48-yard touchdown which cut the Cowboys' lead to five points at 21-16 with 9:48 left in the third quarter.
Then after another three-and-out by the the Cowboys, the Colts would drive 78 yards in nine plays as Harbaugh hit on all four of his passes for 56 yards on the drive, culminating with a eight-yard touchdown pass to Dilger to give Indianapolis its first lead of the game, 22-21 with 2:42 left in the third quarter(The Colts attempted a two-point conversion but it failed).
After being held to just 27 yards and one 1st down on their previous four possessions, the Cowboys' offense awakened after Dilger's touchdown as Aikman hit Sanders for 11 yards to start the Cowboys' ensuing drive, then handed it off to Smith, who ran for 20 yards on back-to-back carries, which was followed by a 10-yard pass to Kelvin Martin to give Dallas a 1st down at the Colts' 36-yard-line as the third quarter came to an end.
The stoppage of play seem to give the energy the Colts defense needed as they would allow only one more yard on the next three plays, forcing the Cowboys to call on Chris Boniol to come on and attempt a a 52-yard field goal.
Boniol would make the kick to give the lead back to the Cowboys at 24-22 with 13:26 left in the 4th quarter.
Boniol's field goal seemed to give the Cowboys some momentum as the defense would sack Harbaugh twice on the Colts' ensuing possession, forcing a three-and-out to give the Dallas offense the ball back at their 36-yard-line.
After Smith picked up three yards on a 1st down run, he would catch a Aikman pass for 16 yards, only to have Smith fumble the football which was recovered by Colts linebacker Quentin Coryatt, who then returned it seven yards to the Cowboys' 49-yard-line.
However, the Colts could not take advantage of the turnover as Harbaugh was sacked again on the drive for the Colts' second straight three-and-out, forcing them to punt the ball back to the Cowboys, who took over at their 14-yard-line, with a chance to put the game away.
The drive began with a 21-yard pass from Aikman to tight end Eric Bjornson to give Dallas a 1st down at their 35-yard-line.
From there, the Cowboys heavily relied on Smith, as he carried the ball seven times for 23 yards to help lead the Cowboys to the Colts' 22-yard-line to set up a 40-yard field goal attempt by Boniol that would make a five-point game and force the Colts to need a touchdown to win the game.
But Boniol's kick bounced off the left upright and was no good, keeping it a 24-22 game as the Colts took over at their 30-yard-line with 2:48 to go and one timeout in their pocket.
After a one-yard run by Crockett to start the drive, Harbaugh would connect with Dilger for 26 yards and a 1st down at the Dallas' 43-yard-line.
On the next play from scrimmage, Harbaugh found Crockett for 18 yards, putting the Colts in Blanchard's range at the Cowboys' 25-yard-line.
The Cowboys defense would hold the Colts to minus one yard on the next three plays, forcing Blanchard to attempt a 43-yard field goal with under a minute to go.
Blanchard would calmly hit the 43-yard kick to give the Colts a 25-24 lead with 51 seconds left in the game.

Cary Blanchard would hit on four of his field goal attempts, including the game-winning 43-yard field goal with 51 seconds to go.

With no timeouts in their pocket and starting at their 20-yard-line, the Cowboys' attempt to drive into field goal range got off to an auspicious start as Aikman would throw two straight incomplete passes to start the drive.
But on 3rd & 10, Aikman would find Kevin Williams for a 22-yard completion and a 1st down at the Dallas 42-yard-line.
Then after spiking the ball, Aikman would connect with Martin for 19 more yards and another 1st down at the Colts' 40-yard-line before spiking the ball again with six seconds to play.
Rather risking another play that would run out the clock, Switzer called for the field goal as Boniol would come on to attempt a 57-yard field goal that if successful would give the Cowboys the win.
Boniol's kick was on target as it was down the middle and appeared to have the distance, only for the ball to bounce the crossbar and no good as time expired, allowing for the Colts to escape with the 25-24 win.
The loss dropped the Cowboys to 1-2, but they would recover to finish the season with a 10-6 record, which included a 21-6 win over the Green Bay Packers where Boniol tied the then-NFL record for most field goals made in a game with seven, as Dallas would win its fifth straight NFC East title.
The Cowboys would rout the Minnesota Vikings 40-15 in the Wild Card Round, but would be eliminated by the Carolina Panthers 26-17 in the Divisional Round.
The following season, the Cowboys would go 6-10, their first losing season since 1990, which resulted in the firing of Switzer as head coach.
As for the Colts, the comeback win pushed them to 3-0 as they would win the following week to push their record to 4-0.
However, a four-game losing streak in the middle of the season would ultimately lead the Colts to a 9-7 record, but still good enough for a Wild Card spot in the playoffs, though they would be one-and-done as they would be smashed by the Steelers 42-14 in their Wild Card game.
Just like the Cowboys, the Colts would fall off the map in 1997 as they fell to a 3-13 record, which led to the firing of Infante as head coach, but earned them the #1 pick, which they used to select Peyton Manning.
That pick would lead to Harbaugh leaving Indianapolis and signing with the Baltimore Ravens for the 1998 season where he started 12 games before playing his final two NFL seasons with the San Diego Chargers.
Harbaugh would retire after the 2000 season with 26, 288 passing yards and 129 touchdown passes.