Captain Comeback Harbaugh, The Cardiac Colts And The Lost Miracle Of The 1995 AFC Championship Game
“Don’t leave your seats, this is going to come down to the last play!”
These were former NFL head coach, Jerry Glanville’s words to the television viewers of Channel 4’s broadcast of the 1995 AFC Championship game. He literally couldn’t have been more right.
It was a bright crisp winter afternoon in Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh as the Steelers welcomed the Indianapolis Colts for the right to go to Super Bowl XXX. Most had predicted the Steelers would be here at the start of the season, they had fallen three yards short of the winning score in the championship game the year before.
No-one however, expected the Colts to be here. In 1994, despite playing better football towards the end of the year, they finished third in the AFC East with an 8-8 record. In 1995 though, the team possessed a magic about themselves. A magic that would indeed serve them well as the season progressed. Three times in particular the Colts came back from the brink of defeat and the main spark for this was their tough-nosed quarterback, Jim Harbaugh, who had found new life with the team when he signed in time for the 1994 campaign after spending his first seven NFL seasons with the Bears in Chicago.
These were former NFL head coach, Jerry Glanville’s words to the television viewers of Channel 4’s broadcast of the 1995 AFC Championship game. He literally couldn’t have been more right.
It was a bright crisp winter afternoon in Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh as the Steelers welcomed the Indianapolis Colts for the right to go to Super Bowl XXX. Most had predicted the Steelers would be here at the start of the season, they had fallen three yards short of the winning score in the championship game the year before.
No-one however, expected the Colts to be here. In 1994, despite playing better football towards the end of the year, they finished third in the AFC East with an 8-8 record. In 1995 though, the team possessed a magic about themselves. A magic that would indeed serve them well as the season progressed. Three times in particular the Colts came back from the brink of defeat and the main spark for this was their tough-nosed quarterback, Jim Harbaugh, who had found new life with the team when he signed in time for the 1994 campaign after spending his first seven NFL seasons with the Bears in Chicago.
This ability was evident as early as week two when the team trailed the New York Jets 24-3 midway through the third quarter. Behind an inspired Harbaugh performance, they came back to win the contest 27-24 in overtime. In week six the Colts traveled to Miami to take on the unbeaten Miami Dolphins, who were still being run by the Don who went by the name of Shula, and handed them their first loss in another come-from-behind 27-24 victory. The following week they staged another impressive comeback against the defending champions San Francisco 49ers, whom they trailed 17-15 late in the final period before a field goal from Cary Blanchard stole a one point win, 18-17.
Quarterback Jim Harbaugh began to be referred to as ‘Captain Comeback’ due to his uncanny ability to be able to pull games out of the hat seemingly by himself. He would also be named the NFL’s “Comeback Player Of The Year” and was the league’s top-rated passer to boot. In fact the newly christened “Cardiac Colts” required another miracle win on the last day of the regular season to make the playoffs, eventually carving out a 10-7 victory over the New England Patriots and so earning the team a wild card appearance.
Their opponents would be the defending AFC Champions San Diego Chargers. The Colts won the showdown 35-20, before going on to eliminate the AFC’s number one seeded team the Kansas City Chiefs, 10-7, advancing to the AFC Championship game for the first time since the 1971 season when the team lived in Baltimore.
Quarterback Jim Harbaugh began to be referred to as ‘Captain Comeback’ due to his uncanny ability to be able to pull games out of the hat seemingly by himself. He would also be named the NFL’s “Comeback Player Of The Year” and was the league’s top-rated passer to boot. In fact the newly christened “Cardiac Colts” required another miracle win on the last day of the regular season to make the playoffs, eventually carving out a 10-7 victory over the New England Patriots and so earning the team a wild card appearance.
Their opponents would be the defending AFC Champions San Diego Chargers. The Colts won the showdown 35-20, before going on to eliminate the AFC’s number one seeded team the Kansas City Chiefs, 10-7, advancing to the AFC Championship game for the first time since the 1971 season when the team lived in Baltimore.
Jerry Glanville (left) and Gary Imlach in Channel 4's broadcast booth for the 1995 AFC Championship.
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The "Terrible Towels" and yellow slickers in the stands of Three Rivers Stadium.
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A Cold Day In Pittsburgh!
The “Terrible Towels” were out in force in Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium as the home team Steelers prepared to receive the kick from Indianapolis.
A holding penalty on the return meant Pittsburgh would begin their first drive of the game from their own 21-yard line. On the second play from scrimmage Indianapolis defensive lineman Tony Siragusa tipped the ball allowing linebacker Jeff Herrod to intercept the pass, giving the Colts possession deep in Pittsburgh territory. The Steelers’ defense stopped the Colts from picking up a first down after the turnover however and Indianapolis had to settle for a 35-yard field goal from Cary Blanchard, and a quick 3-0 lead. Before the first period came to an end, the Steelers managed to snare a field goal of their own, tying the score 3-3.
With the arrival of the second quarter, came some of the magic that Harbaugh had brought to the Colts throughout the 1995 season. On a key third-and-one with the Steelers’ defense closing in quickly, Harbaugh stepped out of the pocket and found wide receiver, Sean Dawkins. Dawkins turned, and sprinted downfield, eventually being brought down inside the Steelers’ 20-yard line. The Pittsburgh defense halted any further advancement, and Blanchard came on to boot through a 36-yard field goal, as Indianapolis retook the lead 6-3.
Following exchanges of punts the Steelers took over possession late in the first half. This time, the Pittsburgh offense made sufficient ground as quarterback Neil O’Donnell found receivers on key plays. When faced with a third-and-one, Pittsburgh’s new offensive weapon Kordell “Slash” Stewart came into the line-up. He took the ball from under center, and took off around the left side of the offensive line for a Steeler first down, and kept the drive alive for Pittsburgh.
In the dying seconds of the first half O’Donnell found “Slash” lurking at the back of the end-zone and proceeded to hit him with the ball for the score. The Steelers had opened up a 10-6 lead on the visiting Indianapolis Colts.
Incidentally the replay on the score showed that Stewart had stepped out of the back of the end-zone before making the catch, therefore he was an eligible receiver unless someone else had touched the ball, which they didn't. With no replay in the NFL in 1995 the call could not be challenged and it seemed Pittsburgh had "gotten away with one." The halftime score was 10-6, but it probably should have been 6-6. Those four points would prove costly.
A holding penalty on the return meant Pittsburgh would begin their first drive of the game from their own 21-yard line. On the second play from scrimmage Indianapolis defensive lineman Tony Siragusa tipped the ball allowing linebacker Jeff Herrod to intercept the pass, giving the Colts possession deep in Pittsburgh territory. The Steelers’ defense stopped the Colts from picking up a first down after the turnover however and Indianapolis had to settle for a 35-yard field goal from Cary Blanchard, and a quick 3-0 lead. Before the first period came to an end, the Steelers managed to snare a field goal of their own, tying the score 3-3.
With the arrival of the second quarter, came some of the magic that Harbaugh had brought to the Colts throughout the 1995 season. On a key third-and-one with the Steelers’ defense closing in quickly, Harbaugh stepped out of the pocket and found wide receiver, Sean Dawkins. Dawkins turned, and sprinted downfield, eventually being brought down inside the Steelers’ 20-yard line. The Pittsburgh defense halted any further advancement, and Blanchard came on to boot through a 36-yard field goal, as Indianapolis retook the lead 6-3.
Following exchanges of punts the Steelers took over possession late in the first half. This time, the Pittsburgh offense made sufficient ground as quarterback Neil O’Donnell found receivers on key plays. When faced with a third-and-one, Pittsburgh’s new offensive weapon Kordell “Slash” Stewart came into the line-up. He took the ball from under center, and took off around the left side of the offensive line for a Steeler first down, and kept the drive alive for Pittsburgh.
In the dying seconds of the first half O’Donnell found “Slash” lurking at the back of the end-zone and proceeded to hit him with the ball for the score. The Steelers had opened up a 10-6 lead on the visiting Indianapolis Colts.
Incidentally the replay on the score showed that Stewart had stepped out of the back of the end-zone before making the catch, therefore he was an eligible receiver unless someone else had touched the ball, which they didn't. With no replay in the NFL in 1995 the call could not be challenged and it seemed Pittsburgh had "gotten away with one." The halftime score was 10-6, but it probably should have been 6-6. Those four points would prove costly.
Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, the site of the 1995 AFC Championship game.
Indianapolis would gain ownership of the pigskin to begin the second half. Harbaugh hit his tight-end Ken Dilger for a gain of twenty-nine yards on the first play from scrimmage, before finding receiver Sean Dawkins for a further gain of fifteen and another first down.
Running back Lamont Warren took the pitch-out from Harbaugh on the third play of the drive and attempted a pass down the field. The ball though was out of reach of the intended receiver Floyd Turner. Aaron Bailey picked up another first down on the next play though as the Colts began to eye up the end-zone. However, the closer the Colts got to pay-dirt the louder the crowd seemed to get and Harbaugh was forced to call a valuable time-out. They would eventually have to settle for their third field goal of the day to make the score 10-9 in the home team’s favour.
The Colts missed their fourth field goal attempt of the day later in the period, while Norm Johnsons booted through his second three pointer of the contest to make the score 13-9 in the Steelers’ favour as the teams entered the final quarter.
Following a missed field goal attempt by Norm Johnson, Indianapolis launched their next drive from their own 30-yard line. Harbaugh hit running back Lamont Warren out of the backfield for consecutive gains of six yards taking the Colts to their own 42-yard line. A pass over the top of the line found it’s way into the hands of full-back Zack Crockett who rumbled over mid-field to the Steelers’ 47 and another first down. On the next play Harbaugh launched the ball to the left corner of the field to the awaiting grasp of receiver, Floyd Turner, who took the treasure over the goal-line for a 43-yard touchdown. After the extra point the scoreboard read Indianapois 16, Pittsburgh 13.
“Captain Comeback is at it again!” quipped NBC commentator, Dick Enberg to the TV audience.
For Steelers’ fans it was a dreadful moment of de ja vu. The pass looked eerily similar to Stan Humpries’ bomb to Terence Mathis in the Championship game a year earlier. That score had given the Chargers a four point 17-13 lead that they had never relinquished.
Now there was 8:46 left in the game and Pittsburgh trailed the Colts by three. An exchange of punts saw Pittsburgh take over the ball at their own 33-yard line with 3:03 left in the game. O’Donnell led the Steelers into Colts’ territory before the visitors almost stole the ball, and the win when the Pittsburgh quarterback threw an almost sure interception to Colts’ linebacker Quentin Coryatt. However partly because of the quick reaction from wide receiver Ernie Mills who had the presence of mind to assist in breaking the pass up, the ball fell to the ground. Had the linebacker managed to snare the pass, the game would almost certainly have been over. By the time there was 2:25 left in the game the Steelers faced fourth-and-3. The Colts just needed to hold for one more play. The anxious crowd looked on as their team yet again needed three more yards, just as they had a year before.
O’Donnell again took the snap and dropped back into the pocket. He spied Hastings in the middle of the field and let the ball go. It found it’s target at the Colts’ 38-yard line. The clock stopped as the two-minute warning arrived. The stands of Three Rivers Stadium had turned yellow from “Terrible Towels” being waved by nervous but rabid Steelers’ fans.
With a first-and-10 and only needing a field goal to tie the game, O’Donnell brought his team up to the line of scrimmage. As he took the snap, the quarterback lofted a pass to the right corner of the field. Ernie Mills caught the ball and then managed to bring both his feet down in bounds with ballot-like grace at the 1-yard line. Three Rivers Stadium erupted into chaos as O’Donnell calmly called time-out with 1:51 left in the game.
Byron ‘Bam’ Morris got the call on first-and-goal, but was stopped short by the Colts’ defense. On the next play he got the ball again as he bullied his way into the end-zone for a Steelers’ touchdown. Following Johnson’s extra point the Steelers led 20-16.
Running back Lamont Warren took the pitch-out from Harbaugh on the third play of the drive and attempted a pass down the field. The ball though was out of reach of the intended receiver Floyd Turner. Aaron Bailey picked up another first down on the next play though as the Colts began to eye up the end-zone. However, the closer the Colts got to pay-dirt the louder the crowd seemed to get and Harbaugh was forced to call a valuable time-out. They would eventually have to settle for their third field goal of the day to make the score 10-9 in the home team’s favour.
The Colts missed their fourth field goal attempt of the day later in the period, while Norm Johnsons booted through his second three pointer of the contest to make the score 13-9 in the Steelers’ favour as the teams entered the final quarter.
Following a missed field goal attempt by Norm Johnson, Indianapolis launched their next drive from their own 30-yard line. Harbaugh hit running back Lamont Warren out of the backfield for consecutive gains of six yards taking the Colts to their own 42-yard line. A pass over the top of the line found it’s way into the hands of full-back Zack Crockett who rumbled over mid-field to the Steelers’ 47 and another first down. On the next play Harbaugh launched the ball to the left corner of the field to the awaiting grasp of receiver, Floyd Turner, who took the treasure over the goal-line for a 43-yard touchdown. After the extra point the scoreboard read Indianapois 16, Pittsburgh 13.
“Captain Comeback is at it again!” quipped NBC commentator, Dick Enberg to the TV audience.
For Steelers’ fans it was a dreadful moment of de ja vu. The pass looked eerily similar to Stan Humpries’ bomb to Terence Mathis in the Championship game a year earlier. That score had given the Chargers a four point 17-13 lead that they had never relinquished.
Now there was 8:46 left in the game and Pittsburgh trailed the Colts by three. An exchange of punts saw Pittsburgh take over the ball at their own 33-yard line with 3:03 left in the game. O’Donnell led the Steelers into Colts’ territory before the visitors almost stole the ball, and the win when the Pittsburgh quarterback threw an almost sure interception to Colts’ linebacker Quentin Coryatt. However partly because of the quick reaction from wide receiver Ernie Mills who had the presence of mind to assist in breaking the pass up, the ball fell to the ground. Had the linebacker managed to snare the pass, the game would almost certainly have been over. By the time there was 2:25 left in the game the Steelers faced fourth-and-3. The Colts just needed to hold for one more play. The anxious crowd looked on as their team yet again needed three more yards, just as they had a year before.
O’Donnell again took the snap and dropped back into the pocket. He spied Hastings in the middle of the field and let the ball go. It found it’s target at the Colts’ 38-yard line. The clock stopped as the two-minute warning arrived. The stands of Three Rivers Stadium had turned yellow from “Terrible Towels” being waved by nervous but rabid Steelers’ fans.
With a first-and-10 and only needing a field goal to tie the game, O’Donnell brought his team up to the line of scrimmage. As he took the snap, the quarterback lofted a pass to the right corner of the field. Ernie Mills caught the ball and then managed to bring both his feet down in bounds with ballot-like grace at the 1-yard line. Three Rivers Stadium erupted into chaos as O’Donnell calmly called time-out with 1:51 left in the game.
Byron ‘Bam’ Morris got the call on first-and-goal, but was stopped short by the Colts’ defense. On the next play he got the ball again as he bullied his way into the end-zone for a Steelers’ touchdown. Following Johnson’s extra point the Steelers led 20-16.
Exactly Where They Want To Be...
However the contest was not over yet, right? These were exactly the kind of conditions that Harbaugh and the Colts has thrived under all year.
Indianapolis would begin their final assault of the game from their own 16-yard line with only 1:34 left on the clock. After an incomplete pass, Harbaugh hit Warren and Turner for gains of seven, and eighteen yards, before he scrambled to just shy of mid-field and called a time-out. Three Rivers Stadium’s inhabitants continued to wave their “Terrible Towels” wildly in the stands, urging their defense to dig in and stop the Colts. By the time Indianapolis faced a fourth-and-2 with twenty-eight seconds left, it almost looked like they had. But Harbaugh found wide receiver Sean Dawkins, who made his way out of bounds at the 38-yard line with twenty-two ticks left on the clock.
On the next play, Harbaugh ran to avoid the Steelers’ lethal and frenzied pass-rush, but was stopped in the middle of the field at the 30-yard line. With the clock still running, the quarterback ordered his team to the line of scrimmage, where he took the snap and drilled the ball into the ground and so stopping the clock with five seconds left. The Colts had one chance. It had, has Glanville had predicted, come to the last play of the game.
Harbaugh took the snap and as his receivers sped from the line and congregated in the corner of the end-zone he let a pass fly their way. At first it looked like a Colt had caught the ball. It looked like the Colts were on their way to the Super Bowl.
“He caught it!” an excited NBC commentator announced.
But no! The official was waving his arms and announced it was an incomplete pass. The replay showed that Aaron Bailey had found the ball in his stomach as he had lay on the carpet of the end-zone, but before he could wrap his arms around the prize, it fell to the turf. If he had just closed his arms over it a half a second sooner, it would have been a touchdown. But the game was over. The Colts had lost, by four points, 20-16.
The Colts did make the playoffs the following season, again as a wild card team with a 9-7 record. They displayed some of the magic from the previous season, particularly in a week three 25-24 victory over the defending champion Dallas Cowboys – the team the Colts felt they should have faced in Super Bowl XXX. However once in the post-season, they lost badly, 42-14, to the same Pittsburgh team they had faced in the championship thriller the year before. In 1997 they lost their first ten games of the season on their way to a 3-13 record. By the time they had selected Peyton Manning in the first round of the 1998 NFL draft, Harbaugh had been sent to the Baltimore Ravens, and Manning went on to begin his own Hall Of Fame legacy with the Colts.
The 1995 season though will have a special place in Colts’ fans hearts. And the 1995 Cardiac Colts, led by their own “Captain Comeback”, Jim Harbaugh surely has a special place in the annals of NFL history.
[Marcus Lowth August 2016]
Indianapolis would begin their final assault of the game from their own 16-yard line with only 1:34 left on the clock. After an incomplete pass, Harbaugh hit Warren and Turner for gains of seven, and eighteen yards, before he scrambled to just shy of mid-field and called a time-out. Three Rivers Stadium’s inhabitants continued to wave their “Terrible Towels” wildly in the stands, urging their defense to dig in and stop the Colts. By the time Indianapolis faced a fourth-and-2 with twenty-eight seconds left, it almost looked like they had. But Harbaugh found wide receiver Sean Dawkins, who made his way out of bounds at the 38-yard line with twenty-two ticks left on the clock.
On the next play, Harbaugh ran to avoid the Steelers’ lethal and frenzied pass-rush, but was stopped in the middle of the field at the 30-yard line. With the clock still running, the quarterback ordered his team to the line of scrimmage, where he took the snap and drilled the ball into the ground and so stopping the clock with five seconds left. The Colts had one chance. It had, has Glanville had predicted, come to the last play of the game.
Harbaugh took the snap and as his receivers sped from the line and congregated in the corner of the end-zone he let a pass fly their way. At first it looked like a Colt had caught the ball. It looked like the Colts were on their way to the Super Bowl.
“He caught it!” an excited NBC commentator announced.
But no! The official was waving his arms and announced it was an incomplete pass. The replay showed that Aaron Bailey had found the ball in his stomach as he had lay on the carpet of the end-zone, but before he could wrap his arms around the prize, it fell to the turf. If he had just closed his arms over it a half a second sooner, it would have been a touchdown. But the game was over. The Colts had lost, by four points, 20-16.
The Colts did make the playoffs the following season, again as a wild card team with a 9-7 record. They displayed some of the magic from the previous season, particularly in a week three 25-24 victory over the defending champion Dallas Cowboys – the team the Colts felt they should have faced in Super Bowl XXX. However once in the post-season, they lost badly, 42-14, to the same Pittsburgh team they had faced in the championship thriller the year before. In 1997 they lost their first ten games of the season on their way to a 3-13 record. By the time they had selected Peyton Manning in the first round of the 1998 NFL draft, Harbaugh had been sent to the Baltimore Ravens, and Manning went on to begin his own Hall Of Fame legacy with the Colts.
The 1995 season though will have a special place in Colts’ fans hearts. And the 1995 Cardiac Colts, led by their own “Captain Comeback”, Jim Harbaugh surely has a special place in the annals of NFL history.
[Marcus Lowth August 2016]
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