Instant replay
The missed call on Kordell Stewart's touchdown catch in the second quarter brought some debate following the game on whether or not the league should bring back instant replay, which had been repealed in 1992. Replays at the time demonstrated that there would have been enough evidence to reverse the call and penalize Stewart for an illegal touching foul (stepping out of bounds before catching the pass). Jim Harbaugh later stated in postgame interviews that the missed call on Stewart and the missed pass interference call on Jason Belser that could have led to a Pittsburgh touchdown instead of a field goal were a "wash". Despite this game, there was no real desire by league owners to reinstate instant replay for 1996. Instant replay would eventually return for the 1999 NFL season, and has since been made a permanent addition of the NFL rules.