1995 – 96 NFL playoffs The NFL playoffs following the 1995 NFL season led up to Super Bowl XXX . Wild Card playoffs . December 30 , 1995 . AFC : Buffalo Bills 37 , Miami Dolphins 22 . Although Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino completed 33 out of 64 passes for 422 yards , the Bills jumped to a 27 - 0 lead going into the fourth quarter , and rushed for an NFL playoff record 341 yards . Buffalo running back Thurman Thomas , who rushed for 158 yards and caught 3 passes for 42 yards , opened up the scoring with a 1 - yard touchdown run . Bills kicker Steve Christie kicked two field goals , running back Darick Holmes recorded a 21 - yard touchdown , and quarterback Jim Kelly threw a 37 - yard touchdown to wide receiver Steve Tasker , who finished the game with 5 receptions for 108 yards . Marino eventually completed two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter : a 5 - yarder to wide receiver O . J . McDuffie and a 45 - yarder to wide receiver Randal Hill . However , Buffalo also scored 10 points during that period to seal the victory : running back Tim Tindale ' s 44 - yard touchdown and a 42 - yard field goal by Christie . Dolphins running back Terry Kirby ' s 1 - yard touchdown and McDuffie ' s subsequent two - point conversion reception closed out the scoring . The game was the final game in the coaching career of Don Shula , the NFL ' s all - time winningest head coach . As of 2012 , this was the last time that the Bills won a playoff game . Both teams combined for a playoff record 1 , 038 total yards . NFC : Philadelphia Eagles 58 , Detroit Lions 37 . Prior to this game , Detroit tackle Lomas Brown famously guaranteed on television that the Lions would win . The Eagles responded by opening up with a 51 - 7 lead over the Lions . The Eagles scored 31 points in the second quarter , recorded 6 interceptions , and held running back Barry Sanders to 40 rushing yards en route to a 58 - 37 victory in the second highest scoring game in NFL postseason history . Philadelphia scored first with running back Charlie Garner ' s 15 - yard touchdown , but was countered with Detroit quarterback Scott Mitchell ' s 32 - yard touchdown pass to tight end David Sloan . Then Philadelphia exploded in the second quarter with Eagles kicker Gary Anderson ' s 21 - yard field goal , quarterback Rodney Peete ' s 22 - yard touchdown to wide receiver Fred Barnett , defensive back Barry Wilburn ' s 24 - yard interception return for a touchdown , running back Ricky Watters ' s 1 - yard touchdown , and wide receiver Rob Carpenter ' s 43 - yard touchdown reception on a Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half . In the second half , a 45 - yard touchdown reception by Watters and two more field goals by Anderson increased the Eagles lead , 51 - 7 , still with slightly more than nine minutes remaining in the third quarter . From there , backup quarterback Don Majkowski replaced Mitchell and threw 3 touchdowns , and Ron Rivers added a 1 - yard touchdown run , but by then the game was well out of reach . Peete completed 17 of 25 passes for 270 yards and 3 touchdowns , while also rushing for 17 yards . Barnett caught 8 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown . Watters rushed for 49 yards , caught 3 passes for 64 yards , and scored 2 touchdowns . Lions receiver Herman Moore caught 7 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown . December 31 , 1995 . NFC : Green Bay Packers 37 , Atlanta Falcons 20 . The Packers scored 13 unanswered points in the second quarter en route to a 37 - 20 victory over the Falcons . Atlanta scored first on quarterback Jeff George ' s 65 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Eric Metcalf . But Green Bay countered with running back Edgar Bennett ' s 8 - yard touchdown , and later took the lead with wide receiver Robert Brooks ' s 14 - yard touchdown reception from quarterback Brett Favre . In the second quarter , the Falcons cut the lead with kicker Morten Andersen ' s 31 - yard field goal . However , Packers wide receiver Antonio Freeman returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown , and Green Bay extended their lead to 20 - 10 ( after the two - point conversion attempt failed ) . In the closing minutes of the first half , the Packers marched 85 - yards to score on Favre ' s 2 - yard touchdown to tight end Mark Chmura to reach a 27 - 10 halftime lead . After a scoreless third quarter , the two teams exchanged touchdowns and field goals during the final period . Bennett turned in the best postseason performance of his career , finishing the game with 108 rushing yards , 3 receptions for 11 yards , and a touchdown . Favre threw for 199 yards and 3 touchdowns . AFC : Indianapolis Colts 35 , San Diego Chargers 20 . Rookie running back Zack Crockett , who had only one rushing attempt during the regular season , found himself thrust into the starting lineup to replace injured starter Marshall Faulk on the first play of the game . He proved up to the task , rushing for a franchise playoff record 147 yards and scoring two touchdowns to help the Colts win their first playoff game in 24 years . San Diego gained 429 yards of total offense , but quarterback Stan Humphries threw four interceptions , two to safety Jason Belser . Chargers running back Ronnie Harmon caught 10 passes for 133 yards . The Chargers jumped to a 3 – 0 lead in the first quarter with kicker John Carney ' s 54 - yard field goal . Later in the period , Colts linebacker Steve Grant intercepted a pass from Humphries and returned it 13 yards to the Chargers 33 - yard line . But his team was unable to capitalize on the turnover . Five plays later , San Diego linebacker Junior Seau picked off a pass from Jim Harbaugh at the San Diego 1 yard line . Later on , a 46 - yard punt return by Colts defensive back Ray Buchanan set up Harbaugh ' s 2 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Ken Dilger . But San Diego recaptured the lead on their ensuing possession by moving the ball 68 yards in 18 plays and scoring with Humphries ' s 6 - yard scoring pass to tight end Alfred Pupunu . However , Crockett later scored on 33 - yard touchdown run to give the Colts a 14 – 10 lead . The Chargers countered with a drive to Indianapolis ' s 17 - yard line . But with 17 seconds left in the first half , Humphries ' pass was intercepted in the end zone by Colts defensive back Ray McElroy . The two teams exchanged touchdowns in the third quarter with Humphries throwing an 11 - yarder to wide receiver Shawn Jefferson at the end of a 90 - yard drive , and Harbaugh completing a 42 - yarder to wide receiver Sean Dawkins . In the fourth quarter , Carney kicked a 30 - yard field goal to cut Indianapolis ' lead to 21 – 20 . But on the Colts ' next drive , Crockett ran for a 66 - yard touchdown and the Colts never looked back . On the Charger ' s next possession , Belser ' s 33 - yard interception return of a Humphries pass set up Harbaugh ' s game - clinching 3 - yard touchdown run . Divisional playoffs . January 6 , 1996 . AFC : Pittsburgh Steelers 40 , Buffalo Bills 21 . Running back Bam Morris scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Steelers stopped the Bills , minus Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith who fell ill the day of the game , from coming back . Pittsburgh jumped to a 20 - 0 lead by the second quarter with running back John L . Williams ' s 1 - yard touchdown , quarterback Neil O ' Donnell ' s 10 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ernie Mills , and two field goals by Norm Johnson . However , Buffalo running back Thurman Thomas scored a 1 - yard touchdown run with 45 seconds left in the first half . But Johnson made a 34 - yard field goal with eight seconds left to give the Steelers a 23 - 7 halftime lead . In the third quarter , Johnson added a 39 - yard field goal before Bills tight end Tony Cline caught a 2 - yard touchdown reception . With 11 : 23 left in the game , Thomas scored on a 9 - yard touchdown reception to cut the lead , 26 - 21 . But Pittsburgh then marched 76 yards to score on Morris ' 13 - yard touchdown run . Linebacker Levon Kirkland then intercepted a pass to set up Morris ' 2 - yard score with 1 : 58 remaining to clinch the victory . With the Steelers win they snap the Bills 10 game postseason winning streak against the AFC dating back to 1990 . NFC : Green Bay Packers 27 , San Francisco 49ers 17 . The Packers jumped to a 21 - 0 lead en route to a 27 - 17 victory . Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre threw for 222 yards in the first half , and ended up with completing 21 out of 28 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns . Receiver Robert Brooks caught four passes for 103 yards . Meanwhile , their defense sacked 49ers quarterback Steve Young three times and intercepted him twice . Young ended up setting a playoff record with 65 pass attempts , but completed only 32 of them for 328 yards . The Packers took the opening kickoff and held onto the ball for 7 : 11 before kicker Chris Jacke ' s 44 - yard field goal attempt was blocked by 49ers defensive back Tim McDonald . But on San Francisco ' s first play , running back Adam Walker fumbled after being hit by linebacker Wayne Simmons , and defensive back Craig Newsome picked it up and returned it 31 yards for the touchdown . Then after forcing the 49ers to punt , the Packers advanced 62 yards to score on Favre ' s 3 - yard touchdown to tight end Keith Jackson , who finished the day with four receptions for 101 yards . Green Bay would later score on tight end Mark Chmura ' s 13 - yard touchdown reception before San Francisco kicker Jeff Wilkins made a field goal to cut the lead to 21 - 3 before halftime . In the second half , Jacke kicked two field goals while the 49ers could only manage two touchdowns : a 1 - yard run by Young and a 2 - yarder by running back Derek Loville . This turned out to be the only time during the 1990s that an NFC team won a divisional playoff game on the road . January 7 , 1996 . NFC : Dallas Cowboys 30 , Philadelphia Eagles 11 . With Eagles starting quarterback Rodney Peete injured , the Cowboys held Philadelphia to only 11 points , while scoring 27 unanswered points . The two teams exchanged field goals before Dallas capped off a 70 - yard drive with Deion Sanders ' s 21 - yard touchdown on an end - around . The Cowboys then marched 79 yards to score on running back Emmitt Smith ' s 1 - yard touchdown . In the third quarter , Dallas kicker Chris Boniol added two field goals from 18 and 51 yards out . Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman then threw a 9 - yard touchdown to wide receiver Michael Irvin . Philadelphia quarterback Randall Cunningham , who was the backup for most of the season , scored his team ' s only touchdown during the final period . AFC : Indianapolis Colts 10 , Kansas City Chiefs 7 . The Chiefs , who held the league ' s best record during the regular season , lost four turnovers and kicker Lin Elliot missed three field goals en route to a 10 - 7 Colts upset . Kansas City scored first on quarterback Steve Bono ' s 20 - yard touchdown to wide receiver Lake Dawson . In the second quarter , Elliot missed a 35 - yard field goal attempt while Colts quarterback Jim Harbaugh completed a 5 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Floyd Turner to tie the game . In the third period , Indianapolis kicker Cary Blanchard made a 30 - yard field goal to give his team the lead . Bono was replaced by backup quarterback Rich Gannon in the final period , but Elliot missed two more field goals that could have tied the game , including a 42 - yard attempt with 37 seconds left . Conference championships . January 14 , 1996 . AFC Championship : Pittsburgh Steelers 20 , Indianapolis Colts 16 . On the Steelers opening drive , Neil O ' Donnell ' s first pass of the game was tipped by defensive tackle Tony Siragusa and intercepted by Jeff Herrod , who returned it to the Pittsburgh 24 - yard line . But the Colts drive was halted when Ray Seals tackled running back Lamont Warren for a loss on third down and one . On the next play , Cary Blanchard hit the right upright on his 34 - yard field goal , but it still bounced in and the Colts took a 3 - 0 lead . After each team punted , Pittsburgh ' s Norm Johnson kicked a field goal to even the game with under two minutes remaining in the first quarter . The field goal occurred after Kordell Stewart dropped a pass in the end zone . Replays showed Colts safety Jason Belser made contact with Stewart just before the ball arrived , but no penalty flag was thrown . In the second quarter , a 30 - yard reception by Colts receiver Sean Dawkins set up Blanchard ' s second field goal . But later on , Pittsburgh drove 80 yards in 17 plays , featuring three third down conversion runs by Kordell Stewart , and scored on O ' Donnell ' s 5 - yard third and goal touchdown pass to Stewart with 13 seconds left in the half , making the score 10 - 6 . Replays showed Stewart had put half a foot out of bounds before making the catch , which would have made him an ineligible receiver , but the penalty was not called . On Indianapolis ' first drive of the second half , they drove 61 yards in nine plays , featuring a 29 - yard completion from Jim Harbaugh to tight end Ken Dilger . Blanchard finished the drive with his third field goal to cut their deficit to 10 - 9 . Then after forcing a three and punt , Indy drove 35 yards in nine plays to set up another field goal try , which would have put the Colts up 12 - 10 . But this time Blanchard ' s 47 - yard attempt sailed wide right . Taking over on their own 37 , Pittsburgh mounted a drive in Colts territory where Johnson ' s 37 - yard field goal put them back up by four points , at 13 - 9 . Early in the fourth quarter , a long punt return by Steelers receiver Andre Hastings gave them the ball at midfield . But all they got out of their great field position was a missed field goal . After that , Harbaugh threw a 47 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Floyd Turner to take the lead , 16 - 13 . After a Steelers punt , their defense got a big chance when Warren fumbled deep in Colts territory , but guard Joe Staysniak recovered the ball in mid - air to keep the drive going . Later on , defensive back Willie Williams tackled Warren behind the line on third down and one to force a punt , giving Pittsburgh the ball back with 3 : 03 left in the game . Pittsburgh then marched 67 yards to score the winning touchdown . Running back Byron Bam Morris scored the game - winning 1 - yard touchdown run with 1 : 34 remaining in the game to pull Pittsburgh ahead for good . The drive was aided by O ' Donnell ' s 9 - yard completion to Hastings on fourth down and 3 from the 47 - yard line , as well as an earlier dropped potential interception that went in and out of the arms of linebacker Quentin Coryatt . On the next play after Hastings ' fourth down conversion catch , O ' Donnell completed a 37 - yard pass to Ernie Mills on the Indianapolis 1 - yard line , setting up Morris ' 1 - yard scoring run . The Colts got the ball back and advanced to the Steelers ' 29 with 5 seconds left , narrowly avoiding a turnover when defensive back Chris Oldham dropped a wide open interception . On the game ' s final play , Harbaugh attempted a hail mary pass which he lofted high and came down into a crowd of players in the endzone , the ball momentarily was against Colts ' WR Aaron Bailey ' s chest but it hit the turf before he could haul it in . The Colts were the first No . 5 seed to advance to a conference championship game since the 1990 playoff expansion . Harbaugh completed 21 of 33 passes for 267 yards and a touchdown . The game was featured as one of the " NFL ' s Greatest Games " as 60 Minutes . NFC Championship : Dallas Cowboys 38 , Green Bay Packers 27 . Running back Emmitt Smith rushed for 150 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns as the Cowboys overcame a Packers 27 - 24 lead in the fourth quarter . Green Bay scored first on kicker Chris Jacke ' s 36 - yard field goal , but Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman responded by throwing 2 touchdowns to wide receiver Michael Irvin . Packers quarterback Brett Favre countered with two touchdown passes of his own : a 73 - yarder to Robert Brooks and a 24 - yarder to tight end Keith Jackson . However , Cowboys kicker Chris Boniol made a 34 - yard field goal to tie the game , 17 - 17 . Dallas then took the lead with 24 seconds before halftime after marching 99 yards to score on running back Emmitt Smith ' s 1 - yard touchdown . Green Bay then scored 10 unanswered points in the third quarter to take a 27 - 24 lead with Jacke ' s 37 - yard field goal and 1 - yard touchdown completion from Favre to Brooks . But Dallas regained the lead in the fourth quarter after Smith ' s 5 - yard touchdown capped off a 90 - yard possession . Then , Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown ' s 28 - yard interception return set up Smith ' s 16 - yard touchdown run to clinch the victory . Brooks finished the game with 6 receptions for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns . After the contest , Reggie White was so visibly upset , he started shouting at television crews who were filming him on the sidelines . This was the third consecutive year that Dallas eliminated the Packers from the playoffs .