1994 – 95 NFL playoffs The NFL playoffs following the 1994 NFL season led up to Super Bowl XXIX . Wild Card playoffs . December 31 , 1994 . NFC : Green Bay Packers 16 , Detroit Lions 12 . The Packers defense held Lions running back Barry Sanders to - 1 rushing yards , while holding Detroit to 12 points and - 4 yards on the ground . Green Bay scored first when running back Dorsey Levens capped the Packers opening 76 - yard drive with a 3 - yard touchdown . The Packers later led 13 - 3 going into the fourth quarter after Packers kicker Chris Jacke made two field goals and Lions kicker Jason Hanson made one . In the final quarter , Detroit quarterback Dave Krieg threw a 3 - yard pass to wide receiver Brett Perriman , cutting the deficit to 13 – 10 . However , Jacke made a 28 - yard field goal with 5 : 35 left to make it 16 - 10 . The Lions reached the Green Bay 11 - yard line with 2 : 00 to play , but Packers linebacker Bryce Paup sacked Krieg for a 6 - yard loss . Then on fourth down and 14 from the 17 - yard line , Detroit wide receiver Herman Moore caught Krieg ' s pass at the back of the end zone , but came out of bounds past the end line . Afterwards , Green Bay ran out the rest of the clock , giving up an intentional safety on the last play of the contest . AFC : Miami Dolphins 27 , Kansas City Chiefs 17 . This game marked the second time in December 1994 that the " Monday Night Football " crew came to Miami to cover a game between these two teams - on December 12 , the Dolphins beat the Chiefs 45 - 28 After a 17 – 17 tie at halftime , the Dolphins forced two turnovers in the second half to stop any Chiefs scoring threat . Both teams scored on each of their first three possessions of the game . Kansas City quarterback Joe Montana , playing in his last NFL game before retiring , threw two touchdowns in the first half : a 1 - yard completion to tight end Derrick Walker and a 57 - yarder to running back Kimble Anders . Meanwhile , Kansas City kicker Lin Elliot made a 21 - yard field goal . For Miami in the first half , running back Bernie Parmalee scored a 1 - yard touchdown , quarterback Dan Marino threw a 1 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Ronnie Williams , and kicker Pete Stoyanovich made a 40 - yard field goal . The Dolphins then took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched 64 yards to score on wide receiver Irving Fryar ' s 7 - yard touchdown reception . Stoyanovich then kicked a 40 - yard field goal to give Miami a 27 - 17 lead . Early in the fourth quarter , Dolphins defensive back J . B . Brown intercepted a pass from Montana at the goal line . Then with 7 : 31 left in the game , Dolphins defensive back Michael Stewart wrestled the ball away from Chiefs running back Marcus Allen at the Miami 34 - yard line with 7 : 31 left to stop a second Kansas City scoring threat . Montana finished his final postseason game with 314 passing yards and two touchdowns . January 1 , 1995 . AFC : Cleveland Browns 20 , New England Patriots 13 . The Browns intercepted three passes from New England quarterback Drew Bledsoe and halted attempted comeback in the final minutes of the game to clinch the victory . Cleveland scored first on kicker Matt Stover ' s 30 - yard field goal , but New England responded with Bledsoe ' s 5 - yard touchdown pass to running back Leroy Thompson . The Browns then scored on Mark Carrier ' s 5 - yard touchdown reception from quarterback Vinny Testaverde , but Patriots kicker Matt Bahr made a 23 - yard field goal before halftime to tie the game , 10 - 10 . In the third quarter , Cleveland running back Leroy Hoard scored on a 10 - yard rushing touchdown . Then , Stover made a 21 - yard field goal , giving the Browns a 20 - 10 lead with 3 : 36 left in the game . However , New England put together a 63 - yard drive to score on Bahr ' s 33 - yard field goal with 1 : 33 remaining . New England then recovered the ensuing onside kick , but after gaining a first down , Bledsoe threw 4 straight incompletions and the ball was turned back to Cleveland on downs . NFC : Chicago Bears 35 , Minnesota Vikings 18 . Bears quarterback Steve Walsh passed for 221 yards and two touchdowns as he led Chicago to a win . However , the Bears committed two turnovers on their first two possession , leading to Vikings kicker Fuad Reveiz ' s 29 - yard field goal to open the scoring . But Chicago scored two unanswered touchdowns in the second quarter : running back Lewis Tillman ' s 1 - yard run and Walsh ' s 9 - yard completion to tight end Keith Jennings . Minnesota wide receiver Cris Carter caught a 4 - yard touchdown reception from quarterback Warren Moon with 19 seconds left in the first half , cutting the score to 14 - 9 ( the two - point conversion failed ) . In the third quarter , Bears running back Raymont Harris scored a 29 - yard touchdown before Reveiz made a 48 - yard field goal . Then in the fourth quarter , Walsh threw a 21 - yard touchdown completion to wide receiver Jeff Graham . Moon later threw an 11 - yard touchdown to running back Amp Lee , but Chicago defensive back Kevin Minniefield returned a fumble 48 yards for a touchdown to close out the scoring . Divisional playoffs . January 7 , 1995 . AFC : Pittsburgh Steelers 29 , Cleveland Browns 9 . Aided by running back Barry Foster ' s 133 rushing yards , the Steelers controlled the game by scoring on their first three possessions and holding the ball for 42 : 27 . Pittsburgh jumped to a 17 - 0 lead by the second quarter with a 39 - field goal by kicker Gary Anderson , quarterback Neil O ' Donnell ' s 2 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Eric Green , and running back John L . Williams ' 26 - yard touchdown run . Browns kicker Matt Stover made a 22 - yard field goal to cut the lead , 17 - 3 , but in the closing seconds of the quarter , Steelers defensive back Tim McKyer intercepted a pass from Cleveland quarterback Vinny Testaverde and returned it to the Browns 6 - yard line . O ' Donnell then completed a 9 - yard touchdown to wide receiver Yancey Thigpen with 16 seconds left in the first half . In the final quarter , Testaverde completed a 20 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Keenan McCardell , but the Cleveland quarterback was later sacked in the end zone by Pittsburgh defensive back Carnell Lake for a safety . NFC : San Francisco 49ers 44 , Chicago Bears 15 . The 49ers scored on six consecutive possessions to crush the Bears , 44 – 15 . Chicago scored first after a fumble by San Francisco tight end Brent Jones set up kicker Kevin Butler ' s 39 - yard field goal . However , the 49ers then scored 37 unanswered points , including 23 in the second quarter . They led 30 – 3 at halftime . San Francisco rookie running back William Floyd scored three touchdowns from 2 , 4 , and 1 yard out . 49ers quarterback Steve Young threw an 8 - yard touchdown pass to Jones , and ran for a 6 - yard score . San Francisco kicker Doug Brien also added a 36 - yard field goal . The Bears eventually scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter , but the game was already out of reach and the 49ers had already replaced their starters with their backups . January 8 , 1995 . NFC : Dallas Cowboys 35 , Green Bay Packers 9 . Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman led his team to victory by completing 23 out of 30 passes for 337 yards and 2 touchdowns . Wide receiver Alvin Harper caught 2 passes for 108 yards , including a 94 - yard touchdown reception that broke the NFL playoff record for the longest play from scrimmage . Wide receiver Michael Irvin recorded 6 receptions for 111 yards . Tight end Scott Galbraith scored on a 1 - yard catch and tight end Jay Novacek added 11 catches for 104 yards . Dallas running back Emmitt Smith recorded a 5 - yard touchdown before leaving the game with a hamstring injury , while backup running back Blair Thomas rushed for 70 yards and scored from 1 yard and 2 yards out . For the Packers , kicker Chris Jacke made a 50 - yard field goal while running back Edgar Bennett scored on a 1 - yard touchdown . Receiver Robert Brooks caught 8 passes for 138 yards . AFC : San Diego Chargers 22 , Miami Dolphins 21 . The Chargers overcame a 21 - 6 halftime deficit by limiting the Dolphins offense to only 16 plays in the second half . Miami quarterback Dan Marino threw three touchdowns in the first half : two to tight end Keith Jackson for 8 and 9 yards , and a 16 - yarder to wide receiver Mike Williams . San Diego could only counter with two field goals by kicker John Carney . But in the third quarter , Chargers defensive lineman Reuben Davis tackled Dolphins running back Bernie Parmalee in the end zone for a safety . San Diego then took the ensuing free kick and marched 54 yards to score on running back Natrone Means ' 24 - yard touchdown . The Chargers later took the lead , 22 – 21 , with 35 seconds left with quarterback Stan Humphries ' s 8 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mark Seay . Miami kicker Pete Stoyanovich then attempted a game - winning 48 - yard field goal on the final play of the game , but his kick was wide right . Conference championships . January 15 , 1995 . AFC Championship : San Diego Chargers 17 , Pittsburgh Steelers 13 . The Chargers scored 14 unanswered points in the second half to upset the heavily favored Steelers . In one of greatest games in his career , Junior Seau recorded 16 tackles while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck . Although Pittsburgh held advantages in total plays ( 80 – 47 ) , total offensive yards ( 415 – 226 ) , and time of possession ( 37 : 13 – 22 : 47 ) , it was San Diego who made the big plays . The Steelers scored first on quarterback Neil O ' Donnell ' s 16 - yard touchdown pass to fullback John L . Williams . Then after the two teams exchanged field goals in the second quarter , Pittsburgh kicker Gary Anderson made a 23 - yard field goal to give his team a 13 - 3 advantage . Midway through the third quarter , Chargers quarterback Stan Humphries faked a handoff , fooling the Steelers defensive backs long enough to find tight end Alfred Pupunu wide open to complete a 43 - yard touchdown . With 5 : 13 left in the game , Humphries threw a 43 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tony Martin , who out - jumped defensive back Tim McKyer to make the catch and give the Chargers a 17 – 13 lead . Pittsburgh then marched from their own 17 - yard line to the San Diego 3 to put themselves in position for a potential winning touchdown . However on fourth down , Chargers linebacker Dennis Gibson sealed the victory by tipping away O ' Donnell ' s pass intended for running back Barry Foster . The Steelers lost for the first time during the season in which they held a lead at halftime . ( In 1994 , the Steelers were 9 – 0 when leading at halftime prior to this game . ) NFC Championship : San Francisco 49ers 38 , Dallas Cowboys 28 . This was the third consecutive season that the Cowboys and the 49ers met in the NFC Championship Game , with Dallas winning the first two conference title games . San Francisco quarterback Steve Young still faced the pressure of " never being able to win the big ones " , while Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman entered the game with a 7 – 0 win - loss record as a starter in the playoffs . Although the Cowboys eventually held a 451 – 294 advantage in total offensive yards , the 49ers converted three turnovers into three touchdowns in the first quarter en route to the 38 – 28 victory . On the third play of the game , San Francisco cornerback Eric Davis intercepted Aikman ' s pass and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown . Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin lost a fumble on the next Dallas possession , setting up a 29 - yard touchdown pass from Young to running back Ricky Watters , who eluded several Cowboys defenders high - stepping his way down the sideline en route to the goal line in spectacular showboating fashion . Dallas returner Kevin Williams then fumbled the ensuing kickoff , San Francisco kicker Doug Brien recovered the ball at the Cowboys 35 - yard line , and running back William Floyd scored on a 1 - yard touchdown to give his team a 21 – 0 lead with 7 : 33 left in the first quarter . A 44 - yard touchdown pass from Aikman to Irvin cut the lead 21 - 7 going into the second quarter . Brien then kicked a 34 - yard field goal , but Dallas countered with a 4 - yard rushing touchdown by running back Emmitt Smith . In the closing minutes of the first half , Aikman threw three straight incompletions , and a short punt by the Cowboys set up Young ' s 28 - yard touchdown completion to All - Pro wide receiver Jerry Rice ( which during the halftime show , Terry Bradshaw said was one of the best passes he had ever seen ) , who made a diving catch in the back - left corner of the end zone with 8 seconds remaining in the first half . In the third quarter , Smith scored on a 1 - yard touchdown , but was countered with Young ' s 3 - yard rushing touchdown . In the final quarter , Smith , who compiled 74 yards and two touchdowns , departed with an injured hamstring , which he had already injured before this game , it got enough wear and tear to the point he couldn ' t play anymore . Aikman then completed a 10 - yard touchdown to Irvin in the final quarter , but Dallas could not score again . The refs threw a flag but it was on Cowboys coach Barry Switzer for being on the field . Although Aikman broke an NFC Championship Game record with 380 yards passing , and Irvin also broke an NFC Championship Game record with 192 receiving yards , ultimately the first - quarter turnovers were too much to overcome . References .