2006 – 07 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 2006 season began on January 6 , 2007 and led up to Super Bowl XLI on February 4 , 2007 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens , Florida . Wild Card playoffs . Saturday , January 6 , 2007 . AFC : Indianapolis Colts 23 , Kansas City Chiefs 8 . Despite quarterback Peyton Manning ' s three interceptions , the Indianapolis Colts out - gained the Kansas City Chiefs in total yards , 435 - 126 , and first downs , 28 - 7 . Indianapolis ' s defense forced three turnovers , four sacks , and prevented Kansas City from gaining a single first down until late in the third quarter . The game was never in question despite Manning ' s turnovers as Indy dominated Kansas City from start to finish to earn a trip to Baltimore . The Colts opened up the scoring on their first drive of the game with Adam Vinatieri ' s 48 - yard field goal . The next time they had the ball , they drove 68 yards to the Kansas City 2 - yard line , but had to settle for another Vinatieri field goal to give them a 6 - 0 lead . After another Kansas City punt , Chiefs cornerback Ty Law intercepted a pass from Manning and returned it 43 yards to the Colts 9 - yard line . But Kansas City failed to get the ball into the end zone with three rushing attempts and came up empty when Lawrence Tynes ' 23 - yard field goal attempt hit the left upright . After another interception thrown by Manning and another Kansas City punt , the Colts increased their lead to 9 - 0 by driving 33 yards and scoring on Vinatieri ' s 50 - yard field goal on the last play of the first half . The Chiefs ended the half with 16 total yards and no first downs . This was the first time in the Modern Era ( post AFL - NFL merger ) and the first time since 1960 that an NFL team had been held without an offensive first down in the first half of a playoff game . On the Colts ' opening possession of the second half , Manning threw his third interception of the game ( and his second to Law ) , but the Chiefs could not take advantage of the turnover and had to punt . Indianapolis then drove 89 yards in 12 plays and scored with Joseph Addai ' s 6 - yard touchdown run , giving them a 16 - 0 lead . Kansas City got their first first down of the game on their ensuing possession , driving 60 yards in 8 plays . Trent Green finished the drive with a 6 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Tony Gonzalez , and then completed a pass to tight end Kris Wilson for a successful two - point conversion to cut their deficit to within one touchdown , 16 - 8 . However , the Colts increased their lead to 23 - 8 on a 71 - yard , 9 - play drive ending with Reggie Wayne 5 - yard touchdown reception . Indianapolis ' s defense forced three turnovers on the Chiefs ' last three drives to clinch the victory . NFC : Seattle Seahawks 21 , Dallas Cowboys 20 . Dallas Cowboys ' quarterback Tony Romo , a four - year veteran who earned the starting job and made the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career during the regular season , botched the hold on a potential game - winning field goal with 1 : 19 left in the fourth quarter , allowing the Seattle Seahawks to escape with a victory . Taking advantage of Dallas kicker Martin Gramatica ' s opening kickoff , which went out - of - bounds and gave Seattle the ball at their own 40 , the Seahawks marched down the field on their opening drive and scored with Josh Brown ' s 23 - yard field goal . Dallas was forced to punt on their ensuing possession , but Cowboys defensive back Anthony Henry intercepted Seattle ' s next pass and returned it to the Seahawks 43 - yard line , setting up Gramatica ' s 50 - yard field goal to tie the game . Early in the second quarter , Seattle drove 54 yards and retook the lead with Brown ' s second field goal of the game . After an exchange of punts , the Cowboys took the lead again . Aided by Jason Witten ' s 32 - yard reception , Dallas drove 76 yards in ten plays and scored on Romo ' s 12 - yard touchdown pass to Patrick Crayton with only 11 seconds left in the half , giving the Cowboys a 10 - 6 lead . In the third quarter , Seattle drove 62 yards in 12 plays , featuring two fourth - down conversions by running back Shaun Alexander , and scored with Matt Hasselbeck ' s 15 - yard touchdown pass to Jerramy Stevens , gving them a 13 - 10 lead . However , Dallas promptly took the lead right back after Miles Austin returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown . Early in the final period , Dallas defensive back Roy Williams intercepted a pass from Hasselbeck at the Cowboys 43 - yard line . Eight plays later , Gramatica kicked a 29 - yard field goal to increase his team ' s lead to 20 - 13 . On Seattle ' s ensuing drive , a pass interference penalty on Dallas ' s Terence Newman gave them a first down on the 1 - yard line . But Seattle failed to get into the end zone with their next four plays , turning the ball over on downs at the 2 - yard line . On the first Dallas play after the turnover , Cowboys receiver Terry Glenn caught a short pass , but then lost a fumble . The ball was recovered by Seattle in the end zone for a touchdown , but after a Dallas challenge the referee ruled the play a safety , cutting the score to 20 - 15 and giving the ball back to the Seahawks at around the 50 - yard line after the ensuing free kick and return . Four plays later , Hasselbeck ' s 37 - yard touchdown pass to Stevens gave Seattle a 21 - 20 lead . The Seahawks attempted a two - point conversion to give themselves a three - point lead , but Hasselbeck ' s pass failed . Dallas took the ensuing kickoff and marched down to the Seahawks ' 8 - yard line . On third down , Witten caught a pass that was initially ruled a first down on the 1 - yard line , but after an instant - replay challenge , officials ruled Witten had been tackled at the 2 - yard line , bringing up fourth down . With 1 : 19 left in the game , Gramatica lined up to attempt a 19 - yard field goal , but Romo dropped the ball while setting it up for a hold . Romo picked up the fumble and tried to run with it for either a touchdown or a first down , but he was tackled at the 2 - yard line by safety Jordan Babineaux , turning the ball over on downs and allowing Seattle to run the clock down to eight seconds before punting back to Dallas . On the last play of the game , Romo ' s Hail Mary pass fell incomplete in the end zone . " I know how hard everyone in that locker room worked to get themselves in position to win that game today and for it to end like that , and for me to be the cause is very tough to swallow right now , " Romo said after the game . " I take responsibility for messing up at the end there . That ' s my fault . I cost the Dallas Cowboys a playoff win , and it ' s going to sit with me a long time . I don ' t know if I have ever felt this low . " Sunday , January 7 , 2007 . AFC : New England Patriots 37 , New York Jets 16 . Tom Brady completed 22 out of 34 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns , while New England Patriots running backs Corey Dillon , Laurence Maroney , and Kevin Faulk combined for 145 rushing yards in a win over the New York Jets . Receiver Jabar Gaffney , who caught only 11 passes during the season , finished his first career playoff game with 8 catches for 104 yards . New England took the opening kickoff and drove down the field , with Gaffney catching three passes for 34 yards on a 65 yard - drive that ended with Dillon ' s 11 - yard touchdown run . Later in the quarter , Jets defensive back Hank Poteat recovered a fumble from Dillon on the Patriots 15 - yard line , setting up Mike Nugent ' s 28 - yard field goal to cut their deficit to 7 - 3 . On their first possession of the second quarter , the Jets took a 10 - 7 lead after receiver Jerricho Cotchery ( who finished with 100 receiving yards and 19 rushing yards ) caught a pass from Chad Pennington and took it 77 yards for a touchdown . However , New England countered with Stephen Gostkowski ' s 20 - yard field goal on their next drive to tie the game . Then , after forcing the Jets to punt , the Patriots marched to New York ' s 1 - yard line . On third down with 11 seconds remaining in the half and no timeouts left , Brady took the snap , faked a handoff to Dillon , and then hit tight end Daniel Graham in the back of the end zone for a touchdown to give them a 17 - 10 halftime lead . Nugent kicked a field goal on the Jets ' opening drive of the second half , but New England responded with another field goal from Gostkowski to retake their 7 - point lead . On the Jets ' ensuing possession , linebacker Rosevelt Colvin deflected a lateral from Pennington behind the line of scrimmage . Most of the players on both teams ( including Colvin ) thought the lateral was an incomplete forward pass and the play was over , but New England ' s Vince Wilfork realized the play was still ongoing and recovered the fumble . After picking up the ball , Wilfork ran 31 yards to the Jets 15 - yard line before being tackled by Cotchery , setting up Gostkowski ' s third field goal to make the score 23 - 13 . Early in the fourth quarter , Nugent kicked his third field goal to cut New York ' s deficit back to within a touchdown , 23 - 16 . However , the Patriots responded with a 13 - play , 63 - yard drive that took 6 : 23 off the clock and ended with Brady ' s 7 - yard touchdown pass to Faulk . Then on the first play of the Jets ' ensuing drive , New England defensive back Asante Samuel put the game away by intercepting Pennington ' s pass and returning it 36 yards for a touchdown . NFC : Philadelphia Eagles 23 , New York Giants 20 . Philadelphia built up a 20 - 10 fourth quarter lead and thwarted a late Giants comeback attempt , winning on a 38 - yard field goal by David Akers on the last play of the game . New York took the opening kickoff and scored quickly , driving 67 yards in seven plays and scoring with Eli Manning ' s 17 - yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress only 3 : 12 into the game . All of the remaining drives of the first quarter ended in punts , but early in the second period , Eagles running back Brian Westbrook ' s 49 - yard touchdown run tied the game at seven . Two plays after the ensuing kickoff , Philadelphia defensive back Sheldon Brown intercepted a pass from Manning and returned it to the Giants 37 - yard line , setting up a 19 - yard field goal by Akers to take a 10 - 7 lead . On New York ' s ensuing possession , a 41 - yard run by halfback Tiki Barber sparked a 78 - yard drive capped by Jay Feely ' s 20 - yard field goal to tie the game with 4 : 45 left in the half . Philadelphia responded , with quarterback Jeff Garcia leading the Eagles down the field 80 yards in ten plays and finishing it off with a 28 - yard touchdown pass to Donté Stallworth , giving his team a 17 - 10 halftime lead . Two penalties by the Eagles in the second half allowed the Giants to stay close . Late in the third quarter , an illegal block - in - the - back by rookie Torrance Daniels nullified Westbrook ' s second touchdown of the game , which came on a 65 - yard punt return . The Eagles still managed to score on their drive with a 48 - yard field goal by Akers , increasing their lead to 20 - 10 . The second penalty , a 47 - yard pass interference call against Brown , came on the Giants ' next possession giving the Giants offense the ball at the Philadelphia 14 . The Eagles ' defense dug in and forced the Giants to settle for Feely ' s second field goal of the game from 24 yards out , leaving the Giants down only one touchdown early in the fourth quarter . Later in the period , the Giants drove to the Eagles 23 - yard line . Two false starts and a holding penalty pushed the them back to the 43 , but Manning overcame the situation by completing three passes to Burress ; the first went for 18 yards and the second for 14 and a first down , before the third , an 11 - yard strike , found Burress in the end zone for his second touchdown of the game that tied the score with 5 : 04 to play . Philadelphia responded by driving 46 yards in ten plays , including a first down rush by Westbrook , allowing the Eagles to take the clock all the way down to three seconds before calling on Akers to kick a 38 - yard field goal as time expired . In the final game of his career , Barber rushed for a career postseason high 137 yards and caught two passes for 15 yards . Westbrook rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 12 yards . To date , this is the last time the Giants lost on the road in the playoffs . Divisional playoffs . Saturday , January 13 , 2007 . AFC : Indianapolis Colts 15 , Baltimore Ravens 6 . Adam Vinatieri ' s five field goals boosted the Colts to victory over the Ravens in the first NFL playoff game without a touchdown since the 1979 NFC title game . Indianapolis forced the Ravens to punt on their opening possession , and Terrence Wilkins gave them good field position with a 21 - yard return to their 46 - yard line . The Colts subsequently drove to Baltimore ' s 5 - yard line where Vinatieri kicked a field goal to give them a 3 - 0 lead . On the second play of the Ravens ' next drive , Indianapolis linebacker Gary Brackett recovered a fumble from tight end Todd Heap at the Baltimore 31 - yard line , setting up another Vinatieri field goal to make the score 6 - 0 . Later in the period , Cory Ross ' 18 - yard punt return gave the Ravens a first down on the Colts ' 42 - yard line . Six plays later , Matt Stover kicked a 40 - yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter to cut their deficit to 6 - 3 . Two plays after the ensuing kickoff , Baltimore safety Ed Reed intercepted a pass from Peyton Manning at the Ravens ' 45 - yard line . Baltimore subsequently moved to the ball to the Colts ' 4 - yard line , but then gave it back when Steve McNair ' s third - down pass was intercepted by Antoine Bethea . Following the turnover , the Colts marched 63 yards in 13 plays and scored with Vinatieri ' s third field goal , which hit the cross bar and bounced through the uprights , to give them a 9 - 3 halftime lead . Indianapolis took the second half kickoff and drove 54 yards , featuring a 27 - yard catch by tight end Dallas Clark . Vinatieri finished the drive with a 48 - yard field goal to increase their lead to 12 - 3 . After an exchange of punts , the Ravens cut the score to 12 - 6 by driving 62 yards and scoring on a 51 - yard field goal from Stover . Then , on the third play of the Colts ' ensuing possession , Reed recorded his second interception from Manning , giving his team a first down on their 39 - yard line . However , just like his previous pick , the Ravens could not take advantage of the turnover . Five plays later , McNair ' s pass was intercepted by defensive back Nick Harper . After each team punted once , the Colts put the game away with a 47 - yard drive that took 7 : 16 off the clock and included three successful third down conversions . Vinatieri finished the drive with his fifth field goal , giving Indianapolis a 15 - 6 lead with only 23 seconds left in regulation . Colts defensive end Robert Mathis then sealed the victory by forcing and recovering a fumble from McNair on the Ravens ' final play . The game had added significance to many Baltimore fans , due to the circumstances of the Colts ' departure from Baltimore 23 years earlier . The Indianapolis Colts advanced to their second AFC Championship game in four years . It was the third consecutive playoff defeat for the Ravens . NFC : New Orleans Saints 27 , Philadelphia Eagles 24 . The Saints gained 208 rushing yards and 435 total yards , both postseason franchise records , en route to a 27 - 24 victory over the Eagles , allowing them to advance to the conference championship game for the first time in the team ' s 40 - year history . In the first quarter , a 28 - yard run from New Orleans ' Deuce McAllister set up a 33 - yard field goal from John Carney to open up the scoring . Later in the period , two big plays from the Saints , a 25 - yard run by Reggie Bush and a 35 - yard reception by Devery Henderson , set up Carney ' s second field goal 15 seconds into the second quarter , making the score 6 - 0 . Three plays after the kickoff , Eagles quarterback Jeff Garcia threw a 75 - yard touchdown pass to Donté Stallworth to give his team a 7 - 6 lead . The Saints responded with a 78 - yard drive , scoring on a 5 - yard touchdown run by Reggie Bush to retake the lead at 13 - 7 . However , the Eagles stormed right back , driving 80 yards in 11 plays . On third down and goal , running back Brian Westbrook took a handoff and jumped over top of the defensive line and fell into the end zone for a touchdown , giving them a 14 - 13 lead with 50 seconds left in the half . New Orleans returned the kickoff to their 47 - yard line . With 2 seconds left , quarterback Drew Brees threw a Hail Mary pass to the end zone . Wide receiver Marques Colston initially caught the ball , but it squirted out of his arms as he fell to the ground , and was ruled an incompletion . Philadelphia took the second - half kickoff and scored in just 3 plays with a 62 - yard touchdown romp from Westbrook , increasing their lead to 21 - 13 . However , the Saints responded with a 5 - yard touchdown run by McAllister on their next drive . Then after forcing a punt , New Orleans drove to the Eagles ' 29 - yard line . After two penalties ( a holding call against the Saints and an illegal contact call against the Eagles ) , McAllister rushed for 25 yards and followed it up with an 11 - yard touchdown reception , giving the Saints a 27 - 21 lead . With 11 : 08 remaining in the fourth quarter , Philadelphia scored on a 24 - yard field goal from David Akers , cutting their deficit to 3 points . After an exchange of punts , the Saints drove from their 29 to the Eagles 35 - yard line with 3 : 24 left in the game . New Orleans was in great position to take more time off the clock and increase their lead , but Bush fumbled a high pitch from Brees and Philadelphia ' s Darren Howard recovered the ball , giving his team a chance to drive for a tying field goal . However , the Eagles were unable to get a first down and chose to punt the ball back with 1 : 57 left . The Saints then clinched the victory by keeping possession of the ball for the rest of the game . Sunday , January 14 , 2007 . NFC : Chicago Bears 27 , Seattle Seahawks 24 ( OT ) . Robbie Gould ' s 49 - yard field goal in overtime propelled the Bears over the Seahawks and to their first NFC championship game since the 1988 season . This was also their first playoff win since 1995 . Chicago running back Thomas Jones capped off the opening drive of the game with a 9 - yard touchdown run . Seahawks receiver Nate Burleson gave his team great field position with a 41 - yard kickoff return to the 47 - yard line , but the Bears forced Seattle to punt after three plays . Then , after forcing Chicago to punt , Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck tied the score with a 16 - yard touchdown pass to Burleson on the first play of the second quarter . However , Bears quarterback Rex Grossman threw a 68 - yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian on the first play after the ensuing kickoff , giving his team a 14 - 7 lead . Later in the quarter , Grossman lost a fumble while being sacked by lineman Julian Peterson , and Seattle ' s Chuck Darby recovered the ball at the Bears ' 26 - yard line . Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander subsequently took the ball into the end zone with four running plays , the last one a 4 - yard touchdown run to tie the game . Seattle decided to squib kick the ensuing kickoff to prevent a long return , but Bears tight end Gabe Reid gave Chicago good field position with a 20 - yard return to the 43 - yard line . After the two - minute warning , Grossman completed a 21 - yard pass to Muhsin Muhammad and followed it up with a 18 - yard completion to Rashied Davis , advancing the ball to the 7 - yard line . Following a timeout , Jones scored his second rushing touchdown , giving the Bears a 21 - 14 halftime lead . On the opening drive of the third quarter , Josh Brown ' s 54 - yard field goal cut the Seahawks deficit to 21 - 17 . Then , after the Bears were forced to punt , receiver Deion Branch caught two passes for 33 yards on a 7 - play , 51 yard drive that ended with Alexander ' s second touchdown on a 13 - yard run , making the score 24 - 21 . Chicago responded by advancing the ball to the Seahawks 10 - yard line , but cornerback Pete Hunter ended the drive by intercepting a pass intended for Muhammad . However , Bears defensive back Ricky Manning Jr . intercepted Hasselbeck ' s next pass and returned it to the 32 - yard line . Chicago ended up getting pushed back to the 36 and decided to punt rather than risk a 54 - yard field goal attempt . In the fourth quarter , Chicago lost a scoring opportunity when Devin Hester ' s 63 - yard punt return touchdown was nullified by an illegal block penalty on Manning . Instead , they ended up driving 48 yards and scoring with Gould ' s 41 - yard field goal to tie the game . Seattle responded with a drive to Chicago ' s 46 - yard line , but turned the ball over on downs when Alexander was tackled for a 1 - yard loss by Lance Briggs on 4th - and - 1 with under two minutes left in regulation . However , Chicago was unable to get a first down and had to punt . Seattle then drove to the Bears 45 - yard line , but Tank Johnson sacked Hasselbeck for a 9 - yard loss with less than 30 seconds left in regulation , and the game ended up going into overtime . Seattle won the coin toss , but had to punt after three plays . On the punt , Chicago defender Israel Idonije broke through the offensive line and attempted to block the kick . He didn ' t quite make it there in time , but he forced Ryan Plackemeier to rush his punt , which ended up going just 18 yards to the Chicago 36 - yard line . Two plays later , a 30 - yard reception by Davis set up Gould ' s game - winning 49 - yard field goal . AFC : New England Patriots 24 , San Diego Chargers 21 . In the final game of the divisional playoffs , the New England Patriots faced the San Diego Chargers team , who were unbeaten at home in the regular season . The Chargers ' roster included league MVP running back LaDainian Tomlinson , who broke several league records , nine Pro Bowlers , and five All - Pro players . However , four Chargers turnovers , three of which were converted into Patriots scoring drives , helped lead to a Chargers loss . San Diego lost despite outgaining the Patriots in rushing yards , 148 - 51 and total yards , 352 - 327 , while also intercepting three passes from Tom Brady . In the first quarter , after San Diego coach Marty Schottenheimer opted to go for it on 4th - and - 11 instead of attempting a 47 - yard field goal , quarterback Philip Rivers lost a fumble while being sacked by Mike Vrabel , setting up Stephen Gostkowski ' s 51 - yard field goal with 40 seconds left in the period . In the second quarter , Chargers receiver Eric Parker ' s 13 - yard punt return set up a 48 - yard scoring drive that ended with LaDainian Tomlinson ' s 2 - yard touchdown run , giving his team a 7 - 3 lead . Then , on the Patriots ' next drive , linebacker Donnie Edwards intercepted a pass from Brady and returned it to the 41 - yard line . But the Chargers ended up punting after Rivers was sacked on third down by defensive back Artrell Hawkins . Later in the quarter , Tomlinson rushed twice for 13 yards and took a screen pass 58 yards to the Patriots ' 6 - yard line , setting up a 6 - yard touchdown run by Michael Turner with 2 : 04 left in the half . New England responded with a 72 - yard scoring drive , with receiver Jabar Gaffney catching four passes for 46 yards , including a 7 - yard touchdown reception with six seconds left in the half , cutting their deficit to 14 - 10 . In the second half , Brady threw his second interception of the game . But once again , the Chargers were forced to punt after Rivers was sacked on third down . Mike Scifres ' 36 - yard punt pinned New England back at their own 2 - yard line , and San Diego subsequently forced a punt , but Parker muffed the kick and New England ' s David Thomas recovered the fumble at the Chargers ' 31 - yard line . New England ' s drive seemed to stall after Brady fumbled on 3rd and 13 . Patriots ' tackle Matt Light recovered it and Chargers defensive back Drayton Florence drew a 15 - yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting Patriots tight end Daniel Graham . The drive continued and Gostkowski eventually kicked a 34 - yard field goal to cut their deficit to 14 - 13 . Then , on San Diego ' s next drive , linebacker Rosevelt Colvin intercepted a pass from Rivers at the New England 36 - yard line . The Patriots then drove to the Chargers 41 - yard line , but were halted there and had to punt . After the punt , Rivers completed two passes to tight end Antonio Gates for 31 yards and a 31 - yard pass to Vincent Jackson , setting up Tomlinson ' s second rushing touchdown to give the Chargers an 8 - point lead , 21 - 13 . New England responded by driving to San Diego ' s 41 - yard line . On a fourth - down conversion attempt , Brady ' s pass was intercepted by Marlon McCree , but Troy Brown stripped the ball , and receiver Reche Caldwell recovered it . Schottenheimer unsuccessfully challenged the play and lost a timeout . Four plays later , Brady threw a 4 - yard touchdown pass to Caldwell . On the next play , running back Kevin Faulk took a direct snap and scored the two - point conversion , tying the game . Then , after forcing a punt , Brady completed a 19 - yard pass to Daniel Graham . Two plays later , Caldwell caught a 49 - yard strike down the right sideline to set up Gostkowski ' s third field goal to give them a 24 - 21 lead with only 1 : 10 left in the fourth quarter . With no timeouts left , San Diego drove to the Patriots 36 - yard line on their final possession , but Nate Kaeding ' s 54 - yard field goal attempt fell short with three seconds remaining in the game . Conference championships . Sunday , January 21 , 2007 . NFC Championship : Chicago Bears 39 , New Orleans Saints 14 . Although the Saints outgained the Bears in total yards , 375 - 335 , their four turnovers ( three fumbles and one interception ) contributed to a Bears victory . On the opening drive of the game , Saints receiver Devery Henderson caught a 40 - yard pass at the Bears ' 32 - yard line . But three plays later , Bears lineman Israel Idonije sacked quarterback Drew Brees on the 36 - yard line , and the Saints decided to punt rather than attempt a 54 - yard field goal . With 5 : 28 remaining in the first quarter , Bears defensive back Nathan Vasher recovered a fumble from Marques Colston and returned it 14 yards to the Saints ' 36 - yard line . Several plays later , Robbie Gould kicked a 19 - yard field goal to give the Bears a 3 - 0 lead . Then , Chicago ' s Danieal Manning recovered a fumble from Michael Lewis on the ensuing kickoff , setting up Gould ' s second field goal to increase the lead to 6 - 0 . New Orleans was forced to punt on their next possession , and Devin Hester gave his team good field position with a 10 - yard return to the Saints ' 49 - yard line . Two plays later , tight end Desmond Clark ' s 30 - yard reception moved the ball to the 19 . Once again , New Orleans kept Chicago ' s offense out of the end zone , but Gould kicked his third field goal to give the Bears a 9 - 0 lead . Then , after forcing another punt , Chicago stormed down the field on a drive in which running back Thomas Jones carried the ball on eight consecutive plays , gaining 69 yards and finishing it off with a 2 - yard touchdown run . This time , New Orleans managed to respond , with Brees completing 5 passes for 73 yards on their ensuing possession , the last one a 13 - yard touchdown pass to Colston , to cut their deficit to 16 - 7 by halftime . Two plays after forcing a punt from Chicago on the opening drive of the second half , running back Reggie Bush caught a pass from Brees and took it 88 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to two points . Then after forcing another punt , New Orleans drove to the Bears ' 29 - yard line . But this time , they failed to score , as Brees threw three incompletions and Billy Cundiff missed a 47 - yard field goal attempt . After the ensuing kickoff , Brad Maynard ' s 51 - yard punt gave the Saints the ball at their own 5 - yard line . Two plays later , Brees committed an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone , resulting in a safety . Two possessions later , Chicago stormed 85 yards in five plays , with quarterback Rex Grossman completing four consecutive passes for 73 yards , the last one a 33 - yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian , increasing their lead to 25 - 14 . The next time the Bears had the ball , they scored another touchdown with a 12 - yard run by Cedric Benson on a drive that was set up after Brees lost a fumble while being sacked by Adewale Ogunleye . Then , on New Orleans ' next drive , Brees was intercepted by defensive back Nathan Vasher . After the ensuing possession , Maynard ' s 46 - yard punt pinned the Saints at their own 8 - yard line , and the Saints could only reach their own 30 before turning the ball over on downs . Five plays later , Jones closed out the scoring with a 15 - yard touchdown run , making the final score 39 - 14 . In addition , Reggie Bush became the fifth Heisman Trophy winner to play in a conference championship game the year after winning the trophy . Mike Garrett , who also went to the University of Southern California , did so with the Chiefs in 1966 ( technically it was the AFL title game since the league didn ' t merge until 1970 ) , Tony Dorsett did with the Cowboys in 1977 , Earl Campbell did with the Houston Oilers in 1978 and Ron Dayne did with the Giants in 2000 . Campbell and Bush are the only two of those to not advance to the Super Bowl in that season . ( Reggie Bush has since vacated the Heisman Trophy due to ineligibility during the 2005 NCAA football season . ) AFC Championship : Indianapolis Colts 38 , New England Patriots 34 . The Colts gained 455 offensive yards , 32 first downs , and managed to overcome a 21 - 3 deficit to the Patriots to earn their first trip to the Super Bowl since the 1970 season . Their 18 - point comeback was the largest ever in an NFL conference championship game , and tied the record for the fourth largest NFL postseason comeback . The Colts ' win came after the Patriots had eliminated the Colts from the playoffs twice in the previous three seasons . Midway through the first quarter , the Patriots drove 71 yards to the Colts ' 4 - yard line , featuring a 35 - yard run by Corey Dillon . On third down , running back Laurence Maroney fumbled a handoff , but the ball rolled into the end zone where offensive lineman Logan Mankins recovered it for a touchdown . The Colts responded by driving 56 yards and scoring with Adam Vinatieri ' s 42 - yard field goal to cut their deficit to 7 - 3 . On their ensuing drive , the Patriots drove to a fourth down on the Colts ' 34 - yard line . Rather than attempt a 52 - yard field goal , New England decided to go for it and Tom Brady completed a 27 - yard pass to Troy Brown . On the next play , Dillon scored on a 7 - yard touchdown run . Then , two plays after the ensuing kickoff , cornerback Asante Samuel intercepted a pass from Peyton Manning and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown , giving New England a 21 - 3 lead . Later in the quarter , Indianapolis drove 80 yards in 15 plays , with Vinatieri finishing the drive with a 26 - yard field goal , cutting the score to 21 - 6 with 11 seconds left in the half . On the opening drive of the second half , the Colts marched down the field and scored with a 1 - yard run by Manning . Then , after forcing a punt , a 25 - yard reception by Dallas Clark and a 19 - yard run by Dominic Rhodes moved the ball to the Patriots ' 32 - yard line . Following a pass interference penalty on defensive back Ellis Hobbs in the end zone , Manning threw a 1 - yard touchdown pass to defensive lineman Dan Klecko , who had lined up at the fullback position on the play . Then , receiver Marvin Harrison caught a 2 - point conversion pass to tie the game at 21 . Hobbs returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards to the Colts ' 21 - yard line . Four plays later , Brady threw a 6 - yard touchdown pass to receiver Jabar Gaffney , who made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone . Although he landed out of bounds , officials ruled that he was pushed out while in the air , and the Patriots took a 28 - 21 lead . Rhodes started out the Colts ' next drive with two receptions for 23 yards and a 9 - yard run . Then , Clark caught a 23 - yard pass at the 9 - yard line . Three plays later , Rhodes fumbled the ball at the 1 - yard line , but center Jeff Saturday recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown to tie the game . After an exchange of punts , New England kicker Stephen Gostkowski made a 28 - yard field goal to give them a three - point lead . The Colts responded with a 36 - yard field goal by Vinatieri , set up by Clark ' s 52 - yard reception , to tie the game at 31 . Hobbs returned Vinatieri ' s kickoff 41 yards to the Patriots ' 46 - yard line . Then , Brady completed a 25 - yard pass to tight end Daniel Graham . Indianapolis managed to halt the drive at their 25 - yard line , but Gostkowski kicked a 43 - yard field goal to give the Patriots a 34 - 31 lead with 3 : 49 left in the game . New England ' s defense subsequently forced a punt , but the Patriots ended up punting back to the Colts after running only a minute off the clock . Manning started off the drive with three nonconsecutive completions for 58 yards , with a roughing - the - passer penalty on the third play adding another 12 , moving the ball 70 yards in a span of 19 seconds and bringing up a first down at the Patriots ' 11 - yard line . Three plays later , Joseph Addai ' s 3 - yard touchdown run gave the Colts their first lead of the game with only one minute remaining . Brady responded by leading his team to the Colts ' 45 - yard line . But cornerback Marlin Jackson intercepted Brady ' s next pass with 17 seconds left , ending the game , and sending the 2006 Indianapolis Colts to their third Super Bowl in team history ( first as the Indianapolis Colts ) . The Colts were the first # 3 seed since the NFL expanded the playoffs in 1990 to host a conference championship game and the first overall since the Washington Redskins did so in 1987 . It was also the first time since said season where a team hosted a championship game after playing a road game in the divisional round , and was also the first conference championship game in which neither team had the first round bye and had to play three rounds to get to the Super Bowl . The game was featured as one of the " NFL ' s Greatest Games " as Peyton ' s Revenge .