Wild Card Round: Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers (Three Rivers Stadium), the bracket opens here. Kickoff: Sun December 29, 1996 at 12:30pm. Winner advances to the divisional round. Loser starts the offseason early.[1][2]
Wild card weekend is the most chaotic football the calendar produces. Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium is the kind of game that decides whether a season was a long buildup or a quick exit. These are the games where the second-tier playoff teams have to prove they belong. Most don't. The few who do define the rest of January.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Three Rivers Stadium shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
Indianapolis Colts versus Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of Indianapolis Colts-Pittsburgh Steelers cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 10-6 | L2 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 9-7 | W5 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8-8 | W3 |
| Houston Oilers | 8-8 | W1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 4-12 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 11-5 | W1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 10-6 | W1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 9-7 | L1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 8-8 | W2 |
| New York Jets | 1-15 | L7 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 13-3 | L1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 9-7 | L3 |
| San Diego Chargers | 8-8 | W1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 7-9 | L2 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 7-9 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina Panthers | 12-4 | W7 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 12-4 | W2 |
| St. Louis Rams | 6-10 | W2 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 3-13 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 3-13 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 13-3 | W5 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 9-7 | L1 |
| Chicago Bears | 7-9 | L1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6-10 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 5-11 | L5 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 10-6 | L1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 10-6 | W2 |
| Washington Redskins | 9-7 | W1 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 7-9 | -- |
| New York Giants | 6-10 | L2 |
1996 Wild Card Colts @ Steelers
The Steelers ANNIHILATE the Colts 42-14 || 1996 Wildcard Playoff Game
MYT3K: 1996 Wildcard Pittsburgh Steelers vs Indianapolis Colts
VHS Archive: Commercials from 1996 AFC Wild Card Colts @ Steelers (plus Halftime Report)
1996 | Pittsburgh Steelers vs Indianapolis Colts Highlights | AFC Playoffs | 12-29-1996Indianapolis Colts None, Pittsburgh Steelers None
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis Colts | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 014141414 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 10 | 3 | 8 | 21 | 1013214242 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Steelers | Norm Johnson 29 yard field goal | 0-3 |
| Steelers | Kordell Stewart 1 yard rush ( Norm Johnson kick) | 0-10 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Steelers | Norm Johnson 50 yard field goal | 0-13 |
| Colts | Eugene Daniel 59 yard interception return ( Cary Blanchard kick) | 7-13 |
| Colts | Aaron Bailey 9 yard pass from Jim Harbaugh ( Cary Blanchard kick) | 14-13 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Steelers | Jerome Bettis 1 yard rush ( John Farquhar pass from Kordell Stewart ) | 14-21 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Steelers | Jerome Bettis 1 yard rush ( Norm Johnson kick) | 14-28 |
| Steelers | Jon Witman 31 yard rush ( Norm Johnson kick) | 14-35 |
| Steelers | Kordell Stewart 3 yard rush ( Norm Johnson kick) | 14-42 |
Pittsburgh Steelers defeated Indianapolis Colts 42-14 at Three Rivers Stadium in the Wild Card Round. The final scoring play was Steelers: Kordell Stewart 3 yard rush ( Norm Johnson kick). The 28-point margin made it a one-sided afternoon. Top line of the day: Mike Tomczak: 176 pass yards on 13-of-21, 0 TD, 2 INT. Pittsburgh Steelers advance to the divisional round.[1][2]
Pittsburgh Steelers walked out of Three Rivers Stadium as the team that survived a Wild Card Round Indianapolis Colts will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 42-14. This was a 28-point margin, which is unusual for this round of the postseason and tells a story about which staff out-prepared the other from the opening series. The final scoring play came from Steelers: Kordell Stewart 3 yard rush ( Norm Johnson kick). Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. Pittsburgh Steelers advance to the divisional round.
Pittsburgh Steelers 42, Indianapolis Colts 14. Round: Wild Card Round. Attendance: 58078. Q1: 2 scoring plays. Q2: 3 scoring plays. Q3: 1 scoring play. Q4: 3 scoring plays. Top performers:
- Mike Tomczak: 176 pass yards on 13-of-21, 0 TD, 2 INT
- Jerome Bettis: 102 rush yards on 25 carries
- Charles Johnson: 5 catches for 109 yards
Wild Card Round, played at Three Rivers Stadium. Final: Indianapolis Colts 14, Pittsburgh Steelers 42, with Pittsburgh Steelers taking the result by 28. **First quarter**
- Steelers: Norm Johnson 29 yard field goal
- Steelers: Kordell Stewart 1 yard rush ( Norm Johnson kick)
Second quarter
- Steelers: Norm Johnson 50 yard field goal
- Colts: Eugene Daniel 59 yard interception return ( Cary Blanchard kick)
- Colts: Aaron Bailey 9 yard pass from Jim Harbaugh ( Cary Blanchard kick)
Third quarter
- Steelers: Jerome Bettis 1 yard rush ( John Farquhar pass from Kordell Stewart )
Fourth quarter
- Steelers: Jerome Bettis 1 yard rush ( Norm Johnson kick)
- Steelers: Jon Witman 31 yard rush ( Norm Johnson kick)
- Steelers: Kordell Stewart 3 yard rush ( Norm Johnson kick)
Top performers
- Mike Tomczak: 176 pass yards on 13-of-21, 0 TD, 2 INT
- Jerome Bettis: 102 rush yards on 25 carries
- Charles Johnson: 5 catches for 109 yards
The 28-point margin says most of what needs saying about how the day went; the box score is the rest.
| Colts | Steelers | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 8 | 24 |
| Total Yards | 146 | 407 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 13/33 | 14/22 |
| Pass yards | 140 | 176 |
| Pass TD | 1 | 0 |
| Interceptions | 1 | 2 |
| Sacks taken | 4 | 0 |
| Sack yards lost | 35 | 0 |
| Net pass yards | 105 | 176 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 15 | 51 |
| Rush yards | 41 | 231 |
| Rush TD | 0 | 5 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 1 | 2 |
| Fumbles lost | 1 | 1 |
| Penalties | 6 | 3 |
| Penalty yards | 30 | 19 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IND | |||||
| Jim Harbaugh | 12/32 | 134 | 1 | 1 | |
| Paul Justin | 1/1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| PIT | |||||
| Mike Tomczak | 13/21 | 176 | 0 | 2 | |
| Kordell Stewart | 1/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IND | ||||
| Marshall Faulk | 9 | 25 | 0 | 7 |
| Clif Groce | 2 | 11 | 0 | 6 |
| Jim Harbaugh | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Lamont Warren | 1 | -1 | 0 | -1 |
| PIT | ||||
| Jerome Bettis | 25 | 102 | 2 | 18 |
| Kordell Stewart | 9 | 48 | 2 | 24 |
| Jon Witman | 7 | 48 | 1 | 31 |
| Fred McAfee | 5 | 21 | 0 | 8 |
| Andre Hastings | 2 | 7 | 0 | 5 |
| Ernie Mills | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Tim Lester | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Mike Tomczak | 1 | -1 | 0 | -1 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IND | ||||
| Marvin Harrison | 3 | 71 | 0 | 48 |
| Brian Stablein | 3 | 28 | 0 | 17 |
| Sean Dawkins | 2 | 18 | 0 | 12 |
| Marshall Faulk | 3 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Aaron Bailey | 1 | 9 | 1 | 9 |
| Ken Dilger | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| PIT | ||||
| Charles Johnson | 5 | 109 | 0 | 35 |
| Andre Hastings | 3 | 30 | 0 | 14 |
| Kirk Botkin | 2 | 26 | 0 | 18 |
| Tim Lester | 2 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| Jerome Bettis | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Fred McAfee | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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