The Pittsburgh Steelers might not be playing in the AFC Championship Game today, but that didn’t stop Bill Cowher from remembering some of the good ol’ days.
Ahead of the Baltimore Ravens’ game against the Kansas City Chiefs, recently hired Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh stopped by the CBS Sports Pregame Show to visit with Cowher and James Brown.
Before they had the chance to talk about the game or his hiring, the former Steelers head coach made sure to remind Harbaugh about the 1995 AFC Championship Game.
At the time, the Steelers were facing off against the Colts, who were quarterbacked by Harbaugh. While Pittsburgh ended up winning the game, it didn’t come without a bit of excitement.
“Do you remember this game?” joked Cowher with Harbaugh. “Jim Harbaugh, it was the Hail Mary to Aaron Bailey, who did not catch that ball!”
For those who don’t remember, the game came down to a Hail Mary attempt by the Colts at the end of the game. It nearly was converted with Bailey emerging from a scrum of Steelers defenders with the ball in hand, convinced he had caught a game-winning touchdown.
Luckily for the Steelers, the ball hit the ground, punching the team’s ticket to Super Bowl XXX.
The game as a whole was a dogfight despite Pittsburgh entering the game as 11-point favorites. With just under three minutes left in the game, trailing 16-13, the Steelers drove 67 yards, cashing in on a 1-yard touchdown plunge from Bam Morris.
While it may not have gone his way, Harbaugh said he still looks back on the game fondly.
“That just brings back such outstanding memories, we didn’t win it, but you’re such a tough son of a gun,” Harbaugh said to Cowher when recounting the game. “You made the opponents have their best games. That’s what I always loved about you and playing the Pittsburgh Steelers. That’s real football.”
Harbaugh won’t have to wait long to play the Steelers again as the team is slated to match up with the Chargers next season. Hopefully, Pittsburgh will have a similar outcome in that game as it did in the 1995 AFC Championshi, minus the near heart attack at the end.
The game is still considered one of the greatest in NFL history with it ranking 87th in the league’s Top 100 Greatest Games list.
Unfortunately, the Steelers weren’t able to take the momentum from it into the Super Bowl as they fell to the Dallas Cowboys ,27-17.
