1/15/1995 San Diego Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers AFC Title Game

[@thebayareastandout]

That music is one of the greatest instrumentals in mankind's history

[@kvernon1]

Still couldn't compete with the classic music for NFL Films in the 1960, and the narration of John Facenda. If you haven't experienced it, there are YT Videos. Check them out!

[@astrostar49]

This music track is missing from whatever is available online from NFL Primetime music :(

[@BenBrislawn]

@@astrostar49 I think you can find it somewhere. It is called Out Front. It is my favorite Primetime song of all time.

[@astrostar49]

@@BenBrislawn Thanks I'll go look for it.

[@cameron122286]

@@astrostar49 It is called Out Front by RIck Baker (at least the first half's theme is). I forget what the second half theme is, but there is an excellent channel that documents all of them.

[@jtstevenson81]

Still the greatest memory in my 30 years of being a Chargers fan.

[@jtstevenson81]

@Greg Hubbard Ok, hope you don't delete this clip in 5 months when they win the AFC Championship trophy :)

[@TampaAries]

Indeed a big win for the Chargers, they shocked the world with this win.

[@chrisuncleahmad666]

It was perhaps fitting that big plays bookended the SB run. The Chargers season started with that Stanley Richard (the sheriff) pick 6 before halftime at Denver in week 1 and in this game.... 2 long TD’s

[@anthonystarke893]

@@jtstevenson81 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😫😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@samson9535]

same here for a 43 year fan, but I knew they were going to get blown out by the niners.

[@LEFTaTIP]

So many iconic moments from this 1994 Chargers team. Unfortunately, some players were cursed. JR Seau, left his heart and soul on that rainy field. He had over 15 tackles, playing with a neck stringer. 20+ yrs later Jr Seau, takes his own life. RIP Jr, we miss you.

[@roguegust8832]

This highlight is a masterpiece. The music and Berman nail it. What a dramatic game. Traumatic loss for the Steelers. This is the one older Steeler fans I know don't like to talk about. Even though frankly they had no chance to beat the Niners imo.

[@jasonwalker9091]

RogueGust I said that as a kid, but the 1995 Championship game thriller with the Colts was way better....after this the " 3 More Yards" motto was in place for the 1995 season. The Steelers got revenge on the Bolts in Week 5.

[@roguegust8832]

Steelers certainly wouldn't have given up 49. Don't think they would have been able to score though.

[@kvernon1]

Never say "no chance" in football. They had a dominant defense that season, and who knows how they could have disrupted the 49ers, who left so much on the field during their victory over the Cowboys? It would have been a great game.

[@markrobertson2196]

49ers probably would've beat the Steelers by double digits but still at least getting to the super bowl would've been good, same with the 3 other championship games they lost under Cowher

[@walterlv01]

@@roguegust8832 I've always said the same thing - wouldn't have been as high scoring but would have been something like 31-10 or 35-13. Would not have been competitive.

[@mattwhiteman5954]

We miss you Chargers. Come home to San Diego!

[@gluserty]

I concur, and who in their right mind leaves beautiful San Diego unless they absolutely have to?

[@HowToDrinkWater101]

@@gluserty they had to

[@agoo7581]

@@gluserty a dumbas billionaire owner trying to fleece the city for a stadium.

[@JahNuhThunDeeTheOneAndOnly]

This game began the trend of Pittsburgh losing in conference championship games at home under Bill Cowher.

[@josephvanhorn5347]

San Diego overcame a 15 point deficit in the second half of the divisional round against Miami. Then they were down by 10 in the second half of the AFC championship game.

[@Dodgers_2]

I was 10 years old when this game was played. Damn to be a kid again. Bolt up!!!!

[@redmustangredmustang]

Even if the Steelers won, no one and I mean no one was going to beat the 49ers in that Super Bowl. Steve Young was going to carve any AFC team they faced up that game and Steve Young was going to be on a mission to get his ring.

[@chrisuncleahmad666]

At least it would have made for a nice uniform matchup.

[@mikeyoungblood1642]

Chris Kreager and a competitive 1st quarter at least

[@kvernon1]

As I mentioned in an earlier comment, the 49ers were not invincible. They lost 3 times that season (to the Chiefs 24-17 (with Joe Montana); to the Eagles 40-8 (at home), and to the Vikings 21-14). Sure, they had a great team, but who knows what the Steelers would have done that day? "No one is going to beat the ______ (insert team name here)" is a quote that has been proven wrong again & again throughout NFL history.

[@jonathanricciardi5215]

@@kvernon1 Exactly right. I don’t think the Steelers would have likely won, but it would have most likely been a much better game. The very next year They had a chance to beat Dallas in the final minutes before an awful interception. Steelers defense and pass rush would have matched up much better with SF. There’s a reason Pittsburgh were heavy favorites in this game.

[@anthonystarke893]

@@kvernon1 first two losses were at the beginning of the year. And the last game everyone sat. After the Eagles game the 49ers were definitely the best team in the NFL.

[@hemi426able]

Drove 6 hrs to Pittsburgh for this game. I was so sure we were going to the Super bowl. The drive there everyone was loud and excited. The ride back home was the longest, quietest ride in my life. Shell shocked.

[@jal2550]

The greatest moment in the history of my young life was beating the steelers to go to the superbowl. Still gives me chills.....Add the incredible music and Boomer, this WAS my childhood in a nutshell. great memories!!! Go BOLTZ

[@AmirKhan-yv8jm]

Hope that they can finally win a SB!

[@chrisuncleahmad666]

big plays bookended the 94 Chargers SB run. It started with that Stanley Richard (the sheriff) pick 6 before halftime at Denver in week 1 In this game.... 2 40 yard TD’s You also have to factor Denver and Pittsburgh were places the Chargers rarely won at In between they got a 60 yard touchdown when they clinched the AFC West

[@mjb3798]

Big time win for the Chargers getting it done in Pittsburgh.

[@TacoBellManager]

Absolutely underrated as a "Where the hell did THAT come from" playoff game. Just start with the fact it's a road victory in the conference title game. At the time, Chargers were 0-9 at Pittsburgh in regular season, but now 2-0 in the postseason? Steelers, undefeated at the half, and lose. A defensive backfield of God knows how many Pro Bowlers and All Pros bite on that Pupunu play action, and then McKyer gets dusted by Tony Martin on the critical score, and literally has to be carried off the field in grief. To say nothing of that final stand by the Charger defense, led by Junior Seau. They got smashed in the Super Bowl, which is probably why this game isn't so well remembered but holy Toledo what a game.

[@mariepavlov9144]

This was one of the 4 AFC Championship Game defeats for the Steelers under Bill Cowher (all of them playing at home). 1 of them was this one (1994 vs. Chargers, who lost to the 49ers in SB XXIX), the other 3 other times, the team that defeated the Steelers went on to win the Super Bowl (1997 vs. Broncos, they won SB XXXII vs. Packers and 2001 and 2004 vs. Patriots, they won SB XXXVI vs. Rams and SB XXXIX vs. Eagles).

[@kvernon1]

Do Steeler fans forgive all this for the one SB championship he did bring home to Pittsburgh? Or do they still hold the losses against him?

[@TheWakeup011]

@Jeremy Scott agreed. I couldn't believe they lost to Denver and NE at home. The Bills always kicked their asses too.

[@TheWakeup011]

@@mikerusso703 lts been a long time. I just remember how l felt then. I hope that's ok with you 🙏.

[@TheWakeup011]

@@mikerusso703 If l remember correctly Denver traveled to Pittsburgh for that game. I felt that should have been enough for Pittsburgh to win. I never saw Denver as this phenomenal team.To me their units complemented each other perfectly, but only the run offense was dominant. I never thought ld look back on Cowhers time in Pittsburgh and see so many missed opportunities. They almost always played bridesmaid IN thE AFC, for the better part of the 90s even in the early years of NE's run. That was the point of my post. That D was slightly above average for Denver IF they had a lead. I haven't watched this game in its entirety since then, but for me it was lost on Pittsburgh errors more than anything.

[@JohnGoetzGaming]

@Jeremy Scott I don't think that's being fair to Cowher. A coach can only do so much with the QBs he had. He had to play Martyball until they got Ben because they basically had no margin for error with those teams. Great D but extremely bad QB play like O'Donnell throwing those two killer ints in the Superbowl. Plus just look at the flukey stuff that would happen like the first new england game where new england scored on a blocked field goal and punt return plus Kordell's 3 ints or Barry foster fumbling in this game They won a Superbowl the second year Cowher had a capable QB and I think if he had stayed on they could have won a couple more than what Tomlin did in Ben's run

[@Mark-xl1ze]

The Chargers' last playoff win until the 2007 AFC Wild Card game.

[@JoeCool-fb7uf]

2:44 The look Bobby Ross gave was CLASSIC, LMAO!

[@Adeon55]

The look that turned this game around 😅

[@cbod14]

The Chargers play calling inside the 10 was atrocious for two straight games

[@jpete3027666]

Bobby Ross was a great coach. Getting that team to the super bowl was a huge accomplishment. They were well coached and overachieved all year.

[@josephguthrie9140]

This was a funny game. The Steelers were ready for the super bowl. The got their endorsements, the media tie ins. The super bowl videos. They did everything that you have to do to get to the super bowl...except win the game before the super bowl. That seemed to be lost on the steelers. This was not their best hour. But a fitting end.

[@gluserty]

Yeah, I do think the Steelers got a little ahead of themselves, or, at least due to the loss, is what it looked like.

[@EdmacZ]

This game hung around Pittsburgh’s neck like a weight for an entire offseason. The fact that San Diego got blown out in the Super Bowl was even worse.

[@bryanmoseley9887]

I dont understand how The Steelera were such big favorites. San Diego started the season with the longest undefeated streak in The NFL at 6-0. Had a great Defense, great offense, won The Division and has a really solid team. Not like we snuck in as a Wildcard. SD was the #2 seed lol. Everyone forget that? Pittsburgh was good, and it was in PIT but it was a good AFC matchup. 9 points was overkill. Didnt matter in the end, nobody was beating the 49ers, including The Steelers. Chargers would have had a decent chance at beating anyone else in The NFC Cowboys included. Team was so slept on because SD had just gotten good again.

[@kaehuesantos2418]

Wow!!+ such memories... I still to this day can't understand to thus day in 2021.. what happened... looking back from 1994... I'm guessing that the Steelers got too relaxed and put it in cruise control...

[@pasadena1992]

Announcers: Dick Enberg & Bob Trumpy .The final time these two did a NFL game together.

[@jasonwalker9091]

The next lesson class is in the most thrilling upsets in playoff history involving the underdog Chargers and mighty Steelers early on NBC is : Welcome to Phttttttburgh 😁😁☇☇☇. That was the sound of the air of silence at Three Rivers Stadium after Dennis Gibson knocked down the pass denying the Steelers a ticket to Super Bowl 29 in Miami as in 2nd half Stan Humphries threw to Alfred Puplatter a TD and Tony Martin TD puts them in the lead 17-13 as the Steelers would come back with Neil O Donnell as they down field with hope still alive and mourning for Steelers Nation as the Chargers wave the " Terrible Towels" as all week Super Bowl videos of Steelers past was shown along with a rap song on the radio, as Junior Seau and the Chargers would hear it and bring the ammunition and fire bullets at Pittsburgh as Tim Mckyer is carried in disbelief off the field as San Diego earns a trip to thier 1st and only Super Bowl till this day, but it would be an opponent they didnt wanna face again............End of Lesson! ( Dick Enberg, Bob Trumpy ,Hannah Storm on the call on this game 12:30 ) 😁

[@chrisuncleahmad666]

Alfred Pupunu Platter

[@ManoBDraycko]

Teriyaki mahi mahi

[@zerimar26]

I think this Charger team overachieved that season. It wasn't as talented as the early 1980's Charger teams, especially the 1981 squad which lost the 1982 AFC championship known as "The Freezer Bowl." Had they won that game, who knows if they would of won against a young 49ers team led by Montana. But the 1994 Chargers had no chance against the Steve Young led 49ers.

[@Drew914]

Next to Super Bowl XXX, this one hurt as a Steeler fan. I watched this with a bunch of Chargers fans too, just to add insult to injury.

[@941Offroad]

Papuno platter dragging the maji Mahi.... lol

[@RUSHisRIGHT09]

This was the 3rd place game. Neither one of these teams had a chance against the cowboys or the miners, especially the niners. SF would have blown out pitt just like they did SD

[@jonathanricciardi5215]

Disagree, Pittsburgh would have matched up much better with SF, especially their pass rush and run defense. They would have most likely lost, it it would have actually been a good game. The next season they were in position to beat Dallas in the final minutes before an awful interception.

[@davidcota4978]

the music is good

[@jeremykrause9443]

Cowher was a great coach but before he won the super bowl after the 2005 season his playoff history was very snakebite somewhat like his mentor Marty Schottenheimer.

[@speeddemon865]

Of course the Niners would demolish the Chargers in the SB. But it would have been a much more competitive SB if Pittsburgh had won this game. So close.

[@mikeybarboza3086]

I miss Tom Jackson and Chris Berman they were the equivalent to John Madden and Pat Summerall even though they one pair were live commentators and the other were post game

[@timmylong833]

It blows my mind that the Steelers tried so hard to make O’Donnell work but couldn’t figure out how to make Slash work.

[@anthonystarke893]

O'Donnell had better teams. And honestly was a better QB. He just choked in big games.

[@gluserty]

@@anthonystarke893 O'Donnell was high and wild in Super Bowl XXX, but I thought he played well in these conference championship games (Ben Roethlisberger didn't exactly perform that well in his first Super bowl either). I agree that O'Donnell was a better QB than Stewart, although the organization did him for favors entering the 1998 season (no Chan Gailey, John Jackson, or Yancey Thigpen, and their replacements weren't at their level).

[@vancewoodruff6472]

@@gluserty Stop it, especially now who would you rather have Slash or O’Donnell… such an easy answer

[@michaeldodd253]

My favorite Steeler defense even though they never got a superbowl

[@bnegs521]

They were in the next year

[@bnegs521]

As far as the worst losses in Steelers history this is up there with any of them.

[@BeefPapa]

The Chargers: *win improbably* Steve Young: *grins confidently*

[@QuickStix26]

What was wrong with that Steeler that had to be helped off the field at the end?

[@walterlv01]

That was Tim McKyer - he spent the week talking all sorts of trash and then got beat on the game-winning TD to Tony Martin and was despondent. The Steelers in general handled the defeat very unprofessionally.

[@kenosultan3240]

He (Tim McKyer) collapsed after the game and required medical attention. He never played for the Steelers again. He failed a physical and was traded to Carolina along with Barry Foster. Kudos to the police officer who saw him collapse and got him the prompt attention he needed.

[@kenosultan3240]

​@@walterlv01Aside from Neil O'Donnell and Bill Cowher, no one else handled the loss well. Greg Lloyd sat in the Steelers weight room in the dark for 20 minutes. Kevin Greene threatened to punch a reporter who asked him one more question about the game. That loss set Pittsburgh back at least one year. Pittsburgh and San Diego would have met again in the playoffs but it would have been the AFC divisional playoff and not the championship as both were predicted to get back there again at the start of 1995.

[@Skazellino]

1:15 looked like knee was down.

[@brianinthepark5429]

Good times. ~Brian

[@jamesgurksnis8546]

SF made mincemeat of San Diego in that Super Bowl. I’d have loved a Niners Steelers SB though.

[@jtstevenson81]

The Niners would have destroyed Pittsburgh as well. The Niners were too powerful for everyone that year. But I agree that the Steelers defense would have been a much better match up for them than the Chargers were.

[@crawford371]

@@jtstevenson81 I agree and I'm a Steelers fan.....The niners were on another level from everyone

[@jtstevenson81]

@@crawford371 Yeah. I'm a lifelong Chargers fan and that Super Bowl was painful for me. The win against your Steelers in the AFC Championship is still my greatest memory as a Chargers fan. It remains our only Super Bowl appearance. Meanwhile, you guys have been to and won multiple Super Bowls since then.

[@kvernon1]

@@jtstevenson81 The 49ers were not as invincible as you might think. They lost 3 games that season (to the Chiefs 24-17 (with Joe Montana); to the Eagles 40-8 (at home), and to the Vikings 21-14). Sure, they had a great team, but the Steelers would have given them as much a battle as anyone if they didn't blow it against SD.

[@jtstevenson81]

@@kvernon1 From your response, I'm guessing that you weren't into football back then and are just looking back at that season on paper. Yes, they lost 3 games that year, 2 of which were early in the season, and one of which was the last game of the season against Minnesota when they already had home field advantage wrapped up and were just trying to avoid injury by resting their starters. Anyone who was watching football back then remembers how dominant the 49ers became after their early-season struggles. They were killing everyone and their offense could not be stopped. Pittsburgh may have given them a marginally better contest in the Super Bowl, but they still would have gotten absolutely destroyed. Remember that Dallas beat up the Steelers handily that year. The 49ers would have whipped them even worse. The score likely would have been 38-10 or something similar.

[@jasonwalker9091]

The Steelers lost because of taunts in a way. That week they show all the past Super bowl wins during the " Steel Curtain " days , lot of Steelers fans was disrespect to the Bolts more ways than one, and this came from Junior Seaus mouth in a book I read, he said There were in the hotel and a Steelers rap song came on the radio and they used that as ammunition. And the Clock Struck Midnight for the Steel City and Cowher Power. Next day at school the school was quiet in Pittsburgh.

[@chrisuncleahmad666]

jaboo82681 Do you think they would have overlooked Miami?

[@crawford371]

Chargers had zero respect from people that season...they were picked last in the division by many experts before the season.

[@crawford371]

The rap song never happened...there were meeting in doing a video allegedly

[@chrisuncleahmad666]

Which makes me wonder how they were able to look so good the prior week. Why did they take Cleveland so seriously but not San Diego?

[@kvernon1]

@Greg Hubbard Wasn't the same said about the New York Jets in 1969?

[@Bluegreen123]

This Steeler team would have atleast a chance against the 94 9ers. Everyone knew this chargers team was a fluke and would get blown out by the 9ers in the Super Bowl

[@quentincampbell612]

Thing is,the Chargers were the most physical of the 2. The Chargers wanted to to the 49ers what the Giants did to Buffalo in Super Bowl XXV. Chew up clock with a ball control offense but,their defense couldn't stop the 49er's offense.

[@TheDattakafka]

chargers went to superbowl and were blown out by possibly the best team in nfl history. humpries retired due to concussion. Beathard panics and drafts leaf. ross maintains that he cannot win with the personnel beathard gives him. Beathard leaves and is replaced by butler and aj smith. butler dies of cancel, smith takes over and brings in talent that is wasted due to the ego trips smith goes on with coaches. This team has wasted more talent then any team in pro football. curse of the spanos.

[@Adeon55]

Curse of the Spanos is still ongoing, too

[@anthonycalandra2348]

That's what happens when you coach ultra conservative...biggest upset since merger for a home favored team in a conference championship game....feel bad Kosar had Marty....and Neil Odanell had the same issue bwith Cowhrer who coached under Marty with Browns and Chiefs

[@davidcota4978]

50 yard bomb was beautiful

[@ronnieloudermilk366]

Tough game to watch. The Dolphins should have been playing the Seelers, but a missed FG allowed the Chargers. No way the Chargers should have won. This game made for a horrible Super Bowl. 49ers blow out of Chargers. Over in 1st quarter. The Dolphins or the Steelers would have been a better Super Bowl.

[@yourboyken7871]

4:51 someone explain this? Looks like he got into a fight

[@AlexAcostaArt]

Tim McKyer gave up the touchdown catch by Tony Martin which turned out to be the winning score. Looks like McKyer was in shock because Neil O'Donnell was unable to complete the pass that was swatted away by Dennis Gibson on the last play.

[@kaine82]

A game steelers had no business losing. Would've been a better match-up against the 49ers. Would've lost but not 49-26 lost

[@Skazellino]

We got robbed of a good Super Bowl just like later in 1998 with the Vikings upset.

[@Steve_Hunts96]

No, 1998 would’ve resulted in a Denver Super Bowl win no matter who won the NFC. In the late 90s Denver with Elway was the best team in the league BY FAR. They had the best RB, best TE, one of the best WR groups, and one the best O-lines, and their defense featured Neil Smith, Bill Romanowski, and Steve Atwater... they were rock solid across the board during that 3 year stretch from 96-98, and honestly, had it not been for Jacksonville in the divisional round in 1996, I don’t think Super Bowl 31 would’ve been Patriots-Packers... Denver very easily could’ve had a 3-peat as AFC Champions between those years

[@Skazellino]

@@Steve_Hunts96 You can presume all you want but I disagree, I think MIN would've outscored DEN and capped off that great season appropriately. But we'll never know now will we.

[@bruceleeroy8302]

@@Steve_Hunts96 He said a "good Super Bowl" he didn't say the Vikings would have won it.

[@jamesroberts1810]

Blame gary andersen..missed when it mattered most...

[@redpillfreedom6692]

@@jamesroberts1810 Blame the Vikings offense for vanishing in the 2nd half