![]() ![]() Following a 50-yard punt by Royals, Montana drove the offense from the Kansas City 28 to the Pittsburgh 25, but Lowery’s 43-yard field goal attempt was wide to the right and the game went into overtime. The Chiefs got another opportunity to win the game in regulation when the Steelers went three-and-out, using up just 29 seconds on three pass plays (one a completion). Montana threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to WR Tim Barnett on a fourth-down play and the score was again tied at 24-24 with 1:43 left on the clock. In a pivotal play, Kansas City TE Keith Cash blocked Mark Royals’ punt, which WR Fred Jones returned 31 yards to the Steelers’ nine yard line. The Chiefs went three-and-out in their subsequent possession, but Pittsburgh couldn’t move the ball. The Steelers came right back, however, as O’Donnell got Pittsburgh into Kansas City territory with a 26-yard pass to WR Dwight Stone, and seven plays later he tossed a 22-yard scoring pass to TE Eric Green. With Lowery’s extra point, the score was tied at 17-17. Montana hit on passes of 22 yards to WR Willie Davis and 19 yards to Birden and Allen ran two yards for a touchdown. Now behind by seven entering the fourth quarter, the Chiefs put together another scoring drive. ![]() The teams continued to trade punts in the third quarter until Kansas City went on a 49-yard drive that culminated in a 23-yard Nick Lowery field goal. Pittsburgh took a 17-7 lead into halftime. They made the most of it, as O’Donnell completed a 26-yard TD pass to WR Ernie Mills. Montana completed three passes and Kansas City made it to the Pittsburgh 42, but on fourth-and-one DE Gerald Williams sacked the veteran quarterback for a seven-yard loss and the Steelers got the ball back at their 49 with just under a minute remaining in the half. Following a Kansas City punt, the Steelers advanced to the Chiefs’ 35 at the two-minute warning, but O’Donnell threw an incompletion on a fourth-and-seven play. Pittsburgh responded with a long, 15-play drive that led to a 30-yard field goal by Gary Anderson. Veteran backup QB Dave Krieg threw just one pass, but it was complete to WR J.J. Later in the period, after the teams traded punts, the Chiefs put together a seven-play, 75-yard drive in which Montana was briefly knocked out of the game with a rib injury. O’Donnell connected with TE Adrian Cooper for a 10-yard touchdown and early 7-0 lead. Pittsburgh drove 66 yards in nine plays, highlighted by an O’Donnell pass to RB Merrill Hoge that covered 32 yards. ![]() The Steelers struck first, following a Kansas City punt on the game’s opening possession. ![]() There were 74,515 in attendance on a cold day with temperatures in the teens. With QB Neil O’Donnell, they ran a ball-control offense and leaned on an outstanding defense that included LB Greg Lloyd and CB Rod Woodson. RB Barry Foster, who had run for 1690 yards in ’92, went down with an injury that cost him half the season and hindered the offense. Pittsburgh had been in the postseason in the first two years under Head Coach Bill Cowher, but had struggled at times in ’93, going 9-7 to finish second in the AFC Central and claim a wild card spot. The Chiefs hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card playoff game on Januat Arrowhead Stadium. The team went 11-5 in 1993 to win the AFC West. So did DE Neil Smith, who led the NFL with 15 sacks, and LB Derrick Thomas. Both Montana and Allen had Pro Bowl seasons. Another veteran addition, RB Marcus Allen, also paid dividends. For the 1993 season, Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer’s team had obtained QB Joe Montana (pictured at right) in a trade from the 49ers – the 37-year-old all-time great was injury-prone and past his prime, but still a masterful performer. From 1990 to ’92, the Kansas City Chiefs had made it to the postseason, only to win one playoff game over the course of the three years. ![]()
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