INDIANAPOLIS — It was as just as stunning as it was exhilarating for Indianapolis Colts fans everywhere.
On Jan. 4, 2014, the Indianapolis Colts played host to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Wild Card Round of the playoffs, and, by halftime, the game had turned into a laugher, as the Chiefs waltzed into Lucas Oil Stadium and took a 31-10 lead.
Highlights from the Colts win over the Chiefs during the first round of the playoffs!
It got even worse in the third quarter, when Kansas City extended its lead to 28 points with 13:44 left off the heels of Alex Smith's fourth touchdown pass of the day.
Surely there was no way the Colts could even come close to earning a victory in this one, right? To this point, only one team in NFL history — the Buffalo Bills in January 1993 with their miraculous 32-point comeback win over the Houston Oilers — had rallied from this large of a deficit in the playoffs and won.
But all those other teams didn't have a determined — and ticked off — Andrew Luck.
Luck, trying to earn the first playoff victory of his career, began to turn things around after that final Kansas City touchdown early in the third quarter. It started with a 10-yard touchdown run by running back Donald Brown. Then, Luck took advantage of a Chiefs lost fumble by finding Brown for a 3-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 14, at 38-24.
The Chiefs then got a field goal, but Luck responded with a 12-yard touchdown pass, and heading into the fourth quarter, Indianapolis had cut the lead to just 10, at 41-31.
Then came the play that proved "Luck" was now on the Colts' side. Brown fumbled near the goal line, but Luck was right there to pick up the bouncing football, and his now-iconic stretch to get into the end zone got Indianapolis within three points, at 41-38.
Kansas City got another field goal, but Luck and the Colts got the last laugh. He found T.Y. Hilton, then a budding star receiver, over the top for a 64-yard touchdown pass with 4:29 left in the fourth quarter to take a 45-44 lead.
That would end up being the final score, as the Colts' defense would help wrap up the second biggest comeback in NFL playoff history on the Chiefs' ensuing drive — they wouldn't get closer than the Indianapolis 43-yard line.
Three Luck kneels later, and it was official. The Lucas Oil Stadium faithful, as it had the entire second half, went nuts.
"I don't know if it ever crossed my mind on how it would be remembered," Luck said after the game. "When I took a knee, and you feel the buzz and the energy of the crowd and see your teammates' faces, that makes it special."
Luck completed 29 of 45 passes for 443 yards with four touchdowns to three interceptions (he also had seven rushes for 45 yards, including a 21-yard scamper), while Hilton caught 11 of those passes for 224 yards and two scores.
