at New England Patriots
December 13, 1997

After the big win vs. the Broncos the Steelers headed to Foxboro for another big game. New England was coming off a big road win at Jacksonville. This game was a Saturday matchup, so it was broadcast nationally. The Steelers and the Patriots were both on top of their respected divisions, but the Patriots had Miami closing in on them and we still had Jacksonville chasing us. This game was going to be big for the winner, because it came in the second to last week of the season. The Patriots came out and took a 14-0 lead, but the Steelers crept back in the game with a TD and two FG's, making it 14-13 Patriots in the 4th. It looked like another great comeback was in store (which was typical that season for the Steelers), but David Meggett caught a pass off a deflection and ran all the way for a 49 yard TD. The Steelers were pretty much finished. The Patriots had the ball near midfield with just over two minutes left in the game, and the Steelers had used all of their timeouts. The Patriots were faced with 3rd and 7. They wanted a first down, because then they could've just fell on the ball. Even if they didn't make the first down, they were going to pin the Steelers deep with a punt. They called what they thought was a safe pass play. What happened next could possibly be the play of the decade for the Steelers and the franchise low-point for the Patriots. Chris Oldham blitzed. Bledsoe panicked and tried to hit Meggett on a screen pass when Kevin Henry stepped in front of the pass and intercepted it. He ran it back 36 yards to inside the Patriots 20 yard line, and lateraled to Orpheus Roye, who appeared to run it in for the score until the refs called it back on a forward lateral. That just made things more dramatic. Although they had been given this huge opportunity, the Steelers were still down by 8. They were soon faced with 4th and 7. Kordell Stewart hit Yancey Thigpen on a great sideline catch for the first down. Then, on 3rd and goal Stewart hit Bruener for the touchdown, but the Steelers still needed the two point conversion just to send it into OT. Stewart again looked for Thigpen, who made a sliding catch in the endzone to tie the game. Everyone in Foxboro was in shock. In overtime, the Steelers won the toss and on third down, Stewart hit Courtney Hawkins on an innocent-looking screen pass that ended up going for 41 yards! That set up Norm Johnson, who kicked the 31 yard game-winner. This was perhaps the most improbable win since the Immaculate Reception. It gave the Steelers their fourth straight division title as well.
Final Score: 24-21 (OT)

The Aftermath: For the Patriots, this game was devastating. Everyone in Boston was calling Bledsoe's pass "shades of Bill Buckner", which it was. Like Bill Buckner, Bledsoe may never live down "the pass". This game ruined them. They still won their division by beating Miami the following week. Then they beat Miami again the week after that in the playoffs. That set up a rematch at Three Rivers with the Steelers. In another classic game, the Steelers won 7-6. That score was so close. Had the Patriots held on to win the first game, this one would've been played in Foxboro, where the Patriots had beaten the Steelers 28-3 in the playoffs the year before en route to the Super Bowl. Would that 7-6 score have gone in the Patriots favor if the game were at Foxboro? Would Vrable have stripped Bledsoe of the ball on their final drive if the Patriots were at home and the Steelers did not have a two week rest? Instead their 1997 season will always be remembered as the one that they let slip away, and for the Steelers, Kevin Henry's interception enabled them to get to the Championship Game.

vs. Buffalo Bills
November 15, 1993

Everyone knows how the Steelers constantly hammered the Bills on Monday Night games, but what few fans remember is how Buffalo owned the Steelers before this game. In 1991, they beat us 52-34 on five Don Beebe touchdowns! In 1992, they beat us twice, once in the regular season 28-20 at Buffalo, and then again in the playoffs 24-3 at Three Rivers. So when the Bills came to Pittsburgh for this big showdown in 1993, no one really knew to expect. The Bills were the three-time defending AFC Champions and were 7-1 this season. The Steelers on the other hand were 5-3 and struggling to recreate the success that they had enjoyed in 1992. The Steelers certainly had a chance to win, but how they won was shocking. They completely dominated the Bills for four quarters. They did it with ball control offense, and they did it without their leading rusher Barry Foster, who was lost for the rest of the season early in the first quarter. On the Steelers opening possession of the game, they put together a 15 play, 81 yard scoring drive that took over 7 minutes. It ended in a 9 yard TD run by backup RB Leroy Thompson. The Steelers were only up 10-0 at halftime, but they came out in the second half and continued to eat up the clock. The offense put together another long drive. This one was 70 yards and culminated with a short Eric Green TD pass. The Steelers offense completely controlled the tempo of this game. They racked up 227 yards on the ground. Thompson had 108 yards on 30 carries, and FB Merril Hoge even rushed for 64 yards. Meanwhile, the defense totally shut down the high-powered, "no-huddle" offense of Buffalo. They knocked Jim Kelly out of the game with a concussion in the 2nd quarter, and then they knocked Andre Reed out with a wrist injury in the 3rd quarter. The game's best moment was when safety Gary Jones crushed Don Beebe on a pass by the sidelines, knocking him out of the game as well. The Bills were shutout for the first time since 1985. The Steelers played their most complete game of the decade in front of a national audience and in front of a record crowd at Three Rivers. "The difference in this game is that we came out and shoved it down their throats in the second half," Hoge said after the game. "We haven't done that since I've been here," he said, and Hoge had been with the Steelers since 1987.
Final Score: 23-0

The Aftermath: The Steelers stumbled after this big win, going 3-4 the rest of the season and barely making it into the playoffs, where they lost a terrible overtime game to Joe Montana and the Chiefs. Buffalo went on to lose their fourth straight Super Bowl. This game started what would become total domination by the Steelers in this series. In 1994, the Steelers beat the Bills 23-10 on Monday Night at home again. In 1995, the Steelers knocked the Bills out of the playoffs, winning 40-21 at home. In 1996, the Bills again came to Pittsburgh for a Monday Night game and again were hammered. This time the final was 24-6.

Personal Memory: This was the only game I missed in years and it turned out to be one of the best. I was in North Carolina in the middle of nowhere - no TV and no radio! When someone told me on Tuesday that the Steelers had won 23-0, I thought they were definitely mistaken. It wasn't until I finally got to a newspaper that I knew for sure what had happened.

1994 AFC Divisional Playoffs
vs. Cleveland Browns
January 7, 1995

The Steelers have had some great rivalries over the years - the Oilers, Raiders, Cowboys, and more recently, the Jaguars - but the one constant has always been the Cleveland Browns. Nothing was better than beating Art Modell and his team of dirty, cheating low-lives. In 1994, the 40 year old Steelers-Browns rivalry reached its pinnacle. These two teams were the best in the AFC during the regular season. In week 2, they played at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Steelers won 17-10 after the Browns had what would have been the tying touchdown called back on a holding penalty late in the 4th quarter. Of course the Browns were outraged about the call. For the rest of the season, both teams were stellar. The Steelers won big games against Miami and Los Angeles, while the Browns had big victories like their win at Dallas. On the second to last week of the season, the Browns came to Three Rivers in a game which would decide the division. The Steelers were once again victorious, winning 17-7. The Browns went into the playoffs as a wild card, and easily beat the Patriots in the first round, setting up what everyone in both cities wanted more than anything - a third game. This time, it would decide the season. The winner would go to the AFC Championship Game, and the loser would go home. There was so much hype around this game, because the fans of each team knew how horrible it would be if their team lost! Three Rivers was pumped for this one. Could the Steelers really beat the Browns three times in one season? The fans were going insane right from the opening kickoff, and the Steelers did not disappoint. In the first quarter, the Steelers put together a long drive. Although it only resulted in an Anderson FG, it still managed to rattle the Browns. Vinny's receivers began dropping passes. Rookie WR Derrick Alexander (right) dropped two passes on Cleveland's first possession, and their offense couldn't move the ball against the top-ranked Steelers defense. In the second quarter, the Steelers piled it on. After Browns punter Tom Tupa shanked a punt, the Steelers drove 47 yards for the game's first TD. On their next possession, John L. Williams, the veteran fullback who was not known for having great speed, ran one up the middle for a 26 yard touchdown. The Browns managed to finally get on the board with a FG, but the Steelers defense came back and struck again. Tim McKyer picked off Vinny Intercept-averde and returned it to the six, setting up another Steelers TD. The game was over at halftime, as the Steelers had scored 21 points in the second quarter. They even piled it on some more late in the game, sacking Vinny for a safety. This was so sweet. Cleveland lost 6 games that whole year, and 3 of them were to us! An asteroid could've smashed into the earth the next day, and it wouldn't have mattered because we beat the Browns THREE TIMES!! Cleveland will never be able to match that feat! Their fans will never live it down! I love it! No matter how many times they beat us in the future, the Steelers own this rivalry because of this one game.
Final Score: 29-9

The Aftermath: The Steelers of course were upset the following week in the AFC Championship Game by San Diego. The two teams were scheduled to meet twice in the span of three weeks the next season, one of the games being a Monday night showdown at Three Rivers. However, the games were marred by the announcement that the old bastard was moving the team to Baltimore. At the Monday night game, we wore orange arm bands and held up signs that said "Save the Browns". Sure, we hate Cleveland, but we didn't want them to go! We were actually bonding with Browns fans in sympathy! It was more sad than anything. The Steelers won both games en route to the Super Bowl, but the Browns were soon gone. They'll return this season, and I'm sure we'll see more classics in this series.

vs. Houston Oilers
November 1, 1992

The 1992 season was called "the year of the fan" by the Steelers PR people, which was just a fancy gimmick because almost everyone thought that 1992 would be another mediocre year. After all, the Steelers had a first-year starting QB in Neil O'Donnell, and for the first time since 1968 someone besides Chuck Noll was coaching the team. However, new coach Bill Cowher immediately became a local legend when he used a fake punt to overcome a 14-0 deficit at Houston in his first game as coach. Chuck Noll would have never tried something as crazy as a fake punt. The Steelers came back to beat the powerful Oilers at the Astrodome, where it was next to impossible to win. The team parlayed that victory into a 5-2 start, but they once again had to play the Oilers, who were also 5-2. Everyone knew that this game would decide the division. The first half saw the Steelers take a 7-6 lead over Houston thanks to a short Barry Foster TD run. Foster, who had over 1600 yards in 1992, would finish this game with 118 yards. At the start of the 3rd quarter, the Steelers defense was keeping the Oilers high-powered offense in check. Then, Rod Woodson came around on a corner blitz and hit Warren Moon right under the chin. He really nailed him too. That was one of the hardest hits I've ever seen. Moon left the game with a concussion and no recollection of the first half. The Oilers backup was "Commander" Cody Carlson. The Steelers knew not to take this guy lightly, because he had knocked them out of the playoffs two years earlier (see worst games #4). Carlson actually picked up the Oilers offense a bit. They drove and scored on an 11 yard TD pass to Webster Slaughter. Just a few plays after that, the Oilers defense made a big play. They stripped Neil O'Donnell at the Steelers 8 yard line and ran it into the endzone for a touchdown. All of a sudden the Steelers were down 20-6! But just like in the opening game against Houston, they started to come back. In the 4th quarter, O'Donnell and the offense put together a 75 yard drive which culminated in a 2 yard TD pass to TE Adrian Cooper. Cooper, who was a jerk, was called for a personal foul, but fortunately it was after the TD, so the Steelers were only down by six. At this point the crowd started to really get into the game, and the Oilers felt it slipping away. Anytime the Oilers were outside their stupid little dome, you knew they were susceptible to noise and weather conditions. In this case, it was the incredible noise generated by the Steelers fans. Carlson fumbled a snap on his own 38 yard line, and Greg Lloyd recovered. The Steelers were soon faced with a 3rd and 16, but O'Donnell hit Eric Green for a 24 yard gain. Then on 3rd and goal, O'Donnell ran a bootleg and again hit Green for a 5 yard touchdown to put the Steelers up by 1 with just minutes left. However, the game was far from over. Houston still had a chance, and they drove into field goal range. It was up to Oilers kicker Al Del Greco to win the game with a 39 yard FG attempt. Del Greco missed wide left, and Three Rivers erupted. The Steelers had defeated the Houston Oilers for the second time that season, and were all alone in first place.
Final Score: 21-20

The Aftermath: The Steelers won the division and the Oilers found themselves in the unfamiliar position of being a wild card. In the playoffs, it looked as if these two teams were going to meet for a third time. Houston was beating Buffalo by 32 points in the 3rd quarter before suffering the biggest collapse in NFL history, losing 41-38 in overtime. Bob Costas actually interviewed Cowher at halftime about playing the Oilers again, "barring a miracle". The miracle happened, and Buffalo beat the young Steelers 24-3 the following week in what will always be remembered as the Sammy Walker game.

However, the aftermath of this win was not spread over just one season. This game marked a turning point for the franchise. Ever since the 70's, the Steelers had always been the top local sports team, but for a brief period of time they slipped. In 1991, the Penguins were in the middle of winning two straight Stanley Cups, and the Pirates were in the middle of winning three straight division titles. During that season, the unthinkable had happened - the Steelers became the #3 sports team in Pittsburgh! I'll never forget the Monday night game against the Giants in 1991. The Pirates had just beaten the Braves in an unforgettable game 5 of the NLCS that afternoon (the game where David Justice missed third base, for you Bucs fans that remember), and with the Steelers getting hammered 20-0 by New York, we fans at Three Rivers lapsed into a sarcastic chant of "Let's go Bucs!" The Steelers were in desperate need of something big - something to put them back on the pedestal that this town had them on for so long. This game against Houston in 1992 did just that, and the result was a decade of winning. True, the 90's didn't nearly match the 70's for the Steelers, but it still brought some great moments and a lot of joy to us fans who had not had much to cheer about for a long time. The Steelers went on to three AFC Championship games, a Super Bowl, and six playoff appearances - and the decade's not over just yet.

Personal Memory: I had been going to games since the mid-1980's, so of course this was the biggest game I had ever attended in my life at the time. Even for the fans that had been going to games for years, it was the first time in a long while that the Steelers were in this position. When Del Greco missed that FG, everyone went nuts. Some of us were actually hugging each other. To this day, I have still never been to a game that was as loud as this one. Cowher even credited the fans with helping turn the tide of the game. It's may be hard to imagine how great that feeling was now, because the Steelers have been successful ever since, but those of you who remember how frustrating the 80's were will recognize how significant this game truly was.

1995 AFC Championship Game
vs. Indianapolis Colts
January 14, 1996

After the debacle in the 1994 Championship Game, the Steelers devoted the entire 1995 season to redeeming that loss to the Chargers. The goal and theme for the year was "three more yards", because the Steelers had been stopped on the three yard line the year before. The 1995 season started off slowly, but the Steelers came back and finished with an 11-5 record. The Kansas City Chiefs finished with a 13-3 record, so they had the homefield advantage in the AFC. However, in the divisional playoffs the Chiefs were upset by the upstart Indianapolis Colts. Behind QB Jim Harbaugh, the Colts put together a cinderella season, and to the surprise of everyone they were going to play for the right to go to the Super Bowl. The Steelers got to host the Championship Game for the second straight year, but it there was an eerie feeling of deja' vu surrounding this game. It was very similar to the previous year. The Steelers were the heavy favorites and everyone expected them to win. Still, they couldn't let tragedy strike two years in a row, could they? As the game progressed, it became apparent that the Steelers were in for a tough game. At halftime, the Steelers grabbed a 10-7 lead thanks to a late 5 yard TD pass from Neil O'Donnell to Kordell Stewart. There was controversy on the play. The replay showed that Stewart had stepped out of bounds in the back of the endzone, and then had come back in to make the catch (illegal touching). It was difficult to determine if Stewart had stepped out or if he was pushed out. Anyway, there was no flag and the TD stood. The Colts and Steelers traded FG's in the third quarter.

As the game wound down to the final 10 minutes, nobody wanted to speak of the horror of the previous year's game. In that game, the Steelers led the Chargers 13-10 in the 4th when Stan Humphries hit Tony Martin for a 43 yard TD bomb which cost the Steelers the AFC Championship. To the complete shock of everyone watching, it happened again. With just under nine minutes remaining, Jim Harbaugh threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Floyd Turner. The Colts had taken the lead - it really was deja' vu. The Steelers were in dismay. All the focus on "three more yards" and now it had come down to this again! However, the Steelers were unable to put a drive together. The Colts got the ball back and began attempting to run down the clock. On a key third and 1 play, CB Willie Williams tackled Colts FB Lamont Warren from behind as he was ready to run through a wide open hole. Had Williams not made this incredible tackle, the Colts would have got a huge gain, and would have probably been able to run out the clock. So the Steelers got the ball back with a chance to finish off the drive they failed on the previous year. Neil O'Donnell and his great group of receivers began stringing together some plays, but at midfield the drive began to stall. Amazingly, the Steelers were faced with 4th and 3. O'Donnell hit Hastings for a 9 yard gain to the Colts 38. On the very next play, O'Donnell threw a bomb down the right sidelines which was pulled in at the one yard line by Ernie Mills. Two plays later Bam Morris ran it in for the touchdown. The Steelers had done it! They had avenged last year's loss...but the game was not over yet. The Colts still had just over one minute left and they had "Captain Comeback" Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh led a furious drive to the Steelers 35, a drive that included a big 4th down conversion. With just a few seconds left in the game and down by 4, the Colts only had only one option - throw the Hail Mary. Harbaugh dropped back and threw it into the corner of the endzone. The ball was tipped several times before it fell to Colts receiver Aaron Bailey, who nearly closed his hands around the ball. Instead the ball fell to the ground. The game was over and the Steelers had won. This was possibly the most dramatic NFL game of the decade. It was certainly one of the great games in Steelers history and their game of the 90's.
Final Score: 20-16

The Aftermath: As we all know, the Steelers would go on to lose Super Bowl XXX. Yes, the Steelers failed in their ultimate goal, but imagine for a moment what it would have been like if the Steelers had lost this game to the Colts. We would have had two years in a row of total disaster. This may be a bit extreme, but if the Steelers had not won this game, it may have had a chain effect of destruction on the franchise. What would they have done the following year for redemption? Would it have ultimately effected the stadium issue which would come about two years later? I don't even want to think about what would have become of the Pittsburgh Steelers had they lost this game. These two teams would meet again in the 1996 playoffs, but it was much less dramatic. The Steelers easily won 42-14.

Personal Memory: I wasn't at this game. As a result, the thing I remember most about it involved watching the Hail Mary play on television. When the ball came down, NBC's first-year announcer Phil Simms excitedly screamed, "He caught it! He caught the ball!!" Almost immediately veteran announcer Dick Enberg waved off Simms' call, and after an agonizing few seconds of confusion, we all realized it was indeed an incomplete pass and the Steelers were going to the Super Bowl. Still, I'll never forget the feeling I had the instant I heard Simms call touchdown, because it was the exact same feeling I got when I saw Sid Bream slide safely into home plate on the Francisco Cabrera hit that beat the Pirates in the 1992 NLCS. It was the feeling of my heart being ripped apart and shoved up the back of my throat! Fortunately, this time it went away after just a few seconds.

• vs. Jacksonville (1997)....W 23-17(OT): the Bus wins this huge game in OT.
• vs. Cleveland (1990)....W 35-0: we hammered the Browns. What more could you ask for?
• at Houston (1992)....W 29-24: Cowher wins his first game, using a fake punt to come back from 14 points down.
• vs. Houston (1996)....W 30-16: You know it's a wild game when our punter gets ejected for fighting.
• vs. New England (1997 AFC Playoffs)....W 7-6: Vrable makes big play; Steelers score just 7 points and still win.
• vs. New England (1995)....W 41-27: 28 of Steelers 41 points came within last two minutes of each half.
• vs. New England (1993)....W 17-14: Bledsoe stuffed on final play from the one yard line.