The 1993 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 61st season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League.
The Steelers looked to continue the progress made under second year head coach Bill Cowher. However, the team would take a slight step backwards, finishing 9–7 (three games behind the eventual AFC Central champion Houston Oilers). Despite that, the Steelers clinched the final wild card spot, making the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The team would lose to the Kansas City Chiefs 27–24 in overtime in the AFC Wild Card Round of the playoffs, in what is considered one of the best playoff games in NFL history even though the Steelers were on the losing end.
Notable about the season came in the second week, when the Steelers suffered a rare shutout loss to the Los Angeles Rams 27–0 in one of the team's last visit to the Los Angeles area in the foreseeable future. The day was highlighted by the emergence of Rams rookie Jerome Bettis running over the Steelers defense. Though no one knew it at the time, it would foreshadow what was to come with Bettis' career—as a member of the Steelers, who would acquire Bettis in a draft day trade with the Rams three years later.
1993 was also the season in which the Steelers began their policy of "blacking out" regular season contract negotiations. Early in the season the Steelers had reached contract extensions with Rod Woodson and Barry Foster and continued negotiations with other players. However, this led to discord in the locker room, and management felt that contract talk was taking the team's focus off of winning. At mid-season the Steelers broke off all contract negotiations, and have refused to negotiate contracts during the regular season since.
Notable additions include Chad Brown, Kevin Greene and Willie Williams
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EDTGame weather: 74 °F (Mostly Sunny)Game attendance: 57,502Referee: Gordon McCarterTV announcers: (CBS) Dick Stockton (play by play), Dan Fouts (color commentator)Scoring Drives:
San Francisco – FG Cofer 37San Francisco – Rice 5 pass from Young (Cofer kick)San Francisco – Rice 6 pass from Young (Cofer kick)Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 29Pittsburgh – Foster 5 run (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 39San Francisco – B. Jones 5 pass from Young (Cofer kick)at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California
Game time: 4:00 pm EDTGame weather:Game attendance: 50,588Referee: Dick HantakTV announcers: (NBC) Dan Hicks (play by play), Joe Gibbs (color commentator)Scoring Drives:
Los Angeles Rams – Drayton 22 pass from Everett (Zendejas kick)Los Angeles Rams – Gary 6 run (Zendejas kick)Los Angeles Rams – FG Zendejas 54Los Angeles Rams – FG Zendejas 50Los Angeles Rams – Bettis 29 run (Zendejas kick)at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EDTGame weather: 66 °F (Mostly Sunny)Game attendance: 53,682Referee: Gerald AustinTV announcers: (NBC) Tom Hammond (play by play), Cris Collinsworth (color commentator)Scoring Drives:
PIttsburgh – Mills 3 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 33Cincinnati – Pickens 15 pass from Klingler (Pelfrey kick)Pittsburgh – Thigpen 18 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 34Pittsburgh – Stone 9 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)PIttsburgh – Stone 38 run (Anderson kick)at Georgia Dome, Atlanta
Game time: 9:00 pm EDTGame weather: DomeGame attendance: 65,477Referee: Bob McElweeTV announcers: (ABC) Al Michaels (play by play), Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf (color commentators)Scoring Drives:
Pittsburgh – Foster 30 run (Anderson kick)Atlanta – T. Smith 97 kickoff return (N. Johnson kick)Atlanta – Clark 46 fumble return (N. Johnson kick)Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 21Atlanta – FG N. Johnson 49Pittsburgh – Foster 7 run (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – Stone 4 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – Thigpen 7 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – Foster 1 run (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – Davidson 18 fumble return (Anderson kick)at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 4:00 pm EDTGame weather: 47 °F (Partly Sunny)Game attendance: 55,264Referee: Gary LaneTV announcers: (NBC) Dan Hicks (play by play), Dan Hampton (color commentator)Scoring Drives:
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 37Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 34San Diego – FG Carney 33Pittsburgh – Kirkland 16 fumble return (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 35at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EDTGame weather: 65 °F (Light Rain)Game attendance: 56,056Referee: Howard RoeTV announcers: (CBS) Tim Ryan (play by play), Matt Millen (color commentator)Scoring Drives:
Pittsburgh – Woodson 63 interception return (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – Foster 20 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 40Pittsburgh – Foster 1 run (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 22Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 29Pittsburgh – Green 26 pass from Tomczak (Anderson kick)New Orleans – Small 3 pass from Buck (Anderson kick)New Orleans – Early 63 pass from Buck (Anderson kick)Week 8 (Sunday October 24, 1993): at Cleveland Browns
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
Game time: 4:00 pm EDTGame weather:Game attendance: 78,118Referee: Tom WhiteTV announcers: (NBC) Tom Hammond (play by play), Cris Collinsworth (color commentator)Scoring Drives:
Cleveland – Jackson 62 pass from Testaverde (Stover kick)Cleveland – Metcalf 91 punt return (Stover kick)Pittsburgh – Foster 4 run (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – Foster 1 run (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 30Cleveland – Wolfey 4 pass from Testaverde (Stover kick)Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 46Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 30Cleveland – Metcalf 75 punt return (Stover kick)at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati
Game time: 1:00 pm ESTGame weather:Game attendance: 51,202Referee: Johnny GrierTV announcers: (NBC) Drew Goodman (play by play), Dan Hampton (color commentator)Scoring Drives:
Cincinnati – FG Pelfrey 32Cincinnati – Williams 97 interception return (kick failed)Cincinnati – Query 7 pass from Schroeder (Pelfrey kick)Pittsburgh – Green 71 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – Hoge 9 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – Foster 1 run (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 23at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 9:00 pm ESTGame weather: 50 °F (Cloudy)Game attendance: 60,265Referee: Ed HochuliTV announcers: (ABC) Al Michaels (play by play), Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf (color commentators)Scoring Drives:
Pittsburgh – Thompson 9 run (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 37Pittsburgh – Green 1 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 19Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 31at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado
Game time: 4:00 pm ESTGame weather:Game attendance: 74,840Referee: Gordon McCarterTV announcers: (NBC) Bob Costas (play by play), Joe Gibbs (color commentator)Scoring Drives:
Denver – FG Elam 48Denver – Delpino 1 run (Elam kick)Denver – Russell fumble recovery in end zone (Elam kick)Denver – FG Elam 27Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 37Denver – Delpino 1 run (Elam kick)Denver – V. Johnson 13 pass from Elway (Elam kick)Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 38Denver – FG Elam 28Pittsburgh – Thigpen 39 pass from Tomczak (Anderson kick)at Astrodome, Houston, Texas
Game time: 8:00 pm ESTGame weather: DomeGame attendance: 61,238Referee: Gerald AustinTV announcers: (ESPN) Mike Patrick (play by play), Joe Theismann (color commentator)Scoring Drives:
Houston – FG Del Greco 43Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 42Houston – Brown 3 run (Del Greco kick)Houston – Jeffires 66 pass from Moon (Del Greco kick)Houston – FG Del Greco 21Houston – FG Del Greco 28Week 14 (Sunday December 5, 1993): vs. New England Patriots
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm ESTGame weather: 42 °F (Cloudy)Game attendance: 51,358Referee: Ron BlumTV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), Paul Maguire (color commentator)Scoring Drives:
New England – Coates 3 pass from Bledsoe (Sisson kick)New England – Russell 3 run (Sisson kick)Pittsburgh – Hoge 5 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 35Pittsburgh – Hoge 1 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)at Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida
Game time: 9:00 pm ESTGame weather: 68 °F (Partly cloudy)Game attendance: 70,232Referee: Jerry MarkbreitTV announcers: (ABC) Al Michaels (play by play), Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf (color commentators)Scoring Drives:
Miami – FG Stoyanovich 22Pittsburgh – Thompson 3 run (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – Hoge 2 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)Miami – K. Jackson 3 pass from DeBerg (Stoyanovich kick)Miami – McDuffie 72 punt return (Stoyanovich kick)at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm ESTGame weather: 37 °F (Cloudy)Game attendance: 57,592Referee: Bernie KukarTV announcers: (NBC) Tom Hammond (play by play), Cris Collinsworth (color commentator)Scoring Drives:
Houston – G. Brown 38 pass from Moon (Del Greco kick)Houston – Orlando 38 interception return (Del Greco kick)Houston – FG Del Greco 34Houston – FG Del Greco 22Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 26Houston – FG Del Greco 33Pittsburgh – Green 36 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)Houston – FG Del Greco 21Pittsburgh – Hoge 5 run (Anderson kick)at Kingdome, Seattle, Washington
Game time: 4:00 pm ESTGame weather: DomeGame attendance: 51,814Referee: Bob McElweeTV announcers: (NBC) Charlie Jones (play by play), Todd Christensen (color commentator)Scoring Drives:
Seattle – Green 2 pass from Mirer (Kasay kick)Seattle – FG Kasay 32Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 42Seattle – FG Kasay 48Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 43Seattle – FG Kasay 35Week 18 (Sunday January 2, 1994): vs. Cleveland Browns
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm ESTGame weather: 32 °F (Cloudy)Game attendance: 49,208Referee: Dick HantakTV announcers: (NBC) Marv Albert (play by play), Paul Maguire (color commentator)Scoring Drives:
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 36Cleveland – FG Stover 36Cleveland – FG Stover 47Cleveland – FG Stover 44Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 38Pittsburgh – Green 14 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 26at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Game time: 12:30 pm ESTGame weather: 34 °F (Sunny)Game attendance: 75,868Referee: Gary LaneTV announcers: (ABC) Al Michaels (play by play), Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf (color commentators)Scoring Drives:
Pittsburgh – Cooper 10 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)Kansas City – Birden 23 pass from Krieg (Lowery kick)Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 30Pittsburgh – Mills 26 pass form O'Donnell (Anderson kick)Kansas City – FG Lowery 23Kansas City – Allen 2 run (Lowery kick)Pittsburgh – Green 22 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)Kansas City – Barnett 7 pass from Montana (Lowery kick)Kansas City – FG Lowery 32