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 EDT
Game weather: 74 °F (Mostly Sunny)
Game attendance: 57,502
Referee: Gordon McCarter
TV announcers: (CBS) Dick Stockton (play by play), Dan Fouts (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
San Francisco – FG Cofer 37
San Francisco – Rice 5 pass from Young (Cofer kick)
San Francisco – Rice 6 pass from Young (Cofer kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 29
Pittsburgh – Foster 5 run (Anderson kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 39
San Francisco – B. Jones 5 pass from Young (Cofer kick)
at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California
Game time: 4:00 pm EDT
Game weather:
Game attendance: 50,588
Referee: Dick Hantak
TV 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 54
Los Angeles Rams – FG Zendejas 50
Los Angeles Rams – Bettis 29 run (Zendejas kick)
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
Game weather: 66 °F (Mostly Sunny)
Game attendance: 53,682
Referee: Gerald Austin
TV 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 33
Cincinnati – Pickens 15 pass from Klingler (Pelfrey kick)
Pittsburgh – Thigpen 18 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 34
Pittsburgh – Stone 9 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)
PIttsburgh – Stone 38 run (Anderson kick)
at Georgia Dome, Atlanta
Game time: 9:00 pm EDT
Game weather: Dome
Game attendance: 65,477
Referee: Bob McElwee
TV 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 21
Atlanta – FG N. Johnson 49
Pittsburgh – 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 EDT
Game weather: 47 °F (Partly Sunny)
Game attendance: 55,264
Referee: Gary Lane
TV announcers: (NBC) Dan Hicks (play by play), Dan Hampton (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 37
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 34
San Diego – FG Carney 33
Pittsburgh – Kirkland 16 fumble return (Anderson kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 35
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
Game weather: 65 °F (Light Rain)
Game attendance: 56,056
Referee: Howard Roe
TV 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 40
Pittsburgh – Foster 1 run (Anderson kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 22
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 29
Pittsburgh – 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 EDT
Game weather:
Game attendance: 78,118
Referee: Tom White
TV 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 30
Cleveland – Wolfey 4 pass from Testaverde (Stover kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 46
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 30
Cleveland – Metcalf 75 punt return (Stover kick)
at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati
Game time: 1:00 pm EST
Game weather:
Game attendance: 51,202
Referee: Johnny Grier
TV announcers: (NBC) Drew Goodman (play by play), Dan Hampton (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
Cincinnati – FG Pelfrey 32
Cincinnati – 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 23
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 9:00 pm EST
Game weather: 50 °F (Cloudy)
Game attendance: 60,265
Referee: Ed Hochuli
TV announcers: (ABC) Al Michaels (play by play), Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf (color commentators)
Scoring Drives:
Pittsburgh – Thompson 9 run (Anderson kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 37
Pittsburgh – Green 1 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 19
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 31
at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado
Game time: 4:00 pm EST
Game weather:
Game attendance: 74,840
Referee: Gordon McCarter
TV announcers: (NBC) Bob Costas (play by play), Joe Gibbs (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
Denver – FG Elam 48
Denver – Delpino 1 run (Elam kick)
Denver – Russell fumble recovery in end zone (Elam kick)
Denver – FG Elam 27
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 37
Denver – Delpino 1 run (Elam kick)
Denver – V. Johnson 13 pass from Elway (Elam kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 38
Denver – FG Elam 28
Pittsburgh – Thigpen 39 pass from Tomczak (Anderson kick)
at Astrodome, Houston, Texas
Game time: 8:00 pm EST
Game weather: Dome
Game attendance: 61,238
Referee: Gerald Austin
TV announcers: (ESPN) Mike Patrick (play by play), Joe Theismann (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
Houston – FG Del Greco 43
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 42
Houston – Brown 3 run (Del Greco kick)
Houston – Jeffires 66 pass from Moon (Del Greco kick)
Houston – FG Del Greco 21
Houston – FG Del Greco 28
Week 14 (Sunday December 5, 1993): vs. New England Patriots
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EST
Game weather: 42 °F (Cloudy)
Game attendance: 51,358
Referee: Ron Blum
TV 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 35
Pittsburgh – Hoge 1 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)
at Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida
Game time: 9:00 pm EST
Game weather: 68 °F (Partly cloudy)
Game attendance: 70,232
Referee: Jerry Markbreit
TV announcers: (ABC) Al Michaels (play by play), Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf (color commentators)
Scoring Drives:
Miami – FG Stoyanovich 22
Pittsburgh – 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 EST
Game weather: 37 °F (Cloudy)
Game attendance: 57,592
Referee: Bernie Kukar
TV 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 34
Houston – FG Del Greco 22
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 26
Houston – FG Del Greco 33
Pittsburgh – Green 36 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)
Houston – FG Del Greco 21
Pittsburgh – Hoge 5 run (Anderson kick)
at Kingdome, Seattle, Washington
Game time: 4:00 pm EST
Game weather: Dome
Game attendance: 51,814
Referee: Bob McElwee
TV announcers: (NBC) Charlie Jones (play by play), Todd Christensen (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
Seattle – Green 2 pass from Mirer (Kasay kick)
Seattle – FG Kasay 32
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 42
Seattle – FG Kasay 48
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 43
Seattle – FG Kasay 35
Week 18 (Sunday January 2, 1994): vs. Cleveland Browns
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EST
Game weather: 32 °F (Cloudy)
Game attendance: 49,208
Referee: Dick Hantak
TV announcers: (NBC) Marv Albert (play by play), Paul Maguire (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 36
Cleveland – FG Stover 36
Cleveland – FG Stover 47
Cleveland – FG Stover 44
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 38
Pittsburgh – Green 14 pass from O'Donnell (Anderson kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 26
at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Game time: 12:30 pm EST
Game weather: 34 °F (Sunny)
Game attendance: 75,868
Referee: Gary Lane
TV 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 30
Pittsburgh – Mills 26 pass form O'Donnell (Anderson kick)
Kansas City – FG Lowery 23
Kansas 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
