There’s a question. Personally, it’s the Colts game during our playoff run (since I’ve only really been watching for the last 13 years). There are some other games that I think were just as intense, but the weight of that game puts it over the top for me.

I went to JB’s last home game, the one were ironically the Lions actually played decent for the first time in 20 years.

That game was very special, lead changes left and right, JB having 3 TD’s, and the last shout out to the home fans. Very very touching.

Still I love the Colts game that followed more, but this one is very close to my heart. /tear.

Awesome Game. Plus add to the fact I met my Wife while watching the game at the local BW3. Never thought I would find a Die Hard Steeler fan WIFE here in Browns Land… Shows the Steeler Sickness is spreading well!!!

I’ve only been to a few game for the Steelers, so having one of them be the Mud Bowl will probably forever stick out in my mind like a punt sticking into the mud of the field. I immediately got up from my seat and began shouting “Challenge the spot!” Alas, Mike Tomlin did not feel like wasting a timeout and a challenge on what I believe would have been a fun joke.

I’ve been a fan for a long time (since 1978) and here is a list of games that I found memorable:

- 1978 AFCCG – Steelers dominate Oilers in the freezing rain. Game is over by halftime.
- 1978 Super Bowl against hated Cowboys.
- 1979 Steelers beat Oilers in week 2, 38-7. Oilers were Steelers main competition but Steelers knock out Pastorini and totally dominate.
- 1979 Steelers beat Browns in week 6, 51-35. Steelers jump out to big lead. Game looks to be over. Browns start scoring but Steelers turn it back on to win going away. Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier run up and down the field like it’s Pop Warner football.
- 1979 Steelers come back to beat Browns in week 13 33-30. Steelers stage big 4th quarter come back to tie game, win in OT. LC Greenwood is a 1 man wrecking crew late in the game.
- 1983 Steelers beat Jets 34-7 in week 15. Steelers dynasty days were long over but Steelers surprisingly had started out 9-2 that season, even thought Bradshaw had missed all season with an ailing elbow. But Steelers then lose 3 games in a row to drop to 9-5. Playoff berth is now in question. Bradshaw makes his first appearance of the season and throws for 2 td passes to stake Pittsburgh to a comfortable lead. The Steelers win going away like it was the 70s. However, Bradshaw leaves in 2nd quarter and would never take another snap.
- 1984 Steelers deal 49ers what would be their only defeat that season in week 7, 20-17. Game was in SF to boot.
- 1984 Steelers beat Raiders13-7 in last week of season. Raiders were 11-4 going into that game and were the defending Super Bowl champs. Steelers were 8-7 and needed to win to clinch the AFC Central division. Game was in LA. Steelers win a defensive struggle which included a goal line stand from the 1 yard line.
- 1984 playoff win against Denver. Broncos were 13-3 and heavily favored (double digits)at home. Steelers overcome mistakes and stay in game. Game is tied 17-17 with 2 minutes to go but Elway has the ball. With everyone expecting Elway to engineer a game winning drive, the Steelers intercept the ball and return it to about the 2 yard line. Pollard goes in for the winning score.
- 1989 wildcard victory over Oilers in Astrodome. You have to remember that the Steelers were 5-11 the previous season and had lost the first two games this season by a combined score of 92-10. Many thought that the Steelers could be the worst team in the NFL that season. Yet the team rebounded to finish 9-7 that season. The game is in overtime and the Oilers have the ball near midfield. A few more yards and the Oilers will be in position to kick the game winning fg. However, a young Rod Woodson shows the country that he is a dominant force at cb when he comes up to tackle an Oiler rb. The vicious hit jars the ball loose and Woodson also recovers the ball. This sets up a 51 yard game winning fg by Gary Anderson.
- 1989 divisional loss to Broncos 23-24. Although this was a painful loss, reference above when the Steelers started off the season so poorly. I remember this game because Merril Hoge turned in a heroic performance and was barely able to walk off the field at the end of the game. The Steelers had a chance to win the game at the end but the drive fizzled. I remember Mark Stock dropping a pass that hit him in the numbers and then a muffed shotgun snap on that last series.
- 1992 first week of season. Noll had retired after the previous season. The Steelers seemed stuck in mediocrity. This was Bill Cowher’s first game as head coach of the Steelers. Expectations were low. The Steelers quickly fall behind Oilers 14-0 and my thoughts lead to how this is going to be a long season. But then, Cowher calls for a fake punt. The Oilers are caught off guard and the punter completes a 44 yard pass to Warren Williams. The Steelers would win that game 29-24 and make the playoffs that year and Cowher would lead the Steelers to 6 consecutive playoff berths.
- 1993 Steelers lose to the Browns at Cleveland in week 8, 23-28. This was a crazy game that the Steelers should have won if they were going to be a championship team. But Eric Metcalf returned two punts for touchdowns.
- 1993 Steelers shutout Bills 23-0 on Monday night. The Bills had represented the AFC in the Super Bowl 3 years straight and had whipped the Steelers in the playoffs the year before. The Bills in fact had owned the Steelers the previous few years. But this game was total domination. They knocked out Kelly and Reed and safety Gary Jones topped it off with a vicious hit on Don Beebe, which knocked him out as well. After this game, I thought that the Steelers had a legitimate shot at postseason success.
- 1993 playoff loss to the Chiefs. I felt that the Steelers had overachieved the previous year. This year, I thought they underachieved. This playoff loss summarized the season of missed opportunity. The passing game functioned surprisingly well but Jeff Graham dropped a crucial pass that would have converted a first down at the end of the game. Then there was a blocked punt. The Steelers had been able to pressure Montana at times throughout the game but were unable to stop him in OT.
- 1994 AFC playoff win vs Cleveland. Nothing better than beating a hated division rival in the playoffs.
- 1994 AFCCG loss to SD. I had fully expected the Steelers to win this game and go to the Super Bowl this year. I hadn’t been this confident about a playoff game since the 70s. This one hurt for a long time.
- 1995 Super Bowl loss. Frankly, I didn’t think that the Steelers were that good that year. Rod Woodson tore his ACL in week 1. The Steelers started 3-4. The cb play was so mediocre that Lake moved over from safety. Even though the Steelers rebounded to win the division, they barely beat an injury riddled Colts team in the championship game. I was hardly inspired. And then the Steelers looked like they didn’t even belong on the same field as the Cowboys through most of the first half of the Super Bowl. But then the Steelers started to really show some championship character. They continually stuffed Emmitt Smith. The offense started to get it’s running game going. The wr were making incredible catches. Kirkland delivered a highlight reel sack of Aikman to punctuate his excellent play that game. Cowher called a daring onsides kick. Now that’s how you’re supposed to raise your game in the postseason and that’s how Noll’s teams had so often done it in the 70s. But then O’donnell flushed it all away with two crucial 2nd half picks in what would be his last game as Steeler qb.
- 1997 Steelers lose to Jax on Monday night in week 4, 30-21. This was the game where the Steelers were set up to kick the game winning fg, but instead it was blocked and returned for a td. Cowher had to restrain himself from tackling the guy.
- 1997 Steelers come from behind to beat Denver 35-24 in week 15. As per usual, Kordell started slowly but he and Thigpen brought the Steelers back with big plays. Denver complained about Cowher being too far out on the field.
-1997 Steelers come from behind to beat New England the next week. Again, the Steelers fell behind but then rallied. However, the Patriots were in position to ice the game with a first down at the end. Instead Kevin Henry of all people intercepts Bledsoe and then lateralled the ball to Orpheus Roye during his return. The Steelers then converted a 4th down with a brilliant sideline catch by Thigpen. They later scored a td but needed a 2 pt conversion to send the game to OT. Of course, Thigpen made a nice sliding catch to convert. The Steelers would go on to win in OT.
- 1997 Steelers come from way back to beat the Ravens 42-34. This game highlighted Stewart’s career in many ways. The offense sucked in the first half and the Steelers trailed 24-7 at intermission. But then Stewart made several incredible plays in the 2nd half, including a bomb to Thigpen and a 74 yard td run. This was the game where Cowher kissed Stewart.
- 1997 Steelers beat Jax in OT in week 9. Jax was leading 10-0 at half. Stewart was horrible in the first half. But Stewart and the Steelers rebounded in the 2nd half. Thigpen had almost 200 yards receiving. This was the game where Lloyd had accused Mccardell (Jax wr) of called his home and making threats.
- 1997 AFCCG loss to Denver. The Steelers actually started off fast in this game. After spotting Denver a 7-0 lead, they were leading 14-7 and driving into Denver territory. The Bus was churning out yards. But Kordell threw deep down the middle of the field towards Thigpen into double coverage and the pass was intercepted. A few minutes later, the Broncos (courtesy of a couple of PI calls) were leading 24-14 at the half. Could the Steelers come back as they had done all season? Well, the defense did their part but Kordell kept turning the ball over. Just when it seemed over, the offense scored a late td. Unfortunately, the defense needed a 3 and out but the Broncos converted a 3rd and 7 to Sharpe and the game was over.
- 2000 Steelers lost to Cleveland in week 2, 23-20. The Steelers weren’t very good that year, but they had a chance to win or at least tie this game. They had 1rst and goal with 30 seconds to go but no timeouts. After a run play (what, didn’t I say that we have no time outs!) and a spike, Kent Graham gets sacked on 3rd down and time runs out before we can even attempt a fg.
- 2000 Steelers beat Raiders in week 14, 21-20. Raiders had the best record in the AFC. Kordell returns from a knee injury in the 3rd quarter and makes a couple of unbelievable plays. Regan Upshaw spits on Josh Miller. Raiders drive late in the game but run a play on 4th down, thinking that it was still 3rd down, costing them a chance to kick the game winning fg.
- 2001 Steelers beat Chiefs in week 5, 20-17. This is the game where Kendrell Bell absolutely trucks a Chiefs offensive lineman on the way to the qb. I don’t think I had ever seen that type of raw power/explosion from a Steeler lb in all my years watching Steeler football, and that includes Lambert, Ham, Kirkland, Lloyd, Porter etc. That game made me think that 2001 could be a revival year for the Steelers. (FYI, I actually thought that Kendrell Bell could be our best inside lb since Lambert after this game, and possibly better. Oops. But in my defense, Bell was a monster for about a year.)
- 2001 Steelers lost to the defending champion Ravens at home in week 8, 13-10. The Steelers are off to a 5-1 record, but fans (at least me) are not really sure if the Steelers are contenders or pretenders, since they’re coming off 3 mediocre seasons. But they go toe to toe with the Ravens and actually outplay them. But Kris Brown misses FIVE field goals! What the…?
- 2001 Steelers beat Ravens in week 14, 26-21. After losing to them earlier this season, anticipation is high for this game. Until now, Burress is considered a potential bust but this game is Burress’ break out game, where he catches 8 for 164 yards.
- 2001 Steelers beat Ravens in playoffs. Can you tell I didn’t much care for the Ravens this year? I mean, how can you not hate a team with a collection of players like Ray Lewis, Shannon Sharpe, Tony Siragusa, Jamal Lewis, not to mention a smug coach like Billick. Plus, they were still the defending champions. But it was total domination from the start in a game where we didn’t have the Bus. How sweet it was.
- 2001 AFCCG loss to Patriots. After the 1994 debacle, I didn’t expect Steeler playoff victories anymore. But this one was set up nicely. Home field? Check. Two main playoff threats in Oakland and Baltimore eliminated? Check. Facing a great qb? No. Check. (I admit that I didn’t think much of Brady back then. I mean, the Patriots were only playing in this game because of that stupid Tuck rule.) A few special teams gaffes later and we’re saddled with another AFCCG loss.
-2004 Steelers beat Patriots and Eagles in back to back weeks. Again, the Steelers are coming off a mediocre year. Ben is now the qb and playing well for a rookie, but Tom Brady and Mcnabb are coming to town. They are believed to be the best qbs and the best teams in the league. The Patriots had a 21 game winning streak for chrissake! I adored the 70s Steelers, but even they never came close to putting a streak like that together. Meanwhile, the Eagles looked like a dominant team now that they had acquired Terrell Owens. And let’s face it, Ben is still a rookie who has only started 4 games! And the offensive line which was a major problem the year before had Keydrick Vincent and Oliver Ross on the right side. But the Steelers obliterate both teams. Could the Steelers actually go to the Super Bowl with a rookie qb?
- 2005 playoff win against Colts. Already mentioned by others, and I have to agree. People forget that there was a lot of talk about the Colts going undefeated that year. The Colts had already handled the Steelers earlier in the season. And let’s face it, the Steelers were lucky that Carson Palmer was knocked out in the previous playoff game. But then the game starts and the Steelers aggressively take it to the Colts. That was so unlike a Cowher team, whose teams often seemed conservative in the playoffs. Ben plays like a star instead of like the rookie he was the previous season. The Steelers defense holds down by the goal line at the end of the first half. Cowher goes for it on a couple of 4th downs in a grind it out drive in the 3rd quarter. False start, defensive offsides? How bout a do over. (What?) Pola intercepts the ball, but it’s overturned. (What?) Steelers sack Peyton at the end of the game to seal it. But then Bettis fumbles. The tackle. Peyton aggressively goes for the td, but Mcfadden makes a great play covering Wayne. Vandy misses the fg attempt. My heart was literally racing for about 15 minutes after the game ended. This game was actually more satisfying than the wins at Denver and in the Super Bowl the next couple of weeks.

I remember that! He just made up the call! Its one sides fault or the other lol and he just said “redo the down”

That was like straight outta some kinda backyard game officiating.

I have lived in Louisiana all my life, but have been a Steeler fan since 1968. Super Bowl IX was held at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. My Dad worked for Tulane, so he brought me to the practice facility and I was able to meet some of the Steelers including Joe Greene. What an honor. My Cub Scout troop, (I know I am big dork) was asked to usher people to their seats at that game, so I was able to watch some of it from the walkways in the stands. My goodness, what a defensive performance. No offensive touchdowns for the Vikings, 17 yards rushing, 7 total first downs. Absolute beatdown. I actually felt sorry for the Vikings by the end of the game. Franco and Rocky combined for enough offense in the running game. My best frined at the time was a big Viking fan, (at that time no one was a Saints fan, who I still believe are cursed since they built the Superdome over Marie Laveau’s grave) so it was a special day. I know the Steeler defense is special this year, but the 1974 season was the best defense ever to take the field in the NFL period.