The 12 Most Heartbreaking Playoff Losses In Pittsburgh Steelers History: #2

Thanks for putting this one up today, maryrose. This is #3 on my list, behind the ‘94 & ’01 AFCCGs, largely due to expectations (didn’t “expect” Steelers to win this SB, but was hopefu……the other 2, i KNEW they would win)

Closer it got to gametime, it became clearer that Cowboys couldn’t cover the 5-wide set the Steelers often used. But…..Cowher chose to expend nearly the entire first half in establishing the run. Hence…..no points til just before half.

Fear was that the vaunted Cowboys line, and Emmit Smith, would run wild against Steelers. Never happened.

Look at the corollarys between this SB & SB XLIII in terms of being down 3 points, late, own territory, few minutes left…..except Ben was backed up to his 12 with less than 3 minutes, while o’D was on his 32 with more than 4. Jim Rome, who I kind of like, said that Ben had “the arm…..and the stones” to win this game. O’D, i’m afraid, came up way short in the stones department. Not only had he thrown only 7 pics all year, he hadn’t thrown one ball as badly as he did those TWO 2nd half pics. Additionally, the Steeler O had been highly successful late in halves, late in games.

Let’s not forget, just before the fateful 2nd pic, on first down…..I’D hit Hasting around the 40 with a hook…..clean drop by Hastings. Hastings seemed to be looking at the scoreboard, the replay, the whole way back to the huddle. I’ve oft wondered whether that affected his focus, contributed to him cutting in instead of out on the next play.

And O’D…I still think, perhaps way optimistically, that Pittsburgh fans would’ve forgave this error had he not skipped town for a few more dollars.

Good writeup, maryrose…..i’ve actually done some thinking lately on that whole season. i’ll post it as a sidebar of sorts.

The thing that I remember most, like everyone else, were those two inexplicable interceptions that O’ Donnell threw to Larry Brown. I also remember O’ Donnell being jittery and off-target for the entire game. He was getting our receivers killed with his errant passes.

The Steelers dominated the line of scrimmage, with the exception of the first few minutes when they were fighting their nerves.

I think Cowher did an exceptional job coaching during this game, taking calculated risks and making the right adjustments as the game wore on. It’s still hard to believe they lost this one.

There a few other things that tie into this game that were really strange. First of all, the Steelers had no quarterback to replace NOD, and they went with Mike “Pick Six” Tomczak in ’96, and then put in the QB abomination Stewart in ’97. Secondly, Bam Morris was busted for pot possession that offseason after the game. On the bright side, his stupidity led to the fleecing of the Rams for Bettis. Most of the people around the team said that Stewart and Morris, who were both rookies that season, were the two loosest players on the team coming into the game.

Finally, this game was one of first that really cemented the “Cowherisms” that we all grew to love and hate. This team was not a running team. In fact, they were the only Cowher team except the 2002 team that was predominately a passing team. I think they finished 3rd in the AFC in passing yardage that season. So knowing that, why would Cowher spend the whole first half pounding the rock with a rookie and a mediocre vet in Pegram? This was a 5-wide team all year. Where the hell did it go in this game?

but it was the fact that I believed that we had those guys that made the loss such a bitter one for me.

Does anybody remember Jim Grey repeatedly asking Neil O’Donnell, “So, exactly what were you thinking?” in regards to the 2nd pick thrown to Larry Brown…god I hated this game.

This ones not on my personal list of 12 at all for personal reasons. This is the only Super Bowl I’ve ever attended as a fan. I was in Phoenix during the college National Championship Game, as well, before the Super Bowl. I had the opportunity to see the crews take out the turf and put new turf in for the game. I went up to Sun Devil Stadium everyday. I saw them paint the Steelers logo in the endzone over a 2 day period. I saw media day. I participated in The NFL Experience in the parking lot and kicked a field goal for the first time in my life (I missed, wide left). I saw thousands of Steelers fans waving their Terrible Towels as they were coming up to the stadium on gameday singing “Here we go Steelers, here we go.” Those are the the little things that make that time so memorable for me despite the loss.

I was so confident the Steelers would win this game. The spread was high to me and I just simply felt the Steelers had the better team. Turns out they did. They dominated the stat sheet (except for turnovers, 3 to 0). What the Cowboys had was a little more luck and championship experience.

I went on the field after the game and pulled up some grass then I lost my neck tie somewhere. I was sad that the Steelers lost but I cherish this game from a fan’s perspective. That’s why I couldn’t put it on my list of 12. Too many great memories during those two weeks. I can understand, though, how it’s #1 or #2 on the lists of other Steelers fans.

i remember when the steelers got the ball with four minutes left . . . it was a typical steelers game for that (or any!) steelers era . . . our o-line had easily worn down the cowboys defensive front by that time . . . and i was confident that smashmouth steelers football would prevail . . . just give the ball to bam (he was having a great second half!!) . . . but alas . . .

One more thing, NFL Network recently re-aired Super Bowl XXX in its entirety about a month and a half ago. It was the first time I saw the game since it was played. I was hoping that CB Brown would’ve dropped the second INT. Unfortunately, it played out the same way, lol.

I don’t question the early runs in the game plan. Who knows, Neil probably was nervous and would have added to his INT collection, lol. I thought the onside-kick was a great call. I obviously questioned the pass selection on Neil’s second INT, though.

P.S. I forgive Neil.

My expectations for this game were very high. Being an underdog meant nothing because this was a good matchup against a team that was coasting and overconfident. The Steelers had persevered after tough playoff losses in previous seasons and then the near meltdown vs. the Colts. The offense was more balanced late in the season with Morris pounding the ball effectively. They had lost Charles Johnson to injury late in the season so they didn’t have the depth to run the same number of 4-WR sets they had earlier, but Morris came alive in the cold weather and had a few 100-yard games. The defense was tough up front. I can understand why some people might downplay this game because of the underdog status but from my perspective this was an opportunity for arguably the sweetest win in Steelers’ history and we literally gave it away. It would have ended the SB drought that eventually lasted another decade and prevented the Cowboys from getting their fifth, all while posting won of the bigger upsets in SB history against one of our most detested rivals. And it wouldn’t have required any luck, just proper execution of basic plays.

It wasn’t all on O’Donnell. Cowher seemingly did little to settle the nerves of the players, was ultra-conservative in the early going and in the third quarter panicked when facing a fourth down play. Dermonti Dawson snapped the ball over O’Donnell’s head in the first half to kill one drive in Dallas territory. The offensive line was manhandled on three straight runs by Morris when we turned the ball over on downs in the third quarter. Going for it on 4th-and-2 on our side of mid-field after two straight stuffs, with the defense manhandling the Cowboys at that point and lots of time remaining, was an unnecessary gamble. Hastings dropped that pass as swissvale pointed out, probably the key play of the game considering how gassed the Cowboys were on defense and the time remaining. The tough part should have been using up enough of the clock to keep Aikman off the field and needing a FG or TD to win. But, who knows, maybe O’Donnell would have thrown an interception a few plays later anyway. All in all, I was proud of the way the Steelers showed they were competitive, but I already knew they were. What hurt at the time and still does is the fact we gave away the SB to the worst possible team. No other playoff loss matches it because it requires no speculation to think about what might have happened the next game. This was it and we blew it.

This was the first NFL game i really sat down and watched as a kid. Being from Canada at the time i was always a football fan but i never really followed the NFL.

This was the first superbowl i sat down and watched, and i had to pick a team. The Steelers i chose.

I will never forget that day, or that interception.. Regardless of what happened that game, it made me a steelers fan for life. And i’ll never forget it.

It seems I am going against the current here. First, Neil lost the game, period. Choker, dog, whatever you want to call it. Second, I still have a large spot in my heart for the guy. His play throughout the season to a large extent allowed the Steelers to win the AFC. He didn’t “throw” the game, c’mon give me a break. The stage was too big for him in the end, it happens. Pittsburgh chews up and spits out QBs that can’t win the big one and he’s a point of evidence of this. I understand that, but time should heal some wounds and reverse some opinions and this continuing obliteration of the man for folding under extreme pressure without concurrent recognition of his significant contributions is too much for me – some parts of Steelers Nation need to get over it.

….it would have been the biggest Super Bowl upset since Jets over Colts in III.

I understand why a SB loss is heartbreaking to so many fans, but honestly I mostly felt pride after this game. The PS had a truly great team on the ropes and they played the second half with confidence and daring.

At the time I thought, well, with this coach we’ll be back in a couple years and we’ll win it. How much more wrong can you be!

it’s our only super bowl loss. our qb threw two interceptions straight to the same player (qb or wr’s fault aside) leading to 14 more points for them (and possibly preventing us from scoring another 3 or 7 ourselves) in a game we lost by 10. we beat ourselves. horrible, horrible loss. this loss also prevented those great players of the 90’s from ever winning a superbowl while with the steelers.

I don’t get the argument that Neil was paid off. Didn’t the Steelers cover the spread?

I love the accusations here…

Have we not seen Ben roth have horrid games at times? It happens. And the big stage can do that to a player. I think thats all that happened. As this recap well put it at the top, the Cowboys had the experience.

If we lost SBXL would we be saying somebody paid ben to lose it? Because he had the worst SB in history basically…

That would have to be the one buffalo game against the cowboys.

But probably the worst winning effort in history.

Actually, that makes me think – anyone know what the best losing effort by a quarterback in the super bowl is? Something tells me it has to be Warner – how many guys can lose two super bowls while posting a > 100 passer rating in each. Of course he managed to throw a pick six in both of them, too – maybe he needs to work on his tackling.

The Steelers should have 7 championships and its because of the most valuable player for the cowboys,not Larry Brown,Neil freakn o’donnel ! how I hate this guy, The Steelers BEAT the cowboys in every aspect of the game and this twit blows it for them, you can say what you want about him being sorry,and the ball slipped out of his hand ,that’s a crock. we ALL SAW WHERE HE THREW THE BALL! Again I hate him,If I saw him on the street or where ever the rock he is hiding under I would PUNCH IN THE MOUTH! once,everyone makes mistakes, BUT NOT TWICE TO THE SAME PLAYER! HATE HIM ! STEELER FOR LIFE MR MIKE

  To me this and the ’89 loss to Denver are the top two, as much because the teams were overachievers (or not given enough credit) and almost pulled it off. I remember the Dallas game so sharply because of the ebb and flow between the teams. The Steelers responded to the Dallas early lead, not giving up but taking command in the third quarter, with the combination of physical play and the right coaching calls at the right moment. Etched forever in memory is Levon Kirkland jumping over the blocking back (Emmitt Smith?) and upending Aikman by the ankle with one hand on third down near midfield for a big loss and forcing the punt. That one play said this is a Game cowboys and we came to play! Then the interceptions.

  As to the payoff feelings, I’m sure that accepting bribes is why the Jets decided to give O’Donnell a better contract than the Steelers, because all NFL teams aspire to have their starting QB to be the one who took a dive in the big game. I think the better comparison is to Bradshaw in the 70’s. When the blitz came, he threw the pass to Stallworth and the rest was history. He didn’t even see the touchdown celebration as they dragged him off field in his concussed state, but he’s got the ring. O’Donnell’s hot read was a timing play, you throw before the receiver makes his break. If I remember correctly, Neil never got knocked on his back on either interception, nor did he hold the ball long enough to see which way the receiver broke. As for the concussions, its a brutal game and before you judge either way, ask Merrill Hoge (or Troy Aikman) if they are worth it. I think I was in a state of gloom for weeks after the game. I remember that I didn’t go to work the next day (nor did I in 2009! redemption).

This was a ridiculous painful game to watch end… The first half was not good, but they could not put the Steelers away and then we came roaring back. I don’t think I’ll ever forget Rod Woodson pointing at his knee in Irvin’s face, Bam Morris running over Cowboys left and right. WE HAD THIS GAME WON. All we had to do was run the football in the 4th quarter to come back. Dallas had no answer for our O-Line and Morris. But, we then put the ball in the hands of Neil, who (as some of the other posters have already pointed out, quite correctly) was nervous all day. This game is #1 for these reasons. In my view, #2 is the 2001 Championship Game, #3 is the 1994 Championship Game, and #4 is the 2002 Divisional where the Titans cheated us out of the win.

I will say this though: These painful losses (and, lord knows they were painful not only emotionally, but my liver physically hurt after most of them) made the 2005 and 2008 wins THAT MUCH BETTER. I don’t think that the moment of watching Roethlisberger twirl the terrible towel coming off the field in the 2005 Championship Game would have been as sweet with out all of the previous championship game losses. Same is true of Polamalu returning the TD last year vs. the Ravens. These are moments that are enhanced by the pain of prior losses. It is for these reasons that Steeler Nation appreciates the greatness we have. If it were not that way, we would be like Yankees fans. And I think we all know they suck.