1993 Pittsburgh Steelers season
OwnerThe Rooney Family
General managerTom Donahoe
Head coachBill Cowher
Home fieldThree Rivers Stadium
Results
Record9–7
Division place2nd AFC Central
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(at Chiefs) 24–27 (OT)
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros
3
  • Dermontti Dawson (1st team)
  • Greg Lloyd (1st team)
  • Rod Woodson (1st team)
Team MVPRod Woodson
Team ROYChad Brown

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 a 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.

In the second week of the season, the Steelers suffered a shutout loss to the Los Angeles Rams 27–0, in one of the team's last visits 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.[1]

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1993 NFL draft

1993 Pittsburgh Steelers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 23 Deon Figures  Cornerback Colorado
2 44 Chad Brown *  Linebacker Colorado
3 76 Andre Hastings  Wide receiver Georgia
4 108 Kevin Henry  Defensive end Mississippi State
5 135 Lonnie Palelei  Guard UNLV
5 140 Marc Woodard  Linebacker Mississippi State from Dallas
6 162 Willie Williams  Cornerback Western Carolina
7 185 Jeff Zgonina  Defensive tackle Purdue from Washington
7 189 Craig Keith  Tight end Lenoir–Rhyne
8 216 Alex Van Pelt  Quarterback Pittsburgh
      Made roster  

Staff

1993 Pittsburgh Steelers staff

Front office

  • President – Daniel M. Rooney
  • Vice president – John R. McGinley
  • Vice president – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr.
  • Secretary & counsel – Arthur J. Rooney II
  • Administration advisor – Chuck Noll
  • Director of communications – Joe Gordon
  • Public relations coordinator – Dan Edwards
  • PR Assistant/Community Relations – Ron Miller
  • Controller – Michael J. Hagan
  • Assistant controller – Dan Ferens
  • Assistant controller – Jim Ellenberger
  • Ticket sales manager – Geraldine Glenn
  • Football operations
  • Director of football operations – Tom Donahoe
  • Football business manager – James A. Boston
  • Player development coordinator – Anthony Griggs
  • Scouting staff
  • Director of scouting – Tom Modrak
  • Pro personnel coordinator – Charles Bailey
  • Administrative – Ralph Berlin
  • College scout – Phil Kreidler
  • BLESTO College Scout – Bob Lane
  • College scout – Max McCartney
  • College scout – Bob Schmitz

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – John Guy

Strength and conditioning

  • Conditioning coordinator – Chet Fuhrman
  • Medical staff
  • Ophthalmologist – Dr. Randy Beatty
  • Physician, orthopedic – Dr. James P. Bradley
  • Neurological surgery consultant – Dr. Joseph Maroon
  • Physician, M.D. – Dr. Richard Rydze
  • Physician, consultant – Dr. Abraham J. Twerski
  • Physician, M.D. – Dr. Anthony P. Yates
  • Training staff
  • Head trainer – John Norwig
  • Assistant trainer – Rick Burkholder
  • Equipment manager – Anthony Parisi
  • Field manager – Rodgers Freyvogel
  • Video coordinator – Bob McCartney
  • Video assistant – Pat Dolan
  • Photographers – Mike Fabus, Bill Amatucci

[2]

Notable additions include Chad Brown, Kevin Greene and Willie Williams

Roster

1993 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad

[3] [4] [5] [6]
Rookies in italics
53 active, 3 inactive, 4 practice squad

Preseason

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Game site Kickoff (ET) TV Result Record
1 Sun. Aug. 1 vs. San Francisco 49ers Estadi Olímpic (Barcelona, Spain) 1:00 p.m. NBC L 21–14 0–1
2 Sat. Aug. 7 New York Jets Three Rivers Stadium 6:00 p.m. WPXI W 17–13 1–1
3 Sat. Aug. 14 at New York Giants Giants Stadium 8:00 p.m. WPXI W 23–17 2–1
4 Sun. Aug. 22 Washington Redskins Three Rivers Stadium 8:00 p.m. TNT L 10–3 2–2
5 Thu. Aug. 26 at Minnesota Vikings Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 8:00 p.m. ESPN L 30–13 2–3

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Game site Kickoff (ET) TV Result Record
1 Sun. Sep. 5 San Francisco 49ers Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. CBS L 24–13 0–1
2 Sun. Sep. 12 at Los Angeles Rams Anaheim Stadium 4:00 p.m. NBC L 27–0 0–2
3 Sun. Sep. 19 Cincinnati Bengals Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC W 34–7 1–2
4 Mon. Sep. 27 at Atlanta Falcons Georgia Dome 9:00 p.m. ABC W 45–17 2–2
5 Sun. Oct. 3 Bye
6 Sun. Oct. 10 San Diego Chargers Three Rivers Stadium 4:00 p.m. NBC W 16–3 3–2
7 Sun. Oct. 17 New Orleans Saints Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. CBS W 37–14 4–2
8 Sun. Oct. 24 at Cleveland Browns Cleveland Municipal Stadium 4:00 p.m. NBC L 28–23 4–3
9 Sun. Oct. 31 Bye
10 Sun. Nov. 7 at Cincinnati Bengals Riverfront Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC W 24–16 5–3
11 Mon. Nov. 15 Buffalo Bills Three Rivers Stadium 9:00 p.m. ABC W 23–0 6–3
12 Sun. Nov. 21 at Denver Broncos Mile High Stadium 4:00 p.m. NBC L 37–13 6–4
13 Sun. Nov. 28 at Houston Oilers Astrodome 8:00 p.m. ESPN L 23–3 6–5
14 Sun. Dec. 5 New England Patriots Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC W 17–14 7–5
15 Mon. Dec. 13 at Miami Dolphins Joe Robbie Stadium 9:00 p.m. ABC W 21–20 8–5
16 Sun. Dec. 19 Houston Oilers Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC L 26–17 8–6
17 Sun. Dec. 26 at Seattle Seahawks Kingdome 4:00 p.m. NBC L 16–6 8–7
18 Sun. Jan. 2 Cleveland Browns Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC W 16–9 9–7

Standings

AFC Central
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(2) Houston Oilers 12 4 0 .750 368 238 W11
(6) Pittsburgh Steelers 9 7 0 .563 308 281 W1
Cleveland Browns 7 9 0 .438 304 307 L1
Cincinnati Bengals 3 13 0 .188 187 319 L1

Game summaries

Week 1 (Sunday September 5, 1993): vs. San Francisco 49ers

1 2 3 4 Total
49ers 10 7 0 7 24
Steelers 0 3 10 0 13

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 2 (Sunday September 12, 1993): at Los Angeles Rams

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 0 0 0 0
Rams 0 14 3 10 27

at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

Scoring drives:

Week 3 (Sunday September 19, 1993): vs. Cincinnati Bengals

1 2 3 4 Total
Bengals 0 7 0 0 7
Steelers 7 10 10 7 34

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 4 (Monday September 27, 1993): at Atlanta Falcons

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 7 17 7 14 45
Falcons 14 3 0 0 17

at Georgia Dome, Atlanta

Scoring drives:

Week 5 (Sunday October 3, 1993): Bye Week

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Week 6 (Sunday October 10, 1993): vs. San Diego Chargers

1 2 3 4 Total
Chargers 0 3 0 0 3
Steelers 3 7 3 3 16

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 7 (Sunday October 17, 1993): vs. New Orleans Saints

1 2 3 4 Total
Saints 0 0 0 14 14
Steelers 14 10 6 7 37

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 8 (Sunday October 24, 1993): at Cleveland Browns

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 14 6 3 23
Browns 0 14 7 7 28

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Scoring drives:

Week 9 (Sunday October 31, 1993): Bye Week

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Week 10 (Sunday November 7, 1993): at Cincinnati Bengals

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 14 0 10 24
Bengals 3 13 0 0 16

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati

Scoring drives:

Week 11 (Monday November 15, 1993): vs. Buffalo Bills

1 2 3 4 Total
Bills 0 0 0 0 0
Steelers 7 3 10 3 23

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 12 (Sunday November 21, 1993): at Denver Broncos

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 0 6 7 13
Broncos 10 10 14 3 37

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

Scoring drives:

Week 13 (Sunday November 28, 1993): at Houston Oilers

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 3 0 0 3
Oilers 0 10 10 3 23

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas

Scoring drives:

Week 14 (Sunday December 5, 1993): vs. New England Patriots

1 2 3 4 Total
Patriots 14 0 0 0 14
Steelers 17 0 0 0 17

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 15 (Monday December 13, 1993): at Miami Dolphins

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 7 7 7 21
Dolphins 3 3 0 14 20

at Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida

Scoring drives:

Week 16 (Sunday December 19, 1993): vs. Houston Oilers

1 2 3 4 Total
Oilers 14 6 3 3 26
Steelers 0 3 7 7 17

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 17 (Sunday December 26, 1993): at Seattle Seahawks

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 3 0 3 6
Seahawks 7 3 3 3 16

at Kingdome, Seattle, Washington

Scoring drives:

Week 18 (Sunday January 2, 1994): vs. Cleveland Browns

1 2 3 4 Total
Browns 0 9 0 0 9
Steelers 0 3 3 10 16

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Playoffs

Game summary

AFC Wild Card Playoff (Saturday January 8, 1994): at Kansas City Chiefs

1 2 3 4OT Total
Steelers 7 10 0 70 24
Chiefs 7 0 3 143 27

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Scoring drives:

References

  1. ^ "Steelers Regular Season Contract Negotiation Blackout A Wise Policy". Steel Curtain Rising. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  2. ^ 1993 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  3. ^ 1993 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  4. ^ 1994 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  5. ^ 1995 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  6. ^ "1993 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 24, 2014.