PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – From Franco Harris to Troy Polamalu, forcing 9 turnovers and frustrating Houston to Stan Humphries and Tom Brady. On AFC Championship weekend, we rank the Steelers 8 championship wins and the frustrations of the 8 losses.
AFC Championship victories
8. January 23, 2011 Steelers 24 Jets 19
It would be the last AFC Championship win, but not the greatest game ever. The offense started with a 15-play touchdown drive and the first half ended with an Ike Taylor forced fumble of Mark Sanchez and a scoop-and-score by William Gay led to a 24-3 halftime lead. Rashard Mendenhall rushed for 121 yards, Ben Roethlisberger 10-19, 133 yards, 2 interceptions, rush TD. LaMarr Woodley had a sack, two tackles for loss and a pair of QB hits.
7. January 7, 1979 Steelers 34 Houston 5
Wasn’t a great game to show off the slick, Three Rivers Stadium artificial turf. What wasn’t wet was frozen as the teams combined for 14 turnovers, 9 by the Oilers. The touchdowns by a who’s who in team history-Franco Harris 7-yard run, Rocky Bleier 15-yard run, Lynn Swann 29-yard reception, John Stallworth 17-yard reception. Steelers outgained Houston by 237 yards as Terry Bradshaw went 11-19 for 200 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT and 3 fumbles. Jack Ham, Mel Blount, Donnie Shell, Ron Johnson and Loren Toews all had interceptions.
6. January 14, 1996 Steelers 20 Indianapolis 16
It had been since the 1979 season since the Steelers reached the Super Bowl and they entered the game 11-point favorites. Neil O’Donnell threw an interception on the first pass of the game and it would be tense the whole way. He would later hit Kordell Stewart on a 5-yard TD pass, but now Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh hit Floyd Turner on a 47-yard touchdown to give Indy the advantage in the fourth quarter. Steelers would drive 67 yards as Bam Morris scored on a one-yard TD with 1:34 left to give the Steelers the lead. A Hail Mary pass hit the chest of the Colts’ Aaron Bailey, but he couldn’t secure it and the game ended-before the days of long replays.
5. January 6, 1980 Steelers 27 Houston 13
A year after the blowout, controversy would follow the next matchup with Houston. Steelers up 17-10 in the third, Houston’s Dan Pastorini hit Mike Renfro in the corner of the end zone. Renfoe got both feet in bounds, but an official called it incomplete. There was no replay. Steelers held the Oilers to a field goal and a Bleier 4-yard TD put it away in the fourth. Bradshaw was 18-30, 219 yards, 2 TD, INT. Harris and Bleier combined to rush for 137 yards, while the defense held Earl Campbell to 15 yards on 17 carries. Dwayne Woodruff had an interception.
4. January 4, 1976 Steelers 16 Oakland 10
Wind chill of two degrees, the Steelers rebounded from an AFC title loss to the Raiders the previous season. Steelers overcame 7 turnovers as Terry Bradshaw was intercepted twice in the first quarter. Franco Harris finished a 70-yard drive with a 25-yard TD run after the second Jack Lambert fumble recovery of the game. On the third Lambert fumble recovery, Bradshaw hit John Stallworth with a 20-yard TD. He would finish 15-25, 215 yards, TD and 3 interceptions. Harris would combine for 137 total yards and Mike Wagner had a pair of interceptions
3. January 22, 2006 Steelers 34 Denver 17
It was the end of a magical AFC run that saw the sixth-seed Steelers go win at Cincinnati and Peyton Manning and Indianapolis before heading to Denver. It was all Steelers, jumping out to a 24-3 lead as Ben Roethlisberger was terrific going 21-29 for 275 yards, 2 passing TD and a rushing TD. Brett Keisel returned to the West with a forced fumble and a pair of sacks. Larry Foote and Ike Taylor had interceptions and Joey Porter, Sr.
forced a fumble.
2. January 18, 2009 Steelers 23 Baltimore 14
Close your eyes and you can still see Troy Polamalu’s hair blowing in the breeze after sealing a win against the arch rival at home. Steelers took an early 13-0 lead on a Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes 65-yard TD. Steelers would harass Joe Flacco to finish 13-30 for 141 yards, but the Ravens were able to cut the lead to 16-14 with 9:29 to play. Ravens got the ball back, but Polamalu jumped a Flacco pass for the third Steelers interception of the day and weaved through the entire Baltimore roster for a game-clinching touchdown. LaMarr Woodley had a pair of sacks, pair of tackles for loss, four quarterback hits and pass defended. Ryan Clark had eight solo tackles, a tackle for loss and forced fumble. Roethlisberger 16-33, 265 yards and a touchdown.
1. December 29, 1974 Steelers 24 Oakland 13
You never forget your first. The franchise that was a non-factor for most of its existence, finally it was time. Oakland head coach John Madden dubbed the Raiders win over Miami the previous week as the real Super Bowl. Chuck Noll would inspire his team saying ‘the best team in the league is sitting right here in this room’. Steelers would trail 10-3 going into the fourth before three touchdowns in the final quarter. It started with an eight-yard TD run by Franco Harris. A Jack Ham interception gave the Steelers the ball at the Oakland 9-yard line, Terry Bradshaw would hit Lynn Swann from 6-yards out and then later Harris scored from 21-yards. Harris and Rocky Bleier would combine for 209 yards, as Bradshaw was 8-17, 95 yards, TD, INT. Joe Greene and LC Greenwood had sacks as Oakland rushed for 29 yards.
AFC Championship losses
8. January 6, 1985 Miami 45 Steelers 28
This was never a game, even though it was 14-10 Steelers early in the second quarter after Mark Malone hit John Stallworth for a 65-yard TD. The Dolphins would amass 569 total yards as rookie Dan Marino would crush his hometown team, 21-32, 421 yards, 4 TD, INT. Tony Nathan combined for 178 yards. Malone was 20-36, 312 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT
7. December 31, 1972 Miami 21 Steelers 17
The unbeaten Dolphins had to travel to Pittsburgh as Mercury Morris and Larry Csonka combined for 144 yards while Jim Kiick had eight carries for 12 yards and two touchdowns. Steelers would lead the game 7-0, but a fake punt helped turn the momentum and the Dolphins would score 21 of the next 24 points. Bradshaw 5-10, 80 yards, TD, 2 INT, fumble.
6. January 22, 2017 New England 36 Steelers 17
Le’Veon Bell would be limited to six carries, but the Steelers would hang tough, trailing 17-9 at halftime. The Patriots outscored the Steelers 17-0 in the third quarter including LeGarrette Blount, who had earlier quit the Steelers, scoring on a one-yard run. Tom Brady 32-42, 384 yards with 3 touchdowns and former lacrosse player Chris Hogan had nine receptions for 180 yards and 2 TD, Julian Edelman 8 for 118 yards and a TD. Ben Roethlisberger was 31-47 for 314 yards, TD, INT as the Steelers rushed for 54 yards.
5. December 26, 1976 Oakland 24 Steelers 7
Oakland would never trail at home in this game and would beat the two-time defending Super Bowl champs. Raiders would outrush the Steelers by 85 yards as Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier were unable to play due to injuries. Bradshaw was 14-35, 176 yards, INT and sacked three times. Ken Stabler threw for only 88 yards, but two touchdowns.
4. January 11, 1998 Denver 24 Steelers 21
It was a game the Steelers seemed to be in control of, leading 14-7 in the second quarter after a one-yard Bettis TD run. However, Terrell Davis, who was playing with bruised ribs, rushed 26 times for 139 yards and a TD. Kordell Stewart had a TD pass and a TD run, but threw 3 interceptions and a fumble along with being taunted by Denver LB Bill Romanowski. John Elway 18-31, 210 yards, 2 TD, INT.
3. January 23, 2005 New England 41 Steelers 27
This was going to be the payback for the 2002 loss, the Steelers were on a 15-game winning streak. Patriots raced out to a 24-3 halftime lead on a pair of Tom Brady touchdown passes and a killer Rodney Harris 87-yard interception return for a touchdown. Steelers got the deficit to 11 early in the fourth quarter, but NE slammed the door on a 23-yard Deion Branch TD run, Branch also caught four passes for 116 yards and a TD reception. Corey Dillon ran for 73 yards and a score. Ben Roethlisberger was 14-24, 226 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT.
2. January 27, 2002 New England 24 Steelers 17
This was going to be the year to get back to the Super Bowl and win. A pair of special teams mistakes doomed the Steelers as the Patriots lead 21-3 early in the third quarter. The scoring started with a 55-yard punt return TD and included a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown. Steelers cut the lead to four and then Kordell Stewart threw two interceptions in the last three minutes of the game with the Steelers down a touchdown. Stewart also fumbled twice.
1. January 15, 1995 San Diego 17 Steelers 13
Bill Cowher was going to get the next generation of Steelers fans a Super Bowl. It was a confident group that had planned a Super Bowl rap video and were double-digit favorites. John Williams would score the first touchdown, but red zone stops led to short field goals and only a 13-3 Steelers lead. An Alfred Pupunu 43-yard touchdown cut the deficit to 13-10. Then Tony Martin got deep for another 43-yard TD from Stan Humphries to give San Diego the lead with 5:13 to play. Steelers would drive to the three-yard line, but a fourth-down pass to Barry Foster was knocked down. Offensively the Steelers would dominate the game with 415 total yards to 226, but ultimately came up three yards short.