Heartbreak & Glory
Steelers' Biggest Playoff Moments Under Cowher

No.5 - Jan. 20, 2002 AFC Divisional Championship at Heinz Field
Steelers 27 - Baltimore 10

The Steelers were 13-3. The Ravens were the defending Super Bowl champions. Kordell Stewart, Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress were all coming off career years. The Steelers' running game piled up almost 2,800 yards on the season - even with Jerome Bettis missing the final seven games. Defensively, Jason Gildon, Kendrell Bell, Joey Porter and Aaron Smith totaled 38 sacks between them as the team led the NFL with 55.

The Ravens came into the game with a swagger, talking trash all week about their ability to win playoff games on the road. Their reign came to an end before they even got a first down.

Despite losing Jerome Bettis to a painkiller-shot-gone-haywire before kickoff, the Steelers turned the game into a rout almost immediately. The Ravens went three-and-out on their first three series and quickly found themselves down 10-0.

Baltimore threatened when corner Chris McAlister intercepted a Stewart pass and set the offense up with a first and goal. But after a false start penalty, Elvis Grbac was picked off in the end zone by Brent Alexander. The threat was over. The game would be over soon too.

Amos Zereoue's second touchdown gave the Steelers a lead 17-0 with 5:43 left before halftime, and they cruised to a dominating victory.

The Steelers held the defending champs to three first downs in the first three quarters. They outgained the Ravens 297-150 and held a 2-to-1 edge in possession time. The dominance was so complete, even cocky tight end Shannon Sharpe was humbled.

"As painful as it is to say this, they have a better football team," Sharpe said. "We played 60 minutes and had 150 total yards, and I don't think I need to say more."

The celebration was short-lived, though, as Bill Cowher saw his record in AFC Championship Games fall to 1-3 with a 24-17 loss to New England the following week.

No.4 - January 15, 1995 AFC Championship Game at Three Rivers Stadium
Chargers 17 - Steelers 13

The 1994 version of the black and gold was vintage Steelers: defense, defense, defense. Woodson, Lake, Perry, Greene, Lloyd, Brown, Kirkland, Seals, Steed. The offense, while solid behind the running of Barry Foster and rookie Bam Morris, had not yet gelled under Neil O'Donnell, as it would a year from now.

San Diego came to Pittsburgh a heavy underdog. Early on, the game went as expected. The Steelers outgained the Chargers 229 yards to 46 in the first half and carried a 13-3 well into the third quarter. Late in the quarter, San Diego tight end Alfred Pupunu broke free down the right sideline. Quarterback Stan Humphries hit him for an easy score and suddenly the Chargers were down just 13-10.

With five minutes remaining, San Diego took over at their 20 and drove across midfield. Forced into a 3rd and long, Steelers' defensive coordinator Dom Capers sent the house on a blitz. Wideout Tony Martin, matched in single coverage with cornerback Tim McKyer, blew past McKyer to haul in a 43-yard touchdown, putting the Chargers up 17-13. The vaunted Steelers' D had just blown a 10-point lead.

The Steelers weren't done. O'Donnell mounted a furious charge late in the game, driving the team all the way to the San Diego 10. On third and goal, O'Donnell hit tight end Eric Green at the 3. Time enough for one final play. O'Donnell threw to Foster at the goal line, but Chargers' linebacker Dennis Gibson got a hand on the ball and that was it. Game over.

There would be no Super Bowl. The stadium was eerily silent as the Chargers celebrated, running out onto the field and stomping on Terrible Towels. McKyer collapsed on the sidelines and had to be carried from the field.

No.3 - Jan. 5, 2003 AFC Wild Card Game at Heinz Field
Steelers 36 - Cleveland 33

A cold, snowy day in January. Tommy Gun. A reeling defense. A fourth-quarter comeback.

Browns' starter Tim Couch was out, and young Kelly Holcombe was running the show. Holcombe was brilliant, staking his team to a 14-0 lead courtesy of a one-yard run by William Green and a 32-yard pass to Dennis Northcutt. The Northcutt score came on the heels of a muffed punt by Antwaan Randle El.

Randle El bounced back, though, and took his next punt return to the house to make it a one-touchdown game.

No problem for Holcombe. A 31-yard Phil Dawson field goal gave them a 17-7 halftime lead, which he promptly increased to 24-7 with another TD strike to Northcutt early in the third quarter.

Tommy Maddox rallied his troops, hitting Plaxico Burress in the end zone with under four minutes left in the third to close the gap to 24-14. Another Dawson FG pushed it to 27-14, but Jerame Tuman caught a Maddox pass in the end zone and Pittsburgh was within 27-21 with 12 minutes to go.

Holcombe got the ball back and promptly took his team 61 yards in five plays, pushing the lead to 33-21 with a 22-yard score to Andre Davis. The Browns failed on a two-point conversion attempt.

With 5:30 remaining, Maddox drove the Steelers 77 yards in 10 plays, culminating in a five-yard TD pass to Hines Ward that made the score 33-28.

The Steelers' defense, embarrassed by Holcombe all day, finally stepped up and forced a punt, giving Maddox the chance he needed.

61 yards in 1:41. A three-yard touchdown run by Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala. A Randle El pass to Tuman for the two-point conversion. Steelers lead, 36-33. Maddox had led his team from 17 points down to a 36-33 win with under a minute to go.

No.2 - Jan. 28, 1996 Super Bowl XXX in Tempe, AZ
Cowboys 27 - Steelers 17

Everyone knows how Larry Brown picked off Neil O'Donnell twice, leading to 14 second-half points and sealing Super Bowl XXX for Dallas. Pittsburgh still hasn't forgiven O'Donnell.

This was a Blue Star team for the ages - three Super Bowls in four years. They roared to a 13-0 lead and had the Steelers reeling. But O'Donnell's 6-yard touchdown pass to Yancey Thigpen pulled the Pittsburgh within six just before halftime.

The Steelers' surge continued in the second half. Levon Kirkland, on this Sunday at least, was the best linebacker alive. The Steelers' offense, meanwhile, sliced through the Dallas defense and had the ball near midfield midway through the third quarter. But O'Donnell's third-down pass was intercepted by Brown, setting up an Emmitt Smith touchdown. Things looked bleak as they fell behind 20-7.

The Steelers answered with a Norm Johnson 46-yard field goal, and what happened next endeared Bill Cowher to a generation of Steelers' fans.

In one of the boldest calls in Super Bowl history, the Steelers, trailing 20-10 in the fourth quarter, tried an onside kick following the field goal. The Cowboys never saw it coming. Deon Figures recovered, and nine plays later, with 6:36 remaining in Super Bowl XXX, Bam Morris powered his way into the end zone. The Cowboys' lead was just three points.

And when they forced a punt and took possession trailing only 20-17 with 4:15 remaining, it appeared that the momentum had shifted. But on second down - and after a dropped pass - Brown struck again, intercepting another O'Donnell pass. Smith barreled over from four yards out for the clinching touchdown.

Pittsburgh limited the Cowboys' powerful running game to only 56 yards and enjoyed a 201-61 advantage in total yards in the second half - but turnovers, especially that last one, broke their hearts.

No.1 - Jan. 14, 1996 AFC Championship at Three Rivers Stadium
Steelers 20 - Colts 16

"Three more yards." The theme of the 1995 season was a reference to the loss to the Chargers in the '94 conference title game. This year it was the Colts coming to Three Rivers.

The Steelers took a 10-7 lead into halftime and a 13-10 margin into the fourth quarter.

With under nine minutes to go, a Jim Harbaugh 47-yard TD pass gave the Colts a 16-13 lead. Then the Colts' D stood tall, forcing the Steelers to punt as the clock wound down.

The stadium looked on in stunned silence as the Colts ran the clock down. A second straight AFC Championship home loss loomed.

But on a third and 1, corner Willie Williams ripped into the Colts' backfield and dragged Lamont Warren to the ground, just as Warren was about to burst through a wide open hole. It was the play of the game. Indy had to punt.

On a crucial 4th and 3, O'Donnell found Andre Hastings for a clutch first down and new life. Then O'Donnell hit Ernie Mills for a 38-yard bomb to the one. Bam Morris put the Steelers up 20-16. A fifth Super Bowl was so close - but the game was far from over.

Harbaugh took over and moved the ball to the Steelers' 35 with a couple seconds left. Captain Comeback hoisted the Hail Mary into the corner of the end zone - the ball was batted around several times - Colts' receiver Aaron Bailey nearly snagged it, but it fell to the turf.

The reaction in Three Rivers was delayed - most fans didn't know if the ball was caught or not. As the referees ran toward each other, signaling incomplete, the stadium slowly erupted. Over 60 thousand Steelers' fans had a feeling - Pittsburgh's going to the Super Bowl!