1996 Pittsburgh Steelers season
OwnerThe Rooney Family
General managerTom Donahoe
Head coachBill Cowher
Home fieldThree Rivers Stadium
Results
Record10–6
Division place1st AFC Central
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs
(vs. Colts) 42–14
Lost Divisional Playoffs
(at Patriots) 3–28
Pro Bowlers
6
AP All-Pros
4
  • Jerome Bettis (1st team)
  • Chad Brown (1st team)
  • Dermontti Dawson (1st team)
  • Levon Kirkland (2nd team)
Team MVPJerome Bettis
Team ROYJon Witman

The 1996 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 64th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League.

This was Bill Cowher's fifth season as head coach of the Steelers, which resulted in yet another trip to the playoffs for the team, as Pittsburgh won the AFC Central championship for the fourth time under Cowher.

The team's 10–6 record was not enough to earn the Steelers a first-round bye. In their first playoff game, a rematch of the previous year's AFC Championship Game, the Steelers defeated the Colts, However, their season would come to a halt a week later as the Steelers lost to the New England Patriots, 28–3.

This would be the final season that the team wore block numerals, the next year they would switch to rounded numerals where it has remained ever since.

Personnel

Staff

1996 Pittsburgh Steelers staff
Front office
  • President – Daniel M. Rooney
  • Vice president – John R. McGinley
  • Vice president – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr.
  • Vice president and general counsel – Arthur J. Rooney II
  • Administration advisor – Chuck Noll
  • Director of marketing – Joe Gordon
  • Marketing coordinator – Mark Fuhrman
  • Merchandising manager – Tim Carey
  • Assistant marketing manager – Lynne Molyneaux
  • Media relations coordinator – Rob Boulware
  • Assistant/community relations – Ron Miller
  • Director of business – Mark Hart
  • Business coordinator – Dan Ferens
  • Accounts coordinator – Jim Ellenberger
  • Office/ticket manager – Geraldine Glenn
  • Football operations
  • Director of football operations – Tom Donahoe
  • Scouting staff
  • College personnel coordinator – Tom Modrak
  • Pro personnel coordinator – Charles Bailey
  • BLESTO College Scout – Mark Gorscak
  • College scout – Phil Kreidler
  • College scout – Bob Lane
  • College scout – Max McCartney

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Conditioning coordinator – Chet Fuhrman
  • Medical staff
  • Physician, orthopedic – Dr. James P. Bradley
  • Ophthalmologist – Dr. Randy Beatty
  • 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
  • Field assistant – Rich Baker
  • Video coordinator – Bob McCartney
  • Video assistant – Pat Dolan
  • Player development coordinator – Anthony Griggs
  • Administrative assistant – Lou Spanos
  • Photographers – Mike Fabus, Bill Amatucci

[1]

Notable additions include Jerome Bettis, Earl Holmes and Carlos Emmons.

Roster

1996 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad

  • 23 Kirk Pointer S
  • 69 Matt Storm G

[1] [2] [3]
Rookies in italics
 53 active, 5 inactive, 2 practice squad

Preseason

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Game Site Kickoff (ET) TV Result Record
1 Sat. Jul. 27 vs. San Diego Chargers Tokyo Dome (Tokyo, Japan) 10:00 p.m. ESPN L 20–10 0–1
2 Sat. Aug. 3 St. Louis Rams Three Rivers Stadium 6:00 p.m. WPXI W 16–10 1–1
3 Sun. Aug. 11 at Green Bay Packers Lambeau Field 8:00 p.m. TNT L 24–17 1–2
4 Sat. Aug. 17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Three Rivers Stadium 6:00 p.m. WPXI W 13–3 2–2
5 Fri. Aug. 23 at Philadelphia Eagles Veterans Stadium 7:30 p.m. WPXI L 20–19 2–3

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Game Site Kickoff (ET) TV TV Announcers Result Record
1 Sun. Sep. 1 at Jacksonville Jaguars Alltel Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC Marv Albert & Sam Wyche L 24–9 0–1
2 Sun. Sep. 8 Baltimore Ravens Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC Marv Albert & Sam Wyche W 31–17 1–1
3 Mon. Sep. 16 Buffalo Bills Three Rivers Stadium 9:00 p.m. ABC Al Michaels, Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf W 24–6 2–1
4 Sun. Sep. 22 Bye
5 Sun. Sep. 29 Houston Oilers Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC Don Criqui & Beasley Reece W 30–16 3–1
6 Mon. Oct. 7 at Kansas City Chiefs Arrowhead Stadium 9:00 p.m. ABC Al Michaels, Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf W 17–7 4–1
7 Sun. Oct. 13 Cincinnati Bengals Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC Charlie Jones & Randy Cross W 20–10 5–1
8 Sun. Oct. 20 at Houston Oilers Astrodome 4:00 p.m. NBC Don Criqui & Beasley Reece L 23–13 5–2
9 Sun. Oct. 27 at Atlanta Falcons Georgia Dome 1:00 p.m. NBC Dan Hicks & Bob Trumpy W 20–17 6–2
10 Sun. Nov. 3 St. Louis Rams Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. FOX Joe Buck & Bill Maas W 42–6 7–2
11 Sun. Nov. 10 at Cincinnati Bengals Cinergy Field 1:00 p.m. NBC Don Criqui & Beasley Reece L 34–24 7–3
12 Sun. Nov. 17 Jacksonville Jaguars Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC Jim Lampley & Bob Golic W 28–3 8–3
13 Mon. Nov. 25 at Miami Dolphins Pro Player Stadium 9:00 p.m. ABC Al Michaels, Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf W 24–17 9–3
14 Sun. Dec. 1 at Baltimore Ravens Memorial Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC Jim Lampley & Bob Golic L 31–17 9–4
15 Sun. Dec. 8 San Diego Chargers Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC Tom Hammond & Bob Trumpy W 16–3 10–4
16 Sun. Dec. 15 San Francisco 49ers Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. FOX Pat Summerall & John Madden L 25–15 10–5
17 Sun. Dec. 22 at Carolina Panthers Ericsson Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC Don Criqui & Beasley Reece L 18–14 10–6

Game summaries

Week 1 (Sunday September 1, 1996): at Jacksonville Jaguars

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 3 3 3 0 9
Jaguars 7 7 0 10 24

at Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 70,210
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Marv Albert (play by play), Sam Wyche (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

Week 2 (Sunday September 8, 1996): vs. Baltimore Ravens

1 2 3 4 Total
Ravens 7 10 0 0 17
Steelers 14 14 3 0 31

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
  • Game weather: 75 °F (24 °C) (Partly Sunny)
  • Game attendance: 57,241
  • Referee: Gerry Austin
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Marv Albert (play by play), Sam Wyche (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

Week 3 (Monday September 16, 1996): vs. Buffalo Bills

1 2 3 4 Total
Bills 3 0 3 0 6
Steelers 7 17 0 0 24

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 4 (Sunday September 22, 1996): Bye Week

Week 5 (Sunday September 29, 1996): vs. Houston Oilers

1 2 3 4 Total
Oilers 0 0 14 2 16
Steelers 17 3 0 10 30

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
  • Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C) (Mostly Sunny)
  • Game attendance: 58,608
  • Referee: Tom White
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), Beasley Reece (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

  • Pittsburgh – Stewart 16 pass from Tomczak (Johnson kick)
  • Pittsburgh – FG Johnson 33
  • Pittsburgh – C. Johnson 62 pass from Tomczak (Johnson kick)
  • Pittsburgh – FG Johnson 36
  • Houston – Davis 4 pass from Chandler (Del Greco kick)
  • Houston – Lewis 36 interception return (Del Greco kick)
  • Pittsburgh – FG N. Johnson 36
  • Pittsburgh – Perry 13 interception return (Johnson kick)
  • Houston – Safety, Edge ran out of end zone

Week 6 (Monday October 7, 1996): at Kansas City Chiefs

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 6 8 3 17
Chiefs 0 7 0 0 7

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Game time: 9:00 pm EDT
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 79,189
  • Referee: Howard Roe
  • TV announcers: (ABC) Al Michaels (play by play), Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf (color commentators)

Scoring drives:

Week 7 (Sunday October 13, 1996): vs. Cincinnati Bengals

1 2 3 4 Total
Bengals 0 0 3 7 10
Steelers 3 0 7 10 20

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
  • Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C) (Partly Sunny)
  • Game attendance: 58,875
  • Referee: Gary Lane
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Charlie Jones (play by play), Randy Cross (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

  • Pittsburgh – FG Johnson 33
  • Cincinnati – FG Pelfrey 19
  • Pittsburgh – Stewart 32 pass from Tomczak (Johnson kick)
  • Pittsburgh – FG Johnson 22
  • Pittsburgh – Woodson 42 fumble return (Johnson kick)
  • Cincinnati – Pickens 3 pass from Blake (Pelfrey kick)

Week 8 (Sunday October 20, 1996): at Houston Oilers

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 7 3 0 3 13
Oilers 3 6 0 14 23

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas

Scoring drives:

Week 9 (Sunday October 27, 1996): at Atlanta Falcons

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 3 0 14 3 20
Falcons 7 3 0 7 17

at Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST
  • Game weather: Dome
  • Game attendance: 58,760
  • Referee: Ron Blum
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Dan Hicks (play by play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

Week 10 (Sunday November 3, 1996): vs. St. Louis Rams

1 2 3 4 Total
Rams 0 3 3 0 6
Steelers 14 7 14 7 42

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST
  • Game weather: 38 °F (3 °C) (Partly Sunny)
  • Game attendance: 58,148
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers: (FOX) Joe Buck (play by play), Bill Maas (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

Week 11 (Sunday November 10, 1996): at Cincinnati Bengals

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 17 7 0 24
Bengals 3 14 7 10 34

at Cinergy Field, Cincinnati, Ohio

Scoring drives:

  • Cincinnati – FG Pelfrey 32
  • Pittsburgh- FG Johnson 46
  • Pittsburgh – Bettis 6 run (Johnson kick)
  • Cincinnati – Carter 1 run (Pelfrey kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Stewart 1 run (Johnson kick)
  • Cincinnati – Dunn 90 kickoff return (Pelfrey kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Bettis 1 run (Johnson kick)
  • Cincinnati – Bieniemy 33 run (Pelfrey kick)
  • Cincinnati – Carter 12 pass from Blake (Pelfrey kick)
  • Cincinnati – FG Pelfrey 34

Week 12 (Sunday November 17, 1996): vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

1 2 3 4 Total
Jaguars 0 3 0 0 3
Steelers 14 14 0 0 28

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST
  • Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C) (Cloudy)
  • Game attendance: 58,879
  • Referee: Bernie Kukar
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Jim Lampley (play by play), Bob Golic (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

Week 13 (Monday November 25, 1996): at Miami Dolphins

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 3 7 7 7 24
Dolphins 7 7 3 0 17

at Pro Player Stadium, Miami, Florida

Scoring drives:

Week 14 (Sunday December 1, 1996): at Baltimore Ravens

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 7 3 7 0 17
Ravens 7 17 0 7 31

at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 51,882
  • Referee: Red Cashion
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Jim Lampley (play by play), Bob Golic (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

Week 15 (Sunday December 8, 1996): vs. San Diego Chargers

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

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST
  • Game weather: 40 °F (4 °C) (Partly Sunny)
  • Game attendance: 56,368
  • Referee: Gerry Austin
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Tom Hammond (play by play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

Week 16 (Sunday December 15, 1996): vs. San Francisco 49ers

1 2 3 4 Total
49ers 16 6 0 3 25
Steelers 0 0 8 7 15

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST
  • Game weather: 38 °F (3 °C) (Partly Sunny)
  • Game attendance: 59,823
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV announcers: (FOX) Pat Summerall (play by play), John Madden (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

  • San Francisco – Rice 4 pass from S. Young (Wilkins kick)
  • San Francisco – Safety, B. Young sacked Tomczak in end zone
  • San Francisco – Rice 4 pass from S. Young (Wilkins kick)
  • San Francisco – Owens 20 pass from S. Young (kick failed)
  • Pittsburgh – Bettis 1 run (C. Johnson pass from Tomczak)
  • San Francisco – FG Wilkins 22
  • Pittsburgh – Stewart 42 pass from Tomczak (Johnson kick)

Week 17 (Sunday December 22, 1996): at Carolina Panthers

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 14 0 0 14
Panthers 7 2 6 3 18

at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

Scoring drives:

Standings

AFC Central
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(3) Pittsburgh Steelers 10 6 0 .625 344 257 L2
(5) Jacksonville Jaguars 9 7 0 .563 325 335 W5
Cincinnati Bengals 8 8 0 .500 372 369 W3
Houston Oilers 8 8 0 .500 345 319 W1
Baltimore Ravens 4 12 0 .250 371 441 L3

Playoffs

Game summaries

AFC Wild Card Playoff (Sunday December 29, 1996): vs. Indianapolis Colts

1 2 3 4 Total
Colts 0 14 0 0 14
Steelers 10 3 8 21 42

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

  • Pittsburgh – FG Johnson 29
  • Pittsburgh – Stewart 1 run (Johnson kick)
  • Pittsburgh – FG Johnson 50
  • Indianapolis – Daniel 59 interception return (Blanchard kick)
  • Indianapolis – Bailey 9 pass from Harbaugh (Blanchard kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Bettis 1 run (Farquhar pass from Stewart)
  • Pittsburgh- Bettis 1 run (Johnson kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Witman 31 run (Johnson kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Stewart 3 run (Johnson kick)

AFC Divisional Playoff (Sunday January 5, 1997): at New England Patriots

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 0 3 0 3
Patriots 14 7 0 7 28

at Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Scoring drives:

Honors and awards

Pro Bowl Representatives

References

  1. 1 2 1996 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  2. ↑ 1997 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  3. ↑ "1996 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
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