The 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 72nd season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the
National Football League. It would be the first season the franchise would have under quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger. He would play 18 seasons as a Steeler, a franchise record.
The team looked to come back after a disappointing 6–10 season the year before, which saw the team go through the entire season without winning consecutive games.[1]
The team finished with a 15–1 record, topping the 14–2 team record from
1978 and joined the
1984 San Francisco 49ers, the
1985 Chicago Bears, and the
1998 Minnesota Vikings as the only teams in NFL history to that point since the league adopted a 16-game schedule in 1978 to finish with such a record. This also made the Steelers the first AFC team to achieve a 15–1 record, a conference-best at the time (the
2007 Patriots would surpass that by going a perfect 16–0); they are also the only AFC team to do so. Along the way, the Steelers ended the
New England Patriots NFL-record 21-game winning streak in Week 8, then defeated their cross-state rival the
Philadelphia Eagles the following week to hand the NFL's last two undefeated teams their first losses in back-to-back weeks, both
at home.
The season was highlighted by the surprising emergence of
rookiequarterbackBen Roethlisberger, the team's top pick in
that year's draft. Originally intended to sit behind veteran
Tommy Maddox the entire season, plans abruptly changed when Maddox was hurt in the team's Week 2 loss to
Baltimore. Surrounded by talent, "Big Ben" went an NFL-record 13–0 as a rookie starting quarterback before being rested for the final game of the season, shattering the old NFL record (and coincidentally, also the team record) of 6–0 to start an NFL career set by
Mike Kruczek filling in for an injured
Terry Bradshaw in
1976.
The Steelers hosted the
AFC Championship for the fifth time in eleven years. However, for the fourth time in that same span, the Steelers lost at home one game away from the
Super Bowl, and, like in
2001, lost to the Patriots in a rematch from Week 8.[2]
The 2006 edition of Pro Football Prospectus[3] listed the 2004 Steelers as one of their "Heartbreak Seasons", in which teams "dominated the entire regular season only to falter in the playoffs, unable to close the deal." Said Pro Football Prospectus, "In the playoffs, Roethlisberger hit an inconvenient slump, just like the Pittsburgh quarterbacks who came before him.[4] He threw two killer interceptions against the
Jets, but the Steelers were bailed out when Jets
kickerDoug Brien missed a game-winning field goal. The next week against Pittsburgh,
head coachBill Cowher was clearly worried about Roethlisberger, letting him throw only once on first or second down in the first quarter. By the time the offense opened up, the Patriots were beating the Steelers by two touchdowns. A Roethlisberger interception was returned 87 yards for a touchdown by
Rodney Harrison, and the game was effectively over. For the second time in seven years,[5] a 15–1 team had failed to make it to the Super Bowl." This was the first of, through the 2023 season, 20 consecutive non-losing seasons for the Steelers.
[7][8][9] Rookies in italics
53 active, 7 inactive, 8 practice squad
Offseason
The Steelers went into the NFL draft with the eleventh overall pick, their highest selection since selecting
Plaxico Burress eighth overall in
2000. Although the team was ready to select
Miami UniversityquarterbackBen Roethlisberger if he were to still be available, the team was ready to select other players at "need" positions. However, with Roethlisberger still available, the team snatched him up, making him the third quarterback selected. Alongside
Eli Manning,
Philip Rivers, and
J. P. Losman, Roethlisberger was part of the "Class of 2004" quarterbacks. In addition, "Big Ben" became the first quarterback the Steelers selected with their first-round pick since they selected
Mark Malone in
1980.
Free agent-wise, the Steelers would sign former
Philadelphia Eaglesrunning backDuce Staley. Many thought this signing was the team preparing for a future without
Jerome Bettis. However, Staley's injury-prone history from Philly would continue with the Steelers. On the
undrafted front, the team signed
North Carolinarunning backWillie Parker. Although Parker would play sparingly his rookie season, he would become a major component of the offense in the future. The team also signed veteran
punterChris Gardocki (releasing longtime punter
Josh Miller in the process), who up to that point was best remembered by Steelers fans for flipping head coach
Bill Cowherthe finger twice on live TV after being leveled by
Joey Porter while Gardocki was with the
Cleveland Browns. (Porter would be penalized for roughing the punter.) Gardocki was fined $5,000 for the incident, and his signing by the team made him the only player to have played for Cowher and give him an expletive in public.
The most notable releases made in the offseason included releasing veteran defensive players
Jason Gildon and
Dewayne Washington, who both would subsequently sign with the
Jacksonville Jaguars and would both play against the Steelers in Week 13.
In the personnel department, the Steelers went
back to the future with the return of
"Mean Joe" Greene and
Dick LeBeau to the organization. Greene, who along with the entire
Arizona Cardinals coaching staff was fired after the dismissal of head coach
Dave McGinnis, retired from coaching and returned to the Black & Gold as the "special assistant of player personnel" for the team. Meanwhile, LeBeau, who popularized the
zone blitz defensive schemes as the team's
defensive coordinator in the mid-1990s (referred to as "Blitzburgh" by fans), returned to the team in that same capacity after a brief stint with the
Buffalo Bills, replacing the fired
Tim Lewis.
This would also be the final season for longtime Steelers radio
color commentatorMyron Cope, who missed several games this year due to poor health. It was one of only two times in 35 years that Cope would miss time broadcasting for the Steelers, the other being the
1994 season after the death of his wife. Though Cope would later recover, he felt that it was best to retire, and did so at the end of the season.
It was the 22nd lifetime meeting between the two clubs. The Raiders erased a 21-13 Steelers lead in the fourth quarter but
Jeff Reed connected on the winning field goal with seven seconds left. With the win, the Steelers started their season 1–0 for the 2nd straight year.
Jerome Bettis scored 18 points (3 Touchdowns) on 5 carries, yet gained only 1 yard total for an average of 0.2 yards per carry.
The game was originally to be played at 1:00 pm, but was delayed until evening due to
Hurricane Jeanne. The game was not broadcast nationally, it was only shown on local stations in the primary and secondary markets of the two teams. With the win, the Steelers improved to 2–1. The contest marked
Ben Roethlisberger's first NFL start and victory.
It was the 29th meeting between the two clubs. The Cowboys jumped to a 20–10 lead following a
Keyshawn Johnson touchdown catch in the third, but
Ben Roethlisberger led two touchdown drives, the last a
Jerome Bettis run with thirty seconds to go. The Cowboys raced to the Steelers 30 but a last-second touchdown attempt was swatted away by
Russell Stuvaints. With the win, the Steelers went on their bye week 5–1.
This was the game that ended New England's NFL-record 21-game winning streak. Following an
Adam Vinatieri field goal in the first quarter, the Steelers erupted, as
Ben Roethlisberger twice hit
Plaxico Burress for touchdowns and a
Tom Brady interception was run back by
Deshea Townsend for a touchdown and a 21–3 Steelers lead after one quarter. Brady was picked off twice and Roethlisberger made no mistakes in throwing for 196 yards and amassing a quarterback rating of 126.4. The Steelers routed the Patriots 34–20 and wound up winning the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs as a result. With the win, the Steelers improved to 6–1.
The Steelers for the 2nd week in a row face an undefeated team, the 7–0 Eagles. With the win, the Steelers improved to 7–1 while the Eagles dropped to 7–1. The game gained wider notoriety in subsequent days following broadcast of footage from the Eagles sideline where
Terrell Owens was angrily barking at
Donovan McNabb with McNabb striving to ignore him.
The Bengals clawed to a 14–10 lead on two
Carson Palmer touchdowns, but Roethlisberger, despite being sacked seven times, tossed a touchdown late in the third quarter to
Dan Kreider, then late in the fourth Palmer dropped back to his own endzone and threw an incompletion; it was ruled intentional grounding and the resulting Pittsburgh safety finished off the game.
For the first time
Jerome Bettis was not the all-time active rushing leader in the NFL upon kickoff, as he and
Curtis Martin dueled throughout the season for the title, Bettis would retake the title by game's end.
In an NFL first, both running backs came into the game ready to break the 13,000 career yards mark,
Jerome Bettis having a 6-yard lead over native
Curtis Martin. After the game Martin would lead Bettis by 9 yards.
This was the first meeting between rookie quarterbacks
Ben Roethlisberger and
Eli Manning and was part of a rare NFL Saturday triple-header. The game lead tied or changed seven times as Manning and Roethlisberger combined for 498 passing yards;
Antwaan Randle El also got into the act with a ten-yard touchdown throw to
Verron Haynes, this atop 149 receiving yards.
Jerome Bettis rushed 36 times for 140 yards and the winning touchdown in the final five minutes. With 3:31 to go Eli was intercepted by
Willie J. Williams. Giants coach
Tom Coughlin challenged the ruling but after review it was upheld, and the Steelers ran out the clock for the 33–30 win.
Jerome Bettis retook the all-time active rushing record from his season-long duel with native
Curtis Martin by a margin of 81 yards, and also pass
Eric Dickerson for fourth all-time.
The win also helped the team improve to 14–1. This would tie the team's franchise record in number of wins in a season.
^
abIndianapolis clinched the AFC #3 seed instead of San Diego based upon head-to-head victory.
^
abNew York Jets clinched the AFC #5 seed instead of Denver based upon better record against common opponents (New York Jets were 5–0 to Denver’s 3–2 against San Diego, Cincinnati, Houston, and Miami).
^
abcJacksonville and Baltimore finished ahead of Buffalo because they each defeated Buffalo head-to-head.
^
abJacksonville finished ahead of Baltimore based upon better record against common opponents (Jacksonville were 3–2 against Baltimore’s 2–3 versus Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Buffalo and Kansas City).
^
abHouston finished ahead of Kansas City based upon head-to-head victory.
^
abOakland finished ahead of Tennessee based upon head-to-head victory.
^
abMiami finished ahead of Cleveland based upon head-to-head victory.
^When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.
After a brilliant 15–1 regular season the Steelers pulled one out of the fire in the divisional playoffs against the Jets.
Ben Roethlisberger was intercepted at the Jets 14-yard line and
Reggie Tongue ran back an 86-yard touchdown in the third quarter. After tying the game at 17 in the fourth the Steelers had to sweat out a Jets drive in the final minutes of regulation. The Jets set up for a
Doug Brien 47-yard field goal but the kick missed, hitting the crossbar. On the ensuing possession, Roethlisberger was intercepted again and another Brien field goal was set up, this one from 43 yards away – but it again missed, sailing wide left. In overtime, the Jets won the kick-off but failed to score on their first possession. The Steelers, then, drove down field and Jeff Reed's 33-yard field goal ended a 20–17 Pittsburgh win.
AFC Championship: vs. New England Patriots
AFC Championship game New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers
Revenge for their
Halloween loss drove the 14–2 Patriots back to Heinz Field and the conference championship. The shaky play of the Steelers against the Jets the week before was exploited by New England as
Ben Roethlisberger was intercepted almost right away, then on their next possession the Steelers were stopped on downs. The Patriots raced to a 17–3 lead in the second quarter before Roethlisberger drove them down field and threw a back-breaking interception to
Rodney Harrison at the Patriots 13-yard line; Harrison ran back the 87-yard touchdown and fans at Heinz began chanting for
Tommy Maddox to come in to replace Roethlisberger. The Steelers managed a pair of third-quarter touchdowns (a 5-yard
Jerome Bettis run and a 30-yard Roethlisberger pass to
Hines Ward) but these only sandwiched another Patriots score (a 25-yard run by ex-Bengal
Corey Dillon) and the Steelers simply could not overcome New England's offense as the Patriots finished off Pittsburgh 41–27, the third playoff win in four career tries by the Patriots over the Steelers.
The game is also significant as the final game by the team's radio broadcaster,
Myron Cope. Cope had served as the
color commentator on the team's radio broadcast for 35 years. He would publicly announce his retirement five months later.[13]