Pittsburgh's Road to the Super Bowl

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jan 21, 2009

Pittsburgh's Road to the Super Bowl

Week 1

Willie Parker rushed for 138 yards and three touchdowns as the Steelers ran away from the Texans, 38-17. Ben Roethlisberger completed 13-of-14 passes for 137 yards and two scores in the victory.

Week 2

Playing with a separated shoulder, Big Ben connected on 13-of-20 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown as the Steelers limited the Browns to just two field goals in a 10-6 win. Willie Parker continued his strong start with his second 100-yard game.

Week 3

Both Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook suffered injuries during their Week 3 matchup with the Steelers. In their absence, the game turned into a defensive battle, with the Eagles' notching nine sacks, three turnovers and a safety in Philly's 15-6 win.

Week 4

Trailing by 10 points and down to their fourth and final running back, the Steelers staged a big second-half comeback, tying the Ravens late and eventually winning 23-20 on a Jeff Reed field goal in overtime. The grinding defensive slugfest foreshadowed both teams' play for the rest of the season.

Week 5

Roethlisberger notched his first 300-yard game of the season, connecting on 26-of-41 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns as the Steelers beat the Jaguars 26-21. With Parker and Rashard Mendenhall both out with injuries, Pittsburgh turned to Mewelde Moore, who churned out 99 yards on 17 carries.

Week 7

Moore ran for 120 yards and scored a career-high three touchdowns, while Pittsburgh's defense piled up seven sacks in a 38-10 victory over the Bengals. Moore also added a receiving touchdown -- one of two thrown by Roethlisberger.

Week 8

Up 14-9 heading into the fourth quarter, the Steelers let the Giants back into the game, starting with a bad snap that led to a safety. From there, New York scored the game's final 10 points (keyed by a touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Kevin Boss), and picked up a hard-fought 21-14 win.

Week 9

After Roethlisberger reinjured his throwing shoulder, the Steelers turned to Byron Leftwich after halftime. With Parker back after missing four weeks, Leftwich led two touchdown drives as Pittsburgh beat Washington 23-6.

Week 10

After a costly fourth-quarter interception by Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning tossed a 17-yard touchdown pass, sealing a 24-20 Colts win. The victory ended the Colts' 40-year losing streak in Pittsburgh.

Week 11

Parker ran for 115 yards and Reed kicked three field goals as the Steelers beat the Chargers 11-10 -- the first time in 12,837 NFL games that a contest ended in that score. Back from his shoulder injury, Roethlisberger threw for 308 yards. Troy Polamalu returned an errant lateral 12 yards for an apparent touchdown on the final play, but the play was overturned on review -- it was called an illegal forward pass.

Week 12

En route to a 27-10 win, the Steelers limited the depleted Bengals to six first downs and 146 yards following an early touchdown drive. Amid snow flurries, Roethlisberger threw for 243 yards and a score in the win.

Week 13

Down 10-3, the Steelers rallied with 30 unanswered points against the Patriots, marking the first time New England had allowed 30 straight points since their 2003 opener against the Bills. Pittsburgh notched five takeaways and five sacks, limiting Matt Cassel to just 169 yards on 19-of-39 passing in the 33-10 win.

Week 14

Pittsburgh stormed back from a 13-3 fourth-quarter deficit and scored 17 unanswered in the final 7:15 to beat the Cowboys 20-13. DeShea Townsend's 25-yard interception return for a touchdown with 1:40 left in the fourth quarter was the difference.

Week 15

The Steelers rallied from six points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Ravens 13-9. Santonio Holmes caught a disputed four-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger with 43 seconds left to put Pittsburgh ahead in the battle of the league's two top defenses.

Week 16

In a battle for the No. 1 seed in the AFC, the Titans dominated the Steelers 31-14. Pittsburgh couldn't stop the Titans' running attack, allowing 117 yards and two touchdowns to the LenDale White and Chris Johnson as the Steelers fell to 1-7 all-time at Tennessee. Michael Griffin intercepted Roethlisberger twice, including an 83-yard return on Pittsburgh's final drive.

Week 17

Roethlisberger gave playoff-bound Pittsburgh a major scare by sustaining a concussion during a 31-0 rout over the Browns. Only slated to play one half of the game, Roethlisberger lay on the turf for nearly 15 minutes after he was leveled by Willie McGinest. Meanwhile, Parker provided a nice bookend to his season, rushing for 116 yards and a touchdown.

Divisional Playoff

After a first round bye, the Steelers' offense came to life in a 35-24 victory over the Chargers. Parker rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns as the Steelers advanced to their fourth AFC Championship game in 10 seasons.

AFC Championship

Safety Troy Polamalu's 40-yard interception/TD return with 4:39 left iced the Steelers' 23-14 victory over the Ravens and clinched the club's seventh Super Bowl berth.

Pittsburgh's Road to the Super Bowl