2003 Pittsburgh Steelers season

The 2003 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 71st season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League.

2003 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Owner	The Rooney Family
General manager	Kevin Colbert
Head coach	Bill Cowher
Offensive coordinator	Mike Mularkey
Defensive coordinator	Tim Lewis
Home stadium	Heinz Field
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	3rd AFC North
Playoffs	Did not qualify
All-Pros	Alan Faneca (2nd team) Hines Ward (2nd team)
Pro Bowlers	3 G Alan Faneca NT Casey Hampton WR Hines Ward
Team MVP	Hines Ward
Team ROY	Troy Polamalu
← 2002 Steelers seasons 2004 →

Their season began with the team trying to improve on their 10–5–1 record from 2002 in which they lost to the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round of the playoffs.

With the team suffering through injuries as well as less reliance on the running game than normal, the Steelers stumbled to a 6–10 record, going the entire season without winning consecutive games. Since moving to Heinz Field in 2001, this was the Steelers' first season with a losing record and their first season missing the playoffs. The team's record is tied with that of the 1999 season as the worst for a season under head coach Bill Cowher.

In his final season with the team, linebacker Jason Gildon became the franchise's career sack leader during a game against the Arizona Cardinals on November 9.

Since then, this represents the most recent losing season for the Steelers.

Offseason

Additions	Subtractions
TE Jay Riemersma (Bills)	QB Kordell Stewart (Bears)
T Todd Fordham (Jaguars)	K Todd Peterson (49ers)
LB Clint Kriewaldt (Lions)	T Wayne Gandy (Saints)
WR Chris Doering (Redskins)

NFL draft

Main article: 2003 NFL draft

2003 Pittsburgh Steelers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	16	Troy Polamalu * †	Safety	USC
2	59	Alonzo Jackson	Linebacker	Florida State
4	125	Ike Taylor	Cornerback	Louisiana–Lafayette
5	163	Brian St. Pierre	Quarterback	Boston College
7	242	J. T. Wall	Running back	Georgia
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

2003 undrafted free agents of note

Player	Position	College
Jason Armstead	Wide receiver	Ole Miss
Roy Attieh	Defensive Tackle	Kent State
Phil Braxton	Wide receiver	West Virginia
Nashville Dyer	Cornerback	Kent State
Jack Fadule	Tackle	Harvard
Rashad Faison	Safety	South Carolina
Casey Poppinga	Tight end	Utah State
Dan Rumishek	Defensive end	Michigan
Jonathan Ruffin	Kicker	Cincinnati
Leonard Scott	Wide receiver	Tennessee

Personnel

2003 Pittsburgh Steelers staff

Front office Chairman – Daniel M. Rooney President – Arthur J. Rooney II Vice president – John R. McGinley Vice president – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr. Administration advisor – Chuck Noll Director of business – Mark Hart Business accounting coordinator – Jim Ellenberger Human relations/office coordinator – Geraldine Glenn Business operations – Omar Khan Accounting manager – Jodie Spagnolli Communications coordinator – Ron Wahl Public relations/media manager – David Lockett Website/network administrator – Scott Phelps Marketing Director of marketing – Tony Quatrini Marketing coordinator – Rick Giugliano Client services administrator – Amy Corbett Marketing manager – John Wodarek Producer/broadcasting manager – Rick Fairbend Marketing/community relations manager – Lynne Molyneaux Marketing assistant – John Simpson Marketing assistant – Mike Marchinsky Ticket operations Ticket manager – Ben Lentz Season ticket assistant – Libby Patcher Football operations Director of football operations – Kevin Colbert College scouting coordinator – Ron Hughes Pro scouting coordinator – Doug Whaley Pro/college scout – Phil Kreidler College scout – Mark Gorscak College scout – Bob Lane College scout – Bruce McNorton College scout – Dan Rooney College scout – Bill Nunn BLESTO Scout – Kelvin Fisher Head coaches Head coach – Bill Cowher Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Mike Mularkey Quarterbacks – Tom Clements Running backs – Dick Hoak Wide receivers – Kenny Jackson Tight ends – Ken Whisenhunt Offensive line – Russ Grimm Offensive assistant – Mike Miller

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Tim Lewis Defensive line – John Mitchell Linebackers – Keith Butler Defensive backs – Darren Perry Defensive assistant – Lou Spanos Special teams coaches Special teams – Kevin Spencer Strength and conditioning Conditioning coach – Chet Fuhrman Medical staff Ophthalmologist – Dr. Randy Beatty Physician, orthopedic – Dr. James P. Bradley Neurological surgeon – 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 athletic trainer – John Norwig Assistant athletic trainer – Ryan Grove Assistant athletic trainer – Ariko Iso Football staff Player development coordinator – Anthony Griggs Equipment manager – Rodgers Freyvogel Field manager – Rich Baker Field/equipment assistant – Kalvin Jones Video coordinator – Bob McCartney Video assistant – Andy Lizanich Video assistant – Rob Brakel Photographers – Mike Fabus [1]

Notable additions include Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor.

Roster

2003 Pittsburgh Steelers roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 16 Charlie Batch  8 Tommy Maddox  2 Brian St. Pierre Running backs (RB) 36 Jerome Bettis 46 Dante Brown 22 Dee Brown 35 Dan Kreider FB 21 Amos Zereoué Wide receivers (WR) 80 Plaxico Burress 83 Chris Doering 89 Lee Mays 81 Freddie Milons 82 Antwaan Randle El 86 Hines Ward Tight ends (TE) 87 Mark Bruener 48 Matt Cushing 85 Jay Riemersma 84 Jerame Tuman

Offensive linemen (OL) 72 Barrett Brooks T 66 Alan Faneca G/T 71 Todd Fordham T 64 Jeff Hartings C 56 Chukky Okobi C/G 79 Oliver Ross T 73 Kendall Simmons G 68 Keydrick Vincent G Defensive linemen (DL) 94 Rodney Bailey DE 96 Kendrick Clancy NT 98 Casey Hampton NT 76 Chris Hoke NT 91 Aaron Smith DE 67 Kimo von Oelhoffen DE

Linebackers (LB) 97 Kendrell Bell ILB 51 James Farrior ILB 50 Larry Foote ILB 92 Jason Gildon OLB 53 Clark Haggans OLB 95 Alonzo Jackson OLB 57 Clint Kriewaldt ILB 55 Joey Porter OLB Defensive backs (DB) 27 Brent Alexander FS 28 Chris Hope FS 29 Chidi Iwuoma CB 31 Mike Logan SS 43 Troy Polamalu SS 33 Russell Stuvaints FS 24 Ike Taylor CB 26 Deshea Townsend CB 25 B. J. Tucker CB 20 Dewayne Washington CB Special teams (ST)  4 Josh Miller P  3 Jeff Reed K 54 Mike Schneck LS

Practice squad 60 Josh Burr T 61 Morgan Pears T 62 Jimond Pugh C 65 David Upchurch DE 49 J. T. Wall FB [2] [3] [4] [5] Reserve 34 Verron Haynes RB (IR) 99 Brett Keisel DE (IR) 78 Mathias Nkwenti T (IR) 30 Chad Scott CB (IR) 77 Marvel Smith T (IR) Rookies in italics 53 active, 5 reserve, 5 practice squad

Preseason

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game Site	NFL Recap
1	August 9	at Detroit Lions	L 13–26	0–1	Ford Field
2	August 16	Philadelphia Eagles	L 16–21	0–2	Heinz Field
3	August 21	Dallas Cowboys	W 15–14	1–2	Heinz Field
4	August 29	at Carolina Panthers	L 14–21	1–3	Bank of America Stadium

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game Site	NFL Recap
1	September 7	Baltimore Ravens	W 34–15	1–0	Heinz Field	Summary
2	September 14	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 20–41	1–1	Arrowhead Stadium	Summary
3	September 21	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 17–10	2–1	Paul Brown Stadium	Summary
4	September 28	Tennessee Titans	L 13–30	2–2	Heinz Field	Summary
5	October 5	Cleveland Browns	L 13–33	2–3	Heinz Field	Summary
6	October 12	at Denver Broncos	L 14–17	2–4	Invesco Field at Mile High	Summary
7	Bye
8	October 26	St. Louis Rams	L 21–33	2–5	Heinz Field	Summary
9	November 2	at Seattle Seahawks	L 16–23	2–6	Seahawks Stadium	Summary
10	November 9	Arizona Cardinals	W 28–15	3–6	Heinz Field	Summary
11	November 17	at San Francisco 49ers	L 14–30	3–7	San Francisco Stadium	Summary
12	November 23	at Cleveland Browns	W 13–6	4–7	Cleveland Browns Stadium	Summary
13	November 30	Cincinnati Bengals	L 20–24	4–8	Heinz Field	Summary
14	December 7	Oakland Raiders	W 27–7	5–8	Heinz Field	Summary
15	December 14	at New York Jets	L 0–6	5–9	Giants Stadium	Summary
16	December 21	San Diego Chargers	W 40–24	6–9	Heinz Field	Summary
17	December 28	at Baltimore Ravens	L 10–13 (OT)	6–10	M&T Bank Stadium	Summary

Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

See also: 2003 Baltimore Ravens season and Ravens–Steelers rivalry

Week One: Baltimore Ravens (0–0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Ravens	0	0	7	8	15
Steelers	6	7	14	7	34

at Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Date: September 7
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: Mostly cloudy • 75 °F (24 °C) • Wind 3 miles per hour (4.8 km/h; 2.6 kn)
• Game attendance: 63,157
• Referee: Ron Winter
• TV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle and Solomon Wilcots
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information
Ravens Kyle Boller 22/43, 152 Yds, TD, INT Jamal Lewis 15 Rush, 69 Yds Todd Heap 6 Rec, 55 Yds Steelers Tommy Maddox 21/29, 260 Yds, 3 TD Amos Zereoue 15 Rush, 56 Yds, TD Plaxico Burress 6 Rec, 116 Yds

Pittsburgh won their season opener for the first time since 1999.^[6]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP BAL PIT 1 10:19 10 69 4:41 Steelers 29-yard field goal by Jeff Reed 0 3 1 4:01 8 15 3:21 Steelers 31-yard field goal by Jeff Reed 0 6 2 2:57 8 90 4:08 Steelers Hines Ward 4-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Maddox, Jeff Reed kick good 0 13 3 9:49 8 60 3:23 Steelers Jay Riemersma 20-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Maddox, Jeff Reed kick good 0 20 3 3:54 1 28 0:07 Steelers Hines Ward 28-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Maddox, Jeff Reed kick good 0 27 3 1:56 3 80 1:58 Ravens Jamal Lewis 14-yard touchdown run, Matt Stover kick good 7 27 4 9:01 9 48 3:59 Steelers Amos Zereoue 8-yard touchdown run, Jeff Reed kick good 7 34 4 4:22 3 2 1:02 Ravens Travis Taylor 5-yard touchdown reception from Kyle Boller, 2-point pass good 15 34 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 15 34

Week 2

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	17	3	0	0	20
• Chiefs	7	20	7	7	41

• Date: September 14
• Location: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 78,416
• Referee: Larry Nemmers
• TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan and Randy Cross

Week 3

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Steelers	0	7	7	3	17
Bengals	0	0	3	7	10

• Date: September 21
• Location: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 64,596
• Referee: Walt Coleman
• TV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson and Brent Jones

Week 4

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Titans	0	16	7	7	30
Steelers	3	10	0	0	13

• Date: September 28
• Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 63,244
• Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C) (Cloudy)
• Referee: Walt Anderson
• TV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson and Brent Jones

Week 5

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Browns	10	13	7	3	33
Steelers	0	10	3	0	13

• Date: October 5
• Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Game start: 8:30 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 64,595
• Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C) (Clear)
• Referee: Gerald Austin
• TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, Paul Maguire & Suzy Kolber

This was Pittsbrugh's last loss at home against Cleveland until 2020.

Week 6

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	3	3	0	8	14
• Broncos	0	7	0	10	17

• Date: October 12
• Location: Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado
• Game start: 4:15 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 75,974
• Referee: Mike Carey
• TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms, and Armen Keteyian

Week 8

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Rams	7	10	10	6	33
Steelers	7	7	7	0	21

• Date: October 26
• Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 62,665
• Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C) (Light Rain)
• Referee: Johnny Grier
• TV announcers (Fox): Sam Rosen & Bill Maas

This was the 1,000th game in Steelers history.

Week 9

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	3	3	10	16
• Seahawks	3	3	3	14	23

• Date: November 2
• Location: Seahawks Stadium, Seattle
• Game start: 4:05 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 66,507
• Referee: Bill Leavy
• TV announcers (CBS): Dick Enberg, Dan Dierdorf, and Bonnie Bernstein

Week 10

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	0	3	6	6	15
• Steelers	0	7	21	0	28

• Date: November 9
• Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 59,520
• Game weather: 41 °F (5 °C) (Sunny)
• Referee: Jeff Triplette
• TV announcers (Fox): Ron Pitts & Tim Ryan, and Alby Oxenreiter

Week 11

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	0	7	7	14
• 49ers	7	3	14	6	30

• Date: November 17
• Location: San Francisco Stadium, San Francisco
• Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 67,877
• Referee: Ed Hochuli
• TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, John Madden & Lisa Guerrero

Week 12

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Steelers	0	10	0	3	13
Browns	3	3	0	0	6

• Date: November 23
• Location: Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 73,658
• Referee: Walt Coleman
• TV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle & Solomon Wilcots

The Steelers were the only team in the 2003 season to play on the road following a Monday night road game. The NFL at that time had typically given teams that traveled for a Monday night game either a home game or their bye week the following week. Steelers head coach Bill Cowher objected to the team playing a road game after a Monday night road game. Team president Dan Rooney said that he would not pursue the matter with the NFL, noting that the second game was in Cleveland, only 112 miles (180 km) from Pittsburgh.^[7]

Week 13

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Bengals	7	7	0	10	24
Steelers	0	3	7	10	20

• Date: November 30
• Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 58,797
• Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C) (Sunny)
• Referee: Bernie Kukar
• TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui & Steve Tasker

Week 14

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	7	0	0	0	7
• Steelers	0	17	7	3	27

• Date: December 7
• Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 53,079
• Game weather: 30 °F (−1 °C) (Partly Cloudy)
• Referee: Johnny Grier
• TV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson & Brent Jones

Week 15

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	0	0	0	0
• Jets	3	3	0	0	6

• Date: December 14
• Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 77,900
• Referee: Terry McAulay
• TV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson & Brent Jones

Week 16

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Chargers	0	10	7	7	24
• Steelers	14	7	7	12	40

• Date: December 21
• Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Game start: 4:05 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 52,527
• Game weather: 37 °F (3 °C) (Sunny)
• Referee: Bill Carollo
• TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui & Steve Tasker

Week 17

Team	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Steelers	0	0	10	0	0	10
• Ravens	7	0	0	3	3	13

• Date: December 28
• Location: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
• Game start: 8:30 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 70,001
• Referee: Walt Anderson
• TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, Paul Maguire & Suzy Kolber

Standings

AFC North
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(4) Baltimore Ravens	10	6	0	.625	4–2	7–5	391	281	W2
Cincinnati Bengals	8	8	0	.500	3–3	6–6	346	384	L2
Pittsburgh Steelers	6	10	0	.375	3–3	5–7	300	327	L1
Cleveland Browns	5	11	0	.313	2–4	3–9	254	322	W1

Honors and awards