Pittsburgh Steelers 71st US football 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 .
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 , this marked their first losing season as well as missing the playoffs along with the 2006 , 2009 , 2012 , 2013 , 2018 and 2019 . The team's 6–10 finish matched their worst under Bill Cowher (1999).
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.
As of 2021, this represents the most recent losing season for the Steelers.
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
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
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 final roster
Quarterbacks
16 Charlie Batch
8 Tommy Maddox
2 Brian St. Pierre
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
94 Rodney Bailey DE
96 Kendrick Clancy NT
98 Casey Hampton NT
76 Chris Hoke DT
91 Aaron Smith DE
67 Kimo von Oelhoffen DL
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists
Practice squad
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
Rookies in italics
53 active, 4 inactive, 4 practice squad
Monday Night Controversy [ ]
The team did gain some notoriety during the season. The NFL tried to make it easier on teams after playing a Monday night game by giving every team that was away for a Monday night game either a home game or their bye week the following week. The Steelers were the only team that season to play on the road following a Monday night road game,[6] playing the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park on November 17 before traveling to Cleveland the following week to play against the rival Cleveland Browns on November 23.
While Steelers head coach Bill Cowher was livid at the team playing a road game after a Monday night road game, team president Dan Rooney mentioned that the league putting the Steelers in Cleveland—only 112 miles from Pittsburgh—after flying to the West Coast was somewhat as a compromise to the team.
The Steelers got mixed results from the back-to-back road games on a short week, losing to the 49ers 30–14 in the game the 49ers retired Ronnie Lott 's number 42 during halftime, but defeating the Browns 13–6, the latter being the first of the team's twelve-game winning streak against their bitter rivals, which ended in a 2009 game in Cleveland.
Preseason [ ]
Schedule [ ]
Week
Date
Kickoff (ET )
TV
Opponent
Result
Record
Game Site
NFL Recap
1
Sat. Aug. 9
12:30 p.m.
KDKA
at Detroit Lions
L 13–26
0–1
Ford Field
2
Sat. Aug. 16
7:30 p.m.
KDKA
Philadelphia Eagles
L 16–21
0–2
Heinz Field
3
Thu. Aug. 21
8:00 p.m.
FOX
Dallas Cowboys
W 15–14
1–2
Heinz Field
4
Fri. Aug. 29
8:00 p.m.
KDKA
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
October 19
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
Game summaries [ ]
Week 1 [ ]
Week One: Baltimore Ravens (0–0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (0–0)
1
2
3 4 Total
Ravens
0
0
7 8 15
Steelers
6
7
14 7 34
at Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Date : September 7Game time : 1:00 p.m. EDTGame weather : Mostly cloudy • 75 °F (24 °C) • Wind 3 miles per hour (4.8 km/h; 2.6 kn)Game attendance : 63,157Referee : 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 .[7]
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 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Steelers
17
3 0 0
20
• Chiefs
7
20 7 7
41
Date: September 14Location: Arrowhead Stadium , Kansas City, Missouri Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 78,416Referee: Larry Nemmers TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan and Randy Cross
Week 3 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Steelers
0
7 7 3
17
Bengals
0
0 3 7
10
Date: September 21Location: Paul Brown Stadium , Cincinnati Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 64,596Referee: Walt Coleman TV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson and Brent Jones
Week 4 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Titans
0
16 7 7
30
Steelers
3
10 0 0
13
Date: September 28Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 63,244Game weather: 55°F (Cloudy)Referee: Walt Anderson TV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson and Brent Jones
Week 5 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Browns
10
13 7 3
33
Steelers
0
10 3 0
13
Date: October 5Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 8:30 p.m. EST Game attendance: 64,595Game weather: 46°F (Clear)Referee: Gerald Austin TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick , Joe Theismann , Paul Maguire & Suzy Kolber
Week 6 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Steelers
3
3 0 8
14
• Broncos
0
7 0 10
17
Date: October 12Location: Invesco Field at Mile High , Denver, Colorado Game start: 4:15 p.m. EST Game attendance: 75,974Referee: Mike Carey TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel , Phil Simms , and Armen Keteyian
Week 8 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Rams
7
10 10 6
33
Steelers
7
7 7 0
21
Date: October 26Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 62,665Game weather: 59°F (Light Rain)Referee: Johnny Grier TV announcers (Fox): Sam Rosen & Bill Maas
This was the 1,000th game in Steelers history.
Week 9 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Steelers
0
3 3 10
16
• Seahawks
3
3 3 14
23
Date: November 2Location: Seahawks Stadium , Seattle Game start: 4:05 p.m. EST Game attendance: 66,507Referee: Bill Leavy TV announcers (CBS): Dick Enberg , Dan Dierdorf , and Bonnie Bernstein
Week 10 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Cardinals
0
3 6 6
15
• Steelers
0
7 21 0
28
Date: November 9Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 59,520Game weather: 41°F (Sunny)Referee: Jeff Triplette TV announcers (Fox): Ron Pitts & Tim Ryan , and Alby Oxenreiter
Week 11 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Steelers
0
0 7 7
14
• 49ers
7
3 14 6
30
Date: November 17Location: San Francisco Stadium , San FranciscoGame start: 9:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 67,877Referee: Ed Hochuli TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels , John Madden & Lisa Guerrero
Week 12 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Steelers
0
10 0 3
13
Browns
3
3 0 0
6
Date: November 23Location: Cleveland Browns Stadium , Cleveland, Ohio Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 73,658Referee: Walt ColemanTV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle & Solomon Wilcots
Week 13 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bengals
7
7 0 10
24
Steelers
0
3 7 10
20
Date: November 30Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 58,797Game weather: 46°F (Sunny)Referee: Bernie Kukar TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui & Steve Tasker
Week 14 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Raiders
7
0 0 0
7
• Steelers
0
17 7 3
27
Date: December 7Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 53,079Game weather: 30°F (Partly Cloudy)Referee: Johnny GrierTV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson & Brent Jones
Week 15 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Steelers
0
0 0 0
0
• Jets
3
3 0 0
6
Date: December 14Location: Giants Stadium , East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 77,900Referee: Terry McAulay TV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson & Brent Jones
Week 16 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Chargers
0
10 7 7
24
• Steelers
14
7 7 12
40
Date: December 21Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 4:05 p.m. EST Game attendance: 52,527Game weather: 37°F (Sunny)Referee: Bill Carollo TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui & Steve Tasker
Week 17 [ ]
1
2 3 4 OT Total
Steelers
0
0 10 0 0
10
• Ravens
7
0 0 3 3
13
Date: December 28Location: M&T Bank Stadium , Baltimore, Maryland Game start: 8:30 p.m. EST Game attendance: 70,001Referee: Walt AndersonTV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, Paul Maguire & Suzy Kolber
Standings [ ]
Honors and awards [ ]
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References [ ]
External links [ ]
Pittsburgh Steelers seasons
Formerly the Pittsburgh Pirates (1933–1939)
Bold indicates Super Bowl victoryItalics indicates Super Bowl appearance
Pittsburgh Steelers
Franchise Stadiums
Home fields: Forbes Field
Pitt Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium
Heinz Field
Culture Lore Rivalries Media Division championships (24) Conference championships (8) League championships (6) Retired numbers Hall of Fame members
Players: Bettis
Blount
Bradshaw
Butler
Dawson
Dudley
Faneca
Greene
Ham
Harris
Johnson
Lambert
Layne
Polamalu
Shell
Stallworth
Stautner
Swann
Webster
Woodson
Coaches and administration: Bell
Cowher
Kiesling
Noll
Art Rooney
Dan Rooney
Current league affiliations