The 1998 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 66th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League.
This season marked the first time since the 1991 season that the Steelers failed to make the playoffs. Pittsburgh finished 7–9 after starting the season 5–2, losing their last five games to lose a spot in the playoffs. It was Bill Cowher's first losing record as coach of the Steelers.
The season was marked by a controversial ending to the team's Thanksgiving Day game against the Detroit Lions, where Jerome Bettis claimed he called the coin toss in overtime as "tails" although referee Phil Luckett heard "heads." The Lions won 19–16 and started the Steelers' losing streak to finish the season.
The inept plays of Kordell Stewart was cited as another conflict, as the fans slowly began to turn on him. After their 11–5 1997 season, Pittsburgh lost two key offensive components: Chan Gailey, the offensive coordinator who went on to become head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, and their leading receiver, Yancey Thigpen, a Pro Bowler for Pittsburgh in 1997, who joined the Tennessee Oilers.
Offseason
NFL draft
Personnel
Staff
Notable additions include Hines Ward, Alan Faneca and Deshea Townsend.
Roster
Preseason
Schedule
Regular season
Schedule
Game summaries
Week 1 (Sunday September 6, 1998): at Baltimore Ravens
at Ravens Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
Game weather: Game attendance: 68,847 Referee: Walt Coleman TV announcers: (CBS) Verne Lundquist (play by play), Randy Cross (color commentator), Michele Tafoya (sideline reporter)
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – FG N. Johnson 27
Baltimore – FG Stover 41
Pittsburgh – FG N. Johnson 49
Pittsburgh – Stewart 1 run (N. Johnson kick) Pittsburgh – C. Johnson 20 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick) Baltimore – FG Stover 25 Baltimore – J. Lewis 64 pass from Zeier (Stover kick)
Week 2 (Sunday September 13, 1998): vs. Chicago Bears
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
Game weather: (Sunny) Game attendance: 59,084 Referee: Gerald Austin TV announcers: (FOX) Kenny Albert (play by play), Tim Green (color commentator), Dan Jiggetts (sideline reporter)
Scoring drives:
Chicago – Engram 54 pass from Kramer (kick failed) Pittsburgh – Bettis 1 run (N. Johnson kick) Chicago – FG Jaeger 19 Pittsburgh – FG N. Johnson 49 Pittsburgh – Coleman 13 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick) Chicago – FG Jaeger 36
Week 3 (Sunday September 20, 1998): at Miami Dolphins
at Pro Player Stadium, Miami, Florida
Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
Game weather: Game attendance: 73,748 Referee: Bill Carollo TV announcers: (CBS) Verne Lundquist (play by play), Randy Cross (color commentator), and Michele Tafoya (sideline reporter)
Scoring drives:
Miami – Abdul-Jabbar 3 run (Mare kick) Miami – L. Thomas 8 pass from Marino (Mare kick) Miami – Z. Thomas 17 interception return (Mare kick)
Week 4 (Sunday September 27, 1998): vs. Seattle Seahawks
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 4:05 pm EDT
Game weather: (Partly sunny) Game attendance: 58,413 Referee: Johnny Grier TV announcers: (CBS) Kevin Harlan (play by play), Sam Wyche (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – FG N. Johnson 33
Seattle – Fauria 14 pass from Moon (Peterson kick) Pittsburgh – Fuamatu-Ma'afala 10 run (N. Johnson kick) Pittsburgh – FG N. Johnson 25 Seattle – FG Peterson 47
Week 5 (Sunday October 4, 1998): Bye Week
Week 6 (Sunday October 11, 1998): at Cincinnati Bengals
at Cinergy Field, Cincinnati
Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
Game weather: Game attendance: 59,979 Referee: Tom White TV announcers: (CBS) Don Criqui (play by play), Beasley Reece (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – FG N. Johnson 40
Pittsburgh – Bettis 13 run (N. Johnson kick) Cincinnati – FG Pelfrey 44 Cincinnati – Scott 44 pass from O'Donnell (pass failed) Pittsburgh – Huntley 9 run (N. Johnson kick) Cincinnati – FG Pelfrey 48 Cincinnati – Scott 30 pass from O'Donnell (pass failed) Pittsburgh – FG N. Johnson 40 Cincinnati – Pickens 25 pass from O'Donnell (Pelfrey kick)
Week 7 (Sunday October 18, 1998): vs. Baltimore Ravens
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
Game weather: (Partly sunny) Game attendance: 58,620 Referee: Ron Blum TV announcers: (CBS) Kevin Harlan (play by play), Sam Wyche (color commentator)
Scoring drives: