1989 Pittsburgh Steelers season


The 1989 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 57th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League. They were considered a rebuilding team filled with many young players, especially after the release of longtime center Mike Webster in the offseason. The young team showed its inexperience in the first game of the season, when they lost at home to the archrival Cleveland Browns 51–0. The loss marked the Steelers worst defeat in franchise history. The following week wasn't much better, losing 41–10 to another division rival, the defending AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals.
However, the Steelers clinched the final playoff spot in the last week in the season with a 9–7 record. Chuck Noll, in his 21st season as the team's head coach, was named the NFL's Coach of the Year for the only time in his coaching career.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Steelers would have a memorable come-from-behind overtime victory over the division-rival Houston Oilers 26–23, which saw Gary Anderson kick a game-winning, 50-yard field goal in the extra period. The following week, the Steelers nearly pulled off a major upset against the Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium before losing 24–23 on a Melvin Bratton one-yard touchdown run with 2:22 remaining in the game.
Though the Steelers would not make the playoffs again under Chuck Noll, the season did set the tone for the team's return to prominence in the 1990s under his successor, Bill Cowher.
Until 2015, it was the last season the Steelers made the playoffs in a season the Super Bowl aired on CBS. Each of the next six such seasons would see the team missing the playoffs.

Staff

Roster

Offseason

The offseason was marked with the team deciding not to renew the contract of longtime center Mike Webster. Webster's release marked the end of the Super Bowl-era players on the team. Although Dwayne Woodruff was still with the Steelers and had won a Super Bowl ring during his rookie year, Webster had been the last member on the team that won all four Super Bowls. Webster would be succeeded at center with a young Dermontti Dawson, who was drafted the year before to be groomed as Webster's replacement, and like Webster would go on to an All-Pro career as one of the best at his position.
Meanwhile, the team drafted UCLA safety Carnell Lake in the second round of the 1989 draft. Lake would be a key member of the team's defense through the 1998 season, although his accomplishments would often be underlooked as opposed to his teammate, Rod Woodson.

Preseason

Schedule

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1

The Steelers and Chuck Noll faced off against their divisional rival Browns and former defensive coordinator Bud Carson in the season opener.

Week 2 (Sunday September 17, 1989): at [Cincinnati Bengals]

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati
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at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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at Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan
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at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
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at Astrodome, Houston, Texas
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at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado
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at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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at Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida
Steelers get first ever win against the Dolphins in Miami. This game was played in a driving rain storm.
Scoring Drives:
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
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at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Playoffs

Game summaries

AFC Wild Card Playoff (Sunday December 31, 1989): at [Houston Oilers]

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas
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at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado
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