2003 Pittsburgh Steelers season

Infobox NFL season
team = Pittsburgh Steelers
year = 2003
record = 6-10
division_place = 3rd in AFC North
coach = Bill Cowher
stadium = Heinz Field
playoffs = did not qualify
previous = 2002
next = 2004

The 2003 Pittsburgh Steelers 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. As of 2008, it is the team's only losing season since moving to Heinz Field.

Monday Night Controversy

The team did gain some noterity 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, [ [http://www.post-gazette.com/steelers/steele1112p2.asp Cowher says NFL scheduling puts team in bad spot for next 2 weeks - PostGazette.com] ] playing the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park on November 17th before traveling to Cleveland the following week to play against the rival Cleveland Browns on November 23rd.

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 but defeating the Browns 13-6, the ladder being the first of the team's current ten-game winning streak (as of 2008) against their bitter rivals.

Regular season

Schedule

Game Summaries

Week 1 (Sunday September 7, 2003): vs. Baltimore Ravens

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Ravens
R1=0
R2=0
R3=7
R4=8
Home=Steelers
H1=6
H2=7
H3=14
H4=7"at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
* Game weather: 73°F (Partly Sunny)
* Game attendance: 63,157
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (CBS) Ian Eagle (play by play), Solomon Wilcots (color commentator)

Week 2 (Sunday September 14, 2003): at Kansas City Chiefs

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=17
R2=3
R3=0
R4=0
Home=Chiefs
H1=7
H2=20
H3=7
H4=7"at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 78,416
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (CBS) Kevin Harlan (play by play), Randy Cross (color commentator)

Week 3 (Sunday September 21, 2003): at Cincinnati Bengals

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=0
R2=7
R3=7
R4=3
Home=Bengals
H1=0
H2=0
H3=3
H4=7"at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 64,596
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (CBS) Gus Johnson (play by play), Brent Jones (color commentator)

Week 4 (Sunday September 28, 2003): vs. Tennessee Titans

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Titans
R1=0
R2=16
R3=7
R4=7
Home=Steelers
H1=3
H2=10
H3=0
H4=0"at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
* Game weather: 55°F (Light Rain)
* Game attendance: 63,244
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (CBS) Gus Johnson (play by play), Brent Jones (color commentator)

Week 5 (Sunday October 5, 2003): vs. Cleveland Browns

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Browns
R1=10
R2=13
R3=7
R4=3
Home=Steelers
H1=0
H2=10
H3=3
H4=0"at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 8:30 PM EDT
* Game weather: 50°F (Partly Cloudy)
* Game attendance: 64,595
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (ESPN) Mike Patrick (play by play), Joe Theismann & Paul Maguire (color commentators), Suzy Kolber (sideline reporter)

Week 6 (Sunday October 12, 2003): at Denver Broncos

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=3
R2=3
R3=0
R4=8
Home=Broncos
H1=0
H2=7
H3=0
H4=10"at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado"

* Game time: 4:15 PM EDT
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 75,974
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (CBS) Greg Gumbel (play by play), Phil Simms (color commentator)

Week 7 (Sunday October 19, 2003): Bye Week

Week 8 (Sunday October 26, 2003): vs. St. Louis Rams

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Rams
R1=7
R2=10
R3=10
R4=6
Home=Steelers
H1=7
H2=7
H3=7
H4=0"at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EST
* Game weather: 59°F (Light Rain)
* Game attendance: 62,665
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (FOX) Sam Rosen (play by play), Bill Maas (color commentator)This was the 1,000 game in Steelers history.

Week 9 (Sunday November 2, 2003): at Seattle Seahawks

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=0
R2=3
R3=3
R4=10
Home=Seahawks
H1=3
H2=3
H3=3
H4=14"at Seahawks Stadium, Seattle, Washington"

* Game time: 4:05 PM EST
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 66,507
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (CBS) Dick Enberg (play by play), Dan Dierdorf (color commentator)

Week 10 (Sunday November 9, 2003): vs. Arizona Cardinals

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Cardinals
R1=0
R2=3
R3=6
R4=6
Home=Steelers
H1=0
H2=7
H3=21
H4=0"at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EST
* Game weather: 38°F (Sunny)
* Game attendance: 59,520
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (FOX) Ron Pitts (play by play), Tim Ryan (color commentator)

Week 11 (Monday November 17, 2003): at San Francisco 49ers

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=0
R2=0
R3=7
R4=7
Home=49ers
H1=7
H2=3
H3=14
H4=6"at San Francisco Stadium, San Francisco, California"

* Game time: 9:00 PM EST
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 67,877
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (ABC) Al Michaels (play by play), John Madden (color commentator), Lisa Guerrero (sideline reporter)

Week 12 (Sunday November 23, 2003): at Cleveland Browns

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=0
R2=10
R3=0
R4=3
Home=Browns
H1=3
H2=3
H3=0
H4=0"at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EST
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 73,658
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (CBS) Ian Eagle (play by play), Solomon Wilcots (color commentator)

Week 13 (Sunday November 30, 2003): vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Bengals
R1=7
R2=7
R3=0
R4=10
Home=Steelers
H1=0
H2=3
H3=7
H4=10"at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EST
* Game weather: 43°F (Partly Sunny)
* Game attendance: 58,797
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (CBS) Don Criqui (play by play), Steve Tasker (color commentator)

Week 14 (Sunday December 7, 2003): vs. Oakland Raiders

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Raiders
R1=7
R2=0
R3=0
R4=0
Home=Steelers
H1=0
H2=17
H3=7
H4=3"at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EST
* Game weather: 30°F (Mostly Sunny)
* Game attendance: 53,079
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (CBS) Gus Johnson (play by play), Brent Jones (color commentator)

Week 15 (Sunday December 14, 2003): at New York Jets

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=0
R2=0
R3=0
R4=0
Home=Jets
H1=3
H2=3
H3=0
H4=0"at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EST
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 77,900
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (CBS) Gus Johnson (play by play), Brent Jones (color commentator)

Week 16 (Sunday December 21, 2003): vs. San Diego Chargers

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Chargers
R1=0
R2=10
R3=7
R4=7
Home=Steelers
H1=14
H2=7
H3=7
H4=12"at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 4:05 PM EST
* Game weather: 38°F (Partly Cloudy)
* Game attendance: 52,527
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (CBS) Don Criqui (play by play), Steve Tasker (color commentator)

Week 17 (Sunday December 28, 2003): at Baltimore Ravens

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=0
R2=0
R3=10
R4=0
R5=0
Home=Ravens
H1=7
H2=0
H3=0
H4=3
H5=3"at Ravens Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland"

* Game time: 8:30 PM EST
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 70,001
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (ESPN) Mike Patrick (play by play), Joe Theismann & Paul Maguire (color commentators), Suzy Kolber (sideline reporter)

Division standings

Honors and Awards

References