2000 Pittsburgh Steelers season

2000 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Head coach	Bill Cowher
General manager	Kevin Colbert
Owner	The Rooney Family
Home field	Three Rivers Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	3rd in AFC Central
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	OLB Jason Gildon
AP All-Pros	none
Team MVP	Jerome Bettis
Team ROY	Dan Kreider
Timeline
Previous season      Next season < 1999      2001 >

The 2000 Pittsburgh Steelers season began with the team trying to improve on their 6–10 record from 1999 in which they failed to qualify for the playoffs. While Pittsburgh did improve to 9–7 and had their first winning season since 1997, it was not enough for the team to qualify for the playoffs. This season also marked the Steelers' last at Three Rivers Stadium.

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Location	Time (ET)	TV	Result	Record
1	Sun. Sep. 3	Baltimore Ravens	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 pm	CBS	L 16–0	0–1
2	Sun. Sep. 10	Bye
3	Sun. Sep. 17	at Cleveland Browns	Cleveland Browns Stadium	1:00 pm	CBS	L 23–20	0–2
4	Sun. Sep. 24	Tennessee Titans	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 pm	CBS	L 23–20	0–3
5	Sun. Oct. 1	at Jacksonville Jaguars	Alltel Stadium	1:00 pm	CBS	W 24–13	1–3
6	Sun. Oct. 8	at New York Jets	Giants Stadium	1:00 pm	CBS	W 20–3	2–3
7	Sun. Oct. 15	Cincinnati Bengals	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 pm	CBS	W 15–0	3–3
8	Sun. Oct. 22	Cleveland Browns	Three Rivers Stadium	4:05 pm	CBS	W 22–0	4–3
9	Sun. Oct. 29	at Baltimore Ravens	PSInet Stadium	1:00 pm	CBS	W 9–6	5–3
10	Sun. Nov. 5	at Tennessee Titans	Adelphia Coliseum	1:00 pm	CBS	L 9–7	5–4
11	Sun. Nov. 12	Philadelphia Eagles	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 pm	FOX	L 26–23 OT	5–5
12	Sun. Nov. 19	Jacksonville Jaguars	Three Rivers Stadium	8:30 pm	ESPN	L 34–24	5–6
13	Sun. Nov. 26	at Cincinnati Bengals	Paul Brown Stadium	1:00 pm	CBS	W 48–28	6–6
14	Sun. Dec. 3	Oakland Raiders	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 pm	CBS	W 21–20	7–6
15	Sun. Dec. 10	at New York Giants	Giants Stadium	1:00 pm	CBS	L 30–10	7–7
16	Sat. Dec. 16	Washington Redskins	Three Rivers Stadium	12:30 pm	FOX	W 24–3	8–7
17	Sun. Dec. 24	at San Diego Chargers	Qualcomm Stadium	4:05 pm	CBS	W 34–21	9–7

Game summaries

Week 1 (Sunday September 3, 2000): vs. Baltimore Ravens

	1	2	3	4	Total
Ravens	10	3	3	0	16
Steelers	0	0	0	0	0

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
• Game weather: 77°F (Mostly Sunny)
• Game attendance: 55,049
• Referee: Phil Luckett
• TV announcers: (CBS) Ian Eagle (play by play), Mark May (color commentator)

Week 3 (Sunday September 17, 2000): at Cleveland Browns

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	10	10	0	20
Browns	14	0	3	6	23

at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

• Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 73,018
• Referee: Bob McElwee
• TV announcers: (CBS) Gus Johnson (play by play), Brent Jones (color commentator)

Week 4 (Sunday September 24, 2000): vs. Tennessee Titans

	1	2	3	4	Total
Titans	10	0	3	10	23
Steelers	3	3	0	14	20

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
• Game weather: 60°F (Cloudy)
• Game attendance: 51,769
• Referee: Walt Coleman
• TV announcers: (CBS) Ian Eagle (play by play), Mark May (color commentator)

Week 5 (Sunday October 1, 2000): at Jacksonville Jaguars

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	7	10	7	0	24
Jaguars	3	3	0	7	13

at Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

• Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 64,351
• Referee: Jeff Triplette
• TV announcers: (CBS) Don Criqui (play by play), Steve Tasker (color commentator)

Steelers get first ever win in Jacksonville.

During the game, rookie WR Plaxico Burress caught a third down pass and went down without being touched. He spiked the football to celebrate, but since he was never touched down, the ball remained live (in play) and the Jaguars recovered the fumble.

Week 6 (Sunday October 8, 2000): at New York Jets

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	3	7	0	10	20
Jets	0	3	0	0	3

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

• Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 78,441
• Referee: Gerald Austin
• TV announcers: (CBS) Kevin Harlan (play by play), Randy Cross (color commentator)

Week 7 (Sunday October 15, 2000): vs. Cincinnati Bengals

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bengals	0	0	0	0	0
Steelers	7	3	3	2	15

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
• Game weather: 59°F (Cloudy)
• Game attendance: 54,238
• Referee: Phil Luckett
• TV announcers: (CBS) Don Criqui (play by play), Steve Tasker (color commentator)

Week 8 (Sunday October 22, 2000): vs. Cleveland Browns

	1	2	3	4	Total
Browns	0	0	0	0	0
Steelers	3	10	3	6	22

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 4:05 PM EDT
• Game weather: 70°F (Sunny)
• Game attendance: 57,659
• Referee: Ed Hochuli
• TV announcers: (CBS) Ian Eagle (play by play), Mark May (color commentator)

Week 9 (Sunday October 29, 2000): at Baltimore Ravens

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	0	9	0	9
Ravens	0	6	0	0	6

at PSINet Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

• Game time: 1:00 PM EST
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 69,405
• Referee: Bernie Kukar
• TV announcers: (CBS) Ian Eagle (play by play), Mark May (color commentator)

Week 10 (Sunday November 5, 2000): at Tennessee Titans

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	0	0	7	7
Titans	0	3	0	6	9

at Adelphia Coliseum, Nashville, Tennessee

• Game time: 1:00 PM EST
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 68,498
• Referee: Ron Blum
• TV announcers: (CBS) Don Criqui (play by play), Steve Tasker (color commentator)

Week 11 (Sunday November 12, 2000): vs. Philadelphia Eagles

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Eagles	3	7	3	10	3	26
Steelers	0	6	7	10	0	23

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 1:00 PM EST
• Game weather: 42°F (Cloudy)
• Game attendance: 56,702
• Referee: Dick Hantak
• TV announcers: (FOX) Kenny Albert (play by play), Tim Green (color commentator)

Week 12 (Sunday November 19, 2000): vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

	1	2	3	4	Total
Jaguars	0	17	17	0	34
Steelers	7	3	0	14	24

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 8:30 PM EST
• Game weather: 29°F (Clear)
• Game attendance: 50,925
• Referee: Gerald Austin
• TV announcers: (ESPN) Mike Patrick (play by play), Joe Theismann & Paul Maguire (color commentators), Solomon Wilcots (sideline reporter)

Week 13 (Sunday November 26, 2000): at Cincinnati Bengals

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	14	10	21	3	48
Bengals	7	7	7	7	28

at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

• Game time: 1:00 PM EST
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 63,925
• Referee: Larry Nemmers
• TV announcers: (CBS) Bill Macatee (play by play), Charles Mann (color commentator)

Week 14 (Sunday December 3, 2000): vs. Oakland Raiders

	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	0	17	0	3	20
Steelers	7	0	7	7	21

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 1:00 PM EST
• Game weather: 31°F (Sunny)
• Game attendance: 54,881
• Referee: Tom White
• TV announcers: (CBS) Kevin Harlan (play by play), Daryl Johnston (color commentator)

Week 15 (Sunday December 10, 2000): at New York Giants

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	3	0	7	10
Giants	3	10	7	10	30

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

• Game time: 1:00 PM EST
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 78,164
• Referee: Tony Corrente
• TV announcers: (CBS) Greg Gumbel (play by play), Phil Simms (color commentator)

Week 16 (Saturday December 16, 2000): vs. Washington Redskins

	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	3	0	0	0	3
Steelers	0	17	0	7	24

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 12:30 PM EST
• Game weather: 39°F (Rain)
• Game attendance: 58,183
• Referee: Mike Carey
• TV announcers: (FOX) Dick Stockton (play by play), Matt Millen (color commentator)

This was the last game at Three Rivers Stadium.

Week 17 (Sunday December 24, 2000): at San Diego Chargers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	7	17	0	10	34
Chargers	14	0	7	0	21

at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California

• Game time: 4:05 PM EST
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 50,809
• Referee: Bob McElwee
• TV announcers: (CBS) Gus Johnson (play by play), Brent Jones (color commentator)

Roster

2000 Pittsburgh Steelers roster
Quarterbacks 11 Kent Graham 10 Kordell Stewart 17 Tee Martin Running Backs 36 Jerome Bettis 45 Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala FB 33 Richard Huntley 35 Dan Kreider FB 38 Jon Witman FB 21 Amos Zereoue Wide Receivers 89 Will Blackwell 80 Plaxico Burress 81 Troy Edwards 88 Courtney Hawkins 83 Malcolm Johnson 82 Bobby Shaw 86 Hines Ward Tight Ends 87 Mark Bruener 48 Matt Cushing 85 Cory Geason 84 Jerame Tuman		Offensive Linemen 63 Dermontti Dawson C/G 62 Roger Duffy G/C 66 Alan Faneca G/T 72 Wayne Gandy T 61 Tom Myslinski G 68 Shar Pourdanesh T 77 Marvel Smith T 65 Rich Tylski G 71 Larry Tharpe T Defensive Linemen 96 Kendrick Clancy DT 73 Chris Combs DE 76 Kevin Henry DE 91 Aaron Smith DE 94 Jeremy Staat DE 74 Chris Sullivan DE 67 Kimo von Oelhoffen DE/DT/NT		Linebackers 57 John Fiala ILB 92 Jason Gildon 53 Clark Haggans 50 Earl Holmes 99 Levon Kirkland ILB 55 Joey Porter 90 Donnel Thompson 56 Mike Vrabel Defensive Backs 27 Brent Alexander FS 28 Ainsley Battles S 40 Myron Bell SS 24 Nakia Codie CB 41 Lee Flowers SS 22 Hank Poteat CB 30 Chad Scott CB 47 Scott Shields FS 23 Jason Simmons CB 26 Deshea Townsend CB 20 Dewayne Washington CB Special Teams  3 Kris Brown K  4 Josh Miller P 54 Mike Schneck LS

Standings

AFC Central
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Tennessee Titans	13	3	0	.813	346	191
Baltimore Ravens	12	4	0	.750	333	165
Pittsburgh Steelers	9	7	0	.563	321	255
Jacksonville Jaguars	7	9	0	.438	367	327
Cincinnati Bengals	4	12	0	.250	185	359
Cleveland Browns	3	13	0	.188	161	419