The Pittsburgh Steelers were off to a good 5-2 start
under new head coach Bill Cowher as they hosted the Houston Oilers on November
1, 1992. QB Neil O’Donnell was a good fit in the conservative offense and RB Barry
Foster (pictured at right) had five hundred-yard rushing games thus far. The defense blitzed
heavily and was strongest at linebacker and in the backfield, which featured CB
Rod Woodson and SS Carnell Lake. The overachieving Steelers had beaten Houston
in their opening game and were looking to sweep the season series.
Much was expected of the Oilers, who had been to the
playoffs following each of the previous five seasons and breezed to the AFC
Central title in ’91. Houston, coached by Jack Pardee, was also 5-2 and
featured a pass-heavy run-and-shoot offense directed by QB Warren Moon, who had
a fine group of receivers available. The defense was anchored by DT Ray
Childress, LB Al Smith, and SS Bubba McDowell.
There were 58,074 fans in attendance on an overcast day
with light rain at Three Rivers Stadium. The Steelers had the first possession
and Barry Foster ran the ball on each of the first six plays, picking up 27
yards. The drive stalled at the Houston 48 and resulted in a punt, and the
Oilers punted in turn following a short series.
After the Steelers kicked the ball away again, Houston
advanced 57 yards in nine plays. Warren Moon completed three passes along the
way but two throws from the Pittsburgh 12 fell incomplete and Al Del Greco
kicked a 29-yard field goal.
Neil O’Donnell completed passes to WR Dwight Stone for 20
yards and Foster for 16 but gave up an interception to Al Smith on a throw that
was tipped. However, Smith fumbled on the return and O’Donnell recovered to
regain possession for the Steelers. As the game entered the second quarter, WR
Ernie Mills fumbled after gaining 18 yards on a reception and Bubba McDowell
recovered for the Oilers at the Pittsburgh 44.
Houston drove 43 yards in eight plays that included a
third-and-nine throw by Moon to WR Ernest Givins for 17 yards to the Pittsburgh
six. Three running plays got the ball down to the one and Del Greco kicked
another field goal, this time of 19 yards to stake the visitors to a 6-0 lead.
The Steelers responded with a long possession of 14 plays
that covered 82 yards. O’Donnell had completions to TE Eric Green for 23 yards,
Mills for 15, and RB Leroy Thompson for 20 yards in a third-and-10 situation,
and Foster ran eight times, the last for a one-yard touchdown. Gary Anderson
added the extra point and Pittsburgh went ahead by 7-6, which remained the
score at halftime.
On the first series of the third quarter, Moon suffered a
concussion when he was hit hard by blitzing CB Rod Woodson and was replaced by
backup QB Cody Carlson (pictured below). Carlson, who had led the Oilers to a win in Pittsburgh
two years earlier when Moon went down, completed four passes during the
nine-play, 76-yard drive, including the last to WR Webster Slaughter for an
11-yard TD. Del Greco converted and Houston was back in front at 13-7.
On the second play following the ensuing kickoff,
O’Donnell fumbled while being sacked by DT Jeff Alm and Ray Childress grabbed
the loose ball and returned it eight yards for a touchdown. Del Greco added the
point after and the Oilers’ lead was extended to 20-7, the visitors having
scored two TDs in the span of just over a minute.
The teams traded punts, but as the period was winding
down, the Steelers were at the Houston 13 yard line. O’Donnell completed three
straight passes to start the drive, hitting FB Merrill Hoge for 20 yards, WR
Jeff Graham for another 11 yards, and then Mills for 20. Foster ran on the next
three plays and picked up 11 yards and O’Donnell followed up with a completion
to Mills for eight yards. Four plays into the fourth quarter, O’Donnell tossed
a pass to TE Adrian Cooper for a two-yard TD to complete the 11-play, 75-yard
series. Anderson’s PAT narrowed the gap to six points.
The Oilers backed themselves up with penalties on the
next series before Carlson completed two passes to get a first down, but he
fumbled on a third-down play and LB Greg Lloyd recovered for the Steelers at
the Houston 38. Following a run by Foster, DE Sean Jones sacked O’Donnell for a
loss of 10 yards to put Pittsburgh in a third-and-16 hole, but O’Donnell completed
a pass to Green for 24 yards to climb out of it and reach the Houston 20.
Foster ran three times to get inside the ten and then O’Donnell again threw to
Green, this time for a five-yard touchdown. Anderson kicked the extra point and
the home team was ahead by a point.
The teams exchanged punts and the Oilers found themselves
with the ball at their 14 with 3:53 left to play. Carlson completed six passes
to get to the Pittsburgh 27 and, after two short carries by RB Lorenzo White,
Del Greco came in to attempt a 39-yard field goal with the clock down to six
seconds. The kick was wide to the left and the Steelers held on to win by a
final score of 21-20.
Pittsburgh had the edge in total yards (302 to 283) while
the Oilers had more first downs (21 to 20). The Steelers turned the ball over
three times, to two by Houston, and were also penalized nine times at a cost of
101 yards, to five flags thrown on the Oilers.
Neil O’Donnell (pictured below) completed 14 of 22 passes for 201 yards
and two touchdowns while giving up one interception. Barry Foster rushed for
118 yards on 31 carries that included a TD. Ernie Mills caught four passes for
61 yards and Eric Green contributed 52 yards and a score on his three receptions.
For the Oilers, Warren Moon was successful on 13 of 19
throws for 104 yards with no TDs or interceptions before leaving the game and
Cody Carlson went 15-of-23 for 137 yards and a touchdown while also giving up
no interceptions, although he did fumble the ball away once. Lorenzo White ran
for 44 yards on 12 carries and added 32 yards on six catches. Haywood Jeffires
had 9 receptions for 68 yards and Webster Slaughter gained 71 yards on his five
catches that included a touchdown.
“We were down 20-7, but we’ve been there before,” said
Pittsburgh’s Coach Cowher. “That was a great game, a classic, and it was
decided by inches.”
The win put the Steelers in first place in the AFC
Central at 6-2 and they went on to finish on top with an 11-5 record, their
best since 1979. The sweep of the Oilers was critical in the division race as Houston
placed second at 10-6 and qualified for the postseason as a Wild Card. Both
teams lost to Buffalo in the playoffs, the Oilers in epic fashion in the Wild
Card round and Pittsburgh at the Divisional level.
Barry Foster went over a hundred yards 12 times as he led
the AFC in rushing with 1690 yards on 390 carries (4.3 avg.). He was a
consensus first-team All-NFL selection as well as Pro Bowl choice. Neil O’Donnell
finished third in passing in the AFC (83.6 rating) and was named to the Pro
Bowl for the only time in his career.
Warren Moon came back from the concussion suffered
against the Steelers but was lost for five games with a broken arm. He still
led the AFC with a passer rating of 89.3. Cody Carlson remained effective in
relief, completing 65.6 percent of his passes for 1710 yards and 9 touchdowns,
as opposed to 11 interceptions.
