The 2003 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 71st season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League .
Their 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. Since moving to Heinz Field in 2001 , this was the Steelers' first season with a losing record and their first season missing the playoffs. The team's record is tied with that of the 1999 season as the worst for a season under head coach Bill Cowher. This was the Steelers' only losing season from 2000 to 2025 .
In his final season with the team, linebacker Jason Gildon became the franchise's career sack leader during a game against the Arizona Cardinals on November 9.
Since then, this represents the most recent losing season for the Steelers, as well as the only time they've lost to the Browns on Heinz Field in the regular season.
Offseason
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
Personnel 2003 Pittsburgh Steelers staff Front office
Chairman – Daniel M. Rooney President – Arthur J. Rooney II Vice president – John R. McGinley Vice president – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr. Administration advisor – Chuck Noll Director of business – Mark Hart Business accounting coordinator – Jim Ellenberger Human relations/office coordinator – Geraldine Glenn Business operations – Omar Khan Accounting manager – Jodie Spagnolli Communications coordinator – Ron Wahl Public relations/media manager – David Lockett Website/network administrator – Scott Phelps Marketing Director of marketing – Tony Quatrini Marketing coordinator – Rick Giugliano Client services administrator – Amy Corbett Marketing manager – John Wodarek Producer/broadcasting manager – Rick Fairbend Marketing/community relations manager – Lynne Molyneaux Marketing assistant – John Simpson Marketing assistant – Mike Marchinsky Ticket operations Ticket manager – Ben Lentz Season ticket assistant – Libby Patcher Football operations Director of football operations – Kevin Colbert College scouting coordinator – Ron Hughes Pro scouting coordinator – Doug Whaley Pro/college scout – Phil Kreidler College scout – Mark Gorscak College scout – Bob Lane College scout – Bruce McNorton College scout – Dan Rooney College scout – Bill Nunn BLESTO Scout – Kelvin Fisher Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
Conditioning coach – Chet Fuhrman Medical staff Ophthalmologist – Dr. Randy Beatty Physician, orthopedic – Dr. James P. Bradley Neurological surgeon – Dr. Joseph Maroon Physician, M.D. – Dr. Richard Rydze Physician, consultant – Dr. Abraham J. Twerski Physician, M.D. – Dr. Anthony P. Yates Training staff Head athletic trainer – John Norwig Assistant athletic trainer – Ryan Grove Assistant athletic trainer – Ariko Iso Football staff Player development coordinator – Anthony Griggs Equipment manager – Rodgers Freyvogel Field manager – Rich Baker Field/equipment assistant – Kalvin Jones Video coordinator – Bob McCartney Video assistant – Andy Lizanich Video assistant – Rob Brakel Photographers – Mike Fabus [ 1]
Notable additions include Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor.
Roster
Preseason
Schedule
Regular season
Schedule Note : Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1 Pittsburgh won their season opener for the first time since 1999 .[ 6]
Scoring summary Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP BAL PIT 1 10:19 10 69 4:41 Steelers 29-yard field goal by Jeff Reed 0 3 1 4:01 8 15 3:21 Steelers 31-yard field goal by Jeff Reed 0 6 2 2:57 8 90 4:08 Steelers Hines Ward 4-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Maddox , Jeff Reed kick good 0 13 3 9:49 8 60 3:23 Steelers Jay Riemersma 20-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Maddox, Jeff Reed kick good 0 20 3 3:54 1 28 0:07 Steelers Hines Ward 28-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Maddox, Jeff Reed kick good 0 27 3 1:56 3 80 1:58 Ravens Jamal Lewis 14-yard touchdown run, Matt Stover kick good 7 27 4 9:01 9 48 3:59 Steelers Amos Zereoue 8-yard touchdown run, Jeff Reed kick good 7 34 4 4:22 3 2 1:02 Ravens Travis Taylor 5-yard touchdown reception from Kyle Boller , 2-point pass good 15 34 "TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football . 15 34
Week 2 Team 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 17 3 0 0 20 • Chiefs 7 20 7 7 41
Week 3 Team 1 2 3 4 Total • Steelers 0 7 7 3 17 Bengals 0 0 3 7 10
Week 4 Team 1 2 3 4 Total • Titans 0 16 7 7 30 Steelers 3 10 0 0 13
Date: September 28Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 63,244Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C) (Cloudy)Referee: Walt Anderson TV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson and Brent Jones
Week 5 Team 1 2 3 4 Total • Browns 10 13 7 3 33 Steelers 0 10 3 0 13
This was Pittsbrugh's last loss at home against Cleveland until 2020 . As of 2025 , this is the Steelers last regular season loss at home to Cleveland.
Week 6 Team 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 3 3 0 8 14 • Broncos 0 7 0 10 17
Week 8 Team 1 2 3 4 Total • Rams 7 10 10 6 33 Steelers 7 7 7 0 21
Date: October 26Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 62,665Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C) (Light Rain)Referee: Johnny Grier TV announcers (Fox): Sam Rosen & Bill Maas This was the 1,000th game in Steelers history.
Week 9 Team 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 0 3 3 10 16 • Seahawks 3 3 3 14 23
Week 10 Team 1 2 3 4 Total Cardinals 0 3 6 6 15 • Steelers 0 7 21 0 28
Date: November 9Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 59,520Game weather: 41 °F (5 °C) (Sunny)Referee: Jeff Triplette TV announcers (Fox): Ron Pitts & Tim Ryan , and Alby Oxenreiter
Week 11 Team 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 0 0 7 7 14 • 49ers 7 3 14 6 30
Week 12 Team 1 2 3 4 Total • Steelers 0 10 0 3 13 Browns 3 3 0 0 6
The Steelers were the only team in the 2003 season to play on the road following a Monday night road game. The NFL at that time had typically given teams that traveled for a Monday night game either a home game or their bye week the following week. Steelers head coach Bill Cowher objected to the team playing a road game after a Monday night road game. Team president Dan Rooney said that he would not pursue the matter with the NFL, noting that the second game was in Cleveland, only 112 miles (180 km) from Pittsburgh.[ 7]
Week 13 Team 1 2 3 4 Total • Bengals 7 7 0 10 24 Steelers 0 3 7 10 20
Date: November 30Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 58,797Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C) (Sunny)Referee: Bernie Kukar TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui & Steve Tasker
Week 14 Team 1 2 3 4 Total Raiders 7 0 0 0 7 • Steelers 0 17 7 3 27
Date: December 7Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 53,079Game weather: 30 °F (−1 °C) (Partly Cloudy)Referee: Johnny GrierTV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson & Brent Jones
Week 15 Team 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 0 0 0 0 0 • Jets 3 3 0 0 6
With the loss, the Steelers would be eliminated from playoff contention at 5-9, their first and only losing season since 1999 .
Week 16 Team 1 2 3 4 Total Chargers 0 10 7 7 24 • Steelers 14 7 7 12 40
Date: December 21Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 4:05 p.m. EST Game attendance: 52,527Game weather: 37 °F (3 °C) (Sunny)Referee: Bill Carollo TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui & Steve Tasker
Week 17 Team 1 2 3 4 OT Total Steelers 0 0 10 0 0 10 • Ravens 7 0 0 3 3 13
Date: December 28Location: M&T Bank Stadium , Baltimore, Maryland Game start: 8:30 p.m. EST Game attendance: 70,001Referee: Walt AndersonTV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, Paul Maguire & Suzy Kolber
With the loss the Steelers would finish their season at 6-10, their most recent losing season as of 2025 .
Standings
References
External links
Formerly the Pittsburgh Pirates (1933–1939)
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Media Division championships (25) Conference championships (8) League championships (6) Retired numbers Hall of Fame members Current league affiliations
