1999 Pittsburgh Steelers season

The 1999 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise’s 67th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League.

1999 Pittsburgh Steelers season
OwnerThe Rooney Family
General managerTom Donahoe
Head coachBill Cowher
Home fieldThree Rivers Stadium
Results
Record6–10
Division place4th AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersNone
AP All-ProsNone
Team MVPLevon Kirkland
Team ROYTroy Edwards

For the second consecutive season the Steelers failed to make the playoffs after starting off the season by winning 5 of their first 8 games. Losing seven of the remaining eight dropped Pittsburgh to 6–10 for the year, their worst record under Bill Cowher.

The 1999 Steelers are the only NFL team since at least 1940 to concede so many as five safeties in one season.[note 1][1]

Offseason

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1999 expansion draft

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Steelers selected during the expansion draft
Pick Name Position Expansion team
9 Rod Manuel Defensive end Cleveland Browns

NFL draft

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1999 Pittsburgh Steelers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 13 Troy Edwards  Wide receiver Louisiana Tech
2 59 Scott Shields  Safety Weber State
3 73 Joey Porter *  Linebacker Colorado State
3 74 Kris Farris  Tackle UCLA
3 95 Amos Zereoué  Running back West Virginia
4 109 Aaron Smith *  Defensive end Northern Colorado
5 136 Jerame Tuman  Tight end Michigan
5 166 Malcolm Johnson  Wide receiver Notre Dame
7 214 Antonio Dingle  Defensive tackle Virginia
7 219 Chad Kelsay  Linebacker Nebraska
7 228 Kris Brown  Kicker Nebraska
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

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1999 undrafted free agents of note
Player Position College
Cory Geason Tight end Tulane
Mike Schneck Long snapper Wisconsin
Anthony Wright Quarterback South Carolina

Personnel

edit

Staff

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1999 Pittsburgh Steelers staff

Front office

  • President – Daniel M. Rooney
  • Vice president and general counsel – 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 relations coordinator – Dan Ferens
  • Business accounting coordinator – Jim Ellenberger
  • Office/ticket coordinator – Geraldine Glenn
  • Accounting manager – Jodie Spagnolli
  • Communications coordinator – Ron Wahl
  • Public relations/media manager – David Lockett
  • Website/network administrator – Kim Smith
  • Marketing coordinator – Mark Fuhrman
  • Merchandising manager – Tim Carey
  • Marketing manager – Lynne Molyneaux
  • Luxury suite manager – Lisa Weinzetl
  • Ticket manager – Brian Bonifate
  • Stadium project manager – Heidi Edwards
  • Football operations
  • Director of football operations – Tom Donahoe
  • College scouting coordinator – Max McCartney
  • Pro personnel coordinator – Doug Whaley
  • College scout – Mark Gorscak
  • College scout – Phil Kreidler
  • College scout – Bob Lane
  • College scout – Dan Rooney
  • College scout – Bill Schieder

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Jay Hayes
  • Administrative assistant – Lou Spanos
  • Administrative assistant – Mike Miller

Strength and conditioning

  • Conditioning coordinator – Chet Fuhrman
  • Medical staff
  • Ophthalmologist – Dr. Randy Beatty
  • Physician, orthopedic – Dr. James P. Bradley
  • Neurological surgery consultant – 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 trainer – John Norwig
  • Assistant trainer – Ryan Grove
  • Football staff
  • Player development coordinator – Anthony Griggs
  • Equipment manager - Rodgers Freyvogel
  • Field manager – Rich Baker
  • Field/equipment assistant – Paul Gallagher
  • Video coordinator – Bob McCartney
  • Video assistant – Andy Lizanich
  • Photographers – Mike Fabus, Mike Drazdzinski

[2]


Notable additions include Joey Porter and Aaron Smith.

Roster

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1999 Pittsburgh Steelers roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad


[3] [4] [5] Reserve

Rookies in italics
5e active, 7 reserve, 5 practice squad

Preseason

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Game Site Kickoff (ET) TV Result Record
1 Fri. Aug. 13 Chicago Bears Three Rivers Stadium 7:30 p.m. KDKA W 30–23 1–0
2 Fri. Aug. 20 at Carolina Panthers Ericsson Stadium 8:00 p.m. KDKA L 20–13 1–1
3 Sat. Aug. 28 Washington Redskins Three Rivers Stadium 7:30 p.m. KDKA L 27–14 1–2
4 Sat. Sep. 4 at Buffalo Bills Ralph Wilson Stadium 7:30 p.m. KDKA L 16–14 1–3

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue
1 September 12 at Cleveland Browns W 43–0 1–0 Cleveland Browns Stadium
2 September 19 at Baltimore Ravens W 23–20 2–0 PSInet Stadium
3 September 26 Seattle Seahawks L 10–29 2–1 Three Rivers Stadium
4 October 3 Jacksonville Jaguars L 3–17 2–2 Three Rivers Stadium
5 October 10 at Buffalo Bills L 21–24 2–3 Ralph Wilson Stadium
6 October 17 at Cincinnati Bengals W 17–3 3–3 Cinergy Field
7 October 25 Atlanta Falcons W 13–9 4–3 Three Rivers Stadium
8 Bye
9 November 7 at San Francisco 49ers W 27–6 5–3 3Com Park
10 November 14 Cleveland Browns L 15–16 5–4 Three Rivers Stadium
11 November 21 at Tennessee Titans L 10–16 5–5 Adelphia Coliseum
12 November 28 Cincinnati Bengals L 20–27 5–6 Three Rivers Stadium
13 December 2 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 6–20 5–7 Alltel Stadium
14 December 12 Baltimore Ravens L 24–31 5–8 Three Rivers Stadium
15 December 18 at Kansas City Chiefs L 19–35 5–9 Arrowhead Stadium
16 December 26 Carolina Panthers W 30–20 6–9 Three Rivers Stadium
17 January 2 Tennessee Titans L 36–47 6–10 Three Rivers Stadium

Game summaries

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Week 1 (Sunday September 12, 1999): at Cleveland Browns

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Week One: Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Steelers 7 13 61743
Browns 0 0 000

at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Game information

Week 2 (Sunday September 19, 1999): at Baltimore Ravens

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1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 7 7 3 6 23
Ravens 7 3 0 10 20

at PSINet Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

Scoring drives:

  • Pittsburgh – Stewart 8 run (Brown kick)
  • Baltimore – Rhett 2 run (Stover kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Huntley 17 run (Brown kick)
  • Baltimore – FG Stover 45
  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 32
  • Baltimore – FG Stover 28
  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 28
  • Baltimore – Ismail 19 pass from Case (Stover kick)
  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 36

Week 3 (Sunday September 26, 1999): vs. Seattle Seahawks

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1 2 3 4 Total
Seahawks 17 9 0 3 29
Steelers 0 0 0 10 10

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
  • Game weather: 78 °F or 25.6 °C (Sunny)
  • Game attendance: 57,881
  • Referee: Phil Luckett
  • TV announcers: (CBS) Kevin Harlan (play by play), Sam Wyche (color commentator), Marcus Allen (sideline reporter)

Scoring drives:

  • Seattle – Hanks 23 interception return (Peterson kick)
  • Seattle – Rogers 94 punt return (Peterson kick)
  • Seattle – FG Peterson 45
  • Seattle – FG Peterson 51
  • Seattle – FG Peterson 41
  • Seattle – FG Peterson 26
  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 33
  • Seattle – FG Peterson 38
  • Pittsburgh – Edwards 16 pass from Tomczak (Brown kick)

Week 4 (Sunday October 3, 1999): vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

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1 2 3 4 Total
Jaguars 0 7 3 7 17
Steelers 0 3 0 0 3

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

  • Jacksonville – McCardell 7 pass from Brunell (Hollis kick)
  • PIttsburgh – FG Brown 48
  • Jacksonville – FG Hollis 27
  • Jacksonville – FG Hollis 41
  • Jacksonville – Safety, Stewart fumbled ball out of end zone
  • Jacksonville – Safety, Smeenge sacked Stewart in end zone

Week 5 (Sunday October 10, 1999): at Buffalo Bills

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1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 7 7 0 7 21
Bills 7 10 7 0 24

at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Scoring drives:

  • Pittsburgh – Ward 12 pass from Stewart (Brown kick)
  • Buffalo – Gash 2 pass from Flutie (Christie kick)
  • Buffalo – Moulds 49 pass from Flutie (Christie kick)
  • Buffalo – FG Christie 29
  • Pittsburgh – Edwards 17 pass from Stewart (Brown kick)
  • Buffalo – Riemersma 8 pass from Flutie (Christie kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Bettis 1 run (Brown kick)

Week 6 (Sunday October 17, 1999): at Cincinnati Bengals

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1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 7 7 0 3 17
Bengals 3 0 0 0 3

at Cinergy Field, Cincinnati, Ohio

Scoring drives:

  • Pittsburgh – Bettis 1 run (Brown kick)
  • Cincinnati – FG Pelfrey 37
  • Pittsburgh – Bettis 5 run (Brown kick)
  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 43

Week 7 (Monday October 25, 1999): vs. Atlanta Falcons

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1 2 3 4 Total
Falcons 0 0 0 9 9
Steelers 7 6 0 0 13

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

  • Pittsburgh – Huntley 13 pass from Stewart (Brown kick)
  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 51
  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 25
  • Atlanta – Mathis 5 pass from Chandler (Andersen kick)
  • Atlanta – Safety, Miller stepped out of end zone

Week 8 (Sunday October 31, 1999): Bye Week

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Week 9 (Sunday November 7, 1999): at San Francisco 49ers

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1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 14 3 3 7 27
49ers 3 3 0 0 6

at 3Com Park, San Francisco, California

  • Game time: 4:15 PM EST
  • Game weather: 55 °F or 12.8 °C (Rain)
  • Game attendance: 68,657
  • Referee: Tom White
  • TV announcers: (CBS) Greg Gumbel (play by play), Phil Simms (color commentator), Armen Keteyian (sideline reporter)

Scoring drives:

  • Pittsburgh – Bettis 1 run (Brown kick)
  • San Francisco – FG Richey 19
  • Pittsburgh – Ward 13 pass from Stewart (Brown kick)
  • PIttsburgh – FG Brown 28
  • San Francisco – FG Richey 20
  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 38
  • Pittsburgh – Bettis 22 run (Brown kick)

Week 10 (Sunday November 14, 1999): vs. Cleveland Browns

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1 2 3 4 Total
Browns 7 0 0 9 16
Steelers 3 0 9 3 15

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 PM EST
  • Game weather: 53 °F or 11.7 °C (Partly Sunny)
  • Game attendance: 58,213
  • Referee: Johnny Grier
  • TV announcers: (CBS) Craig Bolerjack (play by play), Beasley Reece (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

  • Cleveland – K. Johnson 35 pass from Couch (Dawson kick)
  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 41
  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 32
  • Pittsburgh – Huntley 5 run (run failed)
  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 47
  • Cleveland – Edwards 5 pass from Couch (run failed)
  • Cleveland – FG Dawson 39

Week 11 (Sunday November 21, 1999): at Tennessee Titans

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1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 7 0 0 3 10
Titans 14 0 2 0 16

at Adelphia Coliseum, Nashville, Tennessee

  • Game time: 1:00 PM EST
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 66,619
  • Referee: Mike Carey
  • TV announcers: (CBS) Don Criqui (play by play), Steve Tasker (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

  • Tennessee – McNair 2 run (Del Greco kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Edwards 15 pass from Stewart (Brown kick)
  • Tennessee – McNair 3 run (Del Greco kick)
  • Tennessee – Safety, Stewart penalized for intentional grounding in end zone
  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 24

Week 12 (Sunday November 28, 1999): vs. Cincinnati Bengals

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bengals 14 10 3 0 27
Steelers 3 10 7 0 20

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 PM EST
  • Game weather: 45 °F or 7.2 °C (Mostly Sunny)
  • Game attendance: 50,907
  • Referee: Walt Coleman
  • TV announcers: (CBS) Bill Macatee (play by play), Beasley Reece (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

  • Cincinnati – Scott 76 pass from Blake (Pelfrey kick)
  • Cincinnati – Blake 4 run (Pelfrey kick)
  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 35
  • Cincinnati – Heath 58 interception return (Pelfrey kick)
  • Cincinnati – FG Pelfrey 29
  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 33
  • Pittsburgh – Shaw 15 pass from Tomczak (Brown kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Ward 34 pass from Tomczak (Brown kick)
  • Cincinnati – FG Pelfrey 29

Week 13 (Thursday December 2, 1999): at Jacksonville Jaguars

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1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 3 0 3 0 6
Jaguars 0 6 7 7 20

at Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

Scoring drives:

  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 40
  • Jacksonville – FG Hollis 25
  • Jacksonville – FG Hollis 32
  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 39
  • Jacksonville – Smith 27 pass from Brunell (Hollis kick)
  • Jacksonville – Stewart 1 run (Hollis kick)

Week 14 (Sunday December 12, 1999): vs. Baltimore Ravens

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1 2 3 4 Total
Ravens 7 3 21 0 31
Steelers 10 0 7 7 24

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 PM EST
  • Game weather: 42 °F or 5.6 °C (Partly Sunny)
  • Game attendance: 46,715
  • Referee: Jeff Triplette
  • TV announcers: (CBS) Ian Eagle (play by play), Mark May (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

  • Pittsburgh – Ward 21 pass from Bettis (Brown kick)
  • Baltimore – Holmes 64 run (Stover kick)
  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 31
  • Baltimore – FG Stover 19
  • Baltimore – Ismail 54 pass from Banks (Stover kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Edwards 6 pass from Tomczak (Brown kick)
  • Baltimore – Ismail 59 pass from Banks (Stover kick)
  • Baltimore – Ismail 76 pass from Banks (Stover kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Stewart 11 pass from Tomczak (Brown kick)

Week 15 (Saturday December 18, 1999): at Kansas City Chiefs

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1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 10 3 0 6 19
Chiefs 7 14 7 7 35

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Scoring drives:

  • Pittsburgh – T. Edwards 12 pass from Tomczak (Brown kick)
  • Kansas City – Gonzales 15 pass from Grbac (Stoyanovich kick)
  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 42
  • Kansas City – D. Edwards 28 interception return (Stoyanovich kick)
  • Kansas City – Gonzales 2 pass from Grbac (Stoyanovich kick)
  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 47
  • Kansas City – Alexander 82 run (Stoyanovich kick)
  • Kansas City – Morris 10 run (Stoyanovich kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Shaw 11 pass from Tomczak (pass failed)

Week 16 (Sunday December 26, 1999): vs. Carolina Panthers

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1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 7 13 0 0 20
Steelers 10 13 0 7 30

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 PM EST
  • Game weather: 30 °F or −1.1 °C (Light Snow)
  • Game attendance: 39,428
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV announcers: (FOX) Ray Bentley (play by play), Ron Pitts (color commentator), Alby Oxenreiter (sideline reporter)

Scoring drives:

  • Pittsburgh – FG Brown 46
  • Pittsburgh – Davis 102 fumble return (Brown kick)
  • Carolina – Lane 41 run (Kasay kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Huntley 25 run (fumbled snap)
  • Carolina – Jeffers 88 pass from Beuerlein (kick failed)
  • Pittsburgh – Ward 9 pass from Tomczak (Brown kick)
  • Carolina – Jeffers 43 pass from Beuerlein (Kasay kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Bettis 8 run (Brown kick)

Week 17 (Sunday January 2, 2000): vs. Tennessee Titans

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1 2 3 4 Total
Titans 7 24 9 7 47
Steelers 7 0 22 7 36

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 4:15 PM EST
  • Game weather: 66 °F or 18.9 °C (Mostly Cloudy)
  • Game attendance: 48,025
  • Referee: Tom White
  • TV announcers: (CBS) Don Criqui (play by play), Steve Tasker (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

  • Tennessee – Wycheck 9 pass from McNair (Del Greco kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Huntley 8 run (Brown kick)
  • Tennessee – Thomas 11 run (Del Greco kick)
  • Tennessee – Wycheck 26 pass from O'Donnell (Del Greco kick)
  • Tennessee – Kearse 14 fumble return (Del Greco kick)
  • Tennessee – FG Del Greco 42
  • Pittsburgh – Ward 15 pass from Tomczak (Ward pass from Tomczak)
  • Tennessee – Safety, Thorton sacked Tomczak in end zone
  • Tennessee – Roan 24 pass from O'Donnell (Del Greco kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Bettis 1 run (Brown kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Porter 46 fumble return (Brown kick)
  • Tennessee – Walker 83 fumble return (Del Greco kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Shaw 35 pass from Tomczak (Brown kick)

Standings

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AFC Central
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(1) Jacksonville Jaguars 14 2 0 .875 396 217 W1
(4) Tennessee Titans 13 3 0 .813 392 324 W4
Baltimore Ravens 8 8 0 .500 324 277 L1
Pittsburgh Steelers 6 10 0 .375 317 320 L1
Cincinnati Bengals 4 12 0 .250 283 460 L2
Cleveland Browns 2 14 0 .125 217 437 L6

[6]

Notes

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  1. ^ Only the 1985 Packers, the 2003 Falcons, and the 2015 Dolphins have otherwise conceded four safeties in an NFL season since 1940.

References

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  1. ^ Pro Football Reference; In a single season, from 1940 to 2017, requiring opp Safeties >= 3, sorted by descending opp Safeties
  2. ^ 1999 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  3. ^ 1999 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  4. ^ 2000 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  5. ^ "1999 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  6. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2
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