The Pittsburgh Steelers have had no shortage of big-time Super Bowl moments in their history, which is no surprise given that they’ve played in eight of them. On a list published by Ralph Vacchiano of FoxSports.com, Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl wins in Super Bowl XLIII against the Arizona Cardinals and in Super Bowl XIII against the Dallas Cowboys were listed as the second-and third-best Super Bowls in NFL history.
The New York Giants’ Super Bowl XLII win over the then-undefeated New England Patriots was listed as the No. 1 in NFL history, but Pittsburgh’s win against Arizona came in at No. 2. The game was a back-and-forth affair that featured two of the best plays in Super Bowl history, with outside linebacker James Harrison’s 100-yard interception return for a touchdown ending the first half and wide receiver Santonio Holmes’ toe-tap touchdown with 35 seconds left to give the Steelers a 27-23 lead before Jeff Reed’s extra point in what ended up being the game-winning touchdown.
As Vacchiano noted, Super Bowl XIII featured 26 future Hall of Famers, with 18 of them being players. The Steelers took a 35-17 lead with under seven minutes to play in a game where Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw was masterful, throwing for 318 yards and four touchdowns. The Steelers led 21-14 at the half after a seven-yard receiving touchdown by running back Rocky Bleier. The Cowboys cut the lead to 21-17 in the third quarter, but touchdowns by running back Franco Harris and wide receiver Lynn Swann seemingly put the game out of hand. Dallas responded with back-to-back touchdowns of their own, with the final one coming with 21 seconds left. Rafael Septien’s onside kick however was recovered by Bleier, and the Steelers would hold on for a 35-31 win.
Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl X win over the Cowboys was also an honorable mention on Vacchiano’s list. The standard in Pittsburgh is getting to and winning the Super Bowl, and this list is a reminder of how often the Steelers have been able to do so. With quarterback Kenny Pickett likely entrenched as Pittsburgh’s starter for the next number of years, he’s gonna be the guy the team turns to really start making some noise in the postseason.
Not having a playoff win since 2016 is borderline unacceptable, and the Steelers are going to need to get back to their winning ways under Pickett and a top-flite defense featuring outside linebacker T.J. Watt, defensive lineman Cameron Heyward and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Hopefully, this current core can help put together more Super Bowl moments that go down in team history just like Ben Roethlisberger’s pass to Holmes and Bradshaw’s elite performance have.
