Pro sports have the power to produce the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. We can all recall moments from our favorite teams that shaped our lives and brought us tremendous joy or painful heartache. As ABC’s Wide World of Sports once reminded us weekly, sports consist of the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”
Pittsburgh Steelers fans have certainly experienced their share of victory and celebration with the team winning six Super Bowls. But they have also experienced those excruciatingly painful moments that broke hearts and shattered dreams. This series looks back at five devastating plays that crushed the souls of die-hard Steelers fans.
No. 5: Say it ain’t so, Joe (Montana)
No. 4: Phanton roughing the kicker penalty
No. 3: Three yards to glory
Background: Jan. 15, 1995, the Steelers faced the Lightning Bolts from San Diego at Three Rivers Stadium in the AFC Championship Game. The Steelers were a hefty two-touchdown favorite and the Chargers were considered a mere speed bump on the way to the Super Bowl. Chargers QB, Stan Humphries, would certainly be no match for Greg Lloyd and the rest of the Steel Curtain defense.
Pittsburgh took the opening kickoff and drove 67 yards. The Steelers capped the drive with a 16-yard Neil O’Donnell strike to John L. Williams to put the Steelers up 7-0. During the game, the Steelers’ offense outgained the Chargers by double and generated first downs at twice the pace. The defense dominated the Chargers and a 13-3 third quarter lead looked insurmountable. However, the defense flinched, and the Chargers hit two monstrous plays that shocked the Steelers and put the game in jeopardy.
Humphries hit TE Alfred Pupunu for a 43-yard strike late in the third and then Tony Martin for a bomb in the fourth quarter to put the Chargers ahead 17-13. In the closing moments, O’Donnell (who finished 32 of 54 for 349 yards and a TD) drove the Steelers down the field hitting seven straight passes at one point to put them in position to win.
The Play: In the end, it came down to a fourth down from the 3-yard line. O’Donnell threw to RB Barry Foster over the middle in the end zone, but Chargers linebacker Dennis Gibson leaped over Foster’s back and swatted the ball into the Three Rivers Stadium turf. The Steelers’ Super Bowl dreams were dashed in an upset of epic proportions.
Why it stung: THIS GAME WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A FORMALITY!! Two-touchdown favorites!! There was no way Stan Humphries was going to beat this Steelers team! The Alfred Pupunus of the world should not have been catching 43-yard bombs. The heartbreak of this game was the Steelers playing down to an inferior opponent and allowing a bum quarterback to beat a very stout defense. Even still, the entirety of Steeler Nation was certain that O’Donnell and the Steelers would snatch victory from the jaws of defeat from the 3-yard line and we would all collectively breathe a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, we were all left to stare at our TVs, our jaws hanging in disbelief after the Steelers had lost to Stan freaking Humphries. I still can’t believe it.
