The Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for the most Super Bowls won by a franchise. However, they are not undefeated in football’s biggest game. Their most recent loss came in Super Bowl XLV to the Green Bay Packers, but it may not be their most heartbreaking loss. Losing Super Bowl XXX to the Dallas Cowboys may hurt worse only because it felt like the Steelers, or more specifically quarterback Neil O’Donnell, kept handing the game away. However, former Steelers safety Myron Bell doesn’t blame O’Donnell for that loss.
Bell played in the NFL from 1994-2001, having two separate stints with the Steelers from 1994-1997 and 2000-2001. He also grew up as a fan of the Steelers, so when he got the chance to help the team reach Super Bowl XXX during the 1995 season, it was a dream come true. However, O’Donnell’s three interceptions in that game cost the Steelers, with many fans placing all the blame on him for the loss. In a recent interview from BCSN’s YouTube channel, Bell stated that he doesn’t blame O’Donnell for the loss.
“I was a child in a candy store, just relaxed and having fun, focused” Bell said. “I think [Bill] Cowher prepared us well. The second [interception] was hard to overcome, but we overcame the first one by Larry [Brown]. It was just a miscommunication. No, I didn’t want to kill Neil O’Donnell because he was the one that got us there. It was one of those memories I won’t forget.”
The Steelers lost 27-17, despite almost clawing their way back in the game. O’Donnell’s second pick thrown to Cowboys corner Larry Brown ended up being too much to overcome. Brown was named MVP of the game due to his two interceptions, although he was the only one in the area to catch either pass. It was a crushing defeat, but Bell’s decision to not blame O’Donnell is the right call.
In 1995, O’Donnell was named the Steelers’ MVP for the season, helping the team go 11-5 and win its division. During the first game of that year, O’Donnell broke a finger, resulting in him missing the next four games. The Steelers went 2-2 in that stretch, but once O’Donnell came back and got back in a groove, the Steelers managed to put together an eight-game winning streak.
Ending the season with just under 3,000 passing yards, 17 touchdowns, and seven interceptions in 12 games, O’Donnell arguably gave the Steelers their best quarterback play since Terry Bradshaw had retired. That Super Bowl performance is all anyone will probably remember him for, but O’Donnell was better than that day suggested. Bell’s mindset is the right one to have, not blaming anyone for the loss, but appreciating the fact that they even got to that point.
If Bell, a lifelong Steelers fan who actually got to play with the team, can make peace with that game, then there’s no reason anyone else shouldn’t. That would be O’Donnell’s last season with the Steelers — he signed with the New York Jets that offseason — and the Steelers wouldn’t reach the Super Bowl again for 10 years. At the end of the day, he provided a fun season between the Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger years, and it’s never just one player’s fault that a game was lost.
