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 The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

. Their season began with the team trying to improve on their 10–5–1 record from

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

in which they lost to the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

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 Acrisure Stadium, formerly (and still colloquially) known as Heinz Field, is a football stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Foot ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, 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. In his final season with the team, linebacker

Jason Gildon Jason Larue Gildon (born July 31, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1994 to 2003 and the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2004. He was sel ...

became the franchise's career sack leader during a game against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

on November 9. Since then, this represents the most recent losing season for the Steelers.

Offseason

NFL draft

Undrafted free agents

Personnel

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 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

.ESPN.com
Retrieved April 23, 2013.

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

This was Pittsbrugh's last loss at home against Cleveland until

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Week 6

Week 8

This was the 1,000th game in Steelers history.

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

The Steelers were the only team in the 2003 season to play on the road following a Monday night road game. The

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

at that time had typically given teams that traveled for a Monday night game either a home game or their

bye week In sport, a bye is the preferential status of a player or team that is automatically advanced to the next round of a tournament without having to play an opponent in an early round. In knockout (elimination) tournaments, byes may be assigned ei ...

the following week. Steelers head coach

Bill Cowher William Laird Cowher (; born May 8, 1957) is an American sports analyst, former professional football player and coach. Following a six-year playing career as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), he served as a head coach in the ...

objected to the team playing a road game after a Monday night road game. Team president

Dan Rooney Daniel Milton Rooney (July 20, 1932 – April 13, 2017) was an American professional American football, football executive and diplomat best known for his association with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL), and son of ...

said that he would not pursue the matter with the NFL, noting that the second game was in Cleveland, only from Pittsburgh.

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

Week 16

Week 17

Standings

Honors and awards

References

External links

2003 Pittsburgh Steelers season at Pro Football Reference

2003 Pittsburgh Steelers season
statistics at jt-sw.com {{DEFAULTSORT:2003 Pittsburgh Steelers Season Pittsburgh Steelers seasons

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

Pitts