2003 Pittsburgh Steelers season

The 2003 Pittsburgh Steelers season began with the team trying to improve on their 10–5–1 record from 2002 in which they lost to the Tennessee Titans 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. As of 2010, it is the team's only losing season since moving to Heinz Field. The team's 6–10 finish matched their worst under Bill Cowher (1999).

Monday Night Controversy
The team did gain some notoriety during the season. The NFL tried to make it easier on teams after playing a Monday night game by giving every team that was away for a Monday night game either a home game or their bye week the following week. The Steelers were the only team that season to play on the road following a Monday night road game, playing the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park on November 17 before traveling to Cleveland the following week to play against the rival Cleveland Browns on November 23.

While Steelers head coach Bill Cowher was livid at the team playing a road game after a Monday night road game, team president Dan Rooney mentioned that the league putting the Steelers in Cleveland—only 112 miles from Pittsburgh—after flying to the West Coast was somewhat as a compromise to the team.

The Steelers got mixed results from the back-to-back road games on a short week, losing to the 49ers 30–14 in the game the 49ers retired Ronnie Lott's number 42 during halftime, but defeating the Browns 13–6, the latter being the first of the team's twelve-game winning streak against their bitter rivals, which ended in a 2009 game in Cleveland.

Week 1 (Sunday September 7, 2003): vs. Baltimore Ravens
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
 * Game weather: 73 °F (Partly Sunny)
 * Game attendance: 63,157
 * Referee: Ron Winter
 * TV announcers: (CBS) Ian Eagle (play by play), Solomon Wilcots (color commentator)

Week 2 (Sunday September 14, 2003): at Kansas City Chiefs
at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 78,416
 * Referee: Larry Nemmers
 * TV announcers: (CBS) Kevin Harlan (play by play), Randy Cross (color commentator)

Week 3 (Sunday September 21, 2003): at Cincinnati Bengals
at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 64,596
 * Referee: Walt Coleman
 * TV announcers: (CBS) Gus Johnson (play by play), Brent Jones (color commentator)

Week 4 (Sunday September 28, 2003): vs. Tennessee Titans
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
 * Game weather: 55 °F (Light Rain)
 * Game attendance: 63,244
 * Referee: Walt Anderson
 * TV announcers: (CBS) Gus Johnson (play by play), Brent Jones (color commentator)

Week 5 (Sunday October 5, 2003): vs. Cleveland Browns
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 8:30 pm EDT
 * Game weather: 50 °F (Partly Cloudy)
 * Game attendance: 64,595
 * Referee: Gerald Austin
 * TV announcers: (ESPN) Mike Patrick (play by play), Joe Theismann & Paul Maguire (color commentators), Suzy Kolber (sideline reporter)

Week 6 (Sunday October 12, 2003): at Denver Broncos
at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado


 * Game time: 4:15 pm EDT
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 75,974
 * Referee: Mike Carey
 * TV announcers: (CBS) Greg Gumbel (play by play), Phil Simms (color commentator)

Week 8 (Sunday October 26, 2003): vs. St. Louis Rams
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

This was the 1,000 game in Steelers history.
 * Game time: 1:00 pm EST
 * Game weather: 59 °F (Light Rain)
 * Game attendance: 62,665
 * Referee: Johnny Grier
 * TV announcers: (FOX) Sam Rosen (play by play), Bill Maas (color commentator)

Week 9 (Sunday November 2, 2003): at Seattle Seahawks
at Seahawks Stadium, Seattle, Washington


 * Game time: 4:05 pm EST
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 66,507
 * Referee: Bill Leavy
 * TV announcers: (CBS) Dick Enberg (play by play), Dan Dierdorf (color commentator)

Week 10 (Sunday November 9, 2003): vs. Arizona Cardinals
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EST
 * Game weather: 38 °F (Sunny)
 * Game attendance: 59,520
 * Referee: Jeff Triplette
 * TV announcers: (FOX) Ron Pitts (play by play), Tim Ryan (color commentator)

Week 11 (Monday November 17, 2003): at San Francisco 49ers
at San Francisco Stadium, San Francisco, California


 * Game time: 9:00 pm EST
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 67,877
 * Referee: Ed Hochuli
 * TV announcers: (ABC) Al Michaels (play by play), John Madden (color commentator), Lisa Guerrero (sideline reporter)

Week 12 (Sunday November 23, 2003): at Cleveland Browns
at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EST
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 73,658
 * Referee: Walt Coleman
 * TV announcers: (CBS) Ian Eagle (play by play), Solomon Wilcots (color commentator)

Week 13 (Sunday November 30, 2003): vs. Cincinnati Bengals
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EST
 * Game weather: 43 °F (Partly Sunny)
 * Game attendance: 58,797
 * Referee: Bernie Kukar
 * TV announcers: (CBS) Don Criqui (play by play), Steve Tasker (color commentator)

Week 14 (Sunday December 7, 2003): vs. Oakland Raiders
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EST
 * Game weather: 30 °F (Mostly Sunny)
 * Game attendance: 53,079
 * Referee: Johnny Grier
 * TV announcers: (CBS) Gus Johnson (play by play), Brent Jones (color commentator)

Week 15 (Sunday December 14, 2003): at New York Jets
at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EST
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 77,900
 * Referee: Terry McAulay
 * TV announcers: (CBS) Gus Johnson (play by play), Brent Jones (color commentator)

Week 16 (Sunday December 21, 2003): vs. San Diego Chargers
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 4:05 pm EST
 * Game weather: 38 °F (Partly Cloudy)
 * Game attendance: 52,527
 * Referee: Bill Carollo
 * TV announcers: (CBS) Don Criqui (play by play), Steve Tasker (color commentator)

Week 17 (Sunday December 28, 2003): at Baltimore Ravens
at Ravens Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland


 * Game time: 8:30 pm EST
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 70,001
 * Referee: Walt Anderson
 * TV announcers: (ESPN) Mike Patrick (play by play), Joe Theismann & Paul Maguire (color commentators), Suzy Kolber (sideline reporter)