athlore
HomeDiscoverLibrarySign inCreate account
↗
⌂Home◎Discover⌕Library
NFL/Teams/Pittsburgh Steelers
FRANCHISE

NFL franchise story

Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh transformed decades of losing into the Steel Curtain dynasty, then sustained the same organizational identity through Cowher, Tomlin and generations of defense-led contenders.

Every era · The defining players · Five essential games

The franchise timeline

Every era of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Move through the franchise chronologically. The jerseys identify each chapter’s central cast, and every card opens the complete story of that era.

Historical reference: Pittsburgh Steelers official NFL team page ↗
The beginning↓
01▼

Franchise era

1933—1968

01
PITSTAUTNER—Ernie Stautner
PITJOHNSON—John Henry Johnson
PITLAYNE—Bobby Layne

Survival, wartime mergers and rare contention

Before the Steelers dynasty

Pittsburgh endured one playoff appearance in its first 36 seasons before the Rooney family entrusted a new coach with a patient rebuild.

Read the era story →

Chapter 01

1933—1968

02▼

Franchise era

1969—1979

02
PITGREENE—Joe Greene
PITBRADSHAW12Terry Bradshaw
PITHARRIS—Franco Harris

A historic draft core wins four titles

The Steel Curtain

Chuck Noll built through the draft, the Immaculate Reception announced the breakthrough and Pittsburgh won four Super Bowls in six seasons.

Read the era story →

Chapter 02

1969—1979

03▼

Franchise era

1980—1991

03
PITSTALLWORTH—John Stallworth
PITWOODSON26Rod Woodson
PITHOGE—Merril Hoge

The old champions fade while defense reloads

After the dynasty

Pittsburgh remained competitive as its Hall of Famers retired and Woodson became the versatile star of a new defensive generation.

Read the era story →

Chapter 03

1980—1991

04▼

Franchise era

1992—2006

04
PITBETTIS36Jerome Bettis
PITWARD86Hines Ward
PITPOLAMALU43Troy Polamalu

Blitzburgh reaches two Super Bowls

The Cowher teams

Bill Cowher restored annual contention, and a second-year Ben Roethlisberger helped Bettis finish his career with the Super Bowl XL championship.

Read the era story →

Chapter 04

1992—2006

05▼

Franchise era

2007—2021

05
PITROETHLISBERGER7Ben Roethlisberger
PITPOLAMALU43Troy Polamalu
PITBROWN84Antonio Brown

Stability survives constant roster change

Tomlin, Ben and another title

Mike Tomlin won Super Bowl XLIII in his second season and kept Pittsburgh in contention through elite defenses and increasingly explosive passing teams.

Read the era story →

Chapter 05

2007—2021

06

Franchise era

2022—present

06
PITWATT90T.J. Watt
PITHEYWARD97Cameron Heyward
PITPICKENS14George Pickens

The standard meets a quarterback transition

After Roethlisberger

Pittsburgh has leaned on Watt and its defensive identity while searching for the long-term offense to begin its next championship chapter.

Read the era story →

Chapter 06

2022—present

◆Present day

The essential watchlist

Five Pittsburgh Steelers games to start with.

Curated from the franchise’s defining eras, championship stakes and the games that still carry its story.

#01 · Conference Championship

Conference Championship
1972
LAS VEGASRAIDERS
PITTSBURGHSTEELERS
DEC 23, 1972

Raiders vs Steelers

Dec 23, 1972

#02 · Super Bowl XLIII

Super Bowl
XLIII
PITTSBURGHSTEELERS
ARIZONACARDINALS
FEB 1, 2009

Steelers vs Cardinals

Feb 1, 2009

#03 · Conference Championship

Conference Championship
2011
PITTSBURGHSTEELERS
DENVERBRONCOS
JAN 8, 2012

Steelers vs Broncos

Jan 8, 2012

#04 · Divisional Round

Divisional Round
1947
PHILADELPHIAEAGLES
PITTSBURGHSTEELERS
1947-12-21

Philadelphia Eagles vs Pittsburgh Steelers

1947-12-21

#05 · Super Bowl

Super Bowl
XIII
DALLASCOWBOYS
PITTSBURGHSTEELERS
1979-01-21

Dallas Cowboys vs Pittsburgh Steelers

1979-01-21

Season history

Every season

92 seasons · newest first

Game archive

Latest games

1,388 total · loaded 10 at a time