# 2001 Pittsburgh Steelers season

The 2001 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 69th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League (NFL). After finishing the previous three seasons a combined 22–26, the Steelers returned to the top seed in the AFC, rolling to a 13–3 record in their first playoff berth and AFC Central title since 1997 and playing at Heinz Field. The Steelers went 7–1 in their new home stadium, with the only loss coming to the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens (a loss the Steelers avenged in the divisional playoffs).
However, for the third time in Bill Cowher's coaching tenure, the Steelers fell in the AFC Championship Game at home. This time, the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots upset the top-seeded Steelers.
The Steelers ran the ball 580 times in 2001, the most in the NFL.

## Offseason

| Additions | Subtractions |
| C Jeff Hartings (Lions) | LB Levon Kirkland (Seahawks) |
| S Mike Logan (Jaguars) | RB Richard Huntley (Panthers) |
| QB Tommy Maddox (XFL) | LB Mike Vrabel (Patriots) |
| LB Mike Jones (Rams) | C Dermontti Dawson (retirement) |
| | QB Kent Graham (Redskins) |

### NFL draft

2001 Pittsburgh Steelers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 18 | Casey Hampton * | Defensive tackle | Texas | from N. Y. Jets |
| 2 | 39 | Kendrell Bell * | Linebacker | Georgia | from New England |
| 4 | 111 | Mathias Nkwenti | Tackle | Temple | from N. Y. Jets |
| 5 | 146 | Chukky Okobi | Center | Purdue | |
| 6 | 181 | Rodney Bailey | Defensive end | Ohio State | from N. J. Jets |
| 6 | 182 | Roger Knight | Linebacker | Wisconsin | |
| 7 | 218 | Chris Taylor | Wide receiver | Texas A&M | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted Free Agents

2001 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Luis Almanzar | Defensive tackle | Southwest Missouri State |
| Tim Baker | Wide receiver | Texas Tech |
| David Bobo | Guard | TCU |
| Chad Evitts | Linebacker | Tennessee Tech |
| Eddie Faulkner | Running back | Wisconsin |
| Rob Fehrman | Tackle | Bowling Green |
| Rob Frazier | Fullback | Florida |
| Joey Getherall | Wide receiver | Notre Dame |
| Chris Hoke | Defensive tackle | BYU |
| Andy Kohl | Kicker/Punter | New Mexico State |
| Justin Kurpeikis | Linebacker | Penn State |
| Vanness Provitt | Wide receiver | Ohio State |
| Adrian Sadler | Cornerback | Rice |
| Ryan Sprague | Tight end | Florida State |
| Nigel Tharpe | Defensive tackle | Iowa State |
| Keydrick Vincent | Guard | Ole Miss |

## Personnel

Notable additions include Casey Hampton, Jeff Hartings and Kendrell Bell.

## Preseason
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
| 1 | August 3 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 17–16 | 1–0 | Georgia Dome |
| 2 | August 16 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 10–24 | 1–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome |
| 3 | August 25 | Detroit Lions | W 20–7 | 2–1 | Heinz Field |
| 4 | August 30 | Buffalo Bills | W 20–0 | 3–1 | Heinz Field |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| 1 | September 9 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | L 3–21 | 0–1 | Alltel Stadium | Recap |
| 2 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 3 | September 30 | at Buffalo Bills | W 20–3 | 1–1 | Ralph Wilson Stadium | Recap |
| 4 | October 7 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 16–7 | 2–1 | Heinz Field | Recap |
| 5 | October 14 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 20–17 | 3–1 | Arrowhead Stadium | Recap |
| 6 | October 21 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 17–10 | 4–1 | Raymond James Stadium | Recap |
| 7 | October 29 | Tennessee Titans | W 34–7 | 5–1 | Heinz Field | Recap |
| 8 | November 4 | Baltimore Ravens | L 10–13 | 5–2 | Heinz Field | Recap |
| 9 | November 11 | at Cleveland Browns | W 15–12 (OT) | 6–2 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | Recap |
| 10 | November 18 | Jacksonville Jaguars | W 20–7 | 7–2 | Heinz Field | Recap |
| 11 | November 25 | at Tennessee Titans | W 34–24 | 8–2 | Adelphia Coliseum | Recap |
| 12 | December 2 | Minnesota Vikings | W 21–16 | 9–2 | Heinz Field | Recap |
| 13 | December 9 | New York Jets | W 18–7 | 10–2 | Heinz Field | Recap |
| 14 | December 16 | at Baltimore Ravens | W 26–21 | 11–2 | PSINet Stadium | Recap |
| 15 | December 23 | Detroit Lions | W 47–14 | 12–2 | Heinz Field | Recap |
| 16 | December 30 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 23–26 (OT) | 12–3 | Paul Brown Stadium | Recap |
| 17 | January 6 | Cleveland Browns | W 28–7 | 13–3 | Heinz Field | Recap |

## Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(1)}$ Pittsburgh Steelers | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 352 | 212 | W1 |
| $^{(5)}$ Baltimore Ravens | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 303 | 265 | W1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 285 | 319 | L1 |
| Tennessee Titans | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 336 | 388 | L2 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 294 | 286 | L2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 226 | 309 | W2 |

### Game summaries
#### Week 1 (Sunday September 9, 2001): at Jacksonville Jaguars

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Jaguars | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
at Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida
* Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
* Game weather: 83 °F (28 °C) (sunny and rain)
* Game attendance: 63,785
* Referee: Mack Gentry
* TV announcers: (CBS) Don Criqui (play by play), Craig James (color commentator), Beasley Reece (sideline reporter)

#### - (Sunday September 16, 2001): vs. Cleveland Browns

Due to the September 11th attacks the National Football League postponed all games. It was played after the rest of the scheduled season had been completed.

#### Week 3 (Sunday September 30, 2001): at Buffalo Bills

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
| Bills | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
* Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
* Game weather: 63 °F (17 °C) (sunny)
* Game attendance: 72,874
* Referee: Tom White
* TV announcers: (CBS) Ian Eagle (play by play), Solomon Wilcots (color commentator)

#### Week 4 (Sunday October 7, 2001): vs. Cincinnati Bengals

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bengals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Steelers | 0 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
* Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C) (Partly Cloudy)
* Game attendance: 62,335
* Referee: Larry Nemmers
* TV announcers: (CBS) Bill Macatee (play by play), Trevor Matich (color commentator)
This was the first game at Heinz Field. Also Jerome Bettis passed 10,000 yards rushing for his career.

#### Week 5 (Sunday October 14, 2001): at Kansas City Chiefs

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 0 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 20 |
| Chiefs | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 17 |
at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
* Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
* Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C) (sunny)
* Game attendance: 78,413
* Referee: Ron Blum
* TV announcers: (CBS) Gus Johnson (play by play), Brent Jones (color commentator)

#### Week 6 (Sunday October 21, 2001): at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 17 |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
* Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
* Game weather: 84 °F (29 °C) (partly cloudy/rain)
* Game attendance: 65,588
* Referee: Ed Hochuli
* TV announcers: (CBS) Dick Enberg (play by play), Dan Dierdorf (color commentator), Bonnie Bernstein (sideline reporter)

#### Week 7 (Monday October 29, 2001): vs. Tennessee Titans

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Titans | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Steelers | 7 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 34 |
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Game time: 9:00 pm EST
* Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C) (Cloudy)
* Game attendance: 63,763
* Referee: Terry McAulay
* TV announcers: (ABC) Al Michaels (play by play), Dan Fouts & Dennis Miller (color commentators), Eric Dickerson & Melissa Stark (sideline reporters)

#### Week 8 (Sunday November 4, 2001): vs. Baltimore Ravens

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ravens | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
| Steelers | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Game time: 1:00 pm EST
* Game weather: 63 °F (17 °C) (Partly Cloudy)
* Game attendance: 62,906
* Referee: Bob McElwee
* TV announcers: (CBS) Dick Enberg (play by play), Dan Dierdorf (color commentator), Bonnie Bernstein (sideline reporter)

#### Week 9 (Sunday November 11, 2001): at Cleveland Browns

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Steelers | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
| Browns | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
* Game time: 1:00 pm EST
* Game weather: 42 °F (6 °C) (cloudy)
* Game attendance: 73,218
* Referee: Dick Hantak
* TV announcers: (CBS) Ian Eagle (play by play), Solomon Wilcots (color commentator)

#### Week 10 (Sunday November 18, 2001): vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jaguars | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Steelers | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Game time: 4:05 pm EST
* Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C) (Mostly Cloudy)
* Game attendance: 62,644
* Referee: Ron Winter
* TV announcers: (CBS) Ian Eagle (play by play), Solomon Wilcots (color commentator)

#### Week 11 (Sunday November 25, 2001): at Tennessee Titans

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 3 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 34 |
| Titans | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
at Adelphia Coliseum, Nashville, Tennessee
* Game time: 1:00 pm EST
* Game weather: 63 °F (17 °C) (sunny)
* Game attendance: 68,801
* Referee: Bill Leavy
* TV announcers: (CBS) Dick Enberg (play by play), Dan Dierdorf (color commentator), Bonnie Bernstein (sideline reporter)

#### Week 12 (Sunday December 2, 2001): vs. Minnesota Vikings

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 16 |
| Steelers | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Game time: 1:00 pm EST
* Game weather: 48 °F (9 °C) (Sunny)
* Game attendance: 62,661
* Referee: Tony Corrente
* TV announcers: (Fox) Dick Stockton (play by play), Troy Aikman & Daryl Johnston (color commentators), Pam Oliver (sideline reporter)

#### Week 13 (Sunday December 9, 2001): vs. New York Jets

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jets | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Steelers | 3 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 18 |
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Game time: 4:15 pm EST
* Game weather: 41 °F (5 °C) (Cloudy)
* Game attendance: 62,884
* Referee: Terry McAulay
* TV announcers: (CBS) Greg Gumbel (play by play), Phil Simms (color commentator), Armen Keteyian (sideline reporter)

#### Week 14 (Sunday December 16, 2001): at Baltimore Ravens

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 3 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 26 |
| Ravens | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
at PSINet Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
* Game time: 8:30 pm EST
* Game weather: 42 °F (6 °C)
* Game attendance: 69,506
* Referee: Tom White
* TV announcers: (ESPN) Mike Patrick (play by play), Joe Theismann & Paul Maguire (color commentators), Suzy Kolber (sideline reporter)

#### Week 15 (Sunday December 23, 2001): vs. Detroit Lions

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lions | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Steelers | 14 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 47 |
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Game time: 1:00 pm EST
* Game weather: 43 °F (6 °C) (Light Rain)
* Game attendance: 62,809
* Referee: Johnny Grier
* TV announcers: (Fox) Kenny Albert (play by play), Tim Green (color commentator), Jennifer Hammond (sideline reporter)

#### Week 16 (Sunday December 30, 2001): at Cincinnati Bengals

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Steelers | 14 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| Bengals | 0 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 26 |
at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
* Game time: 1:00 pm EST
* Game weather: 20 °F (−7 °C) (Partly Cloudy)
* Game attendance: 63,751
* Referee: Jeff Triplette
* TV announcers: (CBS) Gus Johnson (play by play), Brent Jones (color commentator)

#### Week 17 (Sunday January 6, 2002): vs. Cleveland Browns

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Browns | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Steelers | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Game time: 1:00 pm EST
* Game weather: 32 °F (0 °C) (Rain & Snow)
* Game attendance: 59,189
* Referee: Bernie Kukar
* TV announcers: (CBS) Gus Johnson (play by play), Brent Jones (color commentator)

## Playoffs
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Kickoff (ET) | TV | Opponent | Result | Game Site | NFL Recap |
| Divisional | Sun. Jan. 20 | 12:30 p.m. | CBS | Baltimore Ravens | W 27–10 | Heinz Field | Summary |
| Conference | Sun. Jan. 27 | 12:30 p.m. | CBS | New England Patriots | L 17–24 | Heinz Field | Summary |

### Game summaries
#### AFC Divisional Playoff (Sunday January 20, 2002): vs. Baltimore Ravens

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ravens | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Steelers | 10 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Game time: 12:30 pm EST
* Game weather: 30 °F (−1 °C) (Mostly Cloudy)
* Game attendance: 63,976
* Referee: Tony Corrente
* TV announcers: (CBS) Dick Enberg (play by play), Dan Dierdorf (color commentator), Bonnie Bernstein (sideline reporter)

#### AFC Championship Game (Sunday January 27, 2002): vs. New England Patriots

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Patriots | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
| Steelers | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 17 |
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Game time: 12:30 pm EST
* Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C) (Mostly Cloudy)
* Game attendance: 64,704
* Referee: Ed Hochuli
* TV announcers: (CBS) Greg Gumbel (play by play), Phil Simms (color commentator), Armen Keteyian & Bonnie Bernstein (sideline reporters)

## Honors and awards
### Pro Bowl Representatives

See: 2002 Pro Bowl
* No. 10 Kordell Stewart-Quarterback
* No. 36 Jerome Bettis-Running Back
* No. 66 Alan Faneca-Offensive Guard
* No. 86 Hines Ward-Wide Receiver
* No. 92 Jason Gildon-Outside Linebacker
* No. 97 Kendrell Bell-Inside Linebacker (as "need" player)