1997 Pittsburgh Steelers Season
The 1997 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 65th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League. This season was considered a transitional year due to many key free agent losses in the offseason, as well as the first season of Kordell Stewart starting at quarterback. The Steelers finished with an 11–5 record, their fourth consecutive AFC Central top seed, and their sixth straight playoff appearance. In doing so, Steelers head coach Bill Cowher tied Hall of Fame coach Paul Brown with most consecutive playoff appearances to start a head coaching career in the NFL—a record Cowher still co-owns with Brown, as the Steelers missed the playoffs the following year. The Steelers had 572 rushing attempts in 1997, the most in the 1990s. Their 2,479 total rushing yards were the third-most of the decade by any team. The Steelers went into the season introducing a new font style numbers on jerseys matching the ones they wear on the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American Football Conference Central Division
The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was adopted after the restructuring of the 2002 NFL season, when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams. This is the only division in the NFL in which no member team has hosted a Super Bowl in their stadiums. Formation The AFC North currently has four members: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers. The original four members of the AFC Central were the Browns, Bengals, Steelers and Houston Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans). The AFC North is the only AFC division that does not contain a charter team from the original American Football League. However, the Cincinnati Bengals were an AFL expansion team in the 1968 AFL season (the Steelers and Browns joined the AFC in 1970), although the Bengals joining the AFL was c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kordell Stewart
Kordell Stewart (born October 16, 1972) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nicknamed "Slash", he played college football at Colorado. Stewart achieved recognition for the "Miracle at Michigan", a Hail Mary pass he completed to defeat Michigan in 1994. He was selected by the Steelers in the second round of the 1995 NFL Draft. Stewart held a variety of roles for the Steelers before becoming their starting quarterback in 1997, which saw him help guide the team to an AFC Championship Game appearance. His most successful season was in 2001 where he led Pittsburgh to an American Football Conference (AFC) top seed and a return to the conference championship, while earning Pro Bowl and AFC Offensive Player of the Year honors. Stewart's performance declined the following year, resulting in him being released by the Steelers. Afterwards, Stewart played one season for the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ernie Mills
Ernest Lee Mills, III (born October 28, 1968) is an American former American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Florida. Early years Mills was born in Dunnellon, Florida and attended Dunnellon High School. He was a two-way player at cornerback and running back. As a senior, he tallied 53 tackles, 8 interceptions and 414 rushing yards. He earned a second-team All-state selection at defensive back. College career Mills accepted a football scholarship from the University of Florida, where he was a four-year letterman for head coaches Galen Hall and Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football teams from 1987 to 1990. As a freshman, he was converted into a wide receiver to take advantage of his speed, making 12 receptions (fourth on the team) for 258 yards (second on the team), a 21.5-yard average (led the team) and 2 receiving touchdowns (se ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chad Brown (linebacker)
Chadwick Everett Brown (born July 12, 1970) is a former American football linebacker of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Colorado. Early life and college Born in Altadena, California, Brown graduated from John Muir High School in 1988. At the University of Colorado, Brown was a four-year starter on the Colorado Buffaloes football team. Professional career Brown was initially drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round, and became an important part of the "Blitzburgh" defense. Initially, he played at the inside linebacker position in the 3-4 with Levon Kirkland. He started at right inside linebacker in Super Bowl XXX for the Steelers, a loss to the Dallas Cowboys. He then moved to the outside when Greg Lloyd was lost for the 1996 season due to injury, where he went to his first Pro Bowl after that season. His success would continue with the Seat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its home games at M&T Bank Stadium and is headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland. The Baltimore Ravens were established in 1996 after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced plans in 1995 to relocate the franchise from Cleveland, Ohio to Baltimore, Maryland. As part of a settlement between the league and the city of Cleveland, Ohio, Modell was required to leave the Browns' history, team colors, and records in Cleveland for a replacement team and replacement personnel that would resume play in 1999. In return, he was allowed to take his own personnel and team to Baltimore, where such personnel would then form an expansion team. The team is now owned by Steve Bisciotti and valued at $2.98 billion, making the Ravens the 33rd- ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play their home games at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, located southeast of San Francisco. The team is named after the prospectors who arrived in Northern California in the 1849 Gold Rush. The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), and joined the NFL in 1949 when the leagues merged. The 49ers were the first major league professional sports franchise based in San Francisco, and are the 10th oldest franchise in the NFL. The team began play at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco before moving to Candlestick Park in 1971, and then to Levi's Stadium in 2014. Since 1988, the 49ers have been headquartered in Santa Clara. The 49ers won ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rod Woodson
Roderick Kevin Woodson (born March 10, 1965) is an American former professional football defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. He is currently the Head Coach of the XFL's Vegas Vipers. Woodson was drafted in the 1987 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers and played his first ten years there, and was a key member of the Baltimore Ravens' Super Bowl XXXV championship team. He also had two shorter stints for the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders. Widely considered one of the greatest all-time defensive players ever, Woodson holds the NFL record for fumble recoveries (32) by a defensive player, and interceptions returned for touchdown (12), and was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1993. His 71 career interceptions is the third-most in NFL history. He was an inductee of the Class of 2009 of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on August 8, 2009. Woodson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016. Rod played m ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnovers through hard tackles, interceptions, and deflecting forward passes. Other members of the defensive backfield include strong and free safeties. The cornerback position requires speed, agility, strength, and the ability to make rapid sharp turns. A cornerback's skill set typically requires proficiency in anticipating the quarterback, backpedaling, executing single and zone coverage, disrupting pass routes, block shedding, and tackling. Cornerbacks are among the fastest players on the field. Because of this, they are frequently used as return specialists on punts or kickoffs. Overview The cornerback’s chief responsibility is to defend against the offense's pass. The rules of American professional football and American coll ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquartered in Dove Valley, Colorado. The team began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) and joined the NFL as part of the merger in 1970. The Broncos are currently owned by the Walton- Penner group, and play their home games at Empower Field at Mile High; Denver previously played its home games at Mile High Stadium from its inception in 1960 through the 2000 season. The Broncos were barely competitive during their 10-year run in the AFL and their first seven years in the NFL. They did not have a winning season until 1973 and qualified for their first playoffs in 1977, eventually advancing to Super Bowl XII that season. Since 1975, the Broncos have become one of the NFL's most successful teams, having suffe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game is played on the second Sunday in February. Prior Super Bowls were played on Sundays in early to mid-January from 1967 to 1978, late January from 1979 to 2003, and the first Sunday of February from 2004 to 2021. Winning teams are awarded the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named for the coach who won the first two Super Bowls. Due to the NFL restricting use of its "Super Bowl" trademark, it is frequently referred to as the "big game" or other generic terms by non-sponsoring corporations. The day the game is played is often referred to as "Super Bowl Sunday" or simply "Super Sunday". The game was created as part of a 1966 merger agreement between the NFL and the competing American Football League (AFL) to have their best teams compete for a champi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American Football Conference
The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference (NFC), each contain 16 teams with 4 divisions. Both conferences were created as part of the 1970 merger between the National Football League, and the American Football League (AFL). All ten of the AFL teams, and three NFL teams, became members of the new AFC, with the remaining thirteen NFL teams forming the NFC. A series of league expansions and division realignments have occurred since the merger, thus making the current total of 16 teams in each conference. The current AFC champions are the Cincinnati Bengals, who defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2022 AFC Championship Game for their third conference championship, and their first since 1988. Teams Like the NFC, the conference has 16 teams organized into four divisions each wit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1998 Pittsburgh Steelers Season
The 1998 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 66th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League. This season marked the first time since the 1991 season that the Steelers failed to make the playoffs. Pittsburgh finished 7–9 after starting the season 5–2, losing their last five games to lose a spot in the playoffs. It was Bill Cowher's first losing record as coach of the Steelers. The season was marked by a controversial ending to the team's Thanksgiving Day game against the Detroit Lions, where Jerome Bettis claimed he called the coin toss in overtime as "tails" although referee Phil Luckett heard "heads." The Lions won 19–16 and started the Steelers' losing streak to finish the season. The inept plays of Kordell Stewart was cited as another conflict, as the fans slowly began to turn on him. After their 11–5 1997 season, Pittsburgh lost two key offensive components: Chan Gailey, the offensive coordinator who went on ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |