Steelers No Match for Chiefs in ’93 A.F.C. Wild Card
I’ve had some free-time over the course of this week so I felt like I could squeeze another article out for NPC. Because the Steelers are playing the Chiefs this week, I figured that it would be interesting to revisit one of the most exciting yet heart-breaking playoff losses in Pittsburgh Steelers history.
It hurts at times to read and reflect on the game for any Steelers fan that is from my generation and actually watched what happened. Yet despite the outcome, the game itself was pretty fantastic. And hey, if it wasn’t for a Special Teams gaffe and some “Montana Magic,” the Steelers could have pulled off an amazing upset win at Arrowhead on that brisk January day in 1994. Hit that “Continue Reading” button if I’ve peaked your interest.
Introduction
The 1993 Steelers were an inconsistent team that “Limped to the Barn” as the Postseason got underway. And when I say “Limped to the Barn,” I really mean it in every sense of the phrase. Not only had the Steelers barely gotten into the Playoffs as the 6th and final seed on the regular season’s final day, but they had lost the A.F.C.’s leading rusher of 1992 and All-Pro RB Barry Foster at mid-season to an ankle injury.
To his credit, Foster’s replacement Leroy Thompson stepped up and helped to pick up the slack in the running game for Barry. Yet without Foster, the only elite Offensive weapon the Steelers could rely on was their Pro Bowl TE Eric Green. And Green himself was a bit of a head-case that was constantly pissing and moaning about his contract situation throughout his tenure in Pittsburgh.
The 1993 Steelers were simply a complete and total enigma. One week they shut out the future Conference Champion Bills on Monday Night Football. Another week they completely and totally shut down against a pathetic team like the Seahawks. Up-and-Down to their competition was the story of the 1993 Steelers. You just wondered whether or not they would turn it on if/when they got into the Postseason. Luckily for them they got in, and when they met the A.F.C. Division Champion Chiefs led by newly acquired Hall of Fame QB Joe Montana in Kansas City, they started the game off playing to their competition.