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.

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

Week 1 (Sunday September 9, 2001): at Jacksonville Jaguars
at Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
 * Game weather: 83 F (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
at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
 * Game weather: 63 F (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
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
 * Game weather: 46 F (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
at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
 * Game weather: 57 F (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
at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
 * Game weather: 84 F (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
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 9:00 pm EST
 * Game weather: 51 F (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
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EST
 * Game weather: 63 F (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
at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EST
 * Game weather: 42 F (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
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 4:05 pm EST
 * Game weather: 57 F (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
at Adelphia Coliseum, Nashville, Tennessee


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EST
 * Game weather: 63 F (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
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EST
 * Game weather: 48 F (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
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 4:15 pm EST
 * Game weather: 41 F (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
at PSINet Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland


 * Game time: 8:30 pm EST
 * Game weather: 42 F
 * 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
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EST
 * Game weather: 43 F (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
at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EST
 * Game weather: 20 F (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
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 1:00 pm EST
 * Game weather: 32 F (Rain & Snow)
 * Game attendance: 59,189
 * Referee: Bernie Kukar
 * TV announcers: (CBS) Gus Johnson (play by play), Brent Jones (color commentator)

AFC Divisional Playoff (Sunday January 20, 2002): vs. Baltimore Ravens
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 12:30 pm EST
 * Game weather: 30 F (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
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 12:30 pm EST
 * Game weather: 57 F (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)

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)