Steelers wouldn't have defeated 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX

Steelers fans, with training camp still a few days away, decided to ask a question Pittsburgh fans have been wondering for 25 years on Monday. Would the '94 "Blitzburgh" Steelers had defeated Steve Young and the 49ers had in Super Bowl XXIX had Pittsburgh defeated the Chargers in the AFC Championship Game?

As the question continued to be debated into the afternoon, my immediate reaction was no. Pittsburgh, as good as they were that season, weren't stopping Young from his year-long mission of capturing his first championship as a starting NFL quarterback.

The Steelers' defense in 1994 was certainly good enough to deliver the fifth Vince Lombardi Trophy to Pittsburgh. That season, the Steelers allowed just 14.6 points and 90.7 rush yards per game. They also recorded 3.44 sacks per game, thus earning them their "Blitzburgh" moniker. The unit was spearheaded by linebackers Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene. Lloyd was in the middle of his run of five constructive Pro Bowl selections, while Greene, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016, paced Pittsburgh with 14.0 sacks that season while earning All-Pro honors

Hall of Fame cornerback Rod Woodson returned two of his four interceptions for touchdowns that seasons while also earning All-Pro honors. Fellow defensive back Carnell Lake, arguably Pittsburgh's most underrated player during that era, earned his first of four consecutive Pro Bowl selections that season.

As dominant as Pittsburgh's defense was that season, it takes a complete team - and a certain type of quarterback - to win a Super Bowl. Unfortunately for the '94 Steelers, their offense - specifically their quarterback - wouldn't have been good enough to beat a team as deep and as talented as San Francisco.

The Steelers' offense averaged just under 20 points per game in 1994. The 49ers' offense, historically one of the best in league history, paced the league with an average of 31.6 points per game that season. San Francisco's defense was also formidable, finishing sixth in the league in scoring defense after allowing an average of just 18.5 points per game during the regular season.

Along with having the league's MVP in Young, the 49ers also possessed the league's Defensive Player of the Year in Deion Sanders, who returned three of his six interceptions that season for scores. Along with Hall of Famers Young and Sanders, San Francisco's roster also included versatile running back Ricky Watters and Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, widely regarded as the greatest receiver in league history. While he was 32 that the time, Rice was still very much in his prime, catching 112 passes for 1,499 yards and 13 touchdowns during the '94 regular season.

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This was the 49ers year. This was Steve Young's year. Plus after getting past the 90s Cowboys dynasty, there really wasn't any stopping them. Not to mention Steve Young vs Neil O Donnell is an incredible QB mismatch

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Originally Posted by st33lersguy

This was the 49ers year. This was Steve Young's year. Plus after getting past the 90s Cowboys dynasty, there really wasn't any stopping them. Not to mention Steve Young vs Neil O Donnell is an incredible QB mismatch

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I think the steelers defense would have made a great effort against Steve Young and they would have had a lot of heart, but it would have been impossible to win, unless Neil O'Donnell had his game of his life, which would have been very improbable, especially that the year after he gave a free Super Bowl MVP to Larry Brown.

The 49ers also had a great defense

Although I've always thought the Steelers would have come up short in XXIX (thanks largely to O'Donnell and a fairly anemic offense overall), I've also always thought they would have at least given the 49ers a much better game than the Chargers did.

The Chargers' biggest weakness was their secondary (of course, the Steelers didn't have the QB to exploit that). So naturally, against Young and Rice they got torched.

There's no way Blitzburgh would have given up 49 points or two 40+ yard TD passes inside of the first five minutes of the game the way the Chargers did.

No, but losing to the chargers at home was embarassing. And we would have at least put up a better fight than they did against the niners.

At the time I was a 15 year old kid would have just loved to see the Steelers in the Super Bowl, win or loss. I wasn't around when they had their glory years in the 70s.

More inept QBs than Neil O’Donnell have won Super Bowls.

Steelers may or may not have won that game but that ‘94 Defense was no joke and would’ve been the most difficult challenge Young would’ve faced. They had the pass defense and the run defense. Where the Niners may have hurt them would’ve been the legs of Steve Young. But Pittsburgh has the defense and the offensive run game to keep Young, Rice and Watters off the field. Cowher could’ve theoretically made Sanders a non-factor in that game. Large doses of Barry Foster and Big Bird!!

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Originally Posted by 86WARD

More inept QBs than Neil O’Donnell have won Super Bowls.

Steelers may or may not have won that game but that ‘94 Defense was no joke and would’ve been the most difficult challenge Young would’ve faced. They had the pass defense and the run defense. Where the Niners may have hurt them would’ve been the legs of Steve Young. But Pittsburgh has the defense and the offensive run game to keep Young, Rice and Watters off the field. Cowher could’ve theoretically made Sanders a non-factor in that game. Large doses of Barry Foster and Big Bird!!

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Good point, but at the same time, I do not think QB like Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson or others played against strong and complete teams like the 1994 49ers either in the super bowl or in their playoffs run.

Yes the steelers defense would have given a big challenge to Steve Young and their offense, but Neil O'Donnell would have needed to make key play on the 3rd down or thing like that to win this game.

Likely: maybe not
Possible: absolutely

SUMMATION:
Not making it to the Super Bowl gives you 0% chance of winning a championship.


As I’ve said before, living in San Diego, I heard about that AFCCG for 25 years. They quieted down after the 2008 playoff game, but not much.

Our secondary was insane back then: Woodson, Lake, and Gary Jones as the dime-back. Jones was great, but was injured for the AFCCG; had he been healthy, Tim McKyer doesn’t play/doesn’t get torched for a TD. With a little more rest, Jones would have been playing in the Super Bowl.

As a fan of both teams at the time (lived in SF that year), I have to say it would not have even been close. 49ers were just steamrolling people all season. Yes, Steelers had a good defense, but the 49ers' defense was seriously almost as good, even though all anyone talked about was Young and Rice, like they were winning shootouts every game. That would've been a huge mismatch against the O'Donnell offense and it would've been ugly.

Steelers had a better passing game on the 95 team than the 94 team. The 94 team was a running team w/Foster and Morris. (John L Williams was the leading receiver).

I don't think the 94 team offense had enough passing offense to keep up w/the Niners.

Steelers 24

49ers 21

The 90's Steelers played in an Era of being the best AFC team where the NFC was profoundly dominant with some of the greatest players of all time. We'll never see a conference with so many Hall Of Famers in one Era ever again. Name one 90's Steelers player who was on caliber with any of the NFC's Elite. Rod Woodson was one, but he was probably it. Dirt Dawson was another.

Everyone else on the Steelers was a mishmash of overachieving journeymen and exciting youngsters. They wouldn't have stood a chance against the 49ers or Brett Favre's Packers in 1997, who was in the midst of a repeat.

I don't think the Steelers would have gotten blown out like the Chargers did but I also don't think they would have won. O'Donnell would have thrown plenty of TD passes (to Deion Sanders) though.

The only way they could have won was like the 2007 Giants did against Brady. Slow grinding ground game and lots of sacks. If the Steelers could have controlled the clock and time of possession they may have had a shot. But unlike the 2007 Pats with slow footed Brady getting eaten by Strahan, Steve Young would have been tough to bring down.

"a question Pittsburgh fans have been wondering for 25 years"

I've never even thought about this once, nor have I ever heard a Steeler fan raise this question.

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Originally Posted by polamalubeast

I think the steelers defense would have made a great effort against Steve Young and they would have had a lot of heart, but it would have been impossible to win, unless Neil O'Donnell had his game of his life, which would have been very improbable, especially that the year after he gave a free Super Bowl MVP to Larry Brown.

The 49ers also had a great defense

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People always forget about the 49ers defenses during their heyday. Their offenses always got a lot of attention in both the 80s and 90s but those defenses were championship caliber as well, 2nd fiddle only to the offensive minded media

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Originally Posted by st33lersguy

People always forget about the 49ers defenses during their heyday. Their offenses always got a lot of attention in both the 80s and 90s but those defenses were championship caliber as well, 2nd fiddle only to the offensive minded media

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The 49ers defense have the most underrated defense in the NFL defense, especially in the 1980s.

They gave only 26 points in 3 games in their playoff run in 1984 (only 1 defensive TD allowed) ... 28 points given (only 1 defensive TD allowed in 3 games) in their 3 playoffs game in 1988 and 26 points in 3 games in 1989 (2 defensive TD allowed)

So in their last 3 super bowl with Montana, they gave only 78 points in 9 games and only 4 TDs.

If this team would have played in Pittsburgh, it would be the defense that would have the credit, not the QB, but in SF or other places it's different.

In 1994, the 49ers defense was great because they had Deion Sanders and others great players, but in other years with Young, their defense was often average ... That's sure when you play against the Dynasty of the Cowboys or against Brett Favre at his peak, the challenge is much higher.

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Originally Posted by Edman

The 90's Steelers played in an Era of being the best AFC team where the NFC was profoundly dominant with some of the greatest players of all time. We'll never see a conference with so many Hall Of Famers in one Era ever again. Name one 90's Steelers player who was on caliber with any of the NFC's Elite. Rod Woodson was one, but he was probably it. Dirt Dawson was another.

Everyone else on the Steelers was a mishmash of overachieving journeymen and exciting youngsters. They wouldn't have stood a chance against the 49ers or Brett Favre's Packers in 1997, who was in the midst of a repeat.

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There was a guy named Kevin Greene who is currently in the HOF, on the other side of the line was a guy named Greg Loyd, Carnel Lake and Chad Brown were no slouch's. A couple guys worth mentioning were Ray Seals, and Eric Green and finally another guy named Gary Anderson.

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Originally Posted by Edman

The 90's Steelers played in an Era of being the best AFC team where the NFC was profoundly dominant with some of the greatest players of all time. We'll never see a conference with so many Hall Of Famers in one Era ever again. Name one 90's Steelers player who was on caliber with any of the NFC's Elite. Rod Woodson was one, but he was probably it. Dirt Dawson was another.

Everyone else on the Steelers was a mishmash of overachieving journeymen and exciting youngsters. They wouldn't have stood a chance against the 49ers or Brett Favre's Packers in 1997, who was in the midst of a repeat.

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Woodson, Greene, Dawson, Bettis...that’s four players in a 6 year period that are HOF. That’s pretty good. Carnell Lake, Gary Anderson, Greg Lloyd could’ve started on most other teams.

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Originally Posted by Butch

There was a guy named Kevin Greene who is currently in the HOF, on the other side of the line was a guy named Greg Loyd, Carnel Lake and Chad Brown were no slouch's. A couple guys worth mentioning were Ray Seals, and Eric Green and finally another guy named Gary Anderson.

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Forgot about Chad Brown.

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Originally Posted by 86WARD

Woodson, Greene, Dawson, Bettis...that’s four players in a 6 year period that are HOF. That’s pretty good. Carnell Lake, Gary Anderson, Greg Lloyd could’ve started on most other teams.

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I stil think that Gary Anderson is not in the HOF because of one missed field goal who still haunts the Vikings.

Steelers woulda kicked their ass's.

Steelers 35
Niners 10 and that's being generous

No one (except for Dr. Z) gave the Steelers any chance to win XXX. Yet, the Steelers found a way to stymie the unstoppable force (the Cowboys running game).... and, our secondary was actually our strength is 1994.

Plus, most of all, Jerrah wouldn’t have been able to pay off a “certain QB” to throw those gimme INTs.

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Originally Posted by teegre

No one (except for Dr. Z) gave the Steelers any chance to win XXX.

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did they win?

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Originally Posted by teegre

No one (except for Dr. Z) have the Steelers any chance to win XXX. Yet, the Steelers found a way to stymie the unstoppable force (the Cowboys running game).... and, our secondary was actually our strength is 1994.

Plus, most of all, Jerrah wouldn’t have been able to pay off a “certain QB” to throw those gimme INTs.

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Larry Brown has to be the biggest Neil O'Donnell fan in the history of the game. O'Donnell threw those picks into no man's land, like no steeler WR was there, and larry brown happened to just be there. Not once but twice. Easiest ever MVP trophy, and to boot he got a huge contract offer from the Raiders for being the luckiest MVP ever lol. Turns out it was actually luck as he pretty much got demoted within a year and eventually shipped out of town.

Anyway it's curious to me how the QB with the lowest INT rate in NFL history, throws 2 picks in a row with no intended reciever in site. I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but I wouldn't be surprised if the fix was in. Could be be bought off? Well he did sign with the Jets for a lot of money, who was a perennial non-contender. So it's likely the guy valued $$ over a championship. I usually wouldn't think anything fishy if the dude just threw INT's, but these definitely had the look of being gift wrapped.

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Originally Posted by Fire Goodell

Larry Brown has to be the biggest Neil O'Donnell fan in the history of the game. O'Donnell threw those picks into no man's land, like no steeler WR was there, and larry brown happened to just be there. Not once but twice. Easiest ever MVP trophy, and to boot he got a huge contract offer from the Raiders for being the luckiest MVP ever lol. Turns out it was actually luck as he pretty much got demoted within a year and eventually shipped out of town

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Very funny that the Raiders in their off-season in 1997, that Al Davis has signed 2 super bowl MVP (the other is Desmond Howard) for a crazy money at this time

Of course, no wonder the Raiders finished 4-12 in 1997!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aG7eAXgVcE

It start at the 22 minutes of this video!

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Originally Posted by Fire Goodell

Larry Brown has to be the biggest Neil O'Donnell fan in the history of the game. O'Donnell threw those picks into no man's land, like no steeler WR was there, and larry brown happened to just be there. Not once but twice. Easiest ever MVP trophy, and to boot he got a huge contract offer from the Raiders for being the luckiest MVP ever lol. Turns out it was actually luck as he pretty much got demoted within a year and eventually shipped out of town.

Anyway it's curious to me how the QB with the lowest INT rate in NFL history, throws 2 picks in a row with no intended reciever in site. I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but I wouldn't be surprised if the fix was in. Could be be bought off? Well he did sign with the Jets for a lot of money, who was a perennial non-contender. So it's likely the guy valued $$ over a championship. I usually wouldn't think anything fishy if the dude just threw INT's, but these definitely had the look of being gift wrapped.

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This, this... this, this, this!!!

He was paid off. 100% I will never be convinced otherwise.

-no Steelers WR around the throws

-lowest INT rate, but suddenly he throws three :huh:

-Jerrah was certainly savvy enough to know how to “hide” money

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Originally Posted by teegre

This, this... this, this, this!!!

He was paid off. 100% I will never be convinced otherwise.

-no Steelers WR around the throws

-lowest INT rate, but suddenly he throws three :huh:

-Jerrah was certainly savvy enough to know how to “hide” money

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And O'Donnell make the same mistake twice!

I still do not understand what he saw on his two play!

His two passes were perfect for Larry Brown...But it was enough for Brown to have a huge contract by Al Davis!

And O'Donnell also had a big contract by the Jets ... Not surprising that the Raiders (4-12) and Jets (1-15) had an awful season after signing his players ....bad evaluation of talent!

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Originally Posted by polamalubeast

I still do not understand what he saw on his two play!

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He saw... a big paycheck (from Jerrah).

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Originally Posted by steelreserve

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Originally Posted by teegre

No one (except for Dr. Z) gave the Steelers any chance to win XXX.

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did they win?

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No, but that certainly wasn't because of anything the Cowboys did. The OL the Cowboys had at the time was absolutely dominant and arguably the best OL in NFL history and Blitzburgh more than held their own against them. Emmitt Smith was pretty much a nonfactor in that SB (2.7 YPC) outside of the 2 TDs he scored because O'Donnell put the Cowboys on the doorstep of the end zone twice with those gift-wrapped INTs. And as far as the passing game goes, O'Donnell had more passing yards than Aikman did in that game, despite all his fuck ups.

The real MVP of SB XXX was Neil O'Donnell...only for the Cowboys. That game STILL royally pisses me off every time I think about it, which is why I try my damnedest not to.

And I still say the Steelers would have kicked ass in that game had they drafted Marino in '83.

I certainly think the Steelers would have given the Niners a game a lot better than the Chargers who knows the Steelers could have won it all. Like Fan76 said the Super Bowl against the cowboys could have went a different way as well The Steelers defense kept that game close O'Donnell picks killed the Steelers gave the game to the Cowboys.