May 2022
Few NFL franchises are as synonymous with winning (and winning championships for that matter) as the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 1979 they became the first franchise to win three Super Bowls. One year later, they became the first to win four. In 2009, “Sixburgh” became the first NFL franchise to win a sixth. But it wasn’t always that way in the Steel City. From the franchise’s inception in 1933, until 1972, the organization had but just one meager postseason appearance (a loss to Philadelphia in 1947).
However, following the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, a sleeping giant emerged. More famous for their “Steel Curtain” defense, Pittsburgh was also supported by strong offensive play, especially from late-blooming signal caller Terry Bradshaw. And so, one of the NFL’s most inept franchises won four Super Bowls in the 1970s, then followed it up with two more in the 2000s. And after starting their history with just one playoff appearance in 40 years, Pittsburgh would manage a .500 or better record from 1972 to 1982 with Terry Bradshaw under Center, and again from 2004 to 2021 with Ben Roethlisberger slingin’ it.
Since 1950, ten players have taken snaps over a minimum of 30 starts for Steel City’s NFL franchise. Here are those ten men who qualified for this analysis:
| Quarterback | Steelers Seasons | Reg Season Starts |
| Terry Bradshaw | 1970-1983 | 158 |
| Bubby Brister | 1986-1992 | 57 |
| Ed Brown | 1962-1965 | 30 |
| Jim Finks | 1949-1955 | 45 |
| Bobby Layne | 1958-1962 | 48 |
| Tommy Maddox | 2001-2005 | 32 |
| Mark Malone | 1980-1987 | 45 |
| Neil O’Donnell | 1991-1995 | 61 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 2004-2021 | 247 |
| Kordell Stewart | 1995-2002 | 75 |
The Pregame Show
- Jim Finks began his career in Pittsburgh in 1949. But as the analysis only covers the 1950 NFL season and onward, the statistics he accumulated in 1949 are not accounted for in this article.
- The data covers only their time playing for Pittsburgh. So, for example, Bobby Layne’s data will not cover his time in Detroit.
- A few notable omissions:
- On December 3, 1973, Joe Gilliam became only the third black quarterback to start a game in the Super Bowl era. Even though it resulted in a loss, he came out of camp the following year as Pittsburgh’s #1 guy after beating out a struggling Terry Bradshaw. He scored four TDs in the season’s first two games, and although he led the Steelers to a 4-1-1 start, his play gradually declined. Bradshaw came back in and finished off the season by leading Pittsburgh to their first NFL title. Gilliam threw only 48 passes in ’75 and never started another NFL game. He sadly died of a cocaine overdose on Christmas Day 2000, just four days before his 50th birthday.
- Perhaps the NFL’s greatest journeyman, Pittsburgh was the second stop on the 21-year pro football career of Earl Morrall. The #2 overall pick just one year prior (by San Francisco), Morrall was shipped to Pittsburgh in 1957 where he made the first of three career Pro Bowl teams, while starting ahead of future AFL stars Jack Kemp and Len Dawson. That year, he led the league in INT rate, and was in the Top 5 for both passing yards and TD passes. After starting the following year at 0-2, he was traded to Detroit for Bobby Layne. Before retiring in 1976, Morrall would win an MVP award, lose Super Bowl III to Joe Namath and the Jets, and start 11 of Miami’s 17 wins in their perfect 1972 season.
- Dick Shiner went 3-16-1 as Pittsburgh’s starter from 1968-1969. The Steelers drafted Terry Bradshaw the following season. Great name.
I have narrowed the list down to a Top 5, with their respective index scores based upon the same criteria as the Top 100 list.
Key:
W-L% Win-Loss Percentage (as starter)
Tot Y/G Total Yards per Game
TD/G Total Touchdowns per Game
TO/G Total Turnovers per Game
Y/C/Y/A Average of Yards per Completion + Yards per Attempt
Comp% Completion Percentage
TD% Rate of Touchdowns per Pass Attempt
INT% Rate of Interceptions per Pass Attempt
Note: I have awarded bonus points for winning NFL titles. Bonus points have also been awarded for longevity, based upon deviation of seasons as primary starter compared to the average NFL quarterback, during the respective player’s time on the Steelers.
#5: Jim Finks
In 1951, five different Pittsburgh quarterbacks attempted over 20 passes on the year. It went pretty miserably as the Steelers’ QBs finished the year with a cumulative 35.4 passer rating. In ’52, new head coach Joe Bach committed to one, and that was Jim Finks. He responded by throwing 20 TD passes (tied for an NFL-most and ten more than Pittsburgh quarterbacks threw for the previous season combined) and made the Pro Bowl. However, a mediocre defense kept the team grounded, and the Steelers finished 5-7. Finks was pretty mediocre the next two seasons, throwing 33 picks to 22 touchdowns. Committed to airing it out in ’55, he led the league with 2,270 passing yards. However, Finks also threw 26 INTs to just 10 TDs.
Over four years with him under Center, the Steelers’ D finished in the bottom half of the league in scoring every season. Jim Finks went on to have greater success as a general manager. As Vikings GM from 1964-1973 he helped build up the “Purple People Eaters” defense and brought back Fran Tarkenton. As Bears GM from 1974-1982, he drafted Walter Payton, Dan Hampton, and Jim McMahon, key cogs on their 1985 Super Bowl team. He even dabbled in baseball, overseeing the Chicago Cubs from 1983-1984, the latter year being their first postseason appearance since 1945. His final GM stint was with the Saints from 1986-1992 in which they made the playoffs four times in six years after not having made the postseason in the previous two decades.
Nothing from Jim Finks’ tenure as Pittsburgh’s primary quarterback particularly jumps out other than his ability to protect the ball. His 1.7 turnovers per game was lower than the average quarterback and his 6.1% INT rate was much better than the NFL mean of 7.3%. Still, besides his touchdown-intensive 1952 season, he was below-average in finding the end zone, and his 4.0% career TD rate is a full percentage point lower than the mean. An 18-27 record in 45 career starts also did not help his index score.
Steelers Tenure Index Score: –0.326 (average QB = 0.0)
Longevity Bonus = 0.4 Title Bonus = 0.0
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | TD/G | TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Comp % | TD% | Int% | TOTAL |
| Regular | -0.056 | -0.080 | -0.051 | 0.132 | -0.077 | 0.023 | -0.074 | 0.065 | -0.742 |
| Playoffs | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
#4: Bobby Layne
As a Detroit Lion, Bobby Layne twice led the league in passing yards, and guided his team to consecutive NFL Championships in 1952 and 1953. En route to a third title in 1957, “The Blond Bomber” suffered a late-season ankle injury that saw him on the sidelines for a 59-14 thumping of the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship Game. Opening up the following season, the struggling Lions kept his replacement for the previous year’s title run, Tobin Rote, and traded Layne to Pittsburgh for Pro Bowl signal caller Earl Morrall.
Bobby Layne’s first two years were terrific on an individual level. He made the Pro Bowl in ’58 and ’59, led the NFL in yards per completion (17.3) the former year, although he did toss a league-high 21 picks in the latter. Still, the team responded to his guidance, finishing in the top half of the NFL in scoring offense both years, and accumulating a 13-7-2 record in Layne’s starts during that time. However, Pitt finished well out of the postseason picture in both seasons.
The 34-year old vet was decent in ’60 and ’61, again leading the NFL with a 17.6 yards per completion rate in the former year, but he was also intercepted 33 times to just 26 TDs as the Steelers went 7-8 in his starts. His swansong, in 1962, saw Pittsburgh go 7-4 in his starts, although he was picked off 17 times to just 10 touchdowns. However, in his final game, he led his team to a 27-24 victory over Washington, throwing for 201 yards and two touchdowns, including a 27-yarder in the final period to clinch the win. Pittsburgh would finish 9-5, the franchise’s best-ever record. It would remain so for the next ten years as well.
When he arrived in Pittsburgh, the notoriously hard-drinking Bobby Layne wasn’t quite the same guy who led Detroit to two championships in the early ‘50s. Still, he brought a history of winning to a franchise in desperate need of it. He went 27-19-2 over five seasons. Layne also turned the ball over less than the average. However, he also completed fewer than 50% of his passes, and was picked off at a 7.0% clip (with 6.3% being the league average). Overall, Bobby Layne was decent in his time with the Steelers, but just couldn’t quite elevate Pittsburgh into the postseason.
Steelers Tenure Index Score: –0.032 (average QB = 0.0)
Longevity Bonus = -0.1 Title Bonus = 0.0
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | TD/G | TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Comp % | TD% | Int% | TOTAL |
| Regular | 0.047 | -0.066 | -0.039 | 0.043 | 0.082 | -0.035 | 0.023 | -0.048 | 0.101 |
| Playoffs | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
#3: Neil O’Donnell
Neil O’Donnell’s six-year tenure in Pittsburgh was the epitome of gradual progression. A third-round pick out of Maryland in the 1990 Draft, O’Donnell spent his entire rookie year on the bench. The following season would be immortal head coach Chuck Noll’s final year, and saw O’Donnell and Bubby Brister start eight games apiece. While Brister came on top in the win column at 5-3, O’Donnell scored 12 TDs to Brister’s nine. New head coach Bill Cowher named Neil O’Donnell the starter in 1992, and he was rewarded with a Pro Bowler season. From 1992-1993, the Maryland alum went 18-9 in 27 regular season starts, leading Pitt to back-to-back playoff appearances.
Although the Steelers fell in opening round losses, they returned to the playoffs in ’94 and reached the AFC title game. O’Donnell played valiantly against San Diego, throwing for 349 yards and a touchdown, but the Chargers came back from a ten-point second half deficit to win 17-13 and punch their ticket to Super Bowl XXIX. The 1995 season would be Neil O’Donnell’s best in black and gold. He posted a career-best 247.5 pass yards per game, and won nine of 12 starts. O’Donnell played decently in two postseason games, helping the Steelers make the franchise’s fifth Super Bowl appearance, and first in 16 years.
Pittsburgh’s opponents in Super Bowl XXX were the Dallas Cowboys, the favorites by nearly two touchdowns. Down 20-7 in the fourth, O’Donnell led Pittsburgh on two straight scoring drives, completing 10-of-11 passes for 69 yards. With an opportunity to put Pittsburgh ahead, with just over four minutes to play, he threw one of the most tragic interceptions in the history of the Big Game. Dallas would hold on to win their third Super Bowl in four years, 27-17. In the offseason, O’Donnell chose to test free agency, signing with the New York Jets and ending his time in the Steel City. He would start 39 games over the next eight years, with additional stops in Cincinnati and Tennessee, but wouldn’t make another postseason start. O’Donnell retired in 2003 as the NFL’s all-time leader in career INT rate (2.1%).
By far, the thing Neil O’Donnell did better than just about any other quarterback during the early ‘90s was hold onto the football. His 2.1% regular season INT rate easily bettered the league average of 3.4%, and he only turned the ball over 1.1 times per game. He also won nearly two-thirds of his starts. However, he often deferred to the run game in finding the end zone, averaging just over one TD per start during his time in Pittsburgh. O’Donnell was otherwise fairly average in completion rate and YCYA.
Steelers Tenure Index Score: 1.251 (average QB = 0.0)
Longevity Bonus = -0.1 Title Bonus = 0.0
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | TD/G | TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Comp % | TD% | Int% | TOTAL |
| Regular | 0.078 | -0.047 | -0.056 | 0.144 | 0.018 | -0.012 | -0.017 | 0.153 | 2.924 |
| Playoffs | -0.040 | -0.024 | -0.073 | 0.048 | -0.096 | -0.019 | -0.088 | 0.097 | -0.251 |
The outstanding draft class of 2004 saw three quarterbacks taken in the first ten picks. Taken first overall by San Diego, Eli Manning was (controversially) traded to San Diego for fourth overall pick Philip Rivers. With those two quarterbacks off the board, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Miami of Ohio’s Ben Roethlisberger at #10 overall. And while Rivers and Manning got some early season tutoring at their position (from Drew Brees and Kurt Warner respectively), Roethlisberger got thrown into the fire following an early-season injury to Steelers starter Tommy Maddox. He responded by winning 14 straight starts, suffering his only defeat of the year at the hands of Tom Brady and the eventual Super Bowl champion Patriots in the AFC title game.
While “Big Ben” wasn’t as perfect in ’05, going 9-3 in 12 regular season starts, he was still fantastic in leading the NFL in TD rate (6.3%) and YCYA (11.6). He furthered his phenomenal sophomore campaign by leading Pittsburgh to the Big Game, thanks in part to eight touchdowns and just one turnover over three playoff games. Super Bowl XL was less kind to the young superstar, as he connected on just nine of 23 passes for 123 yards. He did score a TD but also threw two picks. However, his team picked him up, and Pittsburgh prevailed 21-10 to win their fifth Super Bowl title.
A setback in 2006 (a league-most 23 INTs) was redeemed in 2007 with 34 TDs in 15 games and a Pro Bowl nod. But where Ben Roethlisberger most wanted redemption was in the Super Bowl. And in 2008 he took Pitt back to the Big Game against the surprising Arizona Cardinals. After losing a 20-7 fourth quarter lead, Big Ben led Pittsburgh on a nine-play 78-yard drive in the final three minutes, capped off by one of the greatest plays in the history of the Super Bowl. The 27-23 victory made the Steelers the first six-time Super Bowl champions, and made 26-year old Roethlisberger a two-time champ.
Ben Roethlisberger played 13 more seasons, all for Pittsburgh, winning 114 more regular season games and five more postseason games. But the Steelers were unable to win another title under his leadership (although they came close in a Super Bowl XLV defeat to Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay). Over that time, Big Ben twice led the NFL in passing yards, including an amazing 5,129 in 2018, making him only the sixth QB in league history to exceed 5,000 passing yards in a single season.
From 2004-2021, Ben Roethlisberger was better than the average NFL quarterback in all eight categories during the regular season. He won two-thirds of his starts, averaged over 262 yards of offense per game, and 1.8 touchdowns per start. Big Ben was really only subpar in terms of turning the ball over in the playoffs. His 1.6 turnovers per game and 3.6% INT rate in the postseason were both higher than average. Still, he won two championships as Pittsburgh’s field general, helping a franchise that had been a joke in the pre-Super Bowl era become the first franchise to win six Lombardi Trophies.
Steelers Tenure Index Score: 6.362 (average QB = 0.0)
Longevity Bonus = 2.3 Title Bonus = 1.9
Two Super Bowl Titles
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | TD/G | TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Comp % | TD% | Int% | TOTAL |
| Regular | 0.095 | 0.024 | 0.041 | 0.049 | 0.046 | 0.041 | 0.057 | 0.030 | 4.373 |
| Playoffs | 0.037 | 0.010 | -0.007 | -0.028 | 0.036 | 0.025 | 0.004 | -0.139 | -0.067 |
#1: Terry Bradshaw
In the first draft following the AFL-NFL Merger, the Pittsburgh Steelers may have assumed they were drafting a Hall of Famer when they took Terry Bradshaw as the #1 overall pick in 1970. But the Louisiana Tech grad could not have had a more disastrous rookie campaign, completing less than 40% of his passes and throwing a league-most 24 INTs (in only eight starts). The next three years saw some improvement, but were otherwise a mixed-bag, save for the occasional highlight.
In 1974, Terry Bradshaw got a wake-up call, losing the starting job to Joe Gilliam. Despite Gilliam’s hot start, his play gradually declined over the first half of the season, and head coach Chuck Noll went back to Bradshaw. While Pitt truly thrived on their running game and defense, Bradshaw provided stability under Center. And by the end of the season, Pittsburgh and Bradshaw hoisted their first Lombardi Trophy after a 16-6 win over Fran Tarkenton and the Vikings. Bradshaw would finally live up to expectations in ’75, making the Pro Bowl, winning 12 of 14 starts, and scoring 21 TDs to nine INTs. Clinging to a 15-10 lead in the fourth of Super Bowl X, Terry Bradshaw completing a stunning 64-yard bomb to Lynn Swann, paying the price, but putting the Steelers up for good, 21-17 over Roger Staubach and the Cowboys.
Bradshaw would have solid, but hardly earth-shattering, seasons in 1976 and 1977. However, the Steelers would fall in the postseason both years, to the Raiders and Broncos respectively. With an battle-worn Franco Harris in the backfield, and an aging defense, Terry Bradshaw shouldered the Steelers’ offense en route to the 1978 MVP award, bolstered by an NFL-best 28 TD passes. In a memorable duel with Roger Staubach in Super Bowl XIII, Bradshaw threw for 318 yards, four TDs, and one INT as the Steelers held on for a 35-31 win to become the first franchise to win three Super Bowls.
The following year, Bradshaw would throw for a career-best 3,724 yards, and finish fourth in AP MVP voting. Down 19-17 in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XIV, Bradshaw put the game away with a 73-yard bomb to John Stallworth, and Pitt prevailed over the Rams, 31-19. It was their fourth Super Bowl in six years. Although the Steelers wouldn’t make another Big Game with Terry Bradshaw as their field general, he would have three more terrific years, leading the NFL in yards/completion in 1980, and TD passes in strike-shortened 1982. Tom Brady… I mean, Terry Bradshaw, would suffer a season-ending injury in ’83, prematurely ending a career that may have had a couple more great years left. Still after four Super Bowl rings and an MVP award, Bradshaw’s on-field efforts culminated with induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
Often overshadowed by possibly the greatest supporting cast in the history of the game, Terry Bradshaw had a fantastic individual career regardless of the four Super Bowls. He won two-thirds of his regular season starts, and nearly three-quarters of his postseason games. Bradshaw averaged 1.5 TDs per game when the league average was 1.2, and his YCYA was 10.5 against a league mean of 9.8. It was in the playoffs though where he truly excelled, performing better than the average QB in all eight categories except INT rate (5.7%) and even then he was about dead-on average.
Steelers Tenure Index Score: 7.798 (average QB = 0.0)
Longevity Bonus = 1.7 Title Bonus = 3.8
Four Super Bowl Titles
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | TD/G | TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Comp % | TD% | Int% | TOTAL |
| Regular | 0.099 | -0.037 | 0.074 | 0.028 | 0.075 | -0.026 | 0.113 | -0.003 | 3.604 |
| Playoffs | 0.133 | 0.054 | 0.149 | 0.013 | 0.145 | 0.092 | 0.199 | -0.004 | 1.047 |
The Postgame Show
- Eight of the ten quarterbacks analyzed for this article qualified for this site’s Top 100 list. Four made that list, which encompasses their full careers and not just their time in Pittsburgh: Terry Bradshaw, Ben Roethlisberger, Bobby Layne, and Neil O’Donnell. It should be noted though that much of Layne’s success came in Detroit.
- Following an eight-year stint with the Chicago Bears, two-time Pro Bowler Ed Brown came to Pittsburgh in 1962, primarily backing up Bobby Layne in the latter’s final NFL season. Brown took over the starting role in ’63 and led the league in yards per completion. He stayed in Pitt until 1965, his final season, and was traded late in the season to the Baltimore Colts who were struggling at the QB position with injuries to Johnny Unitas and Gary Cuozzo.
- Mark Malone spent the 1980s living in the shadow of recently-retired Terry Bradshaw. He started 43 regular games for the Steelers from 1984-1987, going 21-22. While the results were decidedly mixed, Malone’s finest moment came in the 1984 postseason, eliminaing the John Elway-led Denver Broncos behind 224 yards passing and a touchdown. The following week, in the AFC Championship Game, he threw for 312 yards and three TDs (also three picks) in a 45-28 loss to Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins. Malone wrapped up his career in ’89 after a couple seasons with the Chargers and Jets.
- The Man who replaced Mark Malone in Pittsburgh was Walter Andrew “Bubby” Brister III. He started 55 games for the Steelers from 1988-1992, going a respectable 28-27 in the regular season, and nearly leading them to a postseason upset of eventual AFC champs Denver in ’89. Following his time in the Steel City, Brister played seven more NFL seasons. He won two rings with Denver backing up John Elway.
- A three-year starting QB at Colorado, Pittsburgh utilized Kordell Stewart as a receiver for the first two years of his pro career. In 1997, he earned the starting quarterback job, holding it for five seasons and guiding the Steelers to the playoffs twice. His best year, 2001, he finished fourth in MVP voting and guided Pitt to the AFC Championship Game. The 10-point favorite Steelers fell to a surprising New England Patriots team led by first-year starter Tom Brady. Two weeks later, the Pats would upset the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. Stewart would lose the starting job the following season. He would start seven games for the Chicago Bears in 2003, and retire in 2005 after two years as a back-up in Baltimore.
- One of the NFL’s great comeback stories, Tommy Maddox was drafted in the first round of the 1992 Draft by Denver to be John Elway’s eventual successor. Obviously that never happened and Maddox found himself out of pro football a few years later, eventually working in the insurance industry. He found redemption in the XFL, winning the short-lived league’s MVP award in 2001. Snapped up later that year by Pittsburgh, he replaced Kordell Stewart in 2002 and went 7-3-1 as starter, leading the Steelers to a comeback Wild Card victory over Cleveland and nearly upsetting Tennessee a week later. Maddox permanently lost the starting job to Ben Roethlisberger in early 2004 following an elbow injury. He played one more season as Big Ben’s back-up.
In Summary
Beginning in the 1950s, the Pittsburgh Steelers began to start seeing some good quarterback play as they became one of the last teams to move away from the wing formation. In 1970, they selected an icon with the very first pick of the NFL draft. And while it was a rocky start, patience paid off and Terry Bradshaw became a key component of four championship teams. Then in the early 2000s, Pittsburgh again invested a first round pick in a quarterback. The franchise was richly rewarded with one of the NFL’s best signal callers over the next two decades, Ben Roethlisberger, and raked in two more Vince Lombardi trophies. Whether a future signal caller holds a candle to those two is yet to be seen. But their efforts have helped ensure that Pittsburgh remains one of the few cities that can rightly be called “The City of Champions”.
The Quarterback Project 