The Pittsburgh Steelers dominated in every statistic, except the one that mattered.
2002 was a year full of change for the NFL. With the addition of the new Houston Texans franchise, the league was able to maintain some stability with an even 32 teams. That meant a clean eight divisions with four teams in each, and a relatively predictable schedule each season. What should've been a season of stabilization across the country came crashing down on December 8, 2002.
The new franchise came to town, but it went haywire quickly.
via espn.com
The struggling Texans, sitting at 3-9, would visit Pittsburgh for the first time. The inauguration should've been a standard Pittsburgh demolition, with the Steelers sitting nicely at 7-4-1. What transpired over those four quarters would baffle Steeler Nation for the next two decades. To put it lightly, the football gods were feeling extra cruel on this confusing, backwards December day.
Admittedly, Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox struggled greatly during his outing, ending the day with a miserable three turnovers, all three of which were returned for scores, and completing just barely over 50% of his passes. Combine a lost fumble for a touchdown, two horrible pick–sixes, and two additional team turnovers for good measure, and the Texans barely had to try on offense to seal a win. Antwaan Randel El would have a solid performance, with 8 receptions for 88 yards, but scoring would be kept to a minimum, despite an absolute decimation of the Texans on the stat sheet.
Total Yards: Pittsburgh: 422, Houston: 47.
Yeah, you read that right. And the Steelers would go on to lose this game by a score of 24-6, not even reaching the end zone once. 422 total yards, and absolutely nothing to show for it. Talk about the impact of turnovers.
Steeler Nation: allow me to brace you for this statistic before I reveal it. The average, competent NFL team gains the first down marker about 18-20 times before the final whistle. During this baffling 2002 display, the Steelers reached that mark 24 times. Pretty good, right? The Texans, though, would barely have to lift a finger: three first downs all game, including one from penalty.
They could've been sleeping out there, and it wouldn't have mattered much.
via steinersports.com
They would go 1-12 on third down conversions during the course of the game, putting up three points of total offense. But in spite of the defensive beatdown at the hands of Pittsburgh, Maddox's boneheaded mistakes would allow the Texans defensive unit (and namely cornerback Aaron Glenn) to tack on an additional 21 points.
Houston quarterback David Carr would have a truly Hall of Fame level performance: 3-10 for 33 yards. Numbers really don't tell the whole story, do they?
The Steelers performed better than the Texans in the following:
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Yards/Play
Offensive Points
First Downs
Possession Time
This Week 13 matchup was shaping up to be a "Welcome to the NFL"-style game from one of the most storied franchises in all of sports. Instead, Steeler Nation cringes at the memory of this horrible outing. Still, though, it's kind of like a car crash: you can't help but watch.
The future of these franchises couldn't be any different, with the Steelers going on to reach the playoffs 13 times and winning two Super Bowls since 2002 (goodbye Tommy Maddox, hello Ben Roethlisberger). In comparison, the Texans wouldn't reach the postseason until the 2011 season, competing a total of six times and never even sniffing the big dance. If you're looking for playoff success, the Black and Gold are your clear and obvious option. But, for that fateful 60 minutes in December of 2002, the Texans got to feel like the big man on campus, all at the expense of the Steelers.
What a time to be alive, though I'm sure Tommy Maddox wishes he wasn't on that day.
Is there a game out there more head-turning than this one? Let us know below!
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