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The Pittsburgh Steelers first game against the expansion Houston Texans in 2002 was certainly memorable. On both sides of the ball, the Steelers dominated their way to a 24-6 finish, outgaining the Texans 422 yards to 47 yards, controlling 67% of the time of possession (39:41 to 20:19), and leading first downs by a measure of 24-3.
The Steelers defense registered more sacks (4) than completed passes (3) against rookie quarterback David Carr as the Texans were limited to only 10 net passing yards.
The Texans were equally inept on the ground, with starter Jonathan Wells stuffed for a mere 12 yards on 10 carries, replaced the equally ineffective James Allen who tallied only 19 yards on 13 carries. On the day, the Steelers defense controlled the line of scrimmage and stuffed the Texans for 17 plays of no gain or negative yardage.
The Steelers rode the arm quarterback Tommy Maddox, who completed 30 of 57 passes on the day for 325 yards, and their trio of talented wide receivers: Hines Ward (9 catches for 76 yards), Plaxico Burress (6 catches for 83 yards), and Antwaan Randle El (8 catches for 88 yards). Amos Zereoue and Jerome Bettis complimented each other by combining for 99 yards rushing as the Steelers were able to pound out 128 rushing yards as a team for the day.
But if you did not notice, there was one thing missing: who scored the 3 touchdowns to generate the 24 points?
It wasn’t anybody on the Steelers roster, because despite dominating the game in almost every aspect, they lost the game. It was a nightmare day for Maddox, who accounted for 3 of the Steelers 5 turnovers, and despite generating a lot of yardage, saw the worst possible outcomes from his turnovers.
Maddox fumbled on the Steelers opening drive after a 5-yard scramble and it was returned 40 yards by Texans journeyman cornerback Kenny Wright for the only touchdown of his 9-year career.
But it gets worse.
Maddox was twice intercepted Pro Bowl cornerback Aaron Glenn, who returned both for touchdowns of 70-yards and 65-yards respectively.
But it gets worse.
The Steelers were 6-1-1 in their previous 8 games at that point in the season (second only to the Atlanta Falcons 7-0-1) leading up to playing the expansion Texans. It marked the Steelers 3rd loss to an expansion team since 1995.
But it gets worse.
The Texans 47 total yards were the lowest ever by a winning team in NFL history.
Bill Cowher did not consider pulling Maddox, despite having a healthy Kordell Stewart in reserve, and summed up his quarterback’s afternoon very succinctly by saying: “It wasn’t very good.”
It also was arguably an important pivot point in the career of Tommy Maddox. At the time, there was some debate on whether Maddox was ready to return after being temporarily paralyzed when leaving the field in an ambulance due to a concussion and spinal cord contusion. Although he did have his moments, Maddox never seemed to be quite the same “Tommy Gun” after the emotional and physical impacts of the injury.
The Steelers still went on to win the AFC North and came within a dropped pass of advancing to the AFC Championship, and the bizarre loss did not cost the Steelers a bye week. But it is a classic example of not reading too much into the stats, because they certainly do not tell the whole story.
Is there another unique Steelers game like this to remember? Click to comment below!
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The Steelers defense registered more sacks (4) than completed passes (3) against rookie quarterback David Carr as the Texans were limited to only 10 net passing yards.
The Texans were equally inept on the ground, with starter Jonathan Wells stuffed for a mere 12 yards on 10 carries, replaced the equally ineffective James Allen who tallied only 19 yards on 13 carries. On the day, the Steelers defense controlled the line of scrimmage and stuffed the Texans for 17 plays of no gain or negative yardage.
The Steelers rode the arm quarterback Tommy Maddox, who completed 30 of 57 passes on the day for 325 yards, and their trio of talented wide receivers: Hines Ward (9 catches for 76 yards), Plaxico Burress (6 catches for 83 yards), and Antwaan Randle El (8 catches for 88 yards). Amos Zereoue and Jerome Bettis complimented each other by combining for 99 yards rushing as the Steelers were able to pound out 128 rushing yards as a team for the day.
But if you did not notice, there was one thing missing: who scored the 3 touchdowns to generate the 24 points?
It wasn’t anybody on the Steelers roster, because despite dominating the game in almost every aspect, they lost the game. It was a nightmare day for Maddox, who accounted for 3 of the Steelers 5 turnovers, and despite generating a lot of yardage, saw the worst possible outcomes from his turnovers.
Maddox fumbled on the Steelers opening drive after a 5-yard scramble and it was returned 40 yards by Texans journeyman cornerback Kenny Wright for the only touchdown of his 9-year career.
But it gets worse.
Maddox was twice intercepted Pro Bowl cornerback Aaron Glenn, who returned both for touchdowns of 70-yards and 65-yards respectively.
But it gets worse.
The Steelers were 6-1-1 in their previous 8 games at that point in the season (second only to the Atlanta Falcons 7-0-1) leading up to playing the expansion Texans. It marked the Steelers 3rd loss to an expansion team since 1995.
But it gets worse.
The Texans 47 total yards were the lowest ever by a winning team in NFL history.
Bill Cowher did not consider pulling Maddox, despite having a healthy Kordell Stewart in reserve, and summed up his quarterback’s afternoon very succinctly by saying: “It wasn’t very good.”
It also was arguably an important pivot point in the career of Tommy Maddox. At the time, there was some debate on whether Maddox was ready to return after being temporarily paralyzed when leaving the field in an ambulance due to a concussion and spinal cord contusion. Although he did have his moments, Maddox never seemed to be quite the same “Tommy Gun” after the emotional and physical impacts of the injury.
The Steelers still went on to win the AFC North and came within a dropped pass of advancing to the AFC Championship, and the bizarre loss did not cost the Steelers a bye week. But it is a classic example of not reading too much into the stats, because they certainly do not tell the whole story.
Is there another unique Steelers game like this to remember? Click to comment below!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
. Thought end of world was here.
