The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers are the NFL’s two most storied franchises. The latter defined winning and excellence in the 1960’s; the former defined the term “NFL Dynasty” in the 1970’s. Both franchises were fortunate to hit their respective peaks as the NFL was coming of age.

• Yet, due to the conference and division realignment which followed the NFL-AFL merger, these two teams have seldom faced off of late.

The Pittsburgh Steelers history vs the Green Bay Packers is pretty one-sided affair, with the Cheeseheads holding a 20-16 edge as of 2023, but much of that lopsidedness is due the the Steelers pre-Immaculate Reception Record.

In fact, in the last 31 years, the teams have only met nine times, but those meetings have contributed much to the lore of both franchises. Either scroll down to click on the links below to relive your favorite moment in Steelers-Packers history.

Le’Veon Bell rushes for his first 100 yard game. Photo Credit: Jeffrey Phelps, Associated Press

1992 – Bill Cowher Reveals His True Nature in 1st Loss

September 17th, 1992 @ Lambeau Field
Green Bay 17, Pittsburgh 3

History will long remember this as Brett Favre’s first NFL start. Conversely, it was also Rod Woodson’s career worst and Bill Cowher’s first loss in his inaugural 1992 season.

• Although the words “Hall of Fame” and “Rod Woodson” were already being collocated in 1992, Woodson fell flat in almost every conceivable way possible on this day.

If you have a strong stomach for memories you’d rather forget, you can watch the game summary from NFL Prime Time.

For Steelers fans the significance of this game is in what Bill Cowher revealed about himself.

Near the end of the game Cowher approached Woodson. Rod turned away fearing a tongue lashing. Instead, Cowher consoled him, saying that “You’ve had a bad day at he office. When that happens, you don’t quit the job, you analyze what went wrong and bounce back.”

Steelers fans loved Cowher for his fire, brimstone and in your face bravado, but…

• …in his first loss as a head coach, The Chin showed that he was a head coach who was smart enough to know when to kick a player in the a_s, and when to pat him on the back.

1995 – Steelers So Close, Yet So Far….

December 24th, 1995 @ Lambeau Field
Green Bay 24, Pittsburgh 19

The 1995 Steelers playoff position was set, while the Packers still had something to play for. Bill Cowher benched many starters – Fred McAfee and Steve Avery were the Steelers starting backfield.

Yet this was a hard-fought, knock down drag out game. Kevin Greene hit Brett Favre so hard that he appeared to be coughing up his brains at one point. Jim McMahon did come in for a few snaps, but Favre refused to stay out long.

The Steelers second string almost pulled it off, as Yancey Thigpen dropped a sure touchdown pass as time expired.

• It was a metaphor for things to come as the Steelers took Dallas to the brink in Super Bowl XXX, until Neil O’Donnell threw it away…

1998 – Look What Happens When You Try to Get Too Cute….

November 9th, 1998 @ Three Rivers Stadium
Pittsburgh 27, Packers 20

Kordell Stewart and the entire Steelers offense had suffered and struggled under Ray Sherman’s offense all season. That seemed to change on Monday Night Football as Steelers amassed a 27-3 lead in the first three quarters.

Rookie Hines Ward on his 3rd NFL catch as LeRoy Butler closes in. Photo Credit: Rick Stewart, Getty Images via Bleacher Report

As the fourth quarter began, Pittsburgh appeared poised to make it 34-3, until Sherman decided to get cute on the goal line. Sherman thought it would be smart to revive Slash, and sent Mike Tomczak under center with Kordell lining up as a receiver. All went well, until the snap….

A bobbled exchange leads to a fumble, which Keith McKenzie returns 88 yards for a touchdown. The Packers score 17 unanswered points, but Pittsburgh holds on. Barley.

• The moral of the story there is that trick plays can give an already efficient offense a lethal edge, but they can be just as lethal for a struggling unit.

2005 – Never Underestimate the Importance to Backups….

November 6th, 2005 @ Lambeau Field
Pittsburgh 20, Green Bay 10

Ben Roethlisberger is out, so is Jerome Bettis. Willie Parker suits up, but only lasts for 5 carries. But Bill Cowher’s 2005 Steelers have a deep bull pen to fall back on. Charlie Batch starts, and while his numbers aren’t pretty, he avoids critical mistakes.

Bryant McFadden strip sacks Brett Favre, setting up a 77 yard Troy Polamalu touchdown return. Photo Credit: Steelers.com

But the star of the day is Duce Staley, who gets his first carry of the year that day, and adds a total of 14 more for 76 yards and including a long run of 17 and a touchdown. He also catches to passes for nine yards.

• As Bill Cowher said the day Pittsburgh released Staley, “If we don’t have Duce, we don’t win that game. If we don’t win that game, we don’t make the playoffs, and never get to Super Bowl XL.”

The Steelers signed Duce Staley to a generous contract in 2004, and he only ended up playing 16 games over three season. But in the end, it was money well spent.

2009 – This Mike Wallace is a 60 Minute Man Too….

December 20th, 2009 @ Heinz Field
Pittsburgh 37, Green Bay 36

This installment of the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Packers had been billed as the battle of the defensive titans, as the two teams were leading the league in defense. To add an exclamation point, it pitted Dick LeBeau vs. Dom Capers, the two architects of the Steelers defense of the 1990’s.

• But it was anything but a defensive struggle.

The Steelers and Packers combined for 936 yards and the lead changed hands four times in the fourth quarter as Aaron Rodgers passed for 383 yards. Ben Roethlisberger did him better, however, passing for 503 yards and in doing so only becoming only the 10th NFL signal caller to break the half-century mark.

Hines Ward and Heath Miller both broke the 100 yard mark, but the star of the game was Steelers rookie of the year Mike Wallace. Wallace bookended his game with touchdown catches. Taking his first pass for 60 yards to the end zone, and he did it again with his last pass, hauling in a 19 yard grab with 0:03 seconds remaining.

2010 – Super Bowl XLV – Steelers Must Wait for Stairway to Seven…

February 6th, 2011 @ Cowboys Stadium (aka “Jerry’s World”)
Green Bay 31, Pittsburgh 25

And that brings us to Super Bowl XVL and the Steelers ill-fated quest for Lombardi Number Seven.

The Steelers made some early mistakes and, as Mike Tomlin, ever the class act, insisted, the Packers made some tremendous plays that put the Steelers deep in a hole.

The men in Black and Gold fought back furiously and were alive until the game’s final minute. But, when the final gun sounded, the Packers simply showed themselves to be the better team and, to their credit, the Steelers acknowledged as much.

2013 – Le’Veon Bell Finds His Rushing Feet in the Snows of Lambeau Field

December 22nd, 2013 @ Lambeau Field
Pittsburgh 38, Green Bay 31

Like so many of the other games in recent Steelers-Packers history, this one went down to the wire. Although it seems laughable now, going into the game Mike Tomlin and the Steelers were forced to defend their decision to draft Le’Veon Bell over Eddie Lacy.

Le’Veon Bell rushes against Lamari Lattimore in the snows at Lambeau Field. Photo Credit: Jeffrey Phelps, AP via the Bleacher Report

Le’Veon Bell played as if he took it personally, ripping off runs for 11, 5, and 22 yards in his first four carries. By half time, Bell had 71 yards and was in route to his first 100 yard game. But Bell’s game was hardly blemish free.

• The game also featured Bell’s first NFL fumble at Pittsburgh’s 2 yard line no less.

Eddie Lacy put Green Bay ahead, but Le’Veon Bell took his next carry and shot through the Packers defense for 25 yards. The fireworks were far from over at that point, as Cortez Allen intercepted Matt Flynn and took it to the house, only to see Green Bay return to tie the score after intercepting a failed Ben Roethlisberger pass to Heath Miller.

• The Steelers however, regained the lead with 1:25 left to play on another Le’Veon Bell touchdown.

A monster return saw Green Bay return the ball all the way to the Pittsburgh’s 1, but penalties prevented the Packers from scoring as time ran out.

A hundred yard rusher, six changes in the lead, fumbles at the goal line and snow on Lambeau Field – as John Madden would say, “This is what the game of football is all about.”

2017 – A Tale of Two Field Goals

November 26th 2017 @ Heinz Field
Pittsburgh 31, Green Bay 28

It is easy to look at this nail biter of a finish and conclude, “Yeah, the Steelers really struggled without Ryan Shazier.” But this came one week before Shazier’s spinal contusion would end his career.

The Steelers defense did struggle in the absence of a key member as it gave up passes of 39, 54 and 58 passes to backup quarterback Brett Hundley. But that key member was Joe Haden, who was out with a broken leg.

But Ben Roethlisberger was on fire, throwing 4 touchdown passes, one to Xavier Grimble, two to Antonio Brown and another to Martavis Bryant. The game hinged on two field goal attempts. Late in the third quarter, Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy defied common sense and attempted a 57 yard field goal and watched as Mason Crosby missed badly.

With the game tied and just 17 seconds left, Ben Roethlisberger moved the Steelers 35 yards as Chris Boswell kicked a 53 yarder to win it as time expired.

2021 – Ben’s 4th Quarter Magic Not Quite Enough

October 3rd 2012 @ Lambeau Field
Green Bay 27, Pittsburgh 17

The Steelers began this game with a touchdown drive on their opening possession, something that was as rare 4 games into the Matt Canada era on offense as has been for the rest of his tenure. But it was all Packers for most of the next 45 minutes, Green Bay put up 27 points on the board while all the Steelers could manage was a 52 yard Chris Boswell field goal.

But Ben Roethlisberger flashed some of the 4th quarter magic which would characterize his final season, leading the Steelers on a 85 yard drive that ended with a Najee Harris touchdown with just over 4 minutes left to play to bring Pittsburgh to within 10.

The Steelers defense force a punt with the help of a T.J. Watt sack. But Ben Roethlisberger misfired while attempting to throw deep to Diontae Johnson, and was intercepted by Eric Stokes.

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