Pittsburgh Steelers: The 8 Biggest Embarrassments in Steelers History

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had so much success, particularly in recent seasons, that it's almost easy to forget that this franchise also has had it's low points and embarrassing moments. Every franchise has those. Some just have enough high points to make the worst of times seem forgettable.

Here's a look at eight of the most embarrassing moments in Steelers history.

8. Ben Roethlisberger's Brushes with the Law

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DETROIT - FEBRUARY 05: Head coach Bill Cowher of the Pittsburgh Steelers jokes with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger #7 during the final seconds of the game before defeating the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL at Ford Field on February 5, 2006 in Detroit

2009 and 2010 weren't good times for Ben Roethlisberger. What happened then needs no repetition. Doing so would only serve to give further credence to things that are, at this point, better left to the past and for the tabloids.

Many may say that this moment should be much, much higher on this list. I can understand that sentiment, with this so fresh in the minds of those who witnessed it happening. But I cannot rank it higher. It was embarrassing more to Roethlisberger than the Steelers, who were only embarrassed because of his connection to the team, not for any direct wrongdoing.

If anything, the Steelers' handling of the situation showed how strong and upstanding the franchise can be. No appeals for leniency were made, no attempts at a cover-up were either. The Steelers let the commissioner police the situation along with law enforcement and calmly accepted the consequences.

In the end, this may have been a great character-building moment for both player and franchise. Just look at the results a year later.

7. 2001 and 2004 AFC Championship Losses

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PITTSBURGH - JANUARY 23: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers walks off the field late in the game against the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game at Heinz Field on January 23, 2005 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Phot

I'm not sure which season-ending contest (both at the hands of New England) is worse.

In 2004, the Steelers had gone 15-1 with a rookie quarterback at the helm, beaten a feisty New York Jets team, and looked poised for a Super Bowl trip should they beat the Patriots in Pittsburgh, where they had handed the Patriots their first loss of the season months before.

They were slaughtered by a driven and well-prepared New England squad that made the Steelers look like a team with a rookie signal caller. Perhaps, however, this is less embarrassing because of that simple fact. Rarely do rookie quarterbacks see the success Big Ben had in his first season.

In 2001, the Steelers finished 13-3 and dominated what had seemed a wide-open AFC. They'd come off a thumping of the rival Ravens and simply had to be an upstart Patriots squad to reach the Super Bowl. Then it unraveled, with the Patriots (even without sudden star Tom Brady) forcing Pittsburgh into costly and uncharacteristic mistakes.

There have been other championship losses, but these two have seemed to sting most because of the expectations heading into each.

In either regard, the Steelers' inability to get past New England in the playoffs and, more recently, the regular season, is most embarrassing.

6. Super Bowl XLV

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ARLINGTON, TX - FEBRUARY 06: Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers calls a play against the Green Bay Packers during Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium on February 6, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Any Super Bowl loss is embarrassing for a franchise. For one as used to success as the Steelers, it's painful as well.

So why so low on the list?

In short, the Steelers lost to a superior team. They beat themselves. It's embarrassing, but only because they lost. There's no greater issue than that here.

Also, it's hard to rank this higher since the Steelers weren't even expected to get as far as they had. They had overcome so much in 2010 that getting as far as the Super Bowl was something to be proud of even if the end result wasn't nearly as magical as the journey.

Sure it was embarrassing, but you'd be hard-pressed to say that the team didn't learn a lot from 2010. And, it's hard to imagine a team that could turn failure into motivation better than the Steelers.

5. Post-Championship Hangovers

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PITTSBURGH - DECEMBER 27: Antwan Barnes #50 of the Baltimore Ravens sacks Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 27, 2009 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Perhaps more embarrassing than losing a Super Bowl is winning one and then laying a huge egg the next year. More embarrassing than that is doing it twice in a row.

That's exactly what the Steelers managed to do both in 2006 and in 2009. After making great championship runs and arguably improving their rosters afterward, the Steelers failed to even reach the playoffs. They posted records of 8-8 (2006) and 9-7 (2009) and in both seasons went on inexplicable losing skids.

Perhaps expectations were higher than they should have been, but for teams coming off of Super Bowl victories, the Steelers played about as mediocre as possible.

4. Johnny Blood in the Wrong City

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ARLINGTON, TX - FEBRUARY 06: Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers hands the ball off to Rashard Mendenhall #34 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium on February 6, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Penning

Perhaps it is more legend than fact, but the coaching legacy of John "Blood" McNally was marred by several oddities (not to mention poor records).

McNally would post a 6-19 record in parts of three seasons with the franchise. He was reckless and unorthodox with poor discipline as a player and coach.

A perfect (and embarrassing) example of his wild tenure is the story that one day he turned up in a bar in one city and told curious patrons and friends that he had the day off. Immediately after, results came over the radio for the day's games and listed Pittsburgh as having played and lost.

A maverick coach who couldn't keep track of his team? There can be few more embarrassing moments.

3. 1933-1969, the Dark Ages

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8 Nov 1989: Head coach Chuck Noll of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on during a game against the Denver Broncos at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Broncos won the game 34-7. Mandatory Credit: Tim de Frisco /Allsport

In the days before Chuck Noll guided the Steelers to their winning ways, they resembled very closely the Detroit Lions of the 2000s or the Pittsburgh Pirates since 1992. They rarely won, rarely kept coaches, and looked, for all the world, like a ship without a rudder.

Art Rooney was ridiculed as a buffoon and a money-grubbing owner who cared nothing for winning (sound familiar Pirates fans?). In fact, Rooney cared very much about winning but invested in the wrong players and coaches.

Luckily for all Pittsburgh fans, when Rooney took a chance on an assistant coach with no experience as an NFL head coach, he guessed right. Chuck Noll came on board, had one bad season at the start, and then guided the team into the history books.

2. Super Bowl XXX

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28 Jan 1996: Quarterback Neil O'Donnell of the Pittsburgh Steelers hands off the ball during Super Bowl XXX against the Dallas Cowboys at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The Cowboys won the game, 27-17. Mandatory Credit: Mike Powell /Allsport

For those who witnessed it, there's no need to explain. For those who haven't, I'll give a little background.

The Steelers were a somewhat surprising entrant into the Super Bowl after enduring an early season slump and barely surviving the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game. Against Dallas, a recent Super Bowl champion now playing under a new coach, the odds looked good that the game would be competitive.

The Cowboys jumped out to an early lead and held on through most of the game. Eventually, the Steelers woke up and battled back. Neil O'Donnell, the team's quarterback and one of the best in the game at limiting his mistakes, looked poised to take his place alongside Terry Bradshaw as a Super Bowl champion quarterback for Pittsburgh when everything suddenly went wrong.

O'Donnell was intercepted twice late. Both looked somewhat dubious. Larry Brown took the back-breaking one in the open field with no receiver in sight. Allegations that O'Donnell deliberately threw the game were rife and, even though nothing has been proven in the intervening years, the suspicion still lingers thanks to O'Donnell's almost-flippant attitude toward his performance.

It is embarrassing not only because it was the franchise's first brush with championship failure. It is also embarrassing because not everything may have been on the level.

1. Cutting Johnny Unitas

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BALTIMORE - SEPTEMBER 15: Detail of an onfield tribute to Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas #19 of the Baltimore Colts with his signature black high tops in a glass case during halftime of the NFL game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Balti

Draft mistakes happen every year. Players disappoint and surprise in equal parts. Teams have all, to be sure, missed on someone they could have and should have had. But rarely do teams cut a player that turns out to be the greatest of all time.

That Johnny Unitas is the greatest quarterback to ever play the game is debatable. We'll save that for another day.

What is not debatable is that the Steelers could have benefited from his skills. With several quarterbacks on the roster, Unitas became the odd man out because the team's coaches and owner Art Rooney thought he would never amount to anything in the NFL.

After another season in semi-pro football, the Baltimore Colts signed him up and he became one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever put on and NFL uniform.

Oops.