The Pittsburgh Steelers have won six Super Bowls out of eight total appearances. Their former quarterback Kordell Stewart believes that it could have been seven wins had the Steelers given him more time. 24 years after parting ways with Pittsburgh, Stewart opened up on what went wrong for Bill Cowher’s team in 1995. 

On the Up & Adams show, Stewart was asked if the Steelers could win the Super Bowl XXX if he was given the time to play.

“Yes. Yes. Absolutely. I mean, if I can go 48 and 29 being a quarterback, right?” shared Stewart. “Overall, arguably, what is that? 63% probably. I mean, that’s a hell of a percentage. Just continue to do what we did throughout the season and do that kind of stuff we’re looking at here on the screen. I think we would have had a chance to win it. But then I don’t want to sound as if we screwed it up either, but damn it. … We would have won the Super Bowl when I got in. Hell yeah.”

Coming out of Colorado, Stewart was picked by the Steelers in the second round of the 1995 NFL Draft. Pittsburgh found a dynamic offensive weapon in Stewart, who was extremely versatile. The rookie lined up as wide receiver, running back, and quarterback, quickly winning over Steeler Nation. But all these qualities were not enough for Pittsburgh to crown him as the starter. 

He played in Pittsburgh till 2002, after which he went to Chicago. After he parted ways with the team, the Steelers won two more Super Bowls in 2006 and 2009. Even though Stewart missed them by a few years, in his rookie year, the team went to the Super Bowl XXX finale stage, after which they struggled and fell 17-27 to the Dallas Cowboys.

Stewart stepped in for an injured Neil O’Donnell during the regular season, and impressed fans. He made notable plays as a rookie, including his touchdown pass to Ernie Mills against the Cleveland Browns, his first NFL pass. The score helped Pittsburgh win the game 20-3. He also caught a 71-yard pass against the Cincinnati Bengals. Stewart was doing everything to bring Pittsburgh the wins.

However, O’Donnell kept starting duties with him for most of the season. But his lead in the playoffs was not looking that good. Two costly interceptions by O’Donnell in the second half of Super Bowl XXX against the Cowboys left Pittsburgh’s championship hopes in tatters. Back then, Stewart must have had no reason to believe he would have done a better job than O’Donnell. But years later, looking back at his journey, he can confidently claim so. 

The 1997 season was the first time that he suited up as the starting quarterback for Pittsburgh, with O’Donnell not being re-signed by the team after the 1996 season. Stewart did not look back and made the opportunity count. Whether it was recovering from a 21-0 deficit in Baltimore or overturning a 21-7 disadvantage against Denver, the Steelers consistently found ways to stay in the fight. Their 3-0 record in overtime games further highlighted that resilience. While the team kept delivering comeback performances, Stewart was busy rewriting the NFL record books.

The quarterback was just 25 at that time with two years of experience in the NFL. That did not stop him from chasing greatness as Stewart became the first NFL player to throw 20 touchdowns and rush for 10 scores in the same season. He also set another league milestone by recording three passing touchdowns and two rushing scores in multiple games.

Unfortunately for Stewart, the Cowboys could never make the Super Bowl after the 1995 season. That pain would eventually lead to an ongoing drought of 30 years since that feat.

Decades later, he now regrets that if the Steelers had counted on him with the starting reins in 1995, their season would not have ended with heartbreak.