The 1996 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 64th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League. This was Bill Cowher's fifth season as head coach of the Steelers, which resulted in yet another trip to the playoffs for the team, as Pittsburgh won the AFC Central championship for the fourth time under Cowher. The team's 10–6 record was not enough to earn the Steelers a first-round bye. In their first playoff game, a rematch of the previous year's AFC Championship Game, the Steelers defeated the Indianapolis Colts, 42–14. The following their season would come to a halt as the Steelers lost to the New England Patriots, 28–3. This would be the final season that the team wore block numerals, the next year they would switch to rounded numerals where it has remained ever since.

Personnel

Staff

Notable additions include Jerome Bettis, Earl Holmes and Carlos Emmons.

Roster

Preseason

Schedule

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1 (Sunday September 1, 1996): at Jacksonville Jaguars

at Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida Scoring drives:

Week 2 (Sunday September 8, 1996): vs. Baltimore Ravens

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Scoring drives:

Week 3 (Monday September 16, 1996): vs. Buffalo Bills

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Scoring drives:

Week 4 (Sunday September 22, 1996): Bye Week

Week 5 (Sunday September 29, 1996): vs. Houston Oilers

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Scoring drives:

Week 6 (Monday October 7, 1996): at Kansas City Chiefs

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri Scoring drives:

Week 7 (Sunday October 13, 1996): vs. Cincinnati Bengals

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Scoring drives:

Week 8 (Sunday October 20, 1996): at Houston Oilers

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas Scoring drives:

Week 9 (Sunday October 27, 1996): at Atlanta Falcons

at Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia Scoring drives:

Week 10 (Sunday November 3, 1996): vs. St. Louis Rams

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Scoring drives:

Week 11 (Sunday November 10, 1996): at Cincinnati Bengals

at Cinergy Field, Cincinnati, Ohio Scoring drives:

Week 12 (Sunday November 17, 1996): vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Scoring drives:

Week 13 (Monday November 25, 1996): at Miami Dolphins

at Pro Player Stadium, Miami, Florida Scoring drives:

Week 14 (Sunday December 1, 1996): at Baltimore Ravens

at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland Scoring drives:

Week 15 (Sunday December 8, 1996): vs. San Diego Chargers

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Scoring drives:

Week 16 (Sunday December 15, 1996): vs. San Francisco 49ers

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Scoring drives:

Week 17 (Sunday December 22, 1996): at Carolina Panthers

at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina Scoring drives:

Standings

Playoffs

Game summaries

AFC Wild Card Playoff (Sunday December 29, 1996): vs. Indianapolis Colts

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Scoring drives:

AFC Divisional Playoff (Sunday January 5, 1997): at New England Patriots

at Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts Scoring drives:

Honors and awards

Pro Bowl Representatives