Most of the stars from the 1970s had departed, but the Steelers showed signs of their past glory by amassing a 9–7 record to capture the AFC Central Title again.
1984 would prove to be somewhat of a transition year for the Steelers, as it would mark the final season of several key members of their 1970s dynasty—most notably Jack Lambert (who missed several games during the season due to a recurring turf toe injury), but also Larry Brown and Craig Colquitt—as well as the retirement of Mel Blount in mid-March and the unexpected[2] retirement of Terry Bradshaw in late July.
The Steelers infamously passed over Marino in the first round of the previous year's draft in favor of Gabriel Rivera, who by 1984 was already out of football; he suffered a spinal cord injury in a drunk driving crash that permanently left him a quadriplegic.
Harris would sign with the Seattle Seahawks and play eight games for that team before retiring 192 yards short of Brown's record, which would be surpassed by Payton that season.
Running backs (RB) Wide receivers (WR) Tight ends (TE) Defensive linemen (DL) Defensive backs (DB) Special teams [1] [3] [4] Reserve at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Mark Malone and David Woodley combined for 419 passing yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions, while the Chiefs won despite putting up just 264 yards of total offense.
at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey After coughing up four turnovers to the Chiefs, the Steelers picked off Pat Ryan three times and forced a fumble; they also bullied the Jets into eleven penalties for 115 yards.
One week previously, the Steelers beat the 49ers in San Francisco – becoming the solitary team to achieve this as the 49ers finished 15-1 on the way to winning the Super Bowl.
Between Washington and a few other Steeler defenders, WR Ray Butler burst through the gap, snatched the ball in the air and ran untouched 54 yards for the touchdown.
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at Astrodome, Houston, Texas The Steelers tied the game in the fourth yet fell in overtime, all despite intercepting Warren Moon three times.