| 1949 Pittsburgh Steelers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | John Michelosen | 
| Home field | Forbes Field | 
| Local radio | KDKA | 
| Results | |
| Record | 6–5–1 | 
| Division place | 2nd NFL Eastern | 
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify | 
The 1949 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 17th in the National Football League, and the second season with John Michelosen as head coach. The team finished the season with a record of 6–5-1, improving slightly from the previous season record of 4-8, but again failing to qualify for the playoffs.
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 25 | New York Giants | W 28–7 | 1–0 | Forbes Field | Recap | 
| 2 | October 3 | Washington Redskins | L 14–27 | 1–1 | Forbes Field | Recap | 
| 3 | October 8 | Detroit Lions | W 14–7 | 2–1 | Forbes Field | Recap | 
| 4 | October 16 | at New York Giants | W 21–17 | 3–1 | Polo Grounds | Recap | 
| 5 | October 23 | New York Bulldogs | W 24–13 | 4–1 | Forbes Field | Recap | 
| 6 | October 30 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 7–38 | 4–2 | Forbes Field | Recap | 
| 7 | November 6 | at Washington Redskins | L 14–27 | 4–3 | Griffith Stadium | Recap | 
| 8 | November 13 | Los Angeles Rams | T 7–7 | 4–3–1 | Forbes Field | Recap | 
| 9 | November 20 | at Green Bay Packers | W 30–7 | 5–3–1 | Wisconsin State Fair Park | Recap | 
| 10 | November 27 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 17–34 | 5–4–1 | Shibe Park | Recap | 
| 11 | December 4 | at Chicago Bears | L 21–30 | 5–5–1 | Wrigley Field | Recap | 
| 12 | December 11 | at New York Bulldogs | W 27–0 | 6–5–1 | Polo Grounds | Recap | 
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1 (Sunday September 25, 1949): New York Giants
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 
| Steelers | 0 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 28 | 
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
 - Game weather:
 - Game attendance: 20,957
 - Referee:
 - TV announcers:
 
Scoring drives:
Week 2 (Monday October 3, 1949): Washington Redskins
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redskins | 6 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 27 | 
| Steelers | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
 - Game weather:
 - Game attendance: 30,000
 - Referee:
 - TV announcers:
 
Scoring drives:
Week 3 (Saturday October 8, 1949): Washington Redskins
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 
| Steelers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
 - Game weather:
 - Game attendance: 21,355
 - Referee:
 - TV announcers:
 
Scoring drives:
Week 4 (Sunday October 16, 1949): New York Giants
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 
| Giants | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 
at Polo Grounds, New York, New York
- Game time:
 - Game weather:
 - Game attendance: 29,911
 - Referee:
 - TV announcers:
 
Scoring drives:
Week 5 (Sunday October 23, 1949): New York Bulldogs
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulldogs | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 
| Steelers | 10 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 24 | 
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
 - Game weather:
 - Game attendance: 22,042
 - Referee:
 - TV announcers:
 
Scoring drives:
Week 6 (Sunday October 30, 1949): Philadelphia Eagles
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagles | 3 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 38 | 
| Steelers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
 - Game weather:
 - Game attendance: 37,903
 - Referee:
 - TV announcers:
 
Scoring drives:
- Philadelphia – FG Patton 48
 - Philadelphia – Van Buren 1 run (Muha kick)
 - Philadelphia – Scott 70 punt return (Muha kick)
 - Philadelphia – Van Buren 6 run (Muha kick)
 - Pittsburgh – Jansante 35 pass from Finks (Glamp kick)
 - Philadelphia – Thompson 1 run (Muha kick)
 - Philadelphia – Pihos 15 pass from Mackrides (Muha kick)
 
Week 7 (Sunday November 6, 1949): Washington Redskins
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 
| Redskins | 0 | 7 | 0 | 20 | 27 | 
at Griffith Stadium, Washington, DC
- Game time:
 - Game weather:
 - Game attendance:
 - Referee:
 - TV announcers:
 
Scoring drives:
Week 8 (Sunday November 13, 1949): Los Angeles Rams
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 
| Steelers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
 - Game weather:
 - Game attendance: 20,510
 - Referee:
 - TV announcers:
 
Scoring drives:
Week 9 (Sunday November 20, 1949): Green Bay Packers
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 30 | 
| Packers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 
at City Stadium, Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Game time:
 - Game weather:
 - Game attendance:
 - Referee:
 - TV announcers:
 
Scoring drives:
Week 10 (Sunday November 27, 1949): Philadelphia Eagles
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 | 
| Eagles | 10 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 34 | 
at Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
 - Game weather:
 - Game attendance: 22,191
 - Referee:
 - TV announcers:
 
Scoring drives:
- Philadelphia – Armstrong 13 pass from Thompson (Patton kick)
 - Pittsburgh – Nuzum 67 pass from Geri (Geri kick)
 - Philadelphia – FG Patton 16
 - Pittsburgh – FG Geri 34
 - Philadelphia – Ferrante 3 pass from Thompson (Patton kick)
 - Philadelphia – Parmer 1 run (Patton kick)
 - Philadelphia – FG Patton 13
 - Pittsburgh – Nickel 40 pass from Gage (Geri kick)
 
Week 11 (Sunday December 4, 1949): Chicago Bears
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 | 
| Bears | 7 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 30 | 
at Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois
- Game time:
 - Game weather:
 - Game attendance: 36,071
 - Referee:
 - TV announcers:
 
Scoring drives:
- Chicago Bears – Rykovick 20 pass from Lujack (Lujack kick)
 - Pittsburgh – Nickel 48 pass from Geri (Geri kick)
 - Chicago Bears – Hoffman 3 run (Lujack kick)
 - Chicago Bears – FG Blanda 33
 - Chicago Bears – Rykovich 1 run (kick failed)
 - Chicago Bears – Rykovich 1 run (Lujack kick)
 - Pittsburgh – Gage 97 run (Geri kick)
 - Pittsburgh – Gage 6 run (Geri kick)
 
Week 12 (Sunday December 11, 1949): New York Bulldogs
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 0 | 6 | 14 | 7 | 27 | 
| Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 
at Polo Grounds, New York, New York
- Game time:
 - Game weather:
 - Game attendance: 4,028
 - Referee:
 - TV announcers:
 
Scoring drives:
Standings
| NFL Eastern Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Philadelphia Eagles | 11 | 1 | 0 | .917 | 8–0 | 364 | 134 | W8 | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 5 | 1 | .545 | 4–4 | 224 | 214 | W1 | |
| New York Giants | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 3–5 | 287 | 298 | L2 | |
| Washington Redskins | 4 | 7 | 1 | .364 | 3–4–1 | 268 | 339 | L1 | |
| New York Bulldogs | 1 | 10 | 1 | .091 | 1–6–1 | 153 | 368 | L5 | |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.