The Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for the most Super Bowl victories in NFL history. However, they haven’t won every championship game that they’ve played in. Their first loss came in Super Bowl XXX at the conclusion of the 1995 season. The Steelers lost 27-17 to the Dallas Cowboys, and many fans still blame quarterback Neil O’Donnell for that. He threw two ugly interceptions to Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown. Former Steelers offensive lineman Emerson Martin was on that team, and he believes O’Donnell played poorly on purpose.
“Nothing against Neil O’Donnell, but I believe he threw the Super Bowl,” Martin said recently on Neil Haley’s YouTube channel. “Neil’s perfect two passes went to Brown. You take those plays away, that’s two touchdowns that they converted in that game, and they are totally dominated by us.
“We should’ve won that game because we were the better team that day. We played better with the exception of two plays. Those two plays turned everything around.”
O’Donnell had a solid season with the Steelers that year. He threw for 2,970 yards, 17 touchdowns, and seven interceptions in 12 games. However, his performance in the Super Bowl was abysmal. O’Donnell completed 28 0f his 49 pass attempts for 239 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
The first interception with a little under eight minutes left in the third quarter and the Steelers trailing 13-7. O’Donnell threw a horrible pass around midfield that Brown intercepted and returned to the Steelers’ 18-yard line.
30 Years Ago Tonight
Super Bowl XXX MVP Larry Brown
The #DallasCowboys corner intercepts two ill-advised passes by the Steelers’ Neil O’Donnell in the second half.
Both ending potential go-ahead Steeler drives, both leading directly to #Cowboys touchdowns
January 28, 1996 pic.twitter.com/0LBZFOtdpY
— Kevin Gallagher (@KevG163) January 29, 2026
Two plays later, the Cowboys scored a touchdown. The Steelers mounted a comeback, cutting the Cowboys’ lead to only three points with around seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. They had a chance to win.
The Steelers got the ball back with a little more than four minutes remaining in the game. Unfortunately, O’Donnell threw another terrible pass on the second play of that drive that Brown again intercepted. It set up another quick Cowboys touchdown, which basically ended the game.
There is not a shred of evidence that O’Donnell threw the game. However, Martin shared more details that made him more convinced that O’Donnell wasn’t trying to win.
“I wouldn’t say as much, I wouldn’t feel the way I feel, but we all got on the plane afterwards and went back to Pittsburgh with the exception of Neil O’Donnell,” Martin said. “He got in a limo with his agent. That was the last time I saw him. I don’t know if he got paid, but I feel like he didn’t play for us.”
Does that mean O’Donnell played poorly on purpose? No. Maybe O’Donnell couldn’t bear to face the rest of the team after his ugly performance. He could’ve blamed himself just as much as others did for the loss.
However, it’s easy to understand why Martin feels the way that he does. O’Donnell was a free agent after that season, so it likely frustrated the team that he didn’t play well in the Super Bowl and then took off, never to play for Pittsburgh again.