1992: When the Steelers were Wheaties

There was a time years ago when the breakfast company General Mills placed images of athletes and teams on the cover of their boxes of Wheaties. The Pittsburgh Steelers were benefactors of that in 1992 when five players from the team graced the cover of the cereal box.

Those five players were quarterback Neil O’Donnell, linebacker Greg Lloyd, running backs Barry Foster and Merrill Hoge, and safety Carnell Lake as shown below. All were talented players and who could ever forget “Avoid Lloyd.” Greg Lloyd was one of the hardest hitting linebackers of his day and played with ferocity only Jack Lambert could match.

Neil O’Donnell would become more well known for his failures in Super Bowl XXX when the Steelers lost to the Dallas Cowboys on the strength of two awful O’Donnell interceptions. Barry Foster’s career was cut short after just five years in the NFL with the Steelers releasing him after the 1994 season and Foster declining a roster spot with the Cincinnati Bengals and then failing to make the Carolina Panthers roster. But in 1992, Foster led the NFL with 390 rushing attempts and finished with 1,690 rushing yards, a Steelers record. 

Merrill Hoge was a tough runner and served as a fullback while Carnell Lake was one of the best safeties during his time with the Steelers. Hodges played all but one of his eight seasons in Pittsburgh, finishing in 1994 with the Chicago Bears. As a Steeler his best statistical season came in 1990 when he rushed for 772 yards and seven touchdowns. The season before he scored eight times but finished with 621 yards rushing. 

Carnell Lake and Rod Woodson were a formidable duo in the Steelers secondary with 54 interceptions during their reign of terror facing opposing teams (Woodson with 38 and Lake with 16). During the 1990s the Steelers defense was one of the best and that 1992 team finishing the season 11-5 and winning the old AFC Central Division. The Houston Oilers finished one game behind at 10-6 and the Cincinnati Bengals were in the basement at 5-11. The Steelers would lose in the first round of the playoffs to Buffalo by a score of 24-3.