He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994. That year, Seau was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, and he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX. In one of the greatest games in his career, he recorded 16 tackles in the 1994 AFC Championship Game while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck in a 17–13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2002, his final year with the Chargers, he logged a then-career low 83 tackles and missed his final Pro Bowl with an ankle injury.