Pittsburg Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a rich history full of interesting ups and downs!

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Northern Division of the American Football Conference (AFC), in the National Football League (NFL). The Steelers are the oldest and most championed franchise in the AFC. The team has appeared in six Super Bowls and, along with the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys, is one of three teams to have won the Super Bowl five times. They have appeared in thirteen Conference Championship Games and have hosted more conference championship games than any other NFL franchise. They are the only team in NFL playoff history to win a Super Bowl after being seeded sixth in the playoffs, winning three consecutive games on the road followed by a Super Bowl XL victory in Detroit on February 5, 2006 against the Seattle Seahawks.

Originally named the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team joined the NFL in 1933 when owner Art Rooney, Sr. paid a US$2,500 franchise fee to the league. Prior to 1933, strict state blue laws had prevented sporting events from taking place on Sundays, when most NFL games were scheduled.

The team was renamed the Steelers in 1940, after the city's prominent steel industry. A fan suggested the name in a contest held by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the team.

The following is a selected list of memorable Steelers games.

November 22, 1959 at Cleveland Browns

Behind 14-20 with a minute and a half left and at their own 28 yard line, the Steelers Bobby Layne drove 60 yards behind the blocking of injured Tom Barnett who refused to leave the field. Layne threw a 12 yard pass with seconds left for the go-ahead score. Of Barnett's superhuman effort in protecting the Steelers runners and pass plays in the face of unbearable pain Layne said "He's all man, you can take that from me, that was a show, what he did to [the Browns Defense]". To add insult to a shocked Cleveland crowd, when the Browns took over after the Steelers score, dependable Lou Groza missed a chip shot field goal as the clock ran out.

December 15, 1963, at New York Giants

For the second year in a row, Coach Buddy Parker led the once-hapless Steelers to a winning season only to fall short of the playoffs. The quest for a divisional title came down to the final game against the Giants at Yankee Stadium. Although Pittsburgh fielded six Pro-Bowlers and a future hall of famer they fell short of the championship when the Giants won 33-17.

October 10, 1964, Cleveland Browns, Municipal Stadium

On the way towards a 5-9 season, the Steelers traveled to Cleveland while the Browns were on the road to their 1964 Championship Game appearance. John Henry Johnson racked up a jaw-dropping 200 yards on the ground and three touchdowns against the league's 5th best defense. The Steelers would go on to a 23-7 victory over the eventual NFL Champions while holding NFL legend Jim Brown to just a scoreless 59 total yards.

October 3, 1970, Cleveland Browns, Municipal Stadium

Last of the "Saturday Night Games" during the Steelers-Browns rivalry, a tradition which brought mystique and urban legends to the contest—even more so from what happened in the stands than was happening on in the field. In true Browns/Steelers tradition the game was a defensive battle of smashmouth football with a 15-7 loss being handed to the upstart Steelers.

November 19, 1972, at Cleveland Browns

A game that was as dramatic as it was decisive. The Browns' Don Cockroft missed a 26 yard fieldgoal with only minutes left only to have the same exact field position with :08 left on the game clock a half dozen plays later. His FG gave Cleveland the narrow win and tied the two teams atop the division with four games to go, but the Steelers would pummel their rivals in Pittsburgh two weeks later to take the Division crown as Cleveland made the playoffs as the lone wild-card.

December 23, 1972, vs. Oakland Raiders, AFC Divisional Playoff

The "Immaculate Reception" took place in what would be the Steelers' first ever post-season victory. The Steelers were down by one as time was expiring and Terry Bradshaw, desperate to throw, finally finds Frenchy Fuqua, but the pass rebounded off of either Fuqua or the Raider defending him, Jack Tatum. The ball came to rest into the hands of Franco Harris, who had wandered out beyond the line of scrimmage after seeing no Raider to block. The fans at Three Rivers Stadium exploded as Harris ran the catch in for the game winning touchdown. The officials were as bewildered as the Raiders; not one blew a whistle on what Raider coach John Madden insists was a dead ball since rules at the time prevented two offensive players from touching a live ball.[24] The play is arguably the first official use of replay in the NFL as the officials call upstairs to use network feeds to see if the ball hit the ground or was batted by Fuqua to set up Harris' catch and touchdown.[25] No angle catches the turf at the moment of the catch, nor how the ball came to Harris. Perhaps the most ironic part of the "greatest play ever" and the moment of Pittsburgh's first postseason victory was who missed it. The game was blacked out in Pittsburgh, so no one in the metro area realized what had happened until hours after. The patriarch of the team, Art Rooney was on an elevator going down to comfort his Steelers after what he thought was a loss. Legendary announcer Myron Cope was also in an elevator on the way down for post-game interviews. Even on the field, Bradshaw was regaining his bearings after being drilled by Oakland defenders and was looking skyward with his back on the turf.

November 25, 1973, at Cleveland Browns

Browns rookie Greg Pruitt kept Cleveland on the heels of the division-leading Steelers with a 42 yard pass early in the game, in which Pruitt eluded all eleven Steeler defenders, and a last minute 19 yard TD run that gave the Browns a 21-16 win. After getting swept up in the emotions of the dramatic comeback, the rookie Pruitt mistakenly bursts into the Steelers locker room. By the time Pruitt calmed down and remembered which door he needed to go through to get to his locker room, the Cleveland press had left.

December 3, 1973 at Miami Dolphins, Monday Night Football

A blooper game if ever there was one. Joe Gilliam started at quaterback, filling in for the injured Bradshaw, and starts 0 for 7 with three interceptions (including one that went for a Miami touchdown). His errors forced coach Chuck Noll to pull Gilliam and put in the hobbling Bradshaw. Bradshaw continued the problematic play when his first pass is picked off by the Miami defense and is returned for yet another touchdown. With the score 27-0 Miami, the Steelers attempt to make a comeback. Miami gets burned on a fake punt for a Pittsburgh touchdown, a 21 yard run by Franco Harris for another Pittsburgh score, two Larry Csonka fumbles, one of which sets up a Bradshaw touchdown pass on the very next play, and finally, on fourth down from their own five yard line, coach Don Shula called for Bob Griese to take an intentional safety, even confusing the famed MNF announcers. With all the sloppy play on both sides Miami manages to hang on to a 30-26 win.

December 29, 1974 at Oakland Raiders, AFC Championship Game

In a game that resulted in the Steelers first Super Bowl appearance, the Steelers defense holds Oakland to only 29 yards on the ground and Jack Ham makes two key interceptions to end long Raider drives. Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier run over the Raider defenders for more than 200 combined yards in a 24-13 Pittsburgh win.

January 12, 1975. Minnesota Vikings, Super Bowl IX

Pittsburgh wins its first of its four Super Bowls in the 1970s and does it in record-setting fashion. The Steel Curtain defense holds the veteran Vikings to just 119 total offensive yards, still a Super Bowl record that stands 32 Championships later. The Steelers defense also robbed three interceptions and forced two Viking fumbles for a record five Super Bowl turnovers recovered. MVP Franco Harris set a Super Bowl rushing record that stood for almost a decade as Pittsburgh wins the world championship 16-6, missing the shutout on a blocked Steeler punt covered by Minnesota for a TD.

January 18, 1976, Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowl X

The Steelers repeated as as Super Bowl Champions and again set multiple Super Bowl records, including yards receiving by MVP Lynn Swann. Swann's four immortal grabs for 161 yards set a yardage record that would stand for twelve Super Bowls. Among the receptions was a 64 yard completion for a touchdown in the fourth quarter that would be voted the best passing play in all of football history by NFL Films. The Steel Curtain defense would pick off Roger Staubach for three interceptions as Pittsburgh won by a score of 21-17 to win back-to-back championships. This game was the start of heated rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys (in what would become the most numerous pairing in Super Bowl history).

September 12, 1976 at Oakland Raiders, Season Opener

In what was becoming a heated rivalry for dominance of the AFC in the 1970s, this game brought tensions to a boiling point. Coming off of a freshly minted dynasty, the Steelers opened the quest for three championships in a row at the home of the eventual Super Bowl XI Champion Oakland Raiders. Pittsburgh was up late 28-14, but the Raiders came back with a vengeance. George Atkinson got in a cheap shot against Super Bowl MVP Swann with a blow to the head. Mel Blount retaliated later by driving Raider Cliff Branch head-first into the turf. Chuck Noll later fumed that Atkinson's hit on Swann was part of the "criminal element of the NFL" prompting the Raider to sue Noll in California court. Oakland won the slugfest 31-28.

October 10, 1976, at Cleveland Browns

A strange game in the Steelers/Browns rivalry. Fresh off a Super Bowl victory Terry Bradshaw is spiked head-first into the Cleveland turf by Joe "Turkey" Jones. Bradshaw left the game dazed after Jones' hit and so did Browns starter Brian Sipe after he was injured by the Steelers defense. In the end, it came down to the surprising play of back-up Browns quarterback Dr. David Mays, a dentist off the field, who caught the Steelers defense off-guard in a two point Pittsburgh loss.

November 20, 1977, Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys were 8-1 when they visited the Steelers with an injured Bradshaw (wrist). The Steelers showed run on every play and even though the Cowboys "Doomsday Defense" knew Harris would be coming on every down they were impotent against a vaunted Steeler offensive line. Harris ran all over the Cowboys for 179 yards, including a 61 yard touchdown run. Roger Staubach may have wished he were injured as he threw two critical interceptions as Pittsburgh went on to dominate Dallas at Three Rivers Stadium 28-13. It would be Dallas' last loss of the season as they would go on to win Super Bowl XII.

September 24, 1978, Cleveland Browns

One of the more heated games in the history of the Steelers/Browns rivalry, Lynn Swann survived a full speed shoulder to the neck shot by a Cleveland Browns back when he spreads out to catch a go-ahead score. The hit is so vicious that the TV announcer, Dick Enberg can be heard to scream in horror, but Swann held onto the ball. Pittsburgh's Steel Curtain defense was also quite vicious, earning four personal fouls in the game. In the final seconds of regulation, Jack Lambert exploded into the Cleveland backfield to push the Browns back out of field goal range and save the game for overtime 9-9. In overtime Bradshaw calls a "flea flicker" play, Bradshaw to Bleier to Swann to Bradshaw to Cunningham, that stuns Cleveland for a 15-9 loss.

November 25, 1979, Cleveland Browns

Arguably one of the greatest football games ever played. The Steelers were at the height of their four championships dynasty and the Browns were a year away from earning a Divisional crown of their own, as well as starting their AFC Championship game runs of the 1980s. The game lasted nearly 5 quarters and over four hours. The Steel Curtain Defense sacked Cleveland's Brian Sipe seven times, Harris had 151 yards rushing and 81 yards receiving for a total of 232 all-purpose yards. Pittsburgh battled back from 6-20, 13-27 and 20-30 deficits. Matt Bahr kicked a game-tying 21 yard field goal in the fourth quarter with :24 on the clock to send the contest into overtime. Bahr also was responsible for the 37 yard game winner with :09 left in overtime for a 33-30 Steelers victory (the only time in the game the Steelers were ahead). L.C. Greenwood said of the game: "It was one of the most physical games I've played in the 11 years I've played football...it was a hard fought game. We had to fight." A game that vaulted the Steelers/Browns rivalry into one of the greatest in all sports.

November 3, 1985, Cleveland Browns

Played in a driving rain storm, the game was a slugfest. In the end, the long-time Steelers kicker Gary Anderson booted a 25 yard field goal with :09 on the game clock to win it 10-9 for Pittsburgh. It is of note that the best kicker in Steelers history had this as his only last minute, game deciding field goal during his twelve years with Pittsburgh. The Steelers/Browns rivalry lore didn't end there with this contest as all teams in the division were tied for first after the game, with over half the season behind them. This was also the 16th straight loss the Steelers handed the Browns in Pittsburgh.

November 26, 1998, at Detroit Lions

The most memorable moment during this 19-16 overtime loss on Thanksgiving to the hapless 4-7 Lions happened after regulation play. Jerome Bettis, playing for the Steelers in his hometown of Detroit, was asked to call the coin toss to open up overtime with the game tied 16-16. Bettis called tails as the coin was in the air and the coin was tails on the ground. However the referee, Phil Luckett, insisted that he heard Bettis state heads. All audio and video clips of the call confirmed that Bettis had indeed said tails but only after conferring with teammates and saying quietly "heads/tails?"[26] The Steelers went into Thanksgiving with a record of 7-4 but after the loss at Detroit, lost their remaining 4 games and missed the playoffs.

January 15, 2006, at Indianapolis Colts (AFC Divisional Playoffs)