1975 Pittsburgh Steelers: Juiced Up By Bradshaw & Swann

Legacy Lens NFL History Articles, Sports History Articles

The Pittsburgh Steelers won a breakthrough Super Bowl in 1974, ending decades of frustration for a passionate fan base. The 1974 run saw the Steelers glide through a soft schedule and get the right breaks in the postseason. But the 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers were different—they were a juiced-up version of the same model and their run to a repeat championship left little doubt about who the best team was.

A TOUGH AFC CENTRAL IN 1975

Pittsburgh’s division rivals included, as they do now, the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns. The fourth team in the old AFC Central was the Houston Oilers, who have since relocated to Tennessee and changed to the Titans. The AFC Central had been mediocre in 1974, with Pittsburgh the only winning team. There was no such luck in 1975—the Bengals and Oilers each won double-digit games in what was then a 14-game schedule.

The Steelers were ready for the challenge. The Steel Curtain defense ranked #2 in the NFL and sent eight starters to the Pro Bowl, including 1^st-team All-Pro members in end L.C. Greenwood, linebacker Jack Ham and corner Mel Blount. The running game, keyed by Franco Harris and including Rocky Bleier, finished second. The number two rankings of both the defense and running game replicated 1974.

What separated the 1975 team was the improvement in the passing game. Terry Bradshaw had spent half of 1974 on the bench and wide receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth were rookies. Bradshaw was now entrenched, and Swann had a breakout year. It gave the Steelers the extra element they needed.

A PASSING GAME BREAKTHROUGH

That extra element was on immediate display at lowly San Diego. Bradshaw went 21/28 for 227yards and no mistakes. He threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Frank Lewis and hit Stallworth on a 38-yard strike. The Steelers rolled, 37-0.

A disappointing home loss to Buffalo followed. Simpson ran wild, for 227 yards. Buffalo would not repeat their playoff run of ‘74, but they looked the part in Week 2. The score was 30-7 in the fourth quarter and ended a deceptively close 30-21.

Pittsburgh went on to Cleveland. Bradshaw, after opening up sharp, hitting seven of eight passes for 151 yards, was knocked out. No problem. Joe Gilliam stepped in and went 11/15 for 221 yards. Swann and Stallworth each had 100-plus receiving yards. The Steelers blew out a bad team 42-6 and Bradshaw was healthy enough to return the following week.

The Bradshaw-to-Swann combo connected for a couple of touchdown passes at home against Denver to key a 20-9 home win. A bad Chicago Bears team came into Three Rivers next. The Steelers spotted the Bears a field goal and then took over, completely blanketing the Chicago passing game and winning 34-3.

Green Bay was the fourth straight opponent that was headed for a losing season. Pittsburgh faced the Packers in Milwaukee, where Green Bay used to play three home games a year. Bradshaw struggled, but Bleier delivered. 163 yards on 35 carries saved the Steelers in a 16-13 escape.

SHAPING THE AFC CENTRAL RACE

At 5-1, they were tied with Houston and a game back of undefeated Cincinnati in the AFC Central. Both rivals awaited them the next two weeks. Bradshaw and Swann showcased the revved-up Steeler passing game in Cincinnati, connecting on touchdown passes of 25 and 37 yards. Pittsburgh also won the old-fashioned way, outgaining Cincy on the ground, 239-69. The Steelers built a 23-3 lead, then hung on for a 30-24 triumph and created a three-way tie for first.

Houston came north and gave Pittsburgh a much stiffer test. The game was tied 17-17 in the fourth quarter. Bradshaw had a good day, 17/28 for 219 yards with three touchdowns. The final TD pass was a 21-yarder to Stallworth to give his team a 24-17 win.

Pittsburgh kept their focus against subpar Kansas City, dominating the rush yardage battle 239-78. Bradshaw went 16/24 for 204 yards and the defense came up with six sacks. The 28-3 rout pushed the Steelers to 8-1.

They had to quickly get ready for the Oilers again. This one would be a Monday Night in the Astrodome. And as luck would have it, Cincinnati was upset by Cleveland the preceding Sunday, meaning the Steelers could take sole possession of first place.

Houston wasn’t quite ready for prime-time, and it literally showed on the Monday Night stage. Dwight White sacked Oiler quarterback Dan Pastorini for an early safety and that set the tone. Harris rushed for 149 yards, and the Steelers coasted to a 32-9 win.

At 9-1, Pittsburgh was in good shape for the playoffs. They had the one-game lead on Cincinnati, along with control of the tiebreaker. As for the wild-card, the Steelers were two games up on the Oilers and had control of the tiebreaker. It would take a major collapse to miss the playoffs.

A NEW PLAYOFF SEEDING FORMAT

There was an extra prize to play for this season. 1975 was when the NFL finally went to seeding and hosting the playoff matchups by record, rather than rotation. Pittsburgh was one game ahead of Oakland in the race for home field advantage.

A road trip to old Shea Stadium to face Joe Namath and the New York Jets was up next. Blount’s two interceptions led the way for the Steelers to collectively pick off Namath four times in a 20-7 win.

Another bad opponent was up next in Cleveland. Pittsburgh did not play particularly well at home and trailed 17-10 in the fourth quarter. But Bradshaw hit Swann with a couple of TD passes to get the lead, Franco added one more for insurance and the Steelers clinched their playoff spot with a 31-17 win.

CLOSING OUT CINCINNATI

Now it was time to focus on the division. The one-game lead on Cincinnati was still holding when the two rivals met in the regular season’s penultimate week. Pittsburgh’s divisional record edge meant they would still hold the tiebreaker if they lost this game. But the season finale would be on the road against the Los Angeles Rams, one of the best teams in the NFC, so there was every reason for urgency.

Urgency is exactly what Pittsburgh brought. Bradshaw and Swann struck for an early touchdown pass. Defensive back J.T. Thomas returned a fumble for a touchdown, and it was 14-0 by the end of the first quarter. The game ended 35-14 and the Steelers were AFC Central champs.

The following day, Oakland lost to Houston, assuring that the road to the Super Bowl in the AFC would go through Three Rivers Stadium. Bradshaw and Gilliam split playing time in the now-meaningless Saturday night finale in Los Angeles, a game that ended with a 10-3 loss. Pittsburgh concluded the season with a 12-2 record.

GRINDING DOWN THE COLTS

The Baltimore Colts, one of the AFC’s best in the early 1970s and a good team at the end of the decade, were back in the playoffs, and they matched up with Pittsburgh in an early Saturday afternoon game that kicked off Divisional Round Weekend.

Pittsburgh trailed 10-7 in the third quarter, but the formula of 1974—dominating the running game on both sides of the ball—was in place. They would win the rushing battle 211-82. Blount came up with an interception that set up a touchdown run by Bleier to give Pittsburgh the lead.

Then Bradshaw ran for another TD. With Baltimore making a last desperate attempt to get in the game, Russell scooped up a fumble on his own seven-yard line and ran 93 yards for the touchdown that clinched a 28-10 win.

THE FROZEN WAR WITH THE RAIDERS

The AFC Championship Game was another edition of the great 1970s Steelers-Raiders rivalry. On a frigid day where it was two degrees with the wind chill, it’s no surprise that the game was a physical war. After three quarters, the Steelers had mustered only a field goal, but they led 3-0.

They weren’t able to overwhelm the Raiders in the trenches—the rush margin was a normal 117-93 in favor of Pittsburgh. But after the teams traded touchdowns, Bradshaw made the big throw—he hit Stallworth on a 20-yard touchdown pass that made it 16-7.

Pittsburgh’s defense held on—Oakland got a field goal and got the ball to the 48-yard line. Stabler hit receiver Cliff Branch down to the Steeler 15-yard line, but with no timeouts, Pittsburgh prevented Branch from getting out of bounds and the game ended. The Steelers were returning to the Super Bowl.

SWANN SOARS IN THE SUPER BOWL

Dallas was waiting at Miami’s Orange Bowl, and with a 10-7 lead after three quarters, the Cowboys looked poised to become the first wild-card team to win a Super Bowl. But Pittsburgh took over the fourth quarter and it was appropriate that the Bradshaw-to-Swann combo would make this game’s signature play.

Pittsburgh blocked a punt for a safety to make it 10-9. Then two deep drives gave them the lead, but both ended in field goals, so it was still a game at 15-10. The Steeler got the ball back and were on their own 36-yard line when the Cowboy defense threw the kitchen sink at Bradshaw.

Swann was running a deep post, and the quarterback read the blitz and let the ball fly just in time. Bradshaw hit the deck and was knocked out—the Orange Bowl was artificial turf at this time and there was nothing to cushion the blow. Not until Bradshaw was in the locker room did he hear that Swann made a circus catch for a touchdown.

The game ended 21-17. Swann had caught four passes for 161 yards and became the first wide receiver to be named a Super Bowl MVP. Ironically, he had suffered a concussion himself in the AFC Championship Game and his status had been questionable leading up to the game. It was fitting that he played, and that it was he and Bradshaw teaming up to make the biggest play of the 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers’ Super Bowl run.