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The good, the bad, the ugly

Sunday, January 27, 2002

Steelers vs. Miami Dolphins,
Three Rivers Stadium, Dec. 31, 1972

Late Decembers in Pittsburgh are supposed to be cold and dark. But on this New Year's Eve afternoon, a short-sleeved crowd came out to watch a football game played in sunshine and 70-degree temperatures. It was almost as though the Miami Dolphins ordered the weather. To be sure, they felt right at home in their 21-17 victory.

Jan. 14, 1996 Steelerss Kevin Greene (91) and Greg Lloyd (95) sack Colts quarterback Jim Harbaugh in the first half of their AFC championship. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette)

The Dolphins were hoping not to use Bob Griese, their injured quarterback, and opened with Earl Morrall. But in the opening series, Morrall was intercepted by Glen Edwards, and the Steelers soon scored when Terry Bradshaw's fumble in the end zone was recovered by Gerry Mullins.

In the second quarter, with the Dolphins' Larry Seiple in punt formation, the Steelers rushed soft. Seiple sensed an opportunity and knowing he had the go-ahead to try, took off down the right sideline. Before he was caught, he had gained 37 yards to the Steelers' 12 to set up the tying touchdown.

"We'd pressured punters all year, and I thought he would kick it," Coach Chuck Noll said.

When the Steelers took a 10-7 lead in the third quarter on a field goal by Roy Gerela, Griese entered the game. On his first pass, he connected for 52 yards to Paul Warfield. The Steelers looked momentarily saved when Jack Ham intercepted a pass by Griese. But Dwight White was called for being offside, and Miami got the ball back and scored.

The Steelers never led again.

The Steelers had never advanced further in the NFL playoffs, and it was a tough loss for a city in its early stages of Steelermania. But events of about eight hours later put the loss of a football game in perspective.

The Steelers were not at the top of the news the next morning. About seven hours after the end of the game, a plane carrying relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua from Puerto Rico plunged into the Atlantic Ocean carrying Roberto Clemente to his death.

Steelers vs. Oakland Raiders,
Oakland Coliseum, Dec. 29, 1974

The Steelers were on an emotional roll as they prepared for the Raiders and what would be their first championship game win. In the preliminary round, Oakland Coach John Madden had referred to his team's game with the Miami Dolphins as the best playing the best.

Chuck Noll was furious and told his players, "They're not the best. Neither one of them is going to the Super Bowl."

Noll was right. In an exceptional performance, the Steelers dominated the Raiders in a 24-13 victory.

"They just beat our butts," Madden said.

Franco Harris ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns, Rocky Bleier for 89 yards. Jack Ham intercepted two passes. Most significantly, the Raiders ran the ball 21 times and gained 29 yards.

The game was 3-3 at the half and the Raiders led, 10-3, at the end of three quarters. But the fourth quarter belonged to the Steelers.

Bleier set up the first touchdown with a 22-yard run, and Harris scored from the 8 to tie the score.

On the next series, Ham intercepted a pass thrown by Kenny Stabler and returned it 24 yards to the Raiders' 9. From there, Terry Bradshaw found Lynn Swann in the back of the end zone for the touchdown that put the Steelers ahead to stay.

It was a sweet win for the Steelers, against a cocky team that had been dominant in the AFC.

"They thought they were going to blow us away ... run us right out of there," linebacker Andy Russell said.

The victory was the first step in the dynasty. The Steelers went from Oakland to New Orleans, where they defeated the Minnesota Vikings for their first of four Super Bowls.

Steelers vs. Oakland Raiders,
Three Rivers Stadium, Jan. 4, 1976

A brutal cold descended over Three Rivers Stadium for what would be the second of three consecutive AFC title games between the Steelers and Raiders. The temperature was 15 degrees, but a 20-mph wind made it feel like 10-below zero. It was the kind of weather the Steelers' defense loved.

Jack Lambert recovered three fumbles, Mike Wagner intercepted two passes, and the Steelers had a 16-10 victory.

The teams were like two giant heavyweights feeling each other out for three quarters.

A Roy Gerela field goal gave the Steelers a 3-0 lead in the second quarter and the score remained that way until the final quarter.

But one minute into that quarter, on a drive set up by Lambert's second fumble recovery, Franco Harris erupted for a 25-yard touchdown run. The Raiders came back with a touchdown pass from Ken Stabler to Mike Siani, but here came the opportunistic Lambert with his record third fumble recovery. This set up a touchdown pass from Terry Bradshaw to John Stallworth. Because of a bad snap, the extra-point attempt was no good. When George Blanda kicked a field goal, the Raiders were within six.

And when Reggie Harrison muffed the onside kick and Marv Hubbard recovered for the Raiders, there was some nervousness on the Steelers' side.

With 17 seconds remaining, Stabler connected with Cliff Branch for 37 yards to the Steelers' 15. But Mel Blount wouldn't let Branch get out of bounds and time expired. The Steelers were off to Miami and another Super Bowl victory.

Steelers vs. Oakland Raiders,
Oakland Coliseum Dec. 26, 1976

To this day, there are people who will tell you the 1976 Steelers were the greatest edition of the Noll dynasty. There might be argument about that, but there can be no argument that this was the Steel Curtain's finest hour.

The defense allowed only 22 points in the final eight games, which included five shutouts.

But the Steelers never got past the AFC title game. They were up against an outstanding opponent and a bitter rival, the Oakland Raiders. And they also played without their starting running backs, Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier.

"I know what it feels like to fight a war without weapons," Coach Chuck Noll said. "It kills you."

But while the Steelers' offense was depleted, the defense that had been so spectacular during the regular season was not, and the Raiders won, 24-7. The Raiders ran for 157 yards, an unheard of figure against the Steelers.

"Let's not make any excuses," linebacker Jack Ham said. "We didn't play well enough to win."

Defensive end Dwight White put it best. "I have to give the Raiders credit. They've been after it a long time. If I have to lose to somebody, I'd rather see them win it. No, I mean it, because they're the next closest thing to us."

The Steelers were forced to rely on the pass, and Terry Bradshaw completed only 14 of 35 for 176 yards.

After the game, an unusually emotional Noll paid tribute to his warriors: "I'll remember this team as long as I live. They exemplified everything that's good in football, and it's a really lousy end for this type of year ... this type of team. I can't say enough about it. And to have to end up like today, it tears you apart."

Steelers vs. Houston Oilers,
Three Rivers Stadium, Jan. 7, 1979

It was Houston Coach Bum Phillips who said, "The road to the Super Bowl runs through Pittsburgh."

If that be so, the Oilers ran into a dead end on this bitter afternoon at Three Rivers Stadium. They never adjusted to the freezing rain, never adjusted to the Steelers and never were in the game. They were down by 28 points at the half and went on to lose, 34-5.

Once they fell so far behind, their prime weapon, fullback Earl Campbell, was virtually useless.

"When you get behind like that, you can throw those play-action passes out the window," Jack Ham said. "Everybody knows it's going to be a pass. At that point, Earl Campbell's no good to you anymore."

The game, which included 12 fumbles, was a showcase of Steelers' excellence, particularly from two of their future Hall of Famers:

Ham was brilliant with four tackles, a sack, an interception and two fumble recoveries.

Terry Bradshaw, who had had an intestinal flu, made the Oilers look sickly by completing 9 of 15 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns -- in the first half.

What made Bradshaw's performance all the more remarkable was that Houston quarterback Dan Pastorini said he had trouble gripping the ball. The fact Pastorini threw five interceptions attested to that.

"I don't see how anybody can beat them in the Super Bowl," Pastorini said.

No one could. The Steelers went off to Miami and defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 35-31, in Super Bowl XIII.

Steelers vs. Houston Oilers,
Three Rivers Stadium, Jan. 6, 1980

The Steelers' defense, in one of its final great moments, held the Oilers to 24 rushing yards, including 15 yards on 17 carries for the great Earl Campbell. Terry Bradshaw threw two touchdown passes and Matt Bahr kicked two field goals. But the Steelers' 27-13 victory is best remembered for the controversial call the Houston Oilers believed deprived them of a chance for victory.

Jan. 11, 1998 Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis tries to escape the grasp of Steelers Donta Jones during their AFC championship game. (Doug Mills, Associated Press)

The Oilers trailed, 17-10, late in the third quarter and had a first-and- goal situation on the Steelers' 6. Oilers quarterback Dan Pastorini lofted a pass toward the right corner of the end zone intended for Mike Renfro.

Renfro caught the ball, and video replays showed he had both feet inbounds. But the officials ruled -- after an end-zone conference -- he did not have possession while his feet were in bounds.

The Oilers complained bitterly, but to no avail. "I thought it was a bad call, a blown call," Pastorini said.

Oilers center Carl Mauck said, "I think this makes a good case for instant replay."

Indeed, when instant replay was made part of the game, the Renfro noncatch was considered one of the reasons for it. The last word on the incident, though, went to Steelers cornerback Ron Johnson, who had coverage on the play.

"I was surprised when they had a conference. I thought there was no doubt he was out of bounds before he had control. He was juggling it all the way to the ground."

And as Johnson pointed out, "The play didn't take anything away from the Oilers. They still had two more downs to do something."

The Oilers settled for a 23-yard field goal and the Steelers settled for a trip to Pasadena, Calif., and a victory in Super Bowl XIV.

Steelers vs. Miami Dolphins,
Orange Bowl, Jan. 6, 1985

The Steelers were underdogs but confident underdogs when they went in to the Orange Bowl to play the Miami Dolphins, a team that had beaten them by 24 points earlier in the season. Their confidence sprung from on-the-road upsets in their two previous games -- wins of 13-7 over the Los Angeles Raiders and 24-17 over the Denver Broncos.

They didn't count on Dan Marino.

Marino had been good, but not great in the Dolphins' earlier, 31-7 victory. He was great on this afternoon.

His numbers in this 45-28 victory were impressive, but it was more how he compiled those numbers that so stunned and impressed the Steelers.

Coach Chuck Noll: "He's the best we've seen, no question. He's flawless. He throws the ball deep as well as anyone I've seen. He does everything."

Offensive guard Craig Wolfley: "We've got as good a defense as there is in the league. You're talking about one guy taking quarterbacking to a new level."

Defensive back Sam Washington: "He completed some passes that other quarterbacks wouldn't even have dreamed of throwing."

Marino finished 21 for 32 for 421 yards and four touchdowns. The Steelers' Mark Malone was good -- 312 yards and three touchdowns -- but couldn't keep up with Marino.

The Steelers led, 14-10, with 2:52 remaining in the first half. Marino took over.

He moved the Dolphins 77 yards in five plays for a score with 1:30 left.

After Miami intercepted a pass by Malone, he moved his team 35 yards in five plays with 36 seconds remaining.

At the start of the third quarter, he moved the Dolphins 78 yards in four plays before the period was two minutes old.

In total, Marino had called 14 plays that went for 190 yards and three touchdowns in 4 minutes, 40 seconds.

Steelers vs. San Diego Chargers,
Three Rivers Stadium, Jan. 15, 1995

The underdog and overwhelmed San Diego Chargers found a way to prick the Steelers' defense for three big plays to steal a 17-13 victory.

The Steelers, 8 1/2-point favorites, crushed the Chargers on the stat sheet with 415 yards to San Diego's 226. But they blew a 13-3 third-quarter lead and their dominance could not help them score, including the final drive that ended when Neil O'Donnell's fourth-down pass from the 3 to Barry Foster in the end zone was knocked down by linebacker Dennis Gibson with 1:04 left.

"Had we been shut out," said Steelers offensive coordinator Ron Erhardt, "or nothing happened on offense, you'd say you don't deserve it. But when you dominate a team the way we did offensively, it's discouraging, it's disgusting not to be in the big one."

Some players had trouble swallowing the results as well.

Cornerback Tim McKyer was beaten by wide receiver Tony Martin for the winning touchdown pass with 5:13 left, a perfect 43-yard heave by quarterback Stan Humphries. A distraught McKyer had to be helped off the field and into the Steelers locker room by two men after the game. He slumped at his locker and declined to talk about it.

But the Steelers had one last chance to pull it out.

With 5:02 left, they got the ball on their own 17. O'Donnell threw seven straight passes and completed all seven, the last one a 21-yard pickup to tight end Eric Green to the San Diego 9.

The Steelers seemed to be in great shape with two minutes left and a first down.

A draw to Foster lost a yard. Gibson knocked away a pass to Green. O'Donnell then threw over the middle to fullback John L. Williams. The pass did not hit him in stride, but he picked up 7 yards to the 3.

"If he gets it in stride, he might score," Erhardt said.

That left fourth down from the 3. The Steelers called time to discuss the play. They sent four receivers out. Green was double-teamed. Foster flashed open ever so slightly over the middle in the end zone. O'Donnell threw low and as Foster reached to grab it, Gibson knocked it down with one hand.

Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts,
Three Rivers Stadium, Jan. 14, 1996

Indianapolis Colts receivers and Steelers defensive backs packed into the end zone like bachelors waiting for the garter toss. The stakes: a trip to the Super Bowl.

"It seemed like it took forever," Steelers safety Darren Perry said. "You could just see this big ball. It looked huge and it looked like it was coming in slow motion."

And after Perry tipped it and others swiped at it, the ball came right down into the lap of Colts wide receiver Aaron Bailey on the ground. He seemed to have it, but the ball rolled off his chest, onto the turf, the officials ruled it incomplete and the Steelers were going to the Super Bowl.

"It was," Bailey moaned, "almost another Immaculate Reception."

But close didn't count for the Horseshoes, as Bailey's non-catch on the final play and Ernie Mills' game-winning 37-yard reception with 1:51 left propelled the Steelers to a 20-16 victory.

The game had everything that the previous year's title game had with two big differences. The favored Steelers won this time and they came from behind to do it.

"Maybe it was poetic justice," said Steelers Coach Bill Cowher, who had tears in his eyes after the biggest win of his career. "Having been there again with the ball in the air and an opportunity to win a championship. Now I'm 1-1. It was a great feeling."

Harbaugh had silenced the 61,062 at Three Rivers Stadium when he beat a Steelers blitz and lofted a 47-yard touchdown pass to Floyd Turner to put Indy on top 16-13 with 8:46 left.

Jan. 15, 1995 Stanley Richard and David Griggs of the San Diego Chargers celebrate as Hary Foster lies in the end zone without the ball after the Steelers final offensive play in their 17-13 loss. (Post-Gazette)

The Steelers reached the 50 but could not convert a third-and-5 on their next series and punted to Indy with 6:29 left. The Colts' Lamont Warren fubled on the first play from the 9 but guard Joe Staysniak recovered and the break the Steelers needed had just eluded them.

On third-and-1, however, with 3:57 left, the Steelers created their own break -- with a broken play on defense. Warren took a handoff and headed left. Safety Myron Bell was supposed to blitz on the play but did not. Seeing this, cornerback Willie Williams dashed in from the opposite side, sliced through the Colts backfield and brought Warren down by the ankles for no gain.

Instead of keeping a clock-killing drive going, the Colts had to punt and Andre Hastings returned it 12 yards to the 33, setting up the winning drive and the touchdown pass to Mills.

Steelers vs. Denver Broncos,
Three Rivers Stadium, Jan. 11, 1998

Home-field advantage? Before 61,382, the Steelers' season ended in the playoffs at Three Rivers Stadium for the third time in the past six seasons, as Denver became only the fourth team out of 108 over the past 20 years to make it to the Super Bowl without benefit of a first-round bye.

The Steelers blew a 14-7 lead that turned into a 24-14 halftime deficit that turned too difficult for them to overcome, even though they had bounded from behind seven times to win this season.

"We've been there before and had a bigger deficit than that," defensive end Kevin Henry said. "We always seem to bounce back. But you can't keep doing it and expect to win big games. At some point, it was probably going to catch up to us. I was just wishing and hoping for the best on this one."

Kordell Stewart, who tied the score on a 33-yard run in the first quarter, worked a little magic on one last drive that gave the Steelers a chance near the end, but it was not enough to overcome his mistakes. Stewart threw two interceptions into the end zone, one from the 5-yard line, and lost a fumble.

"He just sits back there, eyeballs the receiver and flings it," said Denver linebacker Bill Romanowski, who walked up to Stewart after one end zone interception and mocked him by hitting himself in the helmet with his hand.

"It's frustrating because we had a lot of opportunities to win the game and we didn't," said Jerome Bettis, who ran for 105 yards on 23 carries, including a 1-yard score that put the Steelers in front 14-7 in the second quarter. "You look at every opportunity we had -- we're on the 5-yard line, we threw an interception; we're in their territory going down to score and (throw another) interception.

"When you bite yourself in the foot like that, I don't think you give yourself every opportunity to win the game."

Norm Johnson also hooked a 38-yard field goal try wide after Kirkland intercepted Elway's second pass of the game.

But the Broncos, a wild-card team from the West, virtually punched their ticket to the Super Bowl with a flurry of scores at the end of the first half and an Elway bullet at the end.

The Steelers held a 14-10 lead and were driving toward another score at Denver's 35 when Stewart threw a pass into double coverage for Yancey Thigpen in the end zone with 4:40 left in the first half. Cornerback Ray Crockett intercepted it.

Elway then sped the Broncos 80 yards on five plays for a touchdown, a 5-yard pass to fullback Howard Griffith with 1:47 left, giving Denver a 17-14 lead.

Not content to kill the clock, the Steelers went to their hurry-up, wide-open offense and went nowhere. They turned the ball back over to Elway at the Broncos' 46 with 43 seconds left and he turned it into more magic.

Cornerback Carnell Lake was called for pass interference on the first play, a 34-yard penalty that put the ball on the 20. Four plays later, Elway completed a 1-yard pass to Ed McCaffrey.

So what might have been a 21-10 halftime lead for the Steelers became a 24-14 Broncos cushion and the second-largest crowd ever at Three Rivers Stadium became one of the most silent.