1978 Pittsburgh Steelers season
The 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 46th season in the National Football League. The season concluded with the team winning Super Bowl XIII to become the first franchise in the NFL to win three Super Bowl titles. The championship run was led by quarterback Terry Bradshaw and the team's vaunted Steel Curtain defense. This team is regarded as one of the greatest defensive teams of all time and one of the greatest teams in NFL history. Bradshaw put together the best year of his career to that point, becoming only the second Steeler to win the NFL MVP award. Ten Steelers players were named to the Pro Bowl team, and four were judged as first-team All-Pros by the AP. Head coach Chuck Noll returned for his tenth season—moving him ahead of Walt Kiesling as the longest tenured head coach in the team's history to that point.
The Steelers entered the season as defending champions of the AFC Central Division, coming off a 9–5 record in. Despite winning their division, the previous season was a difficult one for the team which culminated in a to the Denver Broncos on Christmas Eve.
The team began the 1978 season with seven straight victories, before losing to the Houston Oilers in prime time on Monday Night Football. They finished the season with a league-best 14–2 record, including a 5-game winning streak to close the season. This record assured them they would play at home throughout the. It was also the best record compiled in the team's history.
The 1978 Steelers team was rated the thirty-fifth best team in the history of the NFL by FiveThirtyEight, a polling aggregation and statistical service. The rating is based upon FiveThirtyEight's proprietary Elo rating system algorithm. Only two Steelers teams were rated higher: the 1975 team at twelfth and the 2005 team one slot ahead of the 1978 team at thirty-fourth.
In 2007, the 1978 Steelers were ranked as the 3rd greatest Super Bowl champions on the NFL Network's documentary series , with team commentary from Rocky Bleier, Mel Blount, Randy Grossman and Joe Greene, and narrated by Bruce Willis.
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Offseason
League rule changes
The NFL instituted several major changes for the 1978 season. Chief among these were the extension of the regular season and playoff expansion. The regular season was extended from 14 to 16 games, with an offsetting decrease in the number of preseason games from six to four. Two playoff slots were added expanding the field from eight teams to ten, with each conference adding a second wild card entrant.Additionally, several rules were changed to help open up the offense, particularly the passing game. One rule which prohibited defenders from contacting receivers more than five yards from the line of scrimmage, came to be known as the "Mel Blount rule" after the Steelers notably physical cornerback. Another rule allowed offensive linemen to use their hands in blocking.
The rule changes upset coach Noll, who years later said of the teams who supported the changes,
In the end, though, the Steelers were one of the quickest teams to adjust to the new rules; the team's offense benefited more from the changes than the defense was hampered by them. The rule changes catalyzed the team's transition from a power running game to more of an air attack.
Coaching staff changes
The Steelers coaching staff went through a number of changes after the 1977 season. Principle among these was the loss of Chuck Noll's top assistant, Bud Carson, who had served as the team's defensive coordinator since. Carson interviewed for the head coaching vacancy at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina., and was also a candidate for the St. Louis Cardinals top coaching job. When he didn't land either of those positions he decided to take a job as the defensive backs coach of the Los Angeles Rams. Defensive line coach George Perles added the defensive coordinator role to his responsibility with the line.Offensive line coach Dan Radakovich, who had served in that capacity with the Steelers since, resigned to take a position as the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers. Radakovich was credited with turning the Pittsburgh Steelers line into one of the league's best. Rollie Dotsch was hired to replace Radakovich. Dotsch had recently been let go along with the rest of the Detroit Lions coaching staff. He had coached the Lions linebackers the previous season.
In the team's final coaching change of the offseason, Dick Walker was hired to coach the defensive backs. Walker had previously served in a similar role with the New England Patriots.
Roster moves
Several players who played significant roles in the Steelers recent success would not return for 1978. Among the departed were:- defensive tackle Ernie Holmes
- guard Jim Clack
- wide receiver Frank Lewis
- running back Reggie Harrison
- safety Jimmy Allen
- safety Glen Edwards.
The Frank Lewis trade was a complete flop for the Steelers. Paul Seymour failed his physical when the Steelers learned he'd had surgery on both arches within the past five months. His rehabilitation from the surgery was not complete and he was unable to run. Seymour was returned to the Bills who released him, and the two teams failed to work out any other compensation for Lewis. Lewis was the Steelers first round draft choice in 1971, but was unlikely to have made the Steelers roster anyway due to the ascendancy of John Stallworth opposite Lynn Swann and the training camp performance of the younger Jim Smith and Randy Reutershan. Lewis did have some football left in him; he made the 1982 Pro Bowl for the Bills.
The Jim Clack trade also netted the Steelers nothing when John Hicks was injured in the pre-season and placed on the injured reserve list. Meanwhile, both Clack and Ernie Pough made the Giant's 45-man roster, Clack as a starter on the offensive line, where he would be directly involved with that season's Miracle at the Meadowlands between the Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. Longtime Steelers beat writer Ed Bouchette called the Lewis and Clack trades Chuck Noll's "two worst trades in his 23 seasons with the Steelers."
In addition to the players traded away and cut, J. T. Thomas was lost for the season to a blood disorder known as Boeck's Sarcoidosis. Thomas had been the team's starting left cornerback and his loss coupled with the Jimmy Allen trade left the team thin at the cornerback position.
Draft
The 1978 NFL Draft was held on May 2–3, in the ballroom of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. The Steelers selected fourteen players. They also traded their selection in the fifth round to the Green Bay Packers for defensive tackle Dave Pureifory. Coming out of the draft it appeared that the team had addressed perceived needs at punter, defensive back, defensive line and running back.| Round | Pick # | Player | Position | College | Tenure w/ Steelers |
| 1 | Ron Johnson | Defensive back | Eastern Michigan | 1978– | |
| 2 | Willie Fry | Defensive end | Notre Dame | — | |
| 3 | Craig Colquitt | Punter | Tennessee | 1978– | |
| 4 | Larry Anderson | Defensive back | Louisiana Tech | 1978– | |
| 6 | Randy Reutershan | Wide receiver | Pitt | 1978 | |
| 7 | Mark Dufresne | Tight end | Nebraska | — | |
| 8 | Rick Moser | Running back | Rhode Island | 1978–,, | |
| 8 | Andre Keys | Wide receiver | Cal Poly | — | |
| 9 | Lance Reynolds | Offensive tackle | BYU | — | |
| 10 | Doug Becker | Linebacker | Notre Dame | — | |
| 10 | Tom Jurich | Placekicker | Northern Arizona | — | |
| 11 | Nat Terry | Defensive back | Florida State | 1978 | |
| 11 | Tom Brzoza | Center | Pitt | — | |
| 12 | Brad Carr | Linebacker | Maryland | — |
Notes:
"Shouldergate"
The 1978 season began with some controversy, when players were caught wearing shoulder pads in off-season drills in violation of league rules. The infraction occurred during a late May rookie camp and was uncovered and reported by Pittsburgh Press reporter John Clayton.Clayton was not the paper's regular Steelers beat writer at the time, but was just filling in that day. While the practice in which the violation occurred was closed to the media by head coach Chuck Noll, Clayton uncovered the story in interviews with players whom he found wearing pads in the locker room. Clayton contacted the league office for clarification on the rule, which stated that teams must have "no contact work or use of pads in an off-season training camp."
The story caused an uproar among the team's local fanbase, with most of the vitriol directed at Clayton for reporting the story, rather than at Noll and the team for breaking the rule. This sentiment was stoked by Noll's angry reaction to the story, in which he referred to the reporting as "espionage." Even some members of the local media spoke of Clayton as a traitor to the Steeler cause.
The precedent for punishment of such a rule violation was set by an earlier incident for which the Green Bay Packers were stripped of a fourth-round draft pick. The Packers were able to argue at that time that they were unaware of the rule they broke. The Steelers had no such defense, since the team's president, Dan Rooney, was instrumental in negotiations to get the "no pads" rule included in the collective bargaining agreement with the league's players.
NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle eventually stripped the Steelers of their third-round selection in the 1979 draft for the transgression.
Training camp
After putting the distractions of the 1977 season and Shouldergate behind them, the Steelers had a very productive training camp in 1978. All-Pro defensive end Joe Greene noted the renewed focus, sayingPre-season
The Steelers exhibition schedule did not start off smoothly, despite coming away with a 22–10 victory against the Baltimore Colts. Starting quarterback Terry Bradshaw suffered a broken nose on a scramble in the first quarter of the game. In addition, the kicking game was unimpressive and the team committed a considerable number of penalties including three personal fouls.The second pre-season game against the Atlanta Falcons was the Steelers' lone home exhibition contest. The defense led the way, as they had so many times in the team's back-to-back championship seasons in and. The defensive strength was illustrated in the first quarter when a blocked punt gave the Falcons the ball on the Steelers three-yard line. After failing to gain yardage on two running plays, the Falcons' third-down pass was intercepted by Donnie Shell. The Falcons' offense was held scoreless, their only points in the 13–7 loss came off a fumble recovery.
The next game, against the New York Giants, was a completely different story. The game seemed to be over almost before it started when the Giants scored on a 78-yard touchdown pass in just the second play of the evening. The Giants went on to control the game en route to a 13–6 victory over the listless and mistake-prone Steelers. Coach Noll said of the opening score, "We didn't recover, and that's not a good sign. They outdid us all down the line. They hit harder."
In the fourth and final pre-season game, the Steelers' defense once again played well, but the offense was the weak link in a 16–13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The Steelers had difficulty running the ball, with six players combining for just 101 yards on 29 rushing attempts. Despite the offensive sluggishness, the Steelers led 13–3 after three quarters. Unfortunately, the defense was worn out and they gave up two touchdown passes to Roger Staubach in the fourth quarter. The lack of offensive rhythm led Terry Bradshaw to comment, "I feel terrible. I'm concerned. It's easy to say that it'll come. But I don't want to go into the worried about the offense. ... If you looked at this, you'd have to say we have a lot of work to do."
At the end of the preseason, the Steelers were listed by oddsmakers at Harrah's casino in Las Vegas as 5–1 to win the American Football Conference. The favorites were the Oakland Raiders at 7–5, followed by the New England Patriots at 3–1 and then the Steelers and Baltimore Colts at 5–1.
Regular season
Schedule
Standings
Game summaries
Week 1: at [Buffalo Bills]
The Steelers came into the season opener as heavy favorites over the Buffalo Bills. The Steel Curtain defense was dominant early, holding the Bills to just 59 total yards and only six first downs in first three quarters of play. New defensive coordinator George Perles employed the blitz to a much greater degree than the team had in the past. Bills quarterback Joe Ferguson, who was coming off a knee injury suffered in the pre-season, struggled with just three completions and 20 yards on ten passing attempts before being pulled from the game.Meanwhile, the Steelers scored two second-quarter touchdowns, the first coming on a throw from Terry Bradshaw to John Stallworth. Stallworth caught three passes of twenty yards or longer in the Steelers first two possessions. The Steelers second score came on a one-yard plunge by Franco Harris. When the Steelers scored again on a Sidney Thornton rush at the start of the first quarter to go up 21–0, the game appeared to be all but over.
However, Bill Munson came into the game in relief of Ferguson and sparked the Bills to two quick scores that brought the Bills to within 11 points. The Steelers put the game away with a 73-yard drive capped by Bradshaw's second touchdown of the game.
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Week 2: vs. [Seattle Seahawks]This game marked the second ever meeting between the Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks, who were playing in just their third NFL season. The Seahawks entered the game hoping to stop the Steelers running game – while that effort was largely successful the Steelers and quarterback Terry Bradshaw won with the passing game. After a scoreless first quarter, the Steelers took a 14–0 lead which they wouldn't relinquish on a pair of Bradshaw touchdown passes. Linebacker Jack Lambert led the Steelers defense with an interception, a fumble recovery and five solo tackles.The first quarter saw Bradshaw injure his throwing hand when he jammed his index finger on a helmet. However, he played through the soreness and threw the two second-quarter scoring passes to Lynn Swann and Sidney Thornton. The Seahawks scored on a David Sims rushing touchdown to stay within one score at halftime. The Seahawks caught the Steelers off guard with a successful onside kick following the Sims score, however the subsequent drive ended in a missed field goal. In the third quarter, the Seahawks narrowed the lead to just four points off an Effren Herrera field goal. At the start of the fourth quarter Franco Harris, who was hampered in the game by a bruised thigh, was stopped less than a yard short of the goalline on a third down play. Coach Chuck Noll initially sent the field-goal team on, but after a timeout he reconsidered and sent the offense back out. Harris ran behind the right guard and pushed the ball across the plane of the goalline before being pushed back. The play was ruled a touchdown, though the Seahawks disputed the call. The win gave the Steelers a 2–0 record – a mark they had achieved only once since.
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