NFL Old School Game of the Week: Steelers Prevail over Browns in OT Shootout

 

Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw completed 30 of 44 passes for 364 yards in Pittsburgh's win over the Browns.

The Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s were one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history thanks in large part to their defense nicknamed the "Steel Curtain" which featured five Hall-of Fame players on a unit that often finished near the top in numerous defensive categories.

But the offense should not be overlooked as it also featured five Hall-of-Fame players as the offense evolved from a conservative, ball control offense into one of the most explosive in the NFL as it finished as the #1 scoring offense in 1979.

The Steelers' high-powered offense would be on full display in Week 13 of the 1979 NFL season when the Steelers hosted their division rivals the Cleveland Browns in a key AFC Central showdown.

The Steelers came into the game with a 9-3 record under head coach Chuck Noll who had led Pittsburgh to three Super Bowl titles in the previous five years including one the previous year as the Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 35-31 in Super Bowl XIII.

At the helm of the Pittsburgh offense was quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who entered the Browns game having thrown 2,575 yards and 21 touchdowns a year removed from a career high 2,915 yards and 28 touchdown passes in his MVP season.

Bradshaw was surrounded by the backfield of Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier to go along with his dynamic wide receivers in Lynn Swann and John Stallworth as Terry would take snaps from center Mike Webster.

While the offense was much more explosive than it was earlier in the decade, the "Steel Curtain' were still stout as the unit led by defensive tackle "Mean Joe" Greene and linebacker Jack Lambert gave up an average of 15 points per game and had a four-game stretch earlier in the season where they gave up a combined 20 points.

With their dynamic offense to go along with their dominant defense, the Steelers had dreams of a fourth Vince Lombardi trophy in their minds as they prepared to host the Browns at Three Rivers Stadium.

The Browns came into the game with an 8-4 record under head coach Sam Rutgliano, who was in his second season as Cleveland head coach as he had already matched his win total from the previous year where Cleveland finished with an 8-8 record.

On the field, the Browns were led by quarterback Brian Sipe, who up to this point in the season had thrown for 2,897 yards and 23 touchdown passes as he had led the Browns to six victories by a touchdown or less as Cleveland was beginning to get the reputation of winning close games that will soon give them the nickname the "Kardiac Kids".

Cleveland came into Pittsburgh hoping to defeat the Steelers for the first time since 1976 and for the first time since the Steelers moved into Three Rivers Stadium in 1970 as the two teams met for the second time in the '79 season, seven weeks after they played in the highest scoring game in the history of their rivalry as the Steelers knocked off the Browns 51-35 that Sunday in Cleveland.

The Browns would get the ball to start the game as they were able to drive down the field behind the pass connection of Sipe and wide receiver Dave Logan.

The two hooked up on two passes for 25 yards to help drive Cleveland into Pittsburgh territory until a quarterback sack by Steelers linebacker Jack Ham and a delay of game penalty forced a 3rd & 25 situation from the Browns' 39-yard-line.

The Browns would convert as Sipe hit Logan for 33 yards to give the Browns a fresh set of downs at the Pittsburgh 28-yard-line as three plays later, Sipe would find tight end Ozzie Newsome for a 21-yard touchdown to give Cleveland a 7-0 lead.

The Browns would get a golden opportunity to make it a two-touchdown lead as Steelers kick returner Larry Anderson fumbled the football after a hit by Browns defensive back Ricky Jones as Clinton Burrell would scoop up the ball and run it down to the Pittsburgh three-yard-line.

However, the "Steel Curtain" defense would rise and keep the Browns out of the end zone as Cleveland settled for a 20-yard field goal by Don Cockroft to extend the Browns' lead to 10-0 before the Steelers' offense had gotten their hands on the football.

The Steelers would begin their opening possession of the game at their 31-yard-line as Bradshaw threw a bomb for Stallworth that would go for 34 yards and give Pittsburgh a 1st down at the Cleveland 35-yard-line.

Two straight running plays picked up seven yards before Bradshaw overthrew running back Rocky Bleier on 3rd & 3 as the Steelers would settle for a 45-yard field goal by Matt Bahr to make it 10-3 in favor of the Browns with 4:47 left in the first quarter.

The Browns would hold the ball for the rest of the quarter as they drove from their 44-yard-line to the Steelers' 15-yard-line until Cockroft came on to kick a 32-yard field goal on the second play of the second quarter to push the Cleveland back to double digits at 13-3.

The Steelers would get the ball back at their 27-yard-line for their next possession as they drove to the Cleveland 21-yard-line before calling on Bahr to attempt a 39-yard field goal which sailed wide right of the uprights to keep the score at 13-3 with exactly 10 minutes to go in the second quarter.

After a three-and-out by the Browns, the Steelers got the ball back at their 38-yard-line as Pittsburgh went to the running game to drive down the field as they ran the ball six straight times for a total of 45 yards before Bradshaw put the ball in the air as he found tight end Bennie Cunningham, who had his hands on the football until Cleveland strong safety Clarence Scott stripped him of the ball to make it an incomplete pass.

Following another incomplete pass, the Steelers called on Bahr to attempt a 34-yard field goal which he made to cut the Browns' lead to 13-6 with 5:06 remaining in the second quarter.

The Browns would get the ball back at their 37-yard-line as a 30-yard pass to running back Calvin Hill help lead Cleveland to the Pittsburgh 16-yard-line when Sipe lofted a pass toward the end zone that looked like was going to be picked off by Steelers cornerback Ron Johnson, only for Logan to rip the ball away from him to make the catch for the touchdown to give the Browns a 20-6 lead with 2:14 left before halftime.

Pittsburgh would go to a no-huddle offense for its ensuing possession as Bradshaw hit Cuningham for 10 yards then handed the ball off to Harris who ran for six yards before Bradshaw completed four straight passes for 52 yards to give the Steelers a 1st & goal at the Cleveland eight-yard-line with 44 seconds to go in the first half.

After Harris ran for six yards on 1st & goal, the veteran running back would catch a screen pass from Bradshaw, then dive it in for the two-yard touchdown to cut the Browns' lead to 20-13 with just 18 seconds to go in the half.

Sipe would take a knee to run out the clock in the first half with the Browns ahead 20-13 as the Steelers would set to get the ball to start the second half.

Browns quarterback Brian Sipe would throw for 333 yards and three touchdown passes on 23-of-33 passes.

The Steelers would start their initial possession of the second half at their 26-yard-line as they drove to the Cleveland 29-yard-line until a holding penalty helped kill the drive as Pittsburgh would punt the ball to the Browns who would take over at their 20-yard-line.

The drive would begin with a 20-yard pass from Sipe to Logan which was followed a few plays later by an 18-yard pass from Sipe to Logan on a 3rd & 11 to give the Browns a 1st down at the Pittsburgh 43-yard-line.

Sipe would then hit Reggie Rucker for 18 yards to put Cleveland at the Steelers' 25-yard-line as the Browns would go backwards to the Pittsburgh 33-yard-line when on 3rd & 18, Sipe found Logan again this time for 23 yards to give Cleveland a 1st & goal at the Pittsburgh 10-yard-line.

After an incomplete pass and a seven-yard pass to running back Mike Pruitt, Sipe would throw a three-yard touchdown pass to Hill to push the Browns' lead back to 14 points at 27-13 with 4:10 left in the third quarter.

The Steelers would get the ball back at their 11-yard-line as they would drive 89 yards in 10 plays with the bulk of the yardage coming on a 47-yard pass from Bradshaw to tight end Randy Grossman to help set up Harris' one-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter to cut the Browns' lead to 27-20.

Following a three-and-out by the Browns on their next possession, the Steelers got the ball at their 19-yard-line as Harris would begin the drive with a nine-yard run, then run for eight yards on the next play until he lost the football as Scott would recover the fumble to give Cleveland the ball at the Pittsburgh 43-yard-line.

The Browns would move the ball to the Pittsburgh 22-yard-line until a quarterback sack by Ham stopped Cleveland's progress and forced them to settle for a 40-yard field goal by Cockroft which pushed the Browns' lead back to double digits at 30-20 with 9:44 left in the fourth quarter.

The Steelers would begin their next possession at their 37-yard-line as Bradshaw completed passes of 16 yards to Cunningham and seven yards to Bleier before handing the ball off to Harris who ran for four yards to pick up a 1st down at the Cleveland 36-yard-line.

A 13-yard pass to Harris followed by a 26-yard pass to Cunningham gave the Steelers a 1st & goal at the Cleveland one-yard-line when Bradshaw was sacked by Browns defensive end Mike St. Clair and linebacker Clay Matthews for a 13-yard-loss.

Bradshaw would connect with Stallworth for 11 yards on 2nd down before handing the ball off to Harris who punched it in for the three-yard touchdown to make it a three-point game at 30-27 in favor of the Browns with 4:42 left in regulation.

The Browns would get the ball back at their 18-yard-line as a 17-yard pass from Sipe to Newsome followed by a 15-yard facemask penalty on Steelers linebacker Robin Cole put Cleveland at its 48-yard-line until two quarterback sacks by Pittsburgh defensive end L.C. Greenwood force a Cleveland punt as the Steelers' offense would take over at the 50-yard-line following a 27-yard punt return by Theo Bell.

With 2:08 left in regulation, Bradshaw would complete a 14-yard pass to Swann then hand the ball off to Harris who gained three yards to set up 2nd & 7 when Bradshaw completed a nine-yard pass to Bleier to give the Steelers a 1st down at the Cleveland 24-yard-line.

Following a three-yard run by Harris, Bradshaw would hit Stallworth for 13 yards to give Pittsburgh a 1st & goal at the Cleveland eight-yard-line with 63 seconds left and a chance for the Steelers to score the go-ahead the touchdown.

But the Steelers could not punch it in as two incomplete passes and a five-yard run by Harris would set up 4th & goal from the three-yard-line when Bahr was called on to kick 21-yard field goal that tied the game at 30 with 24 seconds left in regulation.

Sipe would take a knee to run out the clock in regulation as the game would go into overtime tied at 30 as Cleveland would win the coin toss to get the ball first to start the fifth quarter.

The Browns would begin the overtime period with the ball at their 27-yard-line as Sipe would run for 34 yards that with a five-yard penalty on the Steelers, put Cleveland at the Pittsburgh 34-yard-line after just one play.

A run by Pruitt for no gain followed by a quarterback sack by Greenwood and linebacker Jack Lambert forced a 3rd & 17 for the Browns when Sipe was picked off by cornerback Mel Blount on a deep pass intended for Newsome as the Steelers would get the ball at their four-yard-line.

The Steelers would rely on the running game as they ran the ball nine straight times for 40 yards before Bradshaw threw his first pass of the overtime period as he hit Stallworth for 11 yards to give Pittsburgh a 1st down at the Browns' 45-yard-line.

Pittsburgh would overcome a pass interference penalty on Swann as Bradshaw completed two straight passes to Harris that totaled 22 yards and gave the  Steelers a 1st down at the Cleveland 33-yard-line when Bradshaw's pass for Swann was intercepted by Browns cornerback Ron Bolton to give Cleveland the ball at its 12-yard-line.

Steelers running back Franco Harris would carry the ball 32 times for 151 yards while catching the ball nine times for 81 yards as he scored three touchdowns.

The Browns would pick up one 1st down before another sack by Greenwood would force Cleveland to punt the ball back to the Steelers who would take over at their 17-yard-line with 3:43 left in the game as the game seemed destined to end in a 30-30 tie.

The drive would begin with a six-yard pass from Bradshaw to Bleier followed by a one-yard run by Harris to set up 3rd & 3 when Bradshaw completed a 10-yard pass to Harris to give the Steelers a 1st down at their 34-yard-line.

Two plays later, the Steelers were faced with a 3rd & 10 when Bradshaw scrambled for 28 yards to give Pittsburgh a 1st down at the Browns' 38-yard-line with 1:23 to go in the game.

Harris would get his hands on four of the next five plays as he caught an eight-yard pass from Bradshaw then ran the ball three times for 11 yards to put the Steelers at the Cleveland 19-yard-line when Bahr was called on to attempt a game-winning field goal with just 13 seconds to go in the game.

Bahr would come on and make the 37-yard field goal to give the Steelers a 33-30 overtime win on a day where Pittsburgh complied 606 yards of total offense at the time the second most yards the Steelers had ever had on offense behind the 683 they gained in a 38-21 against the Chicago Cardinals in 1958(since this game, this performance has dropped to 4th place on most yards of total offense in a Steelers game).

The Browns would end up finishing the season with a 9-7 record, one game behind the Denver Broncos for the final spot in the AFC playoffs as Cleveland would finish with a 7-5 record in games decided by seven points or less.

The following season, the Browns would go 10-2 in games decided by a touchdown or less as the "Kardiac Kids" would go 11-5 to win the AFC Central division and return to the postseason for the first time since 1972(To read about the Browns' division clinching win, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2024/01/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-kardiac.html).

As for the Steelers they would go to finish the regular season with a 12-4 record as the offense would finish with a then team record 416 points as they averaged a league high 26 points per game.

In the playoffs, the Steelers would knock off the Miami Dolphins 34-14 in the Divisional Round, then beat the Houston Oilers 27-13 in the AFC Championship Game to return to the Super Bowl where Bradshaw would throw for 309 yards and two touchdowns in a MVP performance as Pittsburgh defeated the Los Angeles Rams 31-19 to give the Steelers their fourth Super Bowl title in six years.