1965 Pittsburgh Steelers season

1965 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Head coach	Mike Nixon
Home stadium	Pitt Stadium
Results
Record	2–12
Division place	7th NFL Eastern
Playoffs	Did not qualify
←  1964 Steelers seasons 1966  →

The 1965 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 33rd in the National Football League.

The team set a modern NFL record with a minus-30 turnover ratio.^{[ citation needed ]} Their -195 point differential is the worst in Steelers history.

NFL draft

Main article: 1965 NFL draft

1965 Pittsburgh Steelers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
2	18	Roy Jefferson *	Wide receiver	Utah
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

1965 Pittsburgh Steelers roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 14 Bill Nelsen 16 Tommy Wade Running backs (RB) 23 Jim Butler 42 Dick Hoak 38 Mike Lind 36 Clarence Peaks 33 Theron Sapp Wide receivers (WR) 85 Gary Ballman 20 Paul Martha 25 Jerry Simmons 28 Clendon Thomas S Tight ends (TE) 84 Lee Folkins 82 John Hilton

Offensive linemen (OL) 67 Ed Adamchik G 71 Charlie Bradshaw T 51Ken HensonC 77 Dan James T 72 Ray Lemek G 73 Ray Mansfield C/DT 65Bob NicholsT Defensive linemen (DL) 78 John Baker DE 74 Riley Gunnels DT 64 Chuck Hinton DT 75 Ken Kortas DT 61 Fran Mallick DE 60 Ben McGee DE

Linebackers (LB) 63 Rod Breedlove OLB/MLB 52 Gene Breen OLB 53 John Campbell OLB 54 Max Messner OLB 66 Myron Pottios MLB Defensive backs (DB) 24 Jim Bradshaw FS 44 Willie Daniel CB 29 Bob Hohn CB 26 Brady Keys CB 49 Bob Sherman FS/SS 47 Marv Woodson CB/SS Special teams (ST) 83 Mike Clark K 46 Frank Lambert P

Practice squad -- Tom Bailey G -- Whit Canale DE/DT -- Tom Kennedy QB --Kraig LofquistRB 68 Mike Magac G 58 Ed Pine LB 88 John Powers TE Reserve 56 Art Hunter C (IR) 87 Roy Jefferson WR (IR) 35 John Henry Johnson RB (IR) -- Mel Profit TE(DNR) -- Andy Russell LB(Military) 62 Mike Sandusky G (IR) 50 Bill Saul LB (IR) 67 Bob Schmitz LB (IR) Rookies in italics 39 active, 8 reserve, 7 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue
1	September 19	Green Bay Packers	L 9–41	0–1	Pitt Stadium
2	September 26	at San Francisco 49ers	L 17–27	0–2	Kezar Stadium
3	October 3	New York Giants	L 13–23	0–3	Pitt Stadium
4	October 9	at Cleveland Browns	L 19–24	0–4	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
5	October 17	St. Louis Cardinals	L 7–20	0–5	Pitt Stadium
6	October 24	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 20–14	1–5	Franklin Field
7	October 31	Dallas Cowboys	W 22–13	2–5	Pitt Stadium
8	November 7	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 17–21	2–6	Busch Stadium (I)
9	November 14	at Dallas Cowboys	L 17–24	2–7	Cotton Bowl
10	November 21	Washington Redskins	L 3–31	2–8	Pitt Stadium
11	November 28	Cleveland Browns	L 21–42	2–9	Pitt Stadium
12	December 5	at New York Giants	L 10–35	2–10	Yankee Stadium
13	December 12	Philadelphia Eagles	L 13–47	2–11	Pitt Stadium
14	December 19	at Washington Redskins	L 14–35	2–12	D. C. Stadium

Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1 (Sunday September 19, 1965): Green Bay Packers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	0	7	13	21	41
Steelers	0	9	0	0	9

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 38,383
• Referee:
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh – FG Clark 21
• Pittsburgh – FG Clark 34
• Green Bay – Adderley 34 interception (Chandler kick)
• Pittsburgh – FG Clark 32
• Green Bay – Fleming 31 pass from Starr (Chandler kick)
• Green Bay – FG Chandler 9
• Green Bay – FG Chandler 19
• Green Bay – Hornung 10 pass from Starr (Chandler kick)
• Green Bay – Pitts 2 run (Chandler kick)
• Green Bay – Pitts 2 run (Chandler kick)

Week 2 (Sunday September 26, 1965): San Francisco 49ers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	7	0	10	0	17
49ers	7	6	7	7	27

at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, California

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 30,140
• Referee:
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• San Francisco – Crow 49 pass from Brodie (Davis kick)
• Pittsburgh – Hoak 1 run (Clark kick)
• San Francisco – FG Davis 37
• San Francisco – FG Davis 27
• Pittsburgh – FG Clark 32
• San Francisco – Wiltard 9 run (Davis kick)
• Pittsburgh – Campbell 15 fumble return (Clark kick)
• San Francisco – Brodie 4 run (Davis kick)

Week 3 (Sunday October 3, 1965): New York Giants

	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	7	7	0	9	23
Steelers	0	3	3	7	13

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 31,871
• Referee:
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• New York Giants – Thurlow 6 run (Stynchula kick)
• Pittsburgh – FG Clark 22
• New York Giants – Morrison 4 pass form Morrall (Stynchula kick)
• Pittsburgh – FG Clark 48
• New York Giants – FG Timberlake 43
• Pittsburgh – Hoak 1 run (Clark kick)
• New York Giants – Thomas 29 pass form Morrall (kick failed)

Week 4 (Saturday October 9, 1965): Cleveland Browns

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	6	6	7	19
Browns	10	0	7	7	24

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 80,187
• Referee:
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Cleveland – FG Groza 38
• Cleveland – Brown 4 pass from Ryan (Groza kick)
• Pittsburgh – Nelsen 1 run (kick failed)
• Pittsburgh – Hoak – 42 run (kick failed)
• Cleveland – Brown 1 run (Groza kick)
• Pittsburgh – Hoak 15 run (Clark kick)
• Cleveland – Collins 14 pass from Ryan (Groza kick)

Week 5 (Sunday October 17, 1965): St. Louis Cardinals

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	7	0	3	10	20
Steelers	7	0	0	0	7

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 31,085
• Referee:
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• St. Louis – Randle 8 pass from Johnson (Bakken kick)
• Pittsburgh – Ballman 5 run (Clark kick)
• St. Louis – FG Bakken 32
• St. Louis – Conrad 71 pass from Johnson (Bakken kick)
• St. Louis – FG Bakken 35

Week 6 (Sunday October 24, 1965): Philadelphia Eagles

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	6	7	7	0	20
Eagles	7	0	0	7	14

at Franklin Field, Philadelphia

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 56,515
• Referee:
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Philadelphia – Gros 4 run (Baker kick)
• Pittsburgh – Daniel 17 fumble return (kick failed)
• Pittsburgh – J. Bradshaw 82 interception return (Clark kick)
• Pittsburgh – Lind 4 pass from Nelsen (Clark kick)
• Philadelphia – Poage 14 pass from Concannon (Baker kick)

As of 2024, this remains the Steelers last win over the Eagles in Philadelphia.

Week 7 (Sunday October 31, 1965): Dallas Cowboys

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	6	0	7	0	13
Steelers	0	19	0	3	22

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 37,804
• Referee:
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Dallas – Smith 2 pass from Meredith (kick failed)
• Pittsburgh – Hoak 2 pass from Nelsen (kick failed)
• Pittsburgh – Ballman 20 pass from Nelsen (kick failed)
• Pittsburgh – Ballman 72 pass from Nelsen (Clark kick)
• Dallas – Gent 8 pass from Meredith (Villanueva kick)
• Pittsburgh – FG Clark 18

Week 8 (Sunday November 7, 1965): St. Louis Cardinals

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	3	0	0	14	17
Cardinals	0	7	7	7	21

at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 31,899
• Referee:
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh – FG Clark 11
• St. Louis – Triplett 3 run (Bakken kick)
• St. Louis – Randle 15 pass from Johnson (Bakken kick)
• Pittsburgh – Jefferson 50 pass from Nelsen (Clark kick)
• Pittsburgh – Lind 2 run (Clark kick)
• St. Louis – Gambrell 59 pass from Johnson (Bakken kick)

Week 9 (Sunday November 14, 1965): Dallas Cowboys

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	7	0	10	0	17
Cowboys	7	3	0	14	24

at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 57,293
• Referee:
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh – Hoak 3 run (Clark kick)
• Dallas – Clarke 1 pass from Meredith (Villanueva kick)
• Dallas – FG Villanueva 33
• Pittsburgh – FG Clark 32
• Pittsburgh – Folkins 18 fumble return (Clark kick)
• Dallas – Reeves 2 run (Villanueva kick)
• Dallas – Hayes 28 pass from Meredith (Villanueva kick)

Week 10 (Sunday November 21, 1965): Washington Redskins

	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	0	10	14	7	31
Steelers	3	0	0	0	3

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 25,052
• Referee:
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh – FG Clark 34
• Washington – Lewis 1 run (Jencks kick)
• Washington – FG Jencks 9
• Washington – Taylor 8 run (Jencks kick)
• Washington – Coia 45 pass from Jurgensen (Jencks kick)
• Washington – Harris 57 punt return (Jencks kick)

Week 11 (Sunday November 28, 1965): Cleveland Browns

	1	2	3	4	Total
Browns	0	7	14	21	42
Steelers	0	0	7	14	21

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 42,757
• Referee:
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Cleveland – Kelly 56 punt return (Groza kick)
• Cleveland – Brown 2 run (Groza kick)
• Cleveland – Brown 2 run (Groza kick)
• Pittsburgh – Ballman 87 pass from Nelsen (Clark kick)
• Cleveland – Brown 15 run (Groza kick)
• Pittsburgh – Butler 43 pass from Nelsen (Clark kick)
• Cleveland – Brewer 25 pass from Ninowski (Groza kick)
• Pittsburgh – Thomas 80 pass from Nelsen (Clark kick)
• Cleveland – Brown 27 pass from Ninowski (Groza kick)

Week 12 (Sunday December 5, 1965): New York Giants

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	3	7	0	0	10
Giants	7	21	0	7	35

at Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 62,735
• Referee:
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• New York Giants – Shofner 33 pass from Morrall (Timberlake kick)
• Pittsburgh – FG Clark 25
• Pittsburgh – Ballman 1 run (Clark kick)
• New York Giants – Frederickson 13 run (Timberlake kick)
• New York Giants – Frederickson 3 run (Timberlake kick)
• New York Giants – Frederickson 19 pass from Morrall (Timberlake kick)
• New York Giants – Jones 28 pass from Wood (Timberlake kick)

Week 13 (Sunday December 12, 1965): Philadelphia Eagles

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	27	7	6	7	47
Steelers	0	13	0	0	13

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 22,002
• Referee:
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Philadelphia – Gros 2 run (Baker kick)
• Philadelphia – Retzlaff 13 pass from Snead (kick failed)
• Philadelphia – Matson 8 run (Baker kick)
• Philadelphia – Baughan 33 interception return (Baker kick)
• Philadelphia – Nettles 56 interception return (Baker kick)
• Pittsburgh – Ballman 20 pass from Wade (Clark kick)
• Pittsburgh – Woodson 61 interception return (kick failed)
• Philadelphia – Tarasovic 40 interception return (kick failed)
• Philadelphia – Lang 8 run (Baker kick)

Week 14 (December 19, 1965): Washington Redskins

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	14	0	0	14
Redskins	14	14	7	0	35

at D.C. Stadium, Washington, D.C.

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 49,806
• Referee:
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Washington – Lewis 10 pass from Jurgensen (Jencks kick)
• Washington – Harris 34 interception (Jencks kick)
• Pittsburgh – Ballman 2 run (Clark kick)
• Washington – Walters 63 interception return (Jencks kick)
• Pittsburgh – Ballman 44 pass from Wade (Clark kick)
• Washington – Pellegrini 31 fumble return (Jencks kick)
• Washington – Hughley 4 pass from Jurgensen (Jencks kick)

Standings

NFL Eastern Conference
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns	11	3	0	.786	11–1	363	325	W1
Dallas Cowboys	7	7	0	.500	6–6	325	280	W3
New York Giants	7	7	0	.500	7–5	270	338	L1
Washington Redskins	6	8	0	.429	6–6	257	301	W1
Philadelphia Eagles	5	9	0	.357	5–7	363	359	L1
St. Louis Cardinals	5	9	0	.357	5–7	296	309	L6
Pittsburgh Steelers	2	12	0	.143	2–10	202	397	L7

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

External links

• 1965 Pittsburgh Steelers season at Profootballreference.com
• 1965 Pittsburgh Steelers season statistics at jt-sw.com