1975 Pittsburgh Steelers season

Last updated

1975 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Owner Art Rooney
General manager Daniel M. Rooney
Head coach Chuck Noll
Home field Three Rivers Stadium
Results
Record12–2
Division place1st AFC Central
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Colts) 28–10
Won AFC Championship
(vs. Raiders) 16–10
Won Super Bowl X
(vs. Cowboys) 21–17
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros
7
  • Mel Blount (1st team)
  • L. C. Greenwood (1st team)
  • Jack Ham (1st team)
  • Franco Harris (2nd team)
  • Joe Greene (2nd team)
  • Jack Lambert (2nd team)
  • Lynn Swann (2nd team)
Team MVP Mel Blount
Team ROY John Banaszak

The 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 43rd in the National Football League (NFL). The Steelers were defending champions for the first time in their forty-year history and repeated as league champions. The team was led by a dominating defense and a quick offense, and won Super Bowl X over the Dallas Cowboys, 21–17. The 1975 Steelers had one of the greatest defensive teams of all time. The team posted their best defensive numbers since 1946, and scored more points than any other Steelers team, later surpassed by two points in 2010.

Contents

In 2007, the 1975 Steelers were ranked as the seventh greatest Super Bowl champions on the NFL Network's documentary series America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions , with team commentary from Lynn Swann, Dwight White, and Mike Wagner, and narrated by Bruce Willis. More than a decade later, the team ranked #10 on the 100 greatest teams of all time presented by the NFL on its 100th anniversary. [1] [2] The 1975 Steelers' +211 point differential stands as the best in franchise history. They won by at least 21 points six times, with their season superlative 37–0 shutout at San Diego in the opener on September 21. [3] [4]

Offseason

NFL Draft

1975 Pittsburgh Steelers draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
126 Dave Brown  *  CB Michigan played one season for Steelers; selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the expansion draft
251 Bob Barber   DE Grambling traded to Green Bay Packers, played 1976–1979
378 Walter White   TE Maryland traded to Kansas City Chiefs, played 1975–1979
4104Harold Evans  LB Houston
5130Brent Sexton DB Elon
6156 Marvin Crenshaw   T Nebraska
7180Wayne Mattingly T Colorado
8208Al Humphrey DE Tulsa
9234Bruce Reimer  RB North Dakota State
10260Archie Grey  WR Wyoming
11286Randy Little TE West Liberty
12312Greg Murphy DE Penn State
13337Bob Gaddis WR Mississippi Valley State played mostly in CFL
14364Mike Collier RB Morgan State played one season for Steelers
15390Marty Smith  DT Louisville
16415Miller Bassler TEHouston
17442Stan Hegener  G Nebraska

Personnel

Staff

1975 Pittsburgh Steelers staff

Front office

  • Chairman of the board – Arthur J. Rooney
  • President – Daniel M. Rooney
  • Vice president – John R. McGinley
  • Vice president – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr.
  • Public relations director – Ed Kiely
  • Traveling secretary – James A. Boston
  • Publicity director – Joe Gordon
  • Controller – Robert P. Quinn
  • Accountant – Dennis P. Thimons
  • Ticket manager – Joseph H. Carr
  • Director of player personnel – Dick Haley
  • Assistant director of player personnel – Bill Nunn
  • Director of professional scouting – V. Timothy Rooney

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches


Strength and conditioning

  • Strength – Louis Riecke
  • Flexibility – Paul Uram
  • Team physician, orthopedic – Dr. John Best
  • Team Physician, M.D. – Dr. David S. Huber
  • Team dentist – Dr. George P. Boucek
  • Trainer – Ralph Berlin
  • Assistant trainer – Robert Milie
  • Equipment manager – Anthony Parisi
  • Field manager – Jack Hart
  • Film director – Bob McCartney
  • Photographer – Harry Homa

[5]

Roster

1975 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad [6] [7] [8]
Rookies in italics
43 active, 1 inactive

Preseason

During the preseason, the Steelers acquired undrafted free-agent, John Banaszak. The Defensive tackle from Eastern Michigan played in three games and later became the 1975 Team ROY (Rookie of the Year).

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultVenue
1August 1 College All-Stars W 21–14 Soldier Field
2August 9 Philadelphia Eagles L 14–17 Three Rivers Stadium
3August 17 Oakland Raiders L 21–24 Memorial Stadium
4August 22at Baltimore Colts W 31–10 Memorial Stadium
5August 30 New York Giants L 7–24 Palmer Stadium
6September 6 New Orleans Saints W 24–13 Three Rivers Stadium
7September 13at Dallas Cowboys L 16–17 Texas Stadium

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultVenue
1September 21at San Diego Chargers W 37–0 San Diego Stadium
2September 28 Buffalo Bills L 21–30 Three Rivers Stadium
3October 5at Cleveland Browns W 42–6 Cleveland Municipal Stadium
4October 12 Denver Broncos W 20–9 Three Rivers Stadium
5October 19 Chicago Bears W 34–3 Three Rivers Stadium
6October 26at Green Bay Packers W 16–13 County Stadium
7November 2at Cincinnati Bengals W 30–24 Riverfront Stadium
8November 9 Houston Oilers W 24–17 Three Rivers Stadium
9November 16 Kansas City Chiefs W 28–3 Three Rivers Stadium
10November 24at Houston Oilers W 32–9 Houston Astrodome
11November 30at New York Jets W 20–7 Shea Stadium
12December 7 Cleveland Browns W 31–17 Three Rivers Stadium
13December 13 Cincinnati Bengals W 35–14 Three Rivers Stadium
14December 20at Los Angeles Rams L 3–10 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Game summaries

Week 1

1234Total
Steelers101031437
Chargers00000

In the Week 1 game, the Steelers opened the season as defending champions, and crushed the Chargers, 37-0, in San Diego. [3] [4] (1-0)

Week 2

1234Total
Bills01013730
Steelers0071421

In Week 2, the Steelers, coming off a crushing defeat of the Chargers in Week 1, came to play revenge eager Buffalo in Pittsburgh. The Bills had been beaten the previous year by the Steelers in the playoffs, 32-14. Chuck Noll had warned the team the previous week that the team did not play very well, however, the players ignored him and were beaten by future Hall of Fame RB O.J. Simpson, 30-21. He rushed for 227 yards, including an 88-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter. (1-1)

Week 3

1234Total
Steelers72101442
Browns00066

In this Week 3 matchup, the Steelers would be hosted by the Cleveland Browns. These two teams had already been established as one of the league's best rivalries by this time, and Joe Greene's infamous kicking of the Browns lineman Bob McKay only fueled the rivalry. The fight that broke out afterwards caught it on fire. Greene was later fined $500 while the Steelers beat the Browns, 42-6. (2-1) This was the first of eleven consecutive victories for the Steelers.

Week 4

1234Total
Broncos36009
Steelers7100320
  • Date: October 12
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m., EST
  • Game attendance: 49,164
  • Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C) (Mostly Cloudy)
  • Referee: Dick Jorgensen
  • Television network: NBC

In Week 4, the Steelers beat the Denver Broncos in Three Rivers, 20-9. (3-1)

Week 5

1234Total
Bears03003
Steelers010101434
  • Date: October 19
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m., EST
  • Game attendance: 47,579
  • Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C) (Cloudy)
  • Referee: Norm Schachter
  • Television network: CBS

In Week 5, the Steelers crushed Chicago, 34-3. Three weeks after the Steelers were beaten by Buffalo, the team was 4-1, and had allowed only 18 points during the last three weeks while scoring 96. (4-1)

Week 6

1234Total
Steelers3100316
Packers067013

In Week 5, the Packers would host the Steelers in Milwaukee, however, the tense battle ended in Pittsburgh's favor, 16-13. (5-1)

Week 7

1234Total
Steelers01013730
Bengals3002124

In Week 7, the Steelers played the Bengals in Riverfront Stadium and won the game, 30–24. (6–1)

Week 8

1234Total
Oilers073717
Steelers1070724
  • Date: November 9
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m., EST
  • Game attendance: 49,460
  • Game weather: 75 °F (24 °C) (Sunny)
  • Referee: Jim Tunney
  • Television network: NBC

In this heated Week 8 battle, the Steelers would play host to the Houston Oilers. Pittsburgh sealed the win with a 4th quarter touchdown pass from #12 Terry Bradshaw to #82 John Stallworth that placed them at the top of the division. (7-1)

Week 9

1234Total
Chiefs03003
Steelers0714728
  • Date: November 16
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m., EST
  • Game attendance: 48,803
  • Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C) (Partly Cloudy)
  • Referee: Bernie Ulman
  • Television network: NBC

In Week 9, the Steelers beat the Chiefs, 28-3. (8-1)

Week 10

1234Total
Steelers21331432
Oilers03069

In Week 10, the Steelers defeated the Oilers again, this time in Houston 32-9, and secured a playoff spot. (9-1)

Week 11

1234Total
Steelers01010020
Jets00077

In Week 11, the Steelers beat the Jets 20-7. (10-1)

Week 12

1234Total
Browns3140017
Steelers7314731
  • Date: December 7
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m., EST
  • Game attendance: 47,962
  • Game weather: 38 °F (3 °C) (Sunny), Wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • Television network: NBC

In another defeat of Cleveland in Week 13, 31-17, the Steelers continued their winning streak to 10. (11-1)

Week 13

1234Total
Bengals070714
Steelers1477735
  • Date: Saturday, December 13
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 12:30 p.m., EST
  • Game attendance: 48,889
  • Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C), (Sunny) wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • Television network: NBC

In Week 13, the Steelers finished the sweep of the division by beating the Bengals again, 35-14. (12-1)

Week 14

1234Total
Steelers30003
Rams030710

In the meaningless Week 14 game, the Steelers were beaten by Los Angeles, 10-3. (12-2)

Standings

AFC Central
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Pittsburgh Steelers (1)1220.8576–010–1373162L1
Cincinnati Bengals (4)1130.7863–38–3340246W1
Houston Oilers 1040.7142–47–4293226W3
Cleveland Browns 3110.2141–52–8218372L1

Stats

Quarter-by-quarter

Quarter-by-quarter
1234OTT
Steelers63118811110373
Opponents96223680162

Postseason

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultVenue
Divisional December 27 Baltimore Colts W 28–10 Three Rivers Stadium
AFC Championship January 4 Oakland Raiders W 16–10 Three Rivers Stadium
Super Bowl X January 18 Dallas Cowboys W 21–17 Miami Orange Bowl

Game summaries

Divisional

1234Total
Colts073010
Steelers7071428
  • Franco Harris gained 152 yds rushing, one yard less than the Baltimore Colts offense. Andy Russell set a record for longest playoff fumble return.

AFC Championship

1234Total
Raiders0001010
Steelers0301316
  • Date: January 4
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 50,609
  • Game weather: 16 °F (−9 °C) (Blowing Snow)
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy, Al DeRogatis, and Don Meredith

Pittsburgh won the game, despite giving up eight turnovers. [9]

Super Bowl

1234Total
Cowboys730717
Steelers7001421
  • Lynn Swann earned the MVP award catching 4 receptions for 161 yards.
  • The Pittsburgh Steelers won their 2nd of their 6 Super Bowl championships.

Awards, honors, and records

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References

  1. "NFL Top 100 Teams". Pro Football Reference.
  2. "100 Greatest Teams: Numbers 100-1 SUPERCUT". NFL.com.
  3. 1 2 Stellino, Vito (September 22, 1975). "Steelers now taking care of business, 37-0". Pittsburgh Gazette. p. 16.
  4. 1 2 Musick, Phil (September 22, 1975). "Steelers throw switch on Chargers". Pittsburgh Press. p. 25.
  5. 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  6. 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  7. 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  8. "1975 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  9. "Number three". Three Rivers top Greatest Play and Game. PittsburghSteelers.com. Archived from the original on March 12, 2009. Retrieved August 7, 2008.