1975 Pittsburgh Steelers season

The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the 1975 season defending their AFC Central and Super Bowl IX titles from the 1974 season. Throughout the 1975 season they not only improved on their 10–3–1 record from the previous year, but once again won the AFC Central Division Title and their second franchise championship, in Super Bowl X.

During the team's divisional round playoff game against the Baltimore Colts, sportscaster Myron Cope urged fans to bring yellow dish towels to the game with them in order to support the team. The gimmick, originally a one-shot deal, was a surprise hit, and a longtime Steeler tradition, the Terrible Towel, was invented.

Week 1 (Sunday September 21, 1975): San Diego Chargers
at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California


 * Game time:
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 35,853
 * Referee: Gordon McCarter
 * TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:


 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 29 3–0
 * Pittsburgh – Lewis 40 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)10–0
 * Pittsburgh – Mullins recovered fumble in end zone (Gerela kick)17–0
 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 25 20–0
 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 38 23–0
 * Pittsburgh – Stallworth 38 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)30–0
 * Pittsburgh – Collier 7 run (Gerela kick)37–0

Week 2 (Sunday September 28, 1975): Buffalo Bills
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time:
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 49,438
 * Referee: Pat Haggerty
 * TV announcers:

O.J. Simpson ran for 227 yards, including an 88 yard touchdown run, as the Bills upset the Steelers. Buffalo also scored on a lateral return after a Terry Bradshaw fumble. The Bills opened the game with 23 unanswered points. The Steelers made a second half comeback behind Joe Gilliam (Bradshaw was benched), but it wasn't enough.

Scoring Drives:
 * Buffalo – Leypoldt 37 yard FG
 * Buffalo – Kadish 26 yard fumble return (Leypoldt kick)
 * Buffalo – Gant 7 yard pass from Ferguson (Leypoldt kick)
 * Buffalo – Simpson 88 yard run (kick failed)
 * Pittsburgh – Harris 2 yard run (Gerela kick)
 * Buffalo – Chandler 28 yard pass from Ferguson (Leypoldt kick)
 * Pittsburgh – Grossman 20 yard pass from Gilliam (Gerela kick)
 * Pittsburgh – Harris 1 yard run (Gerela kick)

Week 3 (Sunday October 5, 1975): Cleveland Browns
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio


 * Game time:
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 73,217
 * Referee: Ben Dreith
 * TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:


 * Pittsburgh – Stallworth 3 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)7–0
 * Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run (Gerela kick)14–0
 * Pittsburgh – Collier 1 run (Gerela kick)21–0
 * Pittsburgh – Swann 43 pass from Gilliam (Gerela kick)28–0
 * Cleveland – McKinnis 7 run (kick failed)28–6
 * Pittsburgh – Garrett 45 pass from Gilliam (Gerela kick)35–6
 * Pittsburgh – Harrison 3 run (Gerela kick)42–6

Week 4 (Sunday October 12, 1975): Denver Broncos
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time:
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 49,164
 * Referee: Dick Jorgensen
 * TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:


 * Denver – FG Turner 22 0–3
 * Pittsburgh – Swann 43 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)7–3
 * Pittsburgh – Swann 9 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)14–3
 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 39 17–3
 * Denver – FG Turner 39 17–6
 * Denver – FG Turner 36 17–9
 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 28 20–9
 * Pittsburgh- FG ((Roy Gerela)) 30 23–9

Week 5 (Sunday October 19, 1975): Chicago Bears
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time:
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 47,579
 * Referee: Norm Schachter
 * TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:


 * Chicago – FG Thomas 32 0–3
 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 37 3–3
 * Pittsburgh – Harrison 1 run (Gerela kick)10–3
 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 18 13–3
 * Pittsburgh – Harris 3 run (Gerela kick)20–3
 * Pittsburgh – Bleier 3 run (Gerela kick)27–3
 * Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 1 run (Gerela kick)34–3

Week 6 (Sunday October 26, 1975): Green Bay Packers
at Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin


 * Game time:
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 52,258
 * Referee: Fred Silva
 * TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:


 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 19 3–0
 * Green Bay – Brockington 2 run (kick blocked)6–3
 * Pittsburgh – Collier 94 kickoff return (Gerela kick)10–6
 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 19 13–6
 * Green Bay – Brockington 5 run (Danelo kick)13–13
 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 29 16–13

Week 7 (Sunday November 2, 1975): Cincinnati Bengals
at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio


 * Game time:
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 58,418
 * Referee: Tommy Bell
 * TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:


 * Cincinnati – FG Green 23 0–3
 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 42 3–3
 * Pittsburgh – Swann 37 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)10–3
 * Pittsburgh – Bleier 3 run (Gerela kick)17–3
 * Pittsburgh – Swann 25 pass from Bradshaw (kick failed)24–3
 * Cincinnati – Joiner 34 pass from Anderson (Green kick)24–10
 * Cincinnati – E. Johnson 3 pass from Anderson (Green kick)24–17
 * Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 1 run (kick failed)30–17
 * Cincinnati – Myers 22 pass from Anderson (Green kick)30–24

Week 8 (Sunday November 9, 1975): Houston Oilers
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time:
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 49,460
 * Referee: Jim Tunney
 * TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:


 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 22 3–0
 * Pittsburgh – Swann 8 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)10–0
 * Houston – Coleman 3 run (Butler kick)10–7
 * Pittsburgh – L. Brown 6 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)17–7
 * Houston – FG Butler 48 17–10
 * Houston – Willis 1 run (Butler kick)17–17
 * Pittsburgh – Stallworth 21 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)24–17

Week 9 (Sunday November 16, 1975): Kansas City Chiefs
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time:
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 48,803
 * Referee: Bernie Ulman
 * TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:


 * Kansas City – FG Stenerud 32 0–3
 * Pittsburgh – Swann 42 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)7–3
 * Pittsburgh – Harrison 10 run (Gerela kick)14–3
 * Pittsburgh – Stallworth 16 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)21–3
 * Pittsburgh – Collier 21 run (Gerela kick)28–3

Week 10 (Monday November 24, 1975): Houston Oilers
at the Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas


 * Game time:
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 49,947
 * Referee: Bob Frederic
 * TV announcers: Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford, Alex Karras

Scoring Drives:


 * Pittsburgh – Safety, White tackled Pastorini in end zone 2–0
 * Houston – FG Butler 27 2–3
 * Pittsburgh – Harris 4 run (Gerela kick)9–3
 * Pittsburgh – Swann 18 pass from Bradshaw (kick failed)15–3
 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 30 18–3
 * Pittsburgh – Fuqua 13 run (Gerela kick)25–3
 * Houston – Burrough 59 pass from Pastorini (kick failed)25–9
 * Pittsburgh – Harris 13 run (Gerela kick)32–9

Week 11 (Sunday November 30, 1975): New York Jets
at Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York


 * Game time:
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 52,618
 * Referee: Cal Lepore
 * TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:


 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 26 3–0
 * Pittsburgh – Harris 44 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)10–0
 * Pittsburgh – Lewis 8 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)17–0
 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 19 20–0
 * New York Jets – Barkum 6 pass from Namath (Leahy kick)20–7

Week 12 (Sunday December 7, 1975): Cleveland Browns
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time:
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 47,962
 * Referee: Pat Haggerty
 * TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:


 * Cleveland – FG Cockroft 26 0–3
 * Pittsburgh – Harris 3 run (Gerela kick)7–3
 * Cleveland – Pruitt 1 run (Cockroft kick)7–10
 * Cleveland – W. Miller 17 fumble return (Cockroft kick)7–17
 * Pittsburgh – Swann 3 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)14–17
 * Pittsburgh – Swann 18 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)21–17
 * Pittsburgh – Harris 8 run (Gerela kick)28–17
 * Pittsburgh-FG Roy Gerela 35 31–17

Week 13 (Saturday December 13, 1975): Cincinnati Bengals
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 12:30 p.m.
 * Game weather: 45 °F, wind 8 mph
 * Game attendance: 48,889
 * Referee: Ben Dreith
 * TV announcers:

Game Summary Pittsburgh swept all 6 games in the AFC central division.

Scoring Drives:


 * Pittsburgh – Swann 3 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)7–0
 * Pittsburgh – Thomas 21 lateral from Lambert after fumble recovery (Gerela kick)14–0
 * Cincinnati – Fritts 1 run (Green kick)14–7
 * Pittsburgh – Harris 10 run (Gerela kick)21–7
 * Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 7 run (Gerela kick)28–7
 * Pittsburgh – Harris 2 run (Gerela kick)35–7
 * Cincinnati – Curtis 1 pass from Anderson (Green kick)35–14

Week 14 (Saturday December 20, 1975): Los Angeles Rams
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California


 * Game time:
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 69,389
 * Referee: Tommy Bell
 * TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:


 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 20 3–0
 * Los Angeles – FG Dempsey 26 3–3
 * Los Angeles – Jaworski 5 run (Dempsey kick)3–10

AFC Divisional Playoff (Saturday December 27, 1975): vs. Baltimore Colts
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 12:30 PM EST
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 49,557
 * Referee: Pat Haggerty
 * TV announcers: (NBC)

Scoring Drives:


 * Pittsburgh – Harris 8 run (Gerela kick)7–0
 * Baltimore – Doughty 5 pass from Domres (Linhart kick)7–7
 * Baltimore – FG Linhart 21 7–10
 * Pittsburgh – Bleier 7 run (Gerela kick)14–10
 * Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 2 run (Gerela kick)21–10
 * Pittsburgh – Russell 93 fumble return (Gerela kick)28–10
 * Franco Harris gained 152 yds rushing one yard less than the Baltimore Colts offense. Andy Russell set a record for elapsed time on a fumble return.

AFC Championship (Sunday January 4, 1976): vs. Oakland Raiders
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 * Game time: 12:30 PM EST
 * Game weather: 16 degrees
 * Game attendance: 50,609
 * Referee: Ben Dreith
 * TV announcers: (NBC) Curt Gowdy (play by play), Al DeRogatis & Don Meredith (color commentators)

Scoring Drives:


 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 36 3–0
 * Pittsburgh – Harris 25 run (Gerela kick)10–0
 * Oakland – Siani 14 pass from Stabler (Blanda kick)10–7
 * Pittsburgh – Stallworth 20 pass from Bradshaw (kick failed)16–7
 * Oakland – FG Blanda 41 16–10

Pittsburgh won the game, despite giving up eight turnovers.

Super Bowl X (Sunday January 18, 1976): vs. Dallas Cowboys
at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida


 * Game time: 2:00 PM EST
 * Game weather:
 * Game attendance: 80,187
 * Referee: Norm Schachter
 * TV announcers: (CBS) Pat Summerall (play by play), Tom Brookshier (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

The Pittsburgh Steelers won their 2nd of their 4 Super Bowl championships.
 * Dallas – D. Pearson 29 pass from Staubach (Fritsch kick)0–7
 * Pittsburgh – Grossman 7 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)7–7
 * Dallas – FG Fritsch 36 7–10
 * Pittsburgh – Safety, Harrison blocked punt through end zone 9–10
 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 36 12–10
 * Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 18 15–10
 * Pittsburgh – Swann 64 pass from Bradshaw (kick failed)21–10
 * Dallas – P. Howard 34 pass from Staubach (Fritsch kick)21–17    Lynn Swann earns MVP award catching 4 receptions for 161 yards.

Awards, honors, and records

 * Mel Blount, National Football League Defensive Player of the Year Award
 * Lynn Swann, Super Bowl Most Valuable Player