1974 Pittsburgh Steelers: Assembling the Steel Curtain

1974 Pittsburgh Steelers: Assembling the Steel Curtain

[paypal_donation_button]1974 Pittsburgh Steelers: Assembling the Steel Curtain

Chuck Noll was hired by owner Art Rooney to become the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach in 1969, and Noll’s hire would only be the beginning of good things to come for Pittsburgh as the franchise went on to make brilliant decisions in multiple NFL Drafts. In the 1969 NFL Draft, North Texas University defensive tackle “Mean” Joe Greene was taken by the Steelers with the 4th overall pick. In the 1970 NFL Draft, the Steelers took Louisiana Tech quarterback Terry Bradshaw with the 1st overall pick.

The 1974 NFL Draft was loaded with future Hall of Famers that would be taken by the Steelers. Southern California wide receiver Lynn Swann was taken with the 21st overall pick, Kent State linebacker Jack Lambert was taken with the 46th pick in the 2nd Round. Alabama A&M wide receiver John Stallworth was taken with the 82nd pick in the 4th Round, and Wisconsin center Mike Webster was taken with the 125th pick in the 5th Round.

The Pittsburgh Steelers went 10-3-1 in the 1974 regular season, but they had to make some changes along the way. Most notably a change was made at starting quarterback as Joe Gilliam started 6 games under center, going 4-1-1 but completing only 96 of 212 pass attempts for 1,274 yards and 4 touchdowns. Gilliam’s productivity had diminished compared to previous years, which led to Terry Bradshaw filling in. Starting 7 games, Bradshaw went 5-2 and completed 67 of 148 pass attempts for 785 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Fullback Franco Harris was the featured running back of Pittsburgh’s high-powered rushing attack as he had 1,006 yards off 208 rushing attempts, scoring 5 touchdowns. Harris also had 23 receptions for 200 yards and caught 1 touchdown pass. Running back Rocky Bleier had 373 yards off 88 rushing attempts and scored 2 touchdowns. Running back Steve Davis had 246 yards off 71 rushing attempts and scored 2 touchdowns. Davis also had 11 receptions for 152 yards and caught 1 touchdown pass. Running back Preston Pearson had 317 yards off 70 rushing attempts and scored 4 touchdowns. Pearson also had 11 receptions for 118 yards.

Wide receiver Frank Lewis had 30 receptions for 365 yards and caught 4 touchdown passes. John Stallworth had 16 receptions for 269 yards and caught 1 touchdown pass. Lynn Swann had 11 receptions for 208 yards and caught 2 touchdown passes. Ron Shanklin had 19 receptions for 324 yards and caught 1 touchdown pass.

The Steelers also had its production come from special teams. Lynn Swann had 4 punt returns for 577 yards and scored 1 touchdown. Steve Davis had 12 kick returns for 269 yards and Preston Pearson had 12 kick returns for 258 yards.

Pittsburgh’s main staple was its defense, which was nicknamed the “Steel Curtain”. Joe Greene had 1 interception and 4 fumble recoveries. Linebacker Jack Ham had 5 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery. Cornerback J.T. Thomas had 5 interceptions. Strong safety Mike Wagner had 2 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries. Cornerback Mel Blount had 2 interceptions and returned one for a touchdown along with fumble recoveries. Being named Defensive Rookie of the Year, Jack Lambert had 2 interceptions. Free safety Glen Edwards had 5 interceptions for 153 return yards and scored 1 touchdown. Edwards also had 3 fumble recoveries. Defensive end L.C. Greenwood had 3 fumble recoveries.

The Steelers had 2 shutout victories in the regular season. Their first came against the Baltimore Colts in Week 1 on September 15 by the score of 30-0. Their other shutout came against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8 on November 3 by the score of 27-0.

The Steelers would face the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round on December 22 at Three Rivers Stadium, and they would handle the Bills by the score of 32-14. Bills quarterback Joe Ferguson completed 11 of 26 pass attempts for 164 yards and threw 2 touchdown passes. Terry Bradshaw completed 12 of 19 pass attempts for 203 yards and threw 1 touchdown pass. Steelers kicker Roy Gerela kicked a 21-yard field goal in the 1st quarter, and Buffalo responded with a 22-yard touchdown pass to tight end Paul Seymour.

The Steelers would take over the game with their powerful rushing attack in the 2nd quarter as Rocky Bleier had a 22-yard touchdown run to put Pittsburgh ahead 9-7. Franco Harris then ran all over Buffalo’s defense as he had a 1-yard touchdown run, a 4-yard touchdown run, and then another 1-yard touchdown run to put the Steelers comfortably ahead 29-7. After Bills running back O.J. Simpson scored a 3-yard rushing touchdown in the 3rd quarter, Gerela kicked a 22-yard field goal for Pittsburgh in the 4th quarter to end the scoring.

The Steelers then took on the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship Game on December 29 at Oakland-Alameda County Stadium, and the Steelers were looking to avenge their shutout loss to the Raiders in Week 3 on September 29 by the score of 17-0. The Steelers succeeded by winning 24-13. Oakland kicker George Blanda started the scoring with a 40-yard field goal in the 1st quarter. Roy Gerela then tied the game in the 2nd quarter with his own 23-yard field goal, but the Raiders reclaimed the lead in the 3rd quarter when quarterback Ken Stabler threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cliff Branch.

Franco Harris tied the game at 10-10 with an 8-yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter, which would soon be followed by a 6-yard touchdown pass from Bradshaw to Swann. George Blanda then kicked a 24-yard field goal to cut Pittsburgh’s lead to 17-13, but Harris secured the victory with a 21-yard touchdown run.

Super Bowl IX would be played on January 12, 1975 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, pitting the Pittsburgh Steelers against the NFC Champion Minnesota Vikings, who had brought with them the “Purple People Eaters” on defense and a mobile quarterback in Fran Tarkenton. Though he completed 11 of his 26 pass attempts, Tarkenton threw 3 interceptions to Mel Blount, Joe Greene and Mike Wagner. After a scoreless 1st quarter, Minnesota’s offense would fumble the football in their own endzone, prompting Tarkenton to fall on top of the ball, and allowing defensive end Dwight White to down Tarkenton for a 2-point safety, giving Pittsburgh an early 2-0 lead in the 2nd quarter.

In the 3rd quarter, Franco Harris would punch in a touchdown from 9 yards out to extend the Steeler lead to 9-0. However, things got interesting in the 4th quarter after Minnesota made a defensive stop deep in Pittsburgh territory. Vikings linebacker Matt Blair would block a punt which would be recovered by Terry Brown in the endzone for a touchdown, cutting the Steeler lead to 9-6. Terry Bradshaw then put all Pittsburgh doubts to rest as he threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Larry Brown to secure a 16-6 victory in Super Bowl IX. Selected as the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, Franco Harris had 158 yards off 34 rushing attempts to go along with the touchdown he scored.