| 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Art Rooney |
| Head coach | Chuck Noll |
| General manager | Dick Haley |
| Home field | Three Rivers Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 12-4 |
| Division place | 1st AFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Won Divisional Playoffs (Dolphins) 34-14 Won AFC Championship (Oilers) 27-13 Won Super Bowl XIV (Rams) 31-19 |
| Pro Bowlers | 10
|
| AP All-Pros | 6
|
| Team MVP | John Stallworth |
The 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 47th season in the National Football League. The Steelers successfully defended their Super Bowl Championship from the previous year as they achieved a 12-4 record and went on to defeat the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV. The Steelers started out to a 4-0 record. Adding to the previous season, the Steelers had won 12 in a row. They finished the regular season at 12-4. In six of those games the opponents were held to a touchdown or less. In the playoffs Pittsburgh defeated Miami, 34-14 and then for the second consecutive season beat Houston 27-13, in the AFC championship game. The Steelers ended the decade by defeating the Los Angeles Rams 31-19 in Super Bowl XIV.
With the win, and the Pittsburgh Pirates win in the 1979 World Series, Pittsburgh would be the last city to claim Super Bowl and World Series wins in the same year until 1986 when the New York Mets won the World Series in 7 games over the Boston Red Sox, and the New York Giants won Super Bowl XXI 39-20 over the Denver Broncos.
On February 23, 2007, NFL Network aired America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions, the 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers, with team commentary from John Banaszak, L.C. Greenwood and John Stallworth, and narrated by Ed Harris.
Offseason
NFL draft
| 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 | Greg Hawthorne | Running back | Baylor | |
| 2 | 56 | Zack Valentine | Linebacker | East Carolina | |
| 4 | 86 | Russell Davis | Running back | Michigan | |
| 4 | 110 | Calvin Sweeney | Wide Receiver | USC | |
| Made roster | |||||
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Pre-season
| Week | Date | Kickoff (ET) | TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sat. Aug. 4 | 6:00 pm | WIIC | at Buffalo Bills | W 15-7 | 1-0 | Rich Stadium |
| 2 | Sat. Aug. 11 | 6:00 pm | WIIC | New York Giants | W 10-3 | 2-0 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 3 | Fri. Aug. 17 | 8:00 pm | WIIC | at New York Jets | W 27-14 | 3-0 | Giants Stadium |
| 4 | Sat. Aug. 25 | 9:00 pm | NBC | at Dallas Cowboys | L 14-16 | 3-1 | Texas Stadium |
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Kickoff (ET) | TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mon. Sep. 3 | 9:00 p.m. | ABC | at New England Patriots | W 16-13 (OT) | 1-0 | Schaefer Stadium |
| 2 | Sun. Sep. 9 | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | Houston Oilers | W 38-7 | 2-0 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 3 | Sun. Sep. 16 | 4:00 p.m. | NBC | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 24-21 | 3-0 | Busch Memorial Stadium |
| 4 | Sun. Sep. 23 | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | Baltimore Colts | W 17-13 | 4-0 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 5 | Sun. Sep. 30 | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 14-17 | 4-1 | Veterans Stadium |
| 6 | Sun. Oct. 7 | 4:00 p.m. | NBC | at Cleveland Browns | W 51-35 | 5-1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
| 7 | Sun. Oct. 14 | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 10-34 | 5-2 | Riverfront Stadium |
| 8 | Mon. Oct. 22 | 9:00 p.m. | ABC | Denver Broncos | W 42-7 | 6-2 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 9 | Sun. Oct. 28 | 1:00 p.m. | CBS | Dallas Cowboys | W 14-3 | 7-2 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 10 | Sun. Nov. 4 | 1:00 p.m. | CBS | Washington Redskins | W 38-7 | 8-2 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 11 | Sun. Nov. 11 | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 30-3 | 9-2 | Arrowhead Stadium |
| 12 | Sun. Nov. 18 | 4:00 p.m. | NBC | at San Diego Chargers | L 7-35 | 9-3 | San Diego Stadium |
| 13 | Sun. Nov. 25 | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | Cleveland Browns | W 33-30 (OT) | 10-3 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 14 | Sun. Dec. 2 | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | Cincinnati Bengals | W 37-17 | 11-3 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 15 | Mon. Dec. 10 | 9:00 p.m. | ABC | at Houston Oilers | L 17-20 | 11-4 | Astrodome |
| 16 | Sun. Dec. 16 | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | Buffalo Bills | W 28-0 | 12-4 | Three Rivers Stadium |
Game summaries
Week 1: at New England Patriots
Week 2: vs. Houston Oilers
Week 3: at St. Louis Cardinals
Week 4: vs. Baltimore Colts
Week 5: at Philadelphia Eagles
Week 6: at Cleveland Browns
Week 7: at Cincinnati Bengals
Week 8: vs. Denver Broncos
Week 9: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Week 10: vs. Washington Redskins
In that game. Franco Harris became the 5th man to rush for 8,000 career rushing yards, and it was also Chuck Noll's 95th win as a head coach, the same number that Vince Lombardi won during his career.
Week 11: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 12: at San Diego Chargers
Week 13: vs. Cleveland Browns
Week 14: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Week 15: at Houston Oilers
Week 16: vs. Buffalo Bills
Standings
| AFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers(2) | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 4-2 | 9-3 | 416 | 262 | W1 |
| Houston Oilers(4) | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 4-2 | 9-3 | 362 | 331 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2-4 | 6-6 | 359 | 352 | L2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2-4 | 2-10 | 337 | 421 | W1 |
Stats
Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Kicking
Punting
Kick Return
Punt Return
Defense & Fumbles
Scoring Summary
Team
Quarter-by-quarter
| Quarter-by-quarter | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | T | |
| Steelers | 89 | 114 | 62 | 145 | 6 | 416 |
| Opponents | 57 | 104 | 53 | 48 | 0 | 262 |
Postseason
Schedule
| Week | Date | Kickoff (ET) | TV | Opponent | Result | Game Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | Sun. Dec. 30 | 12:30 pm | NBC | Miami Dolphins | W 34-14 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| AFC Championship | Sun. Jan. 6 | 1:00 pm | NBC | Houston Oilers | W 27-13 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| Super Bowl XIV | Sun. Jan. 20 | 6:15 pm | CBS | vs. Los Angeles Rams | W 31-19 | Rose Bowl |
Game summaries
AFC Divisional Playoff: vs. Miami Dolphins
AFC Championship: vs. Houston Oilers
Super Bowl XIV: vs. Los Angeles Rams
Statistics
Passing
| Player | Comp | Att | Yards | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Bradshaw | 259 | 472 | 3,724 | 26 | 25 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yards | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franco Harris | 267 | 1,186 | 11 |
| Sidney Thornton | 118 | 585 | 6 |
| Rocky Bleier | 92 | 434 | 4 |
| Terry Bradshaw | 21 | 83 | |
| Lynn Swann | 1 | 9 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Yards | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Stallworth | 70 | 1,183 | 8 |
| Lynn Swann | 41 | 808 | 5 |
| Bennie Cunningham | 36 | 512 | 4 |
| Franco Harris | 36 | 291 | 1 |
| Rocky Bleier | 31 | 277 | |
| Sidney Thornton | 16 | 231 | 4 |
Honors and awards
- Terry Bradshaw, Super Bowl MVP
References
External links
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