The 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 47th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Steelers successfully defended their Super Bowl Championship from the previous year, despite not improving on their 14–2 record from last year with a 12–4 record. They 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. Despite them and the San Diego Chargers having 12–4 records, the Chargers were awarded the top seed in the AFC because of their victory over the Steelers.
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.
The 1979 Steelers are the only team to win a Super Bowl featuring players that had never played for another NFL team, featuring 40 original draft picks and six undrafted free agents. The 1979 squad would set a franchise record for total points and points-per-game, with both records later broken in 2014. They also remain the only team to win four Super Bowls in six years, as well as the only team with two streaks of consecutive Super Bowl wins.
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
Undrafted free agents
+ 1979 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeAnthony AndersonRunning backTempleRay ButlerSafetyKansas StateRich DansdillGuardMissouriDave DiCiccioSafetyPittsburghLarry DouglasWide receiverSouthernDerrick GlasperCornerbackVirginiaFrank GoroleskiWide receiverCortland StateDexter GreenRunning backIowa StateGene JohnsonTight endMichiganDuane JonesRunning backMississippi Valley StateCarlos LeeWide receiverConcordPhil NoelTackleKansas StateMark OlivariLinebackerTulaneGeorge SmallGuardNorth Carolina A&TRick SnodgrassKickerSlippery RockJohhny StoutamireSafetyLivingstoneJerry TaylorWide receiverTulsaBernard WintersDefensive endSyracuse
Personnel
Staff / Coaches
Roster
Preseason
Schedule Week Date Opponent Kickoff TV Result Record Venue Attendance NFL.comrecap 1 at Buffalo Bills 6:00 p.m. EDT WIIC W 15–7 1–0 Rich Stadium 2 New York Giants 6:00 p.m. EDT WIIC W 10–3 2–0 Three Rivers Stadium 3 at New York Jets 8:00 p.m. EDT WIIC W 27–14 3–0 Giants Stadium 4 at Dallas Cowboys 9:00 p.m. EDT NBC L 14–16 3–1 Texas Stadium
Notes:
All times are EASTERN time.
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Kickoff TV Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 at New England Patriots 9:00 p.m. EDT ABC W 16–13 1–0 Schaefer Stadium Recap 2 September 9 Houston Oilers 1:00 p.m. EDT NBC W 38–7 2–0 Three Rivers Stadium Recap 3 September 16 at St. Louis Cardinals 4:00 p.m. EDT NBC W 24–21 3–0 Busch Memorial Stadium Recap 4 September 23 Baltimore Colts 1:00 p.m. EDT NBC W 17–13 4–0 Three Rivers Stadium Recap 5 September 30 at Philadelphia Eagles 1:00 p.m. EDT NBC L 14–17 4–1 Veterans Stadium Recap 6 October 7 at Cleveland Browns 4:00 p.m. EDT NBC W 51–35 5–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium Recap 7 October 14 at Cincinnati Bengals 1:00 p.m. EDT NBC L 10–34 5–2 Riverfront Stadium Recap 8 Denver Broncos 9:00 p.m. EDT ABC W 42–7 6–2 Three Rivers Stadium Recap 9 October 28 Dallas Cowboys 1:00 p.m. EST CBS W 14–3 7–2 Three Rivers Stadium Recap 10 November 4 Washington Redskins 1:00 p.m. EST CBS W 38–7 8–2 Three Rivers Stadium Recap 11 November 11 at Kansas City Chiefs 1:00 p.m. EST NBC W 30–3 9–2 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 12 November 18 at San Diego Chargers 4:00 p.m. EST NBC L 7–35 9–3 San Diego Stadium Recap 13 November 25 Cleveland Browns 1:00 p.m. EST NBC W 33–30 10–3 Three Rivers Stadium Recap 14 December 2 Cincinnati Bengals 1:00 p.m. EST NBC W 37–17 11–3 Three Rivers Stadium Recap 15 at Houston Oilers 9:00 p.m. EST ABC L 17–20 11–4 Astrodome Recap 16 December 16 Buffalo Bills 1:00 p.m. EST NBC W 28–0 12–4 Three Rivers Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Notes:
All times are EASTERN time. (UTC–4 and UTC–5 starting October 28)
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
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 Round Date Opponent Kickoff TV Result Record Game Site Attendance Recap Wild Card First Round Bye Divisional December 30 Miami Dolphins (3) 12:30 p.m. EST NBC W 34–14 1–0 Three Rivers Stadium 50,214 Recap AFC Championship January 6 Houston Oilers (4) 1:00 p.m. EST NBC W 27–13 2–0 Three Rivers Stadium 50,475 Recap Super Bowl XIV January 20 Los Angeles Rams (N3) 6:00 p.m. EST CBS W 31–19 3–0 Rose Bowl 103,985 Recap
Notes:
All times are EASTERN time.
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 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers season at Profootballreference.com 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers season statistics at jt-sw.com