1976 Pittsburgh Steelers season

1976 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Head coach	Chuck Noll
Owner	Art Rooney
Home field	Three Rivers Stadium
Results
Record	10–4
Division place	1st in AFC Central
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs (Colts) 40–14 Lost AFC Championship (Raiders) 24–7
Pro Bowlers	11 CB Mel Blount QB Terry Bradshaw S Glen Edwards DT Joe Greene DE L. C. Greenwood LB Jack Ham RB Franco Harris LB Jack Lambert LB Andy Russell WR Lynn Swann S Mike Wagner
AP All-Pros	5 Jack Ham (1st team) Jack Lambert (1st team) Glen Edwards (2nd team) Joe Greene (2nd team) Mike Wagner (2nd team)
Team MVP	Jack Lambert

The 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 44th in the National Football League. The Steelers started the season looking to become the first team in the Super Bowl era to win three-straight league championships (and first since the 1929–1931 and 1965–1967 Green Bay Packers). However, many thought that would be in doubt after the team started 1–4 and saw quarterback Terry Bradshaw injured in the week 5 loss to the Cleveland Browns after a vicious sack by Joe "Turkey" Jones that has since become immortalized in NFL Films as part of the Browns-Steelers rivalry.

Despite the setbacks, the Steelers would turn it around behind the strength of the Steel Curtain and its dual threat at running back in Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier, who each rushed for over 1000 yards, finishing 10–4 and posting five shutouts. Rookie quarterback Mike Kruczek wound up going 6–0 starting in place of Bradshaw, largely due to the strength of the ground game. This would also stand as an NFL record for best start for a rookie quarterback until 2004—when the Steelers' own Ben Roethlisberger more than doubled that record and went 13–0 as a starter his rookie season.

However, injuries to both Bleier and Harris in the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Baltimore Colts sidelined them both for the following week's AFC Championship game against the Oakland Raiders. Without both of their 1,000-yard rushers, the Steelers lost to the Raiders by a score of 24-7. Even with Pittsburgh coming up short, many Steelers fans—including the Rooney family themselves—consider the 1976 Steelers the best team in franchise history, even better than all six world championship teams. Jack Lambert, who won 4 Super Bowls with the Steelers between 1974 and 1979, claimed that the 1976 Steelers team was the best team that he ever played for, and subsequently, the loss to the Raiders in the AFC Championship game was the most painful loss of his career. He (Lambert) is convinced that they would have beaten the Raiders and gone on to win that season's Super Bowl had Harris and Bleier both been healthy and available for said AFC Championship game.

In 2007, ESPN.com named the 1976 Steelers the greatest defense in NFL history,^[1] noting, "the 1976 unit was the best (slightly better than the '75 squad). Here's why: 28. That's how many points the Steel Curtain surrendered in the last nine games of the season. That's a total. As a result, Pittsburgh, which started the season 1–4, made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game.... The '76 Steelers didn't have it easy – their opponents had a .528 winning percentage. But they had these guys: Hall of Famers Mean Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham and Mel Blount. And eight Steelers defensive players made the 1976 Pro Bowl team: cornerback J.T. Thomas, defensive end L.C. Greenwood, Greene, Ham, Lambert, defensive back Glen Edwards, safety Mike Wagner, and Blount."

Personnel

Staff

1976 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 – 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 Head Coach – Chuck Noll Offensive coaches Offensive Backfield – Dick Hoak Offensive Line – Dan Radakovich Offensive Assistant – John Spezzaferro Receivers – Lionel Taylor			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Bud Carson Defensive Line – George Perles Linebackers – Woody Widenhofer Strength and conditioning Strength – Louis Riecke Flexibility – Paul Uram Team Physician, M.D. – Dr. David S. Huber Team Physician, Orthopedic – Dr. Paul B. Steele, Jr. 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 [2]

Roster

1976 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster
	Quarterbacks 12 Terry Bradshaw 15 Mike Kruczek Running backs 20 Rocky Bleier 35 Jack Deloplaine 33 John Fuqua 32 Franco Harris 46 Reggie Harrison Wide receivers 83 Theo Bell PR 43 Frank Lewis 22 Ernie Pough KR 82 John Stallworth 88 Lynn Swann Tight ends 87 Larry Brown 89 Bennie Cunningham 84 Randy Grossman		Offensive linemen 50 Jim Clack G/C 57 Sam Davis G 71 Gordon Gravelle T 55 Jon Kolb T 56 Ray Mansfield C 72 Gerry Mullins G/T 74 Ray Pinney C/T 52 Mike Webster C Defensive linemen 76 John Banaszak DE 67 Gary Dunn DT 64 Steve Furness DT 75 Joe Greene DT 68 L.C. Greenwood DE 63 Ernie Holmes DT 78 Dwight White DE		Linebackers 53 Greg Blankenship OLB 59 Jack Ham OLB 54 Marv Kellum MLB 58 Jack Lambert MLB 34 Andy Russell OLB 51 Loren Toews OLB Defensive backs 45 Jimmy Allen DB 47 Mel Blount CB 27 Glen Edwards FS 31 Donnie Shell S 24 J. T. Thomas CB 23 Mike Wagner SS Special teams 52 Mike Webster LS 10 Roy Gerela K 39 Bobby Walden P/H		Reserve lists 44 Mike Collier RB (IR) 73 Jim Files G (IR) 36 Wentford Gaines DB (IR) 86 Reggie Garrett WR (IR) 11 Allen Hooker S (IR) 66 Al Humphrey LB (IR) 29 Brent Sexton DB (IR) Practice squad 16 Neil Graff QB [3] [4] [5] Rookies in italics 44 Active, 7 Inactive, 1 Practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Time (ET)	TV	Result
1	Sunday September 12	at Oakland Raiders	4:00 pm	NBC	L 28-31
2	Sunday September 19	Cleveland Browns	1:00 pm	NBC	W 31–14
3	Sunday September 26	New England Patriots	1:00 pm	NBC	L 27-30
4	Monday October 4	at Minnesota Vikings	9:00 pm	ABC	L 6-17
5	Sunday October 10	at Cleveland Browns	1:00 pm	NBC	L 16–18
6	Sunday October 17	Cincinnati Bengals	1:00 pm	NBC	W 23–6
7	Sunday October 24	at New York Giants	1:00 pm	NBC	W 27–0
8	Sunday October 31	San Diego Chargers	1:00 pm	NBC	W 23–0
9	Sunday November 7	at Kansas City Chiefs	2:00 pm	NBC	W 45–0
10	Sunday November 14	Miami Dolphins	1:00 pm	NBC	W 14–3
11	Sunday November 21	Houston Oilers	1:00 pm	NBC	W 32–16
12	Sunday November 28	at Cincinnati Bengals	1:00 pm	NBC	W 7–3
13	Sunday December 5	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1:00 pm	NBC	W 42–0
14	Saturday December 11	at Houston Oilers	4:00 pm	NBC	W 21–0

Game summaries

Game Summaries

Week 1 (Sunday September 12, 1976): at Oakland Raiders 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 0 7 7 14 28 Raiders 7 0 7 17 31 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California Game time: 4:00 pm EDT Game weather: Game attendance: 51,371 Referee: Jim Tunney TV announcers: (NBC) Curt Gowdy & Don Meredith Scoring Drives: Oakland – Casper 30 pass from Stabler (Steinfort kick)0–7 Pittsburgh – Bleier 2 run (Gerela kick)7–7 Pittsburgh – Stallworth 47 lateral from Harris after 25 run (Gerela kick)14–7 Pittsburgh – Bell 11 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)21–7 Oakland – Biletnikoff 21 pass from Stabler (Steinfort kick)21–14 Pittsburgh – Harris 3 run (Gerela kick)28–14 Oakland – Casper 10 pass from Stabler (Steinfort kick)28–21 Oakland – Stabler 2 run (Steinfort kick)28–28 Oakland – FG Steinfort 21 28–31 Week 2 (Sunday September 19, 1976): vs. Cleveland Browns 1 2 3 4 Total Browns 0 14 0 0 14 Steelers 0 0 17 14 31 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: 1:00 pm EDT Game weather: Game attendance: 49,169 Referee: Tommy Bell TV announcers: (NBC) Charlie Jones & Paul Maguire Scoring Drives: Cleveland – Rucker 14 pass from Sipe (Cockroft kick)0–7 Cleveland – Roan 17 pass from Sipe (Cockroft kick)0–14 Pittsburgh – Stallworth 14 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)7–14 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 47 10–14 Pittsburgh – Harris 2 run (Gerela kick)17–14 Pittsburgh – Stallworth 5 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)24–14 Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 7 run (Gerela kick)31–14 Week 3 (Sunday September 26, 1976): vs. New England Patriots 1 2 3 4 Total Patriots 6 3 14 7 30 Steelers 7 6 7 7 27 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: 1:00 pm EDT Game weather: Game attendance: 47,379 Referee: Dick Jorgensen TV announcers: (NBC) Scoring Drives: Pittsburgh – Harris 3 run (Gerela kick)7–0 New England – FG Smith 42 7–3 New England – FG Smith 40 7–6 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 32 10–6 New England – FG Smith 26 10–9 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 41 13–9 Pittsburgh – Harris 2 run (Gerela kick)20–9 New England – Francis 38 pass from Grogan (Smith kick)20–16 New England – Stingley 58 pass from Grogan (Smith kick)20–23 New England – Grogan 6 run (Smith kick)20–30 Pittsburgh – Grossman 11 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)27–30 Week 4 (Monday October 4, 1976): at Minnesota Vikings 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 6 0 0 0 6 Vikings 0 7 0 10 17 at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota Game time: 9:00 pm EDT Game weather: Game attendance: 47,809 Referee: Pat Haggerty TV announcers: (ABC) Frank Gifford (play by play), Alex Karras & Howard Cosell (color commentators) Scoring Drives: Pittsburgh – Cunningham 1 pass from Bradshaw (kick blocked)6–0 Minnesota – Foreman 8 run (Cox kick)6–7 Minnesota – Foreman 4 run (Cox kick)6–14 Minnesota – FG Cox 43 6–17 Week 5 (Sunday October 10, 1976): at Cleveland Browns 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 7 3 0 6 16 Browns 3 3 9 3 18 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio Game time: 1:00 pm EDT Game weather: Game attendance: 76,411 Referee: Bernie Ulman TV announcers: (NBC) Scoring Drives: Cleveland – FG Cockroft 43 0–3 Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run (Gerela kick)7–3 Cleveland – FG Cockroft 28 7–6 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 30 10–6 Cleveland – C. Miller 1 run (kick failed)10–12 Cleveland – FG Cockroft 50 10–15 Cleveland – FG Cockroft 40 10–18 Pittsburgh – Kruczek 22 run (kick blocked)16–18 Terry Bradshaw is lost for 6 weeks after being body slammed to the ground by DE Turkey Jones Week 6 (Sunday October 17, 1976): vs. Cincinnati Bengals 1 2 3 4 Total Bengals 3 0 3 0 6 Steelers 0 13 0 10 23 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: 1:00 pm EDT Game weather: Game attendance: 48,311 Referee: Cal Lepore TV announcers: (NBC) Scoring Drives: Cincinnati – FG Bahr 22 0–3 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 42 3–3 Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run (Gerela kick)10–3 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 40 13–3 Cincinnati – FG Bahr 19 13–6 Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run (Gerela kick)20–6 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 30 23–6 Week 7 (Sunday October 24, 1976): at New York Giants 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 0 10 0 17 27 Giants 0 0 0 0 0 at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game time: 1:00 pm EDT Game weather: Game attendance: 69,783 Referee: Gordon McCarter TV announcers: (NBC) Scoring Drives: Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run (Gerela kick)7–0 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 21 10–0 Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run (Gerela kick)17–0 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 28 20–0 Pittsburgh – Lewis 16 run (Gerela kick)27–0 This was the first of 5 wins by shutout. Week 8 (Sunday October 31, 1976): vs. San Diego Chargers 1 2 3 4 Total Chargers 0 0 0 0 0 Steelers 0 3 0 20 23 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: 1:00 pm EST Game weather: Game attendance: 45,484 Referee: Tommy Bell TV announcers: (NBC) Scoring Drives: Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 36 3–0 Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 1 run (Gerela kick)10–0 Pittsburgh – Pough 11 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)17–0 Pittsburgh – Fuqua 3 run (kick failed)23–0 Week 9 (Sunday November 7, 1976): at Kansas City Chiefs 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 7 3 21 14 45 Chiefs 0 0 0 0 0 at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri Game time: 2:00 pm EST Game weather: Game attendance: 71,516 Referee: Fred Silva TV announcers: (NBC) Scoring Drives: Pittsburgh – Harrison 4 run (Gerela kick)7–0 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 28 10–0 Pittsburgh – Harris 25 run (Gerela kick)17–0 Pittsburgh – Harris 5 run (Gerela kick)24–0 Pittsburgh – Lewis 19 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)31–0 Pittsburgh – Deloplaine 15 run (Gerela kick)38–0 Pittsburgh – Deloplaine 7 run (Gerela kick)45–0 Week 10 (Sunday November 14, 1976): vs. Miami Dolphins 1 2 3 4 Total Dolphins 0 0 3 0 3 Steelers 0 7 0 7 14 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: 1:00 pm EST Game weather: Game attendance: 48,945 Referee: Bob Frederic TV announcers: (NBC) Scoring Drives: Pittsburgh – Harris 21 run (Gerela kick)7–0 Miami – FG Yepremian 45 7–3 Pittsburgh – Harrison 1 run (Gerela kick)14–3 Week 11 (Sunday November 21, 1976): vs. Houston Oilers 1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 0 10 0 6 16 Steelers 10 5 10 7 32 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: 1:00 pm EST Game weather: Game attendance: 47,947 Referee: Ben Dreith TV announcers: (NBC) Scoring Drives: Pittsburgh – Bleier 10 run (Gerela kick)7–0 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 37 10–0 Pittsburgh – Safety, Toews blocked punt out of end zone 12–0 Houston – Burrough 69 pass from Hadl (Butler kick)12–7 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 35 15–7 Houston – FG Butler 43 15–10 Pittsburgh – Harrison 1 run (Gerela kick) 22–10 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 18 25–10 Pittsburgh – Harrison 1 run (Gerela kick)32–10 Houston – Sawyer 2 pass from Hadl (kick failed)32–16 Week 12 (Sunday November 28, 1976): at Cincinnati Bengals 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 0 0 7 0 7 Bengals 3 0 0 0 3 at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio Game time: 1:00 pm EST Game weather: Game attendance: 55,142 Referee: Jim Tunney TV announcers: (NBC) Scoring Drives: Cincinnati – FG Bahr 40 0–3 Pittsburgh – Harris 4 run (Gerela kick)7–3 Week 13 (Sunday December 5, 1976): vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1 2 3 4 Total Buccaneers 0 0 0 0 0 Steelers 7 21 14 0 42 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: 1:00 pm EST Game weather: Game attendance: 43,385 Referee: Cal Lepore TV announcers: (NBC) Scoring Drives: Pittsburgh – Bleier 7 run (Gerela kick)7–0 Pittsburgh – Bleier 1 run (Gerela kick)14–0 Pittsburgh – Kruczek 1 run (Gerela kick)21–0 Pittsburgh – Bleier 3 run (Gerela kick)28–0 Pittsburgh – Swann 35 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)35–0 Pittsburgh – Swann 23 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)42–0 Week 14 (Saturday December 11, 1976): at Houston Oilers 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 0 7 7 7 21 Oilers 0 0 0 0 0 at Astrodome, Houston, Texas Game time: 4:00 pm EST Game weather: Dome Game attendance: 44,743 Referee: Fred Silva TV announcers: (NBC) Scoring Drives: Pittsburgh – Swann 21 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)7–0 Pittsburgh – Harris 11 run (Gerela kick) 14–0 Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 1 run (Gerela kick) 21–0 Notes With the win the Steelers record the most NFL shutouts in 50 years with their 5th & set a new NFL record forcing 71 punts in a season.

Standings

AFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Pittsburgh Steelers^(3)	10	4	0	.714	5–1	9–3	342	138	W9
Cincinnati Bengals	10	4	0	.714	4–2	8–3	335	210	W1
Cleveland Browns	9	5	0	.643	3–3	6–5	267	287	L1
Houston Oilers	5	9	0	.357	0–6	3–9	222	273	L2

Postseason

Game summaries

AFC Divisional Playoff (Sunday December 19, 1976): at Baltimore Colts

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	9	17	0	14	40
Colts	7	0	0	7	14

at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 59,296
• Referee: Pat Haggerty
• TV announcers: (NBC)

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh – Lewis 76 pass from Bradshaw (kick failed)6–0
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 45 9–0
• Baltimore – Carr 17 pass from Jones (Linhart kick)9–7
• Pittsburgh – Harrison 1 run (Gerela kick)16–7
• Pittsburgh – Swann 29 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)23–7
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 25 26–7
• Pittsburgh – Swann 11 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)33–7
• Baltimore – Leaks 1 run (Linhart kick)33–14
• Pittsburgh – Harrison 10 run (Mansfield kick)40–14

Notes: Pittsburgh gained an NFL record 524 total yards, Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier were lost to injuries.

AFC Championship (Sunday December 26, 1976): at Oakland Raiders

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	7	0	0	7
Raiders	3	14	7	0	24

at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

• Game time: 4:00 pm EST
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 53,821
• Referee: Tommy Bell
• TV announcers: (NBC) Curt Gowdy (play by play), Don Meredith (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

• Oakland – FG Mann 39 0–3
• Oakland – Davis 1 run (Mann kick)0–10
• Pittsburgh – Harrison 3 run (Mansfield kick)7–10
• Oakland – Bankston 4 pass from Stabler (Mann kick)7–17
• Oakland – Banaszak 5 pass from Stabler (Mann kick)7–24

References

1. The List: Best NFL defense of all-time, 2007
2. 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
3. 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
4. 1977 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
5. "1976 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-12-17.