| Team: | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Year: | 1974 |
| Record: | 10–3–1 |
| Division Place: | 1st AFC Central |
| Coach: | Chuck Noll |
| Owner: | Art Rooney |
| General Manager: | Daniel M. Rooney |
| Stadium: | Three Rivers Stadium |
| Playoffs: | Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Bills) 32–14 Won AFC Championship (at Raiders) 24–13 Won Super Bowl IX (vs. Vikings) 16–6 |
| Mvp: | Glen Edwards |
| Roy: | Jack Lambert |
| Shortnavlink: | Steelers seasons |
The 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 42nd in the National Football League (NFL). They improved to a 10–3–1 regular-season record, won the AFC Central division title, sending them to the playoffs for the third consecutive season, and won a Super Bowl championship, the first league title in Steelers' history. This was the first of six consecutive AFC Central division titles for the Steelers, and the first of four Super Bowl championships in the same time period.
The Steelers also made history by playing in the NFL's first-ever regular season overtime game, the league having introduced a 15-minute sudden-death period to break ties. Their Week 2 contest against the Denver Broncos nevertheless ended in a 35–35 tie. As of 2023 no other team has ever won the Super Bowl after recording a tie in the overtime era.
On March 9, 2007, NFL Network aired an episode of that covered the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers, with team commentary from Franco Harris, Joe Greene, and Andy Russell, and narrated by Ed Harris.
During the offseason, the Steelers held their training camp in St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
During the 1974 NFL draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers would draft WR Lynn Swann in Round 1, LB Jack Lambert in Round 2, WR John Stallworth in Round 4, and C Mike Webster in Round 5, and they also signed S Donnie Shell as an undrafted free agent. All five would later be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As of 2014, the 1974 Steelers are the only team in NFL history to select four Hall of Fame players in one single draft.
In the 1974 preseason, the Steelers went 6–0 and were the only undefeated team in the NFL. However, most of the talk was centered around the NFL's first successful black quarterback, Joe Gilliam. Chuck Noll started Gilliam in the preseason and after it ended, Noll started him for the first few games of the regular season. Gilliam's stellar performance in the preseason sparked a quarterback controversy in Pittsburgh.
Following playoff appearances in both of the two previous seasons, the Steelers appeared to be in great shape after finishing the preseason as the only undefeated team in the NFL. After the first two regular season games, the Steelers had scored a total of 65 points and were 1–0–1, but then lost to the Oakland Raiders at home. The play of the Steelers' starting quarterback at the time, Joe Gilliam, continually deteriorated. By week 7, the Steelers were 4–1–1 and Gilliam was benched for Terry Bradshaw during a win against the Atlanta Falcons. Bradshaw won the next two games, but after a loss in Cincinnati, Noll benched Bradshaw again, this time in favor of Terry Hanratty (who had been selected in the 1969 draft). However, Hanratty played horribly in Cleveland. The offense was struggling, but the Steelers had won those tough games behind the still-maturing Steel Curtain defense. When Bradshaw was brought back into the starting lineup, the Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns and the New Orleans Saints (in a game in which Bradshaw ran for more yards than he passed for). After a loss to Houston, the Steelers played the most important game of their regular season in New England. A win over the Patriots would clinch the AFC Central division title for the Steelers and put them in the playoffs for the third straight year. The Steelers defeated the Patriots, then beat the Cincinnati Bengals, and awaited the playoffs.
In the divisional round of the playoffs, the Steelers played the Buffalo Bills. Sports Illustrateds Dan Jenkins wrote that Pittsburgh was "the only team to reach the playoffs without a quarterback".[1] However, the Steelers dominated Buffalo and held its star running back O. J. Simpson to 49 yards rushing (it was Simpson's only playoff game appearance).
In the 1974 AFC Championship game, the Steelers played an old foe, the Oakland Raiders. Each year, their rivalry was escalating: they had met in the playoffs the previous two seasons. In 1972, the Steelers won in Pittsburgh; in 1973, the Raiders returned the favor in Oakland. In this third playoff meeting, the Steelers were ready for anything the Raiders could throw at them. Using the new "Stunt 4–3 defense" the Steelers held the Raiders to 29 yards rushing as the Steelers themselves ran for over 200 yards in Oakland. After a Franco Harris touchdown run, the Steelers clinched their first Super Bowl appearance in club history (and their first league championship game appearance).
The Steelers met the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX. Both teams had a hard time in the rough weather conditions at old Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. After many exchanges of punts, the Steelers finally scored a safety on a bobbled handoff by Viking quarterback Fran Tarkenton. The score at the half was 2–0. The Steel Curtain continually dominated the Vikings. Vikings coach Bud Grant tried to run at the strength of the Steel Curtain, but they were shut down. The only points Minnesota scored came from a blocked punt that the Vikings recovered in the end zone for a touchdown; the subsequent extra point attempt was blocked. After the MVP performance by running back Franco Harris (34 carries for a then-Super Bowl-record 158 yards and a touchdown), the Steelers came away with a 16–6 victory. It was the first league title in Steelers history.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at New Orleans Saints | W 26–7 | 1–0 | Tulane Stadium | ||
| 2 | Chicago Bears | W 50–21 | 2–0 | Three Rivers Stadium | ||
| 3 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 33–30(OT) | 3–0 | Veterans Stadium | ||
| 4 | New York Giants | W 17–7 | 4–0 | Three Rivers Stadium | ||
| 5 | at Washington Redskins | W 21–19 | 5–0 | RFK Stadium | ||
| 6 | Dallas Cowboys | W 41–15 | 6–0 | Texas Stadium |
| Week | Date | Opponent | TV | Result | Record | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 15 | Baltimore Colts | NBC | W 30–0 | 1–0 | Three Rivers Stadium | |
| 2 | September 22 | at Denver Broncos | NBC | T 35–35(OT) | 1–0–1 | Mile High Stadium | |
| 3 | September 29 | Oakland Raiders | NBC | L 0–17 | 1–1–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | |
| 4 | October 6 | at Houston Oilers | NBC | W 13–7 | 2–1–1 | Astrodome | |
| 5 | October 13 | at Kansas City Chiefs | NBC | W 34–24 | 3–1–1 | Arrowhead Stadium | |
| 6 | October 20 | Cleveland Browns | NBC | W 20–16 | 4–1–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | |
| 7 | Atlanta Falcons | ABC | W 24–17 | 5–1–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | ||
| 8 | November 3 | Philadelphia Eagles | CBS | W 27–0 | 6–1–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | |
| 9 | November 10 | at Cincinnati Bengals | NBC | L 10–17 | 6–2–1 | Riverfront Stadium | |
| 10 | November 17 | at Cleveland Browns | NBC | W 26–16 | 7–2–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | |
| 11 | at New Orleans Saints | ABC | W 28–7 | 8–2–1 | Tulane Stadium | ||
| 12 | December 1 | Houston Oilers | NBC | L 10–13 | 8–3–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | |
| 13 | December 8 | at New England Patriots | NBC | W 21–17 | 9–3–1 | Schaefer Stadium | |
| 14 | Cincinnati Bengals | NBC | W 27–3 | 10–3–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | ||
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
| Week | Date | Opponent | TV | Result | Record | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | December 22 | Buffalo Bills | W 32–14 | 11–3–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | ||
| AFC Championship | December 29 | at Oakland Raiders | W 24–13 | 12–3–1 | Oakland Coliseum | ||
| Super Bowl IX | January 12 | Minnesota Vikings | W 16–6 | 13–3–1 | Old Tulane Stadium |
| Colts | Game Statistics | Steelers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | First downs | 18 | |
| 34–118 | Rushes–yards | 29–103 | |
| 102 | Passing yards | 289 | |
| 9–20–2 | 18–37–1 | ||
| 6–54 | Sacked–yards | 0–0 | |
| 48 | Net passing yards | 289 | |
| 166 | Total yards | 392 | |
| 98 | Return yards | 73 | |
| 8–33.3 | 4–45.5 | ||
| 3–2 | Fumbles–lost | 3–1 | |
| 3–20 | Penalties–yards | 4–32 |
In week 1, the Steelers started #17 Joe Gilliam as he completed 17 of his 31 passes for 257 yards, 2 TDs, and an interception. Gilliam became the first African-American quarterback in league history to play in a game as the designated opening-day starter. The defense held Baltimore to 166 total yards and forced 4 turnovers in the shutout win.
| Steelers | Game Statistics | Broncos | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | First downs | 20 | |
| 40–160 | Rushes–yards | 37–156 | |
| 348 | Passing yards | 191 | |
| 31–50–2 | 12–27–2 | ||
| 3–24 | Sacked–yards | 3–15 | |
| 324 | Net passing yards | 176 | |
| 484 | Total yards | 332 | |
| 121 | Return yards | 145 | |
| 6–41.7 | 7–44.4 | ||
| 3–2 | Fumbles–lost | 1–1 | |
| 12–91 | Penalties–yards | 7–61 |
In week 2, the Steelers were carried to a 35–35 OT tie with #32 Franco Harris' running game and #17 Joe Gilliam's 348 passing yards. It was the first regular season overtime game in NFL history. Denver coach John Ralston said of Gilliam that "it was possibly the finest performance I have ever seen by a quarterback."
Passing
| Passing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos | G | GS | QBrec | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | TD% | Int | Int% | Y/A | AY/A | Y/C | Y/G | Lng | Rate | Sk | Yds | NY/A | ANY/A | Sk% | 4QC | GWD | |
| QB | 9 | 6 | 4–1–1 | 96 | 212 | 45.3 | 1274 | 4 | 1.9 | 8 | 3.8 | 61 | 6.0 | 4.7 | 13.3 | 141.6 | 55.4 | 7 | 79 | 5.46 | 4.18 | 3.2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| QB | 8 | 7 | 5–2–0 | 67 | 148 | 45.3 | 785 | 7 | 4.7 | 8 | 5.4 | 56 | 5.3 | 3.8 | 11.7 | 98.1 | 55.2 | 10 | 104 | 4.31 | 2.92 | 6.3 | ||||
| QB | 3 | 1 | 1–0–0 | 3 | 26 | 11.5 | 95 | 1 | 3.8 | 5 | 19.2 | 35 | 3.7 | -4.2 | 31.7 | 31.7 | 15.5 | 1 | 13 | 3.04 | -4.56 | 3.7 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Team Total | 14 | 10–3–1 | 166 | 386 | 43 | 2154 | 12 | 3.1 | 21 | 5.4 | 61 | 5.6 | 3.8 | 13.0 | 153.9 | 48.9 | 18 | 196 | 4.5 | 4.85 | 3.10 | 2 | 1 | |||
| Opp Total | 14 | 147 | 339 | 43.4 | 1872 | 14 | 4.1 | 25 | 7.4 | 5.5 | 3.03 | 12.7 | 133.7 | 44.3 | 52 | 406 | 13.3 | 3.7 | 1.6 | |||||||
Rushing
Receiving
Kicking
Punting
Kick Return
| Kick Return | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Punt Return
| Punt Return | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sacks
Interceptions
| Interceptions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fumbles
| Fumbles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tackles
| Tackles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scoring Summary
| Scoring Summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team
Quarter-by-quarter