1975 Season
12-2 Regular Season • AFC Central Champion • Super Bowl X Champion
Season Summary: The 1975 Steelers entered the season as defending champions for the first time in franchise history... and somehow got better. Pittsburgh finished 12-2, won the AFC Central, earned the conference's top playoff seed and returned to the Super Bowl behind a team that was becoming overwhelming on both sides of the ball.
For Terry Bradshaw, 1975 was the breakthrough. After five turbulent seasons that included benchings, boos and constant questions about whether he would ever become the quarterback the Steelers expected, Bradshaw started all 14 games and made his first Pro Bowl. He completed 57.7% of his passes for 2,055 yards, threw 18 TDs against only 9 INTs and posted an 88.0 passer rating, fifth-best in the NFL. Just as important, Lynn Swann blossomed into a star with 49 catches for 781 yards and 11 TDs, giving Bradshaw the dynamic downfield weapon Pittsburgh had been waiting for.
The rest of the machine was just as formidable. Franco Harris rushed for 1,246 yards and 10 TDs while the Steel Curtain allowed only 162 points, second-fewest in the league. Mel Blount had an extraordinary 11 interceptions and was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year, while Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood and the rest of a loaded defense made Pittsburgh brutally difficult to score against.
In the playoffs, the Steelers survived a turnover-filled 28-10 win over Baltimore, then outlasted Oakland 16-10 in an icy, vicious AFC Championship Game to reach Super Bowl X. There, Lynn Swann delivered one of the greatest performances in Super Bowl history, catching 4 passes for 161 yards and the game-winning 64-yard TD from Bradshaw. Pittsburgh beat Dallas 21-17 for its second straight championship. The 1975 season was the year the Steelers proved 1974 was no fluke... and the year Bradshaw finally emerged as one of the NFL's best quarterbacks.
Click WATCH to watch the game.
Regular Season
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| Game | Week | Date | Result | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Lng | Rate | Sk | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Lng | ||||
| at Chargers | 1* | 09/21 | W 37-0 | 21 | 28 | 75.0 | 227 | 8.1 | 2 | 0 | — | 122.2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 0 | 11 |
| vs Bills | 2* | 09/28 | L 21-30 | 3 | 8 | 37.5 | 69 | 8.6 | 0 | 1 | — | 29.7 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2.3 | 0 | 4 |
| at Browns | 3* | 10/05 | W 42-6 | 7 | 8 | 87.5 | 151 | 18.9 | 1 | 0 | — | 158.3 | 1 | 1 | -5 | -5.0 | 0 | -5 |
| vs Broncos | 4* | 10/12 | W 20-9 | 16 | 26 | 61.5 | 191 | 7.3 | 2 | 0 | — | 109.6 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 0 | 15 |
| vs Bears | 5* | 10/19 | W 34-3 | 11 | 22 | 50.0 | 146 | 6.6 | 0 | 0 | — | 71.4 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 3.7 | 1 | 6 |
| at Packers | 6* | 10/26 | W 16-13 | 12 | 22 | 54.5 | 84 | 3.8 | 0 | 0 | — | 63.4 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 5.7 | 0 | 8 |
| at Bengals | 7* | 11/02 | W 30-24 | 13 | 24 | 54.2 | 164 | 6.8 | 2 | 2 | — | 68.8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 1 | 2 |
| vs Oilers | 8* | 11/09 | W 24-17 | 17 | 28 | 60.7 | 219 | 7.8 | 3 | 1 | — | 106.1 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 5.3 | 0 | — |
| vs Chiefs | 9* | 11/16 | W 28-3 | 16 | 24 | 66.7 | 204 | 8.5 | 2 | 1 | — | 103.5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 |
| at Oilers | 10* | 11/24 | W 32-9 | 13 | 16 | 81.3 | 168 | 10.5 | 1 | 2 | — | 91.7 | 3 | 5 | 26 | 5.2 | 0 | 11 |
| at Jets | 11* | 11/30 | W 20-7 | 9 | 22 | 40.9 | 120 | 5.5 | 2 | 0 | — | 89.2 | 2 | 3 | 56 | 18.7 | 0 | 27 |
| vs Browns | 12* | 12/07 | W 31-17 | 11 | 25 | 44.0 | 135 | 5.4 | 2 | 0 | — | 87.9 | 4 | 3 | 30 | 10.0 | 0 | 11 |
| WATCHvs Bengals | 13* | 12/13 | W 35-14 | 13 | 23 | 56.5 | 149 | 6.5 | 1 | 1 | — | 72.6 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 6.3 | 1 | 9 |
| WATCHat Rams | 14* | 12/20 | L 3-10 | 3 | 10 | 30.0 | 28 | 2.8 | 0 | 1 | — | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1975 TOTAL | 14 | — | 12-2 | 165 | 286 | 57.7 | 2,055 | 7.2 | 18 | 9 | 59 | 88.0 | 31 | 35 | 210 | 6.0 | 3 | 27 |
* Bradshaw started
Postseason
| Game | Week | Date | Result | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Lng | Rate | Sk | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Lng | ||||
| WATCHvs Colts | DIV* | 12/27 | W 28-10 | 8 | 13 | 61.5 | 103 | 7.9 | 0 | 2 | — | 46.8 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 1 | — |
| WATCHvs Raiders | AFC* | 01/04 | W 16-10 | 15 | 25 | 60.0 | 215 | 8.6 | 1 | 3 | — | 61.7 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 11.0 | 0 | — |
| WATCHvs Cowboys | SB X* | 01/18 | W 21-17 | 9 | 19 | 47.4 | 209 | 11.0 | 2 | 0 | 64t | 122.5 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 4.0 | 0 | 16 |
| POSTSEASON | 3 | — | 3-0 | 32 | 57 | 56.1 | 527 | 9.2 | 3 | 5 | 64t | 68.4 | 5 | 9 | 60 | 6.7 | 1 | 16 |
* Bradshaw started