1979 Season
12-4 Regular Season • Super Bowl XIV Champion & MVP
Season Summary: The 1979 Steelers were a contradiction... mistake-prone, but explosive and nearly impossible to beat. At 12-4, Pittsburgh claimed its 8th straight AFC Central title with the league's highest-scoring offense. Bradshaw threw for 3,724 yards, Stallworth topped 1,000 yards, Swann remained one of the game’s most dangerous big-play receivers, and Harris rumbled for nearly 1,200 yards.
But the offense was also league-worst in turnovers, so the Steel Curtain — anchored by Lambert, Greene and Blount — was forced to deliver elite-level damage control, repeatedly shutting down short fields and keeping opponents out of the end zone.
At times, the team seemed schizophrenic. After faceplanting in a bizarre 9-turnover loss to winless Cincinnati, the Steelers went on an epic 4-game tear, decimating Denver, Dallas, Washington and K.C. by a combined score of 124-20... only to implode with 8 turnovers in San Diego.
But in the postseason, they flipped the switch. Pittsburgh steamrolled Miami, outmuscled Houston, and outlasted the Rams in Super Bowl XIV. Incredibly, both the Steelers and Rams were league-worst in turnovers committed in 1979, a Super Bowl matchup that defies logic and will never happen again.
With 10 Pro Bowlers, 10 future Hall of Famers and a record 4th Super Bowl in 6 years, the exciting '79 Steelers closed out the greatest dynasty in NFL history with a bang.
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 | ||||
| WATCHat Patriots | 1* | 09/03 | W 16-13 | 15 | 26 | 57.7 | 221 | 8.5 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 98.4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| WATCHvs Oilers | 2* | 09/09 | W 38-7 | 12 | 29 | 41.4 | 198 | 6.8 | 2 | 2 | 43 | 59.3 | 3 | 3 | -3 | -1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| WATCHat Cardinals | 3* | 09/16 | W 24-21 | 14 | 31 | 45.2 | 206 | 6.6 | 2 | 2 | 28 | 62.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| WATCHvs Colts | 4* | 09/23 | W 17-13 | 19 | 29 | 65.5 | 249 | 8.6 | 2 | 2 | 47t | 86.7 | 1 | 1 | -2 | -2.0 | 0 | -2 |
| WATCHat Eagles | 5* | 09/30 | L 14-17 | 12 | 26 | 46.2 | 176 | 6.8 | 1 | 2 | 37t | 49.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| WATCHat Browns | 6* | 10/07 | W 51-35 | 12 | 21 | 57.1 | 161 | 7.7 | 3 | 0 | 37 | 121.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| at Bengals | 7* | 10/14 | L 10-34 | 21 | 40 | 52.5 | 275 | 6.9 | 1 | 2 | 33t | 62.0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| WATCHvs Broncos | 8* | 10/22 | W 42-7 | 18 | 24 | 75.0 | 267 | 11.1 | 2 | 1 | 65 | 121.4 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | 3 |
| WATCHvs Cowboys | 9* | 10/28 | W 14-3 | 11 | 25 | 44.0 | 126 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 59.8 | 1 | 2 | -5 | -2.5 | 0 | -2 |
| WATCHvs Redskins | 10* | 11/04 | W 38-7 | 15 | 27 | 55.6 | 311 | 11.5 | 4 | 1 | 65t | 120.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| WATCHat Chiefs | 11* | 11/11 | W 30-3 | 17 | 29 | 58.6 | 232 | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 27 | 90.0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 0 | 10 |
| WATCHat Chargers | 12* | 11/18 | L 7-35 | 18 | 36 | 50.0 | 153 | 4.2 | 0 | 5 | 25 | 21.9 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 |
| WATCHvs Browns | 13* | 11/25 | W 33-30 OT | 30 | 44 | 68.2 | 364 | 8.3 | 1 | 1 | 47 | 91.5 | 1 | 3 | 43 | 14.3 | 0 | 28 |
| WATCHvs Bengals | 14* | 12/02 | W 37-17 | 17 | 29 | 58.6 | 339 | 11.7 | 2 | 1 | 58t | 108.3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 |
| WATCHat Oilers | 15* | 12/10 | L 17-20 | 14 | 29 | 48.3 | 237 | 8.2 | 1 | 2 | 41 | 59.1 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 0 | 20 |
| WATCHvs Bills | 16* | 12/16 | W 28-0 | 14 | 27 | 51.9 | 209 | 7.7 | 1 | 2 | 32 | 59.0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1979 TOTAL | 16 | — | 12-4 | 259 | 472 | 54.9 | 3,724 | 7.9 | 26 | 25 | 65 | 77.0 | 24 | 21 | 83 | 4.0 | 0 | 28 |
* 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 Dolphins | DIV* | 12/30 | W 34-14 | 21 | 31 | 67.7 | 230 | 7.4 | 2 | 0 | 20t | 111.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| WATCHvs Oilers | AFC* | 01/06 | W 27-13 | 18 | 30 | 60.0 | 219 | 7.3 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 90.8 | 3 | 1 | 25 | 25.0 | 0 | 25 |
| WATCHvs Rams | SB XIV* | 01/20 | W 31-19 | 14 | 21 | 66.7 | 309 | 14.7 | 2 | 3 | 73t | 101.9 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 3.0 | 0 | 6 |
| POSTSEASON | 3 | — | 3-0 | 53 | 82 | 64.6 | 758 | 9.2 | 6 | 4 | 73 | 98.5 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 8.5 | 0 | 25 |
* Bradshaw started