The 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 47th season in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(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
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
31-19 in
Super Bowl XIV. Despite them and the
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
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
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
win in the
1979 World Series
The 1979 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1979 season. The 76th edition of the World Series was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Pittsburgh Pirates (98–64) and ...
, 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
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
won the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
in 7 games over the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
, and the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
won
Super Bowl XXI
Super Bowl XXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...
39–20 over the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
.
On February 23, 2007,
NFL Network
NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NFL ...
aired
America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions, the
1979 Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
, with team commentary from
John Banaszak
John Arthur Banaszak (born August 24, 1950) is an American football coach and former player. He was formerly the head football coach at Robert Morris University. Banaszak played in the National Football League with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1 ...
,
L.C. Greenwood and
John Stallworth
Johnny Lee Stallworth (born July 15, 1952) is a former American football wide receiver who played 14 seasons in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is considered to be one of the best wide receivers in NFL history. He pl ...
, and narrated by
Ed Harris
Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), ''The Truman Show'' (1998), ''Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award n ...
. They are the last team to win a Super Bowl featuring players that had never played for another team; 40 original draft picks and six free agents out of college. The records for most points scored per game as well as in the regular season overall for the Steelers belonged to the 1979 squad, until they scored 436, amounting to 27.3 per game in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, the all-time franchise record in both categories.
Offseason
NFL draft
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Preseason
Schedule
Notes:
: All times are
EASTERN
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
time.
Regular season
Schedule
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Notes:
: All times are
EASTERN
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
time. (UTC–4 and UTC–5 starting October 28)
Game summaries
Week 1: at
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
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
Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized a ...
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
Postseason
Schedule
Notes:
: All times are
EASTERN
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
time.
Game summaries
AFC Divisional Playoff: vs. Miami Dolphins
AFC Championship: vs. Houston Oilers
Super Bowl XIV: vs. Los Angeles Rams
Statistics
Passing
Rushing
Receiving
[Pro-Football-Reference.com]
Honors and awards
*
Terry Bradshaw
Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since 1994, he has been a television sports analyst an ...
, Super Bowl MVP
References
External links
1979 Pittsburgh Steelers seasonat Profootballreference.com
1979 Pittsburgh Steelers seasonstatistics at jt-sw.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1979 Pittsburgh Steelers Season
Pittsburgh Steelers seasons
American Football Conference championship seasons
Super Bowl champion seasons
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
AFC Central championship seasons
Pittsburgh Steel