1977 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Pittsburgh Steelers 45th US football season
The 1977 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 45th in the National Football League . After what was considered the franchise's greatest season ever in 1976, the 1977 Pittsburgh Steelers failed to improve on their 10-4 record from 1976 and finished with a 9-5 record; however, they appeared in the playoffs for their 6th straight season and won the AFC Central again. They had a hard time for most of the season as their record hovered around .500. Even the Steel Curtain seemed to have a little wear and tear allowing 243 points on the season, more than 100 more than the previous season. The sloppy plays would catch up with them in the Divisional Playoffs when they were knocked off by the Broncos 34–21 in Denver.
The 1977 season is remembered as one of the most turbulent in franchise history, as numerous players were involved with off-the-field issues. Defensive tackle Ernie Holmes was arrested for cocaine possession, and despite being found not guilty, lawsuits followed. Head coach Chuck Noll was also subject to a defamation lawsuit, as Oakland Raiders safety George Atkinson sued Noll and the Steelers for a disparaging comment in which Noll called Atkinson part of the "criminal element" in football. Though Atkinson lost the lawsuit, Noll was forced to bring Steelers cornerback Mel Blount into the suit, which upset Blount as he was one of many Steelers players engaged in a contract holdout, with others including linebacker Jack Lambert and safety Glen Edwards . Disputes between these players and Steelers owner Art Rooney were often publicized, and the overall drama played a significant part in the regression of the Steel Curtain defense.[1] [2] This was also the first season that the Steelers wore black face masks on their helmets.
Personnel
Staff
1977 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
Ticket office coordinator – Geraldine Glenn
Director of player personnel – Dick Haley
Assistant director of player personnel – Bill Nunn
Director of professional scouting – V. Timothy Rooney
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
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
[3]
Roster
1977 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists
Practice squad
[4]
[5]
[6]
Rookies in italics
48 active, 6 inactive, 1 practice squad
The Pittsburgh Steelers began the 1977 season looking to improve upon their 10–4 record in 1976 ; when they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders .
While the Steelers once again won the AFC Central crown, they finished with one fewer win; going 9–5 and losing to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional playoff game at Denver.
Regular season
Schedule
Game summaries
Week 1 (Monday September 19, 1977): vs. San Francisco 49ers
1
2
3
4
Total
49ers
0
0
0
0
0
Steelers
0
10
3
14
27
at Three Rivers Stadium , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Scoring drives:
Week 2 (Sunday September 25, 1977): vs. Oakland Raiders
1
2
3
4
Total
Raiders
0
9
0
7
16
Steelers
0
0
0
7
7
at Three Rivers Stadium , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 4:00 pm EDT
Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C), wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
Game attendance: 50,398
Referee: Pat Haggerty
TV announcers: (NBC) Curt Gowdy (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Week 3 at Browns
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
CLE – Cleo Miller 1-yard run (Don Cockroft kick). Browns 14–7. Drive:
PIT – Frank Lewis 65-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick). Tie 14–14. Drive:
Third quarter
PIT – Lynn Swann 14-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick). Steelers 21–14. Drive:
Fourth quarter
PIT – Terry Bradshaw 1-yard run (Roy Gerela kick). Steelers 28–14. Drive:
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 4 (Sunday October 9, 1977): at Houston Oilers
1
2
3
4
Total
Steelers
3
7
0
0
10
Oilers
7
0
10
10
27
at Astrodome , Houston, Texas
Scoring drives:
Week 5 (Monday October 17, 1977): vs. Cincinnati Bengals
1
2
3
4
Total
Bengals
0
7
0
7
14
Steelers
0
13
0
7
20
at Three Rivers Stadium , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 9:00 pm EDT
Game weather: 39 °F (4 °C), wind 18 mph (29 km/h)
Game attendance: 47,950
Referee: Ben Dreith
TV announcers: (ABC) Frank Gifford (play by play) and Don Meredith (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Week 6 (Sunday October 23, 1977): vs. Houston Oilers
1
2
3
4
Total
Oilers
0
7
0
3
10
Steelers
0
7
6
14
27
at Three Rivers Stadium , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C), wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
Game attendance: 48,517
Referee: Bernie Ulman
TV announcers: (NBC) Stu Nahan (play by play), Andy Russell (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Week 7 (Sunday October 30, 1977): at Baltimore Colts
1
2
3
4
Total
Steelers
0
0
7
14
21
Colts
3
14
7
7
31
at Memorial Stadium , Baltimore, Maryland
Game time: 4:00 pm EST
Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C), wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
Game attendance: 60,225
Referee: Red Cashion
TV announcers: (NBC) Marv Albert (play by play), Len Dawson (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Week 8 (Sunday November 6, 1977): at Denver Broncos
1
2
3
4
Total
Steelers
0
0
7
0
7
Broncos
14
7
0
0
21
at Mile High Stadium , Denver, Colorado
Game time: 4:00 pm EST
Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C), wind 7 mph (11 km/h)
Game attendance: 74,967
Referee: Fred Wyant
TV announcers: (NBC) Jim Simpson (play by play), Merlin Olsen (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Week 9 (Sunday November 13, 1977): vs. Cleveland Browns
1
2
3
4
Total
Browns
3
0
7
21
31
Steelers
7
21
0
7
35
at Three Rivers Stadium , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EST
Game weather: 30 °F (−1 °C), wind 13 mph (21 km/h)
Game attendance: 47,055
Referee: Pat Haggerty
TV announcers: (NBC) Jim Simpson (play by play), Merlin Olsen (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Week 10 (Sunday November 20, 1977): vs. Dallas Cowboys
1
2
3
4
Total
Cowboys
6
7
0
0
13
Steelers
0
14
14
0
28
at Three Rivers Stadium , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 4:00 pm EST
Game weather: 48 °F (9 °C), wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
Game attendance: 49,761
Referee: Bob Frederic
TV announcers: (CBS) Pat Summerall (play by play), Tom Brookshier (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Week 11 at Jets
Game information
First quarter
NYJ – Pat Leahy 33-yard field goal. Jets 3–0. Drive:
PIT – John Stallworth 37-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (kick blocked). Steelers 6–3. Drive:
NYJ – Pat Leahy 47-yard field goal. Tie 6–6. Drive:
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
PIT – Roy Gerela 37-yard field goal. Steelers 23–13. Drive:
NYJ – Bruce Harper 4-yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick). Steelers 23–20. Drive:
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
PIT – Lynn Swann – 4 receptions, 54 yards, TD
NYJ – Scott Dierking – 3 receptions, 26 yards, TD
Week 12 (Sunday December 4, 1977): vs. Seattle Seahawks
1
2
3
4
Total
Seahawks
0
3
10
7
20
Steelers
7
6
0
17
30
at Three Rivers Stadium , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EST
Game weather: 33 °F (1 °C), wind 7 mph (11 km/h)
Game attendance: 45,429
Referee: Cal Lepore
TV announcers: (NBC) Sam Nover (play by play), Mike Haffner (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Week 13 (Saturday December 10, 1977): at Cincinnati Bengals
1
2
3
4
Total
Steelers
0
10
0
0
10
Bengals
7
0
10
0
17
at Riverfront Stadium , Cincinnati
Game time: 1:00 pm EST
Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C), wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
Game attendance: 36,133
Referee: Jim Tunney
TV announcers: (NBC) Curt Gowdy (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Week 14 (Sunday December 18, 1977): at San Diego Chargers
1
2
3
4
Total
Steelers
0
0
10
0
10
Chargers
6
3
0
0
9
at San Diego Stadium , San Diego, California
Game time: 4:00 pm EST
Game weather: 63 °F (17 °C), wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
Game attendance: 50,727
Referee: Ben Dreith
TV announcers: (NBC) Charlie Jones (play by play), Andy Russell (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Standings
Postseason
Game summary
AFC Divisional Playoff (Saturday December 24, 1977): at Denver Broncos
1
2
3
4
Total
Steelers
0
14
0
7
21
Broncos
7
7
7
13
34
at Mile High Stadium , Denver, Colorado
See also
References
External links
Formerly the Pittsburgh Pirates (1933–1939)
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Media Division championships (24) Conference championships (8) League championships (6) Retired numbers Hall of Fame members Current league affiliations