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ARTICLE
1975 AFC Championship Game Another in a series of stories about
the 47 playoff games in Steelers history. Steelers follow similar path to second Super
Bowl By BOB
LABRIOLA Steelers.com This was the way it was supposed to
be, the way it almost had to be. This was what everybody
wanted. The Steelers were the defending
champions with a 5-2 record in the playoffs under Noll; the Raiders had lost
Super Bowl II in Vince Lombardi's last game as coach of the mighty Packers, but
this group had won four straight division titles and sent the two-time defending
champion Dolphins home with a 21-17 win in the 1974 playoffs. Steelers-Raiders
games were affairs where the hitting was vicious, and often vicious just to be
vicious. The competition was the polar opposite of friendly. Even the
secretaries hated each other. The Raiders still considered the
Immaculate Reception to be a conspiracy to commit grand larceny, and after they
had defeated the Dolphins in the first round in 1974, there was a portion of the
sporting press that cast them as the heir apparent. To them, the Steelers going
there and winning the conference championship the following weekend was an
upset. Before that 1974 conference championship game, Chuck Noll believed he had
the better team, and one year later he hadn't changed his
mind. "You know, a lot of people win the
Super Bowl before the season starts. My observation has always been that that's
what we play the season for," said Noll. "Yes, I think our players are the best,
but they have t When asked about Greene, who didn't
play against the Colts and likely would miss the game against the Raiders with
groin and neck injuries, Noll said, "Fats Holmes is having a helluva season.
Dwight White is. Jack Lambert. You can do two things in this situation: Say, 'We
lost Joe, so we better hang it up,' or, everybody can look for reasons to win.
That's what we do. That's the mark of a championship
club." Before the 1975 season, the NFL had
awarded homefield advantage for the conference championship games on a rotating
basis, which is why the Steelers had hosted the undefeated Miami Dolphins in the
1972 AFC Championship Game. The change to tying homefield advantage to record
was not as obvious to those team owners as it is today, but things wouldn't have
been different even if they left the rule untouched. In 1975, it was the
Central's year to host the AFC Championship, and the Steelers' 12-2 record was
the best in the conference anyway. And so the Raiders were coming back
to Noll predicts the kickoff
temperature right on the button, but he apparently forgot to mention the wind
chill factor of minus-10 degrees or the ice that formed when the thermometer
fell to 2-degrees the night before the game. "The ice may have been worse than
the cold, especially the ice along the sidelines," said Raiders coach
The weather, the stakes and the
mutual hatred combined to turn this game into battle of attrition. The footing
was treacherous, the football was slick, and the gloves available
t The Raiders intercepted Terry
Bradshaw twice in the first quarter, but the Steelers defense rose up and
allowed only a 38-yard field goal attempt, which George Blanda missed. The
Raiders managed little with their running attack, and then Mike Wagner's
interception and 20-yard return in the second quarter had set up Roy Gerela's
36-yard field goal for a 3-0 halftime lead. Starting with the third quarter the
Steelers and Harris began to assert themselves. With 137 yards from scrimmage in 32
clock-draining touches in the game, Harris' performance included a bit of the
special to go along with the workmanlike. One of those touches began as a simple
running play designed to go between the tackles, but it turned into a 44-yard
touchdown when Harris bounced outside, took advantage of
That touchdown broke the dam.
Raiders running back Clarence Davis had dropped three passes in previous
third-down situations, so Stabler started looking for tight end Dave Casper to
convert. Stabler finished off the drive with a 14-yard pass to Mike Siani for
the touchdown that cut the Steelers' lead to 10-7. "This was the coldest weather I've
ever played in," Clarence Davis said afterward. "It gets pretty bad in
Lambert was all over the field, and
his third fumble recovery of the game came at the Raiders 25-yard line; and one
play later Stallworth made a tough catch in the back corner of the end zone. The
snap for the extra point was fumbled, and the Steelers led, 16-7. "I block
because it's my job," said Stallworth. "It's nothing I enjoy, like I enjoy
catching passes." The Raiders were unable to move the
ball on their next possession, but Harris lost a fumble with the Steelers trying
to run out the clock, which kept the suspense alive. Faced with a
fourth-and-long, Madden opted for a 41-yard field goal by Blanda with 17 seconds
left. The Raiders came up with the onside kick, and it was only when Mel Blount
tackled Cliff Branch inbounds after a 37-yard catch at the Steelers 15-yard line
that the clock ran out. "Cold as hell," said Noll. "You
couldn't do the things you do normally. You couldn't play perfect football, but
it was a true test. It brings out character. Nobody wants fumbles, but you have
to overcome them." The Steelers did, and so they were
going to the Super Bowl. Again. Raiders 0 0 0 10 10 Steelers 0 3 0 13 16
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