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ARTICLE
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
1978 AFC Championship Game Another in a series of stories about
the 47 playoff games in Steelers history. Oilers buried under Steelers, slush,
34-5 By BOB
LABRIOLA Steelers.com "Our attitude is that we're not going to
be denied," said Mike Webster. "I think there is a genuine affection for
everyone on this team. We don't want to short-change each other. We're having a
good time playing. We're just looking forward to next
week." What a difference from 1977 when the
Steelers had been wracked by internal discord. In the ensuing offseason, Coach
Chuck Noll either cut or traded Jim Clack, Frank Lewis, Reggie Harrison, Ernie
Holmes, Jimmy Allen and Glen Edwards. In finishing 14-2 during the 1978
regular season, the Steelers did to their competition what Genghis Khan did to
his. Nine of their 14 wins were by double-digit margins; Terry Bradshaw tied for
the AFC lead in passing yards, and the offense also averaged 143.6 yards rushing
per game while converting 48 percent on third downs. The defense contributed to
this marauding persona by recording 44 sacks and 48
takeaways. In the AFC Divisional Playoffs, the
Steelers had hosted and hammered the Denver Broncos, 33-10, an ignominious exit
for the defending AFC Champions, and now it was time for the rubber match with
Earl Campbell's Houston Oilers. The first of the home-and-home
regular season series between these teams came in the season's eighth week, with
the Steelers already 7-0 and in command of the AFC Central Division. The streak
would end the following Monday night at Three Rivers Stadium when
"I hate to lose, but something good
may come out of this," said Jack Lambert. "There's some possibility that maybe
we thought we couldn't be beaten. Now we know we can. That undefeated stuff is
over with." Noll was uncharacteristically upbeat
after a loss --"Hopefully we can use this as a springboard" -- but after sloppy
wins over "Nobody on our defense is happy with
the way we're playing," said Ham of a team that was 9-1 with a three-game lead
over the Oilers in the AFC Central Division at the time. "You can lull yourself
to sleep thinking you're playing pretty good football. But we're not, and we've
got to get better and better." The second meeting was in the
Astrodome, and the presence of Howard Cosell and the rest of the Monday Night
Football circus just added to the hype. The Steelers were 11-2, and while their
defense was better, Terry Bradshaw had fallen into a slump. The Rams intercepted
Bradshaw three times and held the Steelers to 59 yards rushing in a 10-7 win.
The next week, the play of the defense was what allowed the team to survive the
1-10 Bengals, 7-6. Three sacks and five takeaways, two of which were
interceptions by Mel Blount, nullified another horrible game from Bradshaw, who
threw four more interceptions. Steelers-Oilers II was another
low-scoring affair, with the bruises far outnumbering the points in a 13-3 win
for Maybe Bum was a fool, but he got his
wish, and the Oilers seemed to know what to expect when they arrived in
Phillips was folksy before turning
serious. "Playing Added his quarterback, Dan
Pastorini, "It's going to be a bloodbath." Strangely, the man they called Mean
Joe took a different view: "I think it's very appropriate that we play them for
the AFC Championship. I was rooting for them. Not because we wanted
t It was Jan. 3, four days before the
game, and the weather in "You can't practice being
miserable," said Phillips. "It'll be an emotional game, and it won't really
matter if it's cold or hot, or whether it rains or snows. I don't think we'll
use weather as an excuse. I'm not worried about the weather. I'm worried about
As usual, Lambert's perspective was
unique. "The only time I mind the cold is at halftime, when you're wet and cold
and you don't have time to change into anything. I feel a helluva lot worse for
the fans. All they've got under them is that cold cement." Game day arrived, and the outcome
was decided before halftime. On their first offensive snap, the Oilers ran the
same play that Earl Campbell used to gain 10 yards during the teams' meeting in
the Astrodome one month before. This time, Jack Ham stuffed it for a 3-yard
loss, and it was the start of a day when he was the best player in a Steelers
uniform. Ham accounted for three turnovers
that led to 17 points, and he finished with five tackles, a forced fumble, a
sack, one interception and two fumble recoveries.
"I'll tell you one thing _ our
defense does a helluva job whenever our offense makes a mistake," said Noll.
"This defense has had an attitude over the years that when it goes on the field,
no matter where it goes in on the field, it will get the football back. That's
allowed us to do the things we've done over the years." Oilers defensive end Elvin Bethea
had guaranteed the Oilers would win, and after stuffing him all day, tackle Jon
Kolb said, "Guarantees aren't worth that much. I found that out when I bought my
first car. It takes some people longer." Admitted Bethea, "It might've been
worse on a dry field." Said Noll in the aftermath, "Our football team wanted an unconditional surrender today … And we got it."
Oilers 0 3 2 0 5 Steelers 14 17 3 0 34
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