Golden Football Magazine
NFL Championship Games
This series covers the history of the NFL through the prism of its yearly championship games.
Note: The gray boxes contain asides that provide interesting material but could be skipped without losing the continuity of the article.
Super Bowl XIV - Los Angeles Rams vs Pittsburgh Steelers: First Half
The sun shone brightly with a 67° high and wind gusting to 30 mph from the northeast. However, the turf was still slippery from rains during the week.

Quarter 1

Matt Bahr kicked off for Pittsburgh to Jim Jodat, who returned 16y to the 29. The Rams started conservatively, running Wendell Tyler twice for a gain of 1, then a loss of 4 when he slipped down in the backfield. On 3rd-and-13, QB Vince Ferragamo hit RB Cullen Bryant for 8y. So Ken Clark punted 41y to Theo Bell, who returned it 11y. However, a clipping penalty set the Steelers back to their 21.
Pittsburgh had never lost a postseason game in which Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier both started at RB. So QB Terry Bradshaw began with six straight runs to gain two first downs. Harris for two, Bleier for nine, Harris one, Bleier eight, Harris two, and Bleier -1. On 2nd-and-11 from the 42, Bradshaw threw his first pass, to Harris who moved closer to the line just before the snap and sneaked up the middle, snagging the ball at midfield and streaking to the Ram 26, where LB Jim Youngblood tackled him from behind. Then it was Bleier for no gain and Harris for two on a sweep right. So Terry went to the air again. Instead of going for the first down, he went for it all but overthrew ace WR Lynn Swann in the end zone. So Bahr booted a 41y FG. Steelers 3 Rams 0 (7:31)


Bradshaw back pedals to pass.
The Rams took heart from the fact that the Steelers gained only 23y on eight running plays. Bud Carson's defense called out and adjusted to Pittsburgh's audibles the entire game to take away their trap blocking running game.
Pitt tried a sky kick to the right sideline that LB George Andrews leaped and caught between two Steelers at the LA 41. Ferragamo passed on first down, tossing to Tyler in the right flat for a gain of six just before DT Steve Furness leveled the QB. Then the Rams started running right at the Steel Curtain D behind their young, aggressive offensive line. Wendell, who gained 1109y during the season, took a handoff and slipped through a big hole at LT to start a meandering run, following his blockers beautifully and sidestepping tacklers all the way to the 14, where SS Donnie Shell made the tackle.

Tyler breaks loose for 39y


Ron Johnson eyes Tyler.
Tyler's 39y scamper was the longest run against the Steelers all season. The Rams coaches felt if they could get a body on Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, and the others, then Wendell had enough talent to get through the initial line of defenders and make things happen in the secondary.
Lawrence McCutcheon replaced Tyler and ran up the middle to the 8, then gained another three to set up 3rd-and 1 at the 5. McCutcheon pushed to the two for first-and-goal. Tyler returned and was stopped at the 1. On the next snap, he tried to jump into the end zone but was pushed back at the 1' line. After a break to attend to Tyler, Bryant plunged over LG for the score. Frank Corral kicked the PAT. Rams 7 Steelers 3 (2:44)

Tyler eyes end zone but doesn't make it.

Cullen Bryant scores Rams' first TD.
Ferragamo: "The Steel Curtain defense was just that. It was tough to break. We were able to do things that most teams could ot do. We beat them up front with our All-Pro caliber offensive line. We were able to push them around some, but they were fast and strong. Wendell got loose with Kent Hill pulling around end and broke into the open field. That play boosted our confidence even more, and we were feeling good. ... We were kind of unpredictable because I was young and in my first season as a starter, so they virtually had no film to really study our tendencies."
Kick return specialist Larry Anderson took Corral's kick on the 2, raced through a gap in the right side of the coverage, and streaked down the sideline to the 45 before LB Joe Harris pulled him out of bounds from behind. Franco Harris moved through LT for 12y. After Bleier gained a yard, Bradshaw threw to TE Bennie Cunningham, who made a diving catch over the middle. On 3rd-and-2, Bleier got just enough to move the chains. Terry's pass to a button-hooking Swann to the 18 ended the period. END Q1: Rams 7 Steelers 3

Bradshaw passes before Fred Dryer and Jack Youngblood get to him.

Quarter 2

The Steelers rode their momentum to a go-ahead TD. First, Bradshaw, rolling right to avoid the rush but keeping his eyes downfield, threw on the run to Cunningham who caught the low ball between two defenders at the 5. Harris was tripped up at the line of scrimmage but fell forward for a yard. Terry then threw to WR John Stallworth who made a leaping catch just short of the goal line, but CB Rod Perry drove him back to prevent the TD. From inside the one, Harris followed Bleier untouched around RE to pay dirt. Bahr kicked the point. Steelers 10 Rams 7 (12:52)
Steelers LB Robin Cole recalled: "Our defensive plan at that point was to prevent them from knocking off a big gain. We had them stopped long, but Ferragamo was content to keep their offense moving with short gainerson the ground or with short passes just under our secondary coverage."
LA started from their 19 after Jodat's 9y return. Tyler took a pitch running right, dipped his shoulders as if to cut inside before turning the corner for seven. After Bryant gained two, Tyler repeated the first down play, gaining a new series of downs at the 33. Ferragamo threw a swing pass to Wendell in the left flat for a gain of 11 before Lambert made an ankle tackle on the sideline that sent Wendell out of the game again. Bryant gained 4 before Ferragamo found McCutcheon a half-step behind a LB downfield for a gain of 16 to the Pitt 36. LB Robin Cole dumped McCutcheon for a loss of two. Then Ferragamo flipped a pass over the head of WR Billy Waddy streaking down the right sideline. Shell was called for hooking the receiver with his elbow to make it first down at the 18. Bryant found running room at LT for 8. But on the next snap, the Steel Curtain grabbed Tyler at RT. When Wendell broke loose and tried to scamper around RE, LB Dennis Winston dropped him for a 4y loss. On 3rd-and-6, Ferragamo looped a pass toward WR Ron Smith who couldn't hold the ball at the back of the EZ. So Corral, who had missed his last nine attempts from beyond the 30, kicked a 31y FG. Rams 10 Steelers 10 (7:21)
Anderson made another excellent return, this one for 38y to the Pitt 46. But the Steelers couldn't take advantage of the excellent field position. Harris tried to sweep LE but gained only a yard thanks to an excellent low tackle by Perry. Seeing no defender over the C, Bradshaw took the snap and moved forward for 6. Then DT Mike Fanning knocked down Harris a yard short of the first down. Following a delay of game penalty, Craig Colquitt punted into the EZ.
The Rams went three-and-out after McCutcheon gained nothing and Bryant one before Ferragamo connected with TE Terry Nelson for only 6y. So Clark punted 42y to Bell, who returned six to the Pitt 37.
In a battle of the two NFL teams with the most turnovers, the Rams got the first one when Bradshaw threw toward Swann cutting over the middle to the left. But S Dave Elmendorf, playing with a collar on his neck because of a pinched nerve, came over from the left to catch the ball in his midsection. The former Texas Aggie ran 10y to the Pitt 39.
LA capitalized on the break to tie the game although the drive did not start promisingly. Cole broke through and sacked Ferragamo for a loss of 10.


Cole sacks Ferragamo.
Then Bryant dropped a swing pass to bring up 3rd-and-20. The Rams got 12 of that when Vince, with no blitzers bothering him, hit McCutcheon streaking across the middle. After the two-minute warning, LA went for the first down and got it on a 10y pass to Waddy in front of Shell, whom the Rams appeared to be targeting. Then Nelson leapt and snagged a pass just before S J. T. Thomas got there for a 14y gain to the 13.
Thomas had missed the entire 1978 season with a blood disorder. "Last year, I sat on the 50-yard line in Miami and vowed that I would be back and that we would be back here at the Super Bowl. Well, here we are, and it took a lot of character and hard work."
Youngblood on Ferragamo: "In m opinion, the key ingredient we were missing in those years was a dominant QB. Vinny wasn't dominating ... but he had an aura of luck about him. He would do things that were fundamentally unsound and not only get away with it, but make big plays. So we started rallying around this lick: 'All right, Vinny, pull one more rabbit out of the hat.'"
After calling a timeout, Ferragamo threw two more passes that failed to connect to WR Preston Dennard and Waddy in the EZ. On 3rd down, the Steelers unleashed an all-out blitz they called "chaos." DT John Banaszak's sack put the pigskin back 14y to the 27. But Corral, who had not kicked well down the stretch, boomed a 45y FG that just cleared the crossbar. Rams 13 Steelers 13 (0:14)
Anderson got loose again up the left side, returning 37y. But an illegal use of the hands penalty set Pitt back to the 24. Bradshaw's 10y swing pass to Swann ended the half.
RAMS 13 STEELERS 10
The first half stats were amazingly close. The Rams gained 130y to 127 for the Steelers.

The performance event group Up with People performed during the halftime show titled "A Salute to the Big Band Era."

The Steelers' locker room was rocked by a tirade. "We came in at halftime," DT Dwight White said after the game, "and things got a little loud. We were just a little excited. Everyone was saying, 'We're going to keep fooling around, and we're going to blow it.' We knew we were the better team, but at that point we didn't think we were playing as well as they were playing."
So MLB Jack Lambert went ballistic. "I'm scared. They have the momentum. We don't have any intensity. We're not flying around and gang-tackling like we should." Later, he recalled, "Yeah, you can say I raised my voice and screamed." LB Donnie Shell recalled that Lambert "bellowed so loud he scared me."
CB Mel Blount: "Our feeling at halftime was that we didn't play well, especially defensively. We knew wwe were going to have to play better in the second half. We were missing tackles out there and were just kind of lackadaisical. I don't know why, we just got off to a slow start. But we didn't panic. We knew what we had to do, and we went out there and got it done."
"We were behind at the half, but we had played pretty well," recalled DT John Banaszak. "It wasn't like we were overconfident going into that game. Two teams were going toe-to-toe with each other."
G Gerry Mullins: "There wasn't panic. It was a veteran group ... With Terry back there, you're never out of it. You knew if you just kept plugging away, good things will happen for you."
Bradshaw on what he did at the start of the second half: "In this game more than any other time, I had to take control. I had to make sure that the offense was ready to play and that the defense was ready to play. It was different than in past Super Bowls. We had the big leads and didn't have to find ourselves coming from behind."
DT Joe Greene: "Throughout the game, they read our blitzes well, they ran the ball well right at us, and we just seemed to be missing something in the first half. I remember it seemed like we were kind of sleepwalking out there. They were prepared for that game, and you had to respect what they did."


Jim Jodat


Jack Lambert tackles Wendell Tyler.


Cullen Bryant


Ken Clark


Theo Bell returns punt.


Rams
swarm Rocky Bleier.


Holder Colquitt and kicker Bahr celebrate field goal.


Vince Ferragamo back to pass.


Steve Furness


Donnie Shell


Lawrence McCutcheon


Tyler tries to leap into EZ in vain.


Frank Corral


L.C. Greenwood on the prowl


G Sam Davis blocks DE Fred Dwyer.


Franco Harris scores Steelers
first TD.


Bradshaw changes the play.


DT Mike Fanning reaches for Bradshaw.


John Banaszak

Part 1 - SB XIII Pregame | Part 3 - SB XIII 2nd Half

References: The Super Bowl: Celebrating a Quarter-Century of America's Greatest Game (1990)
Super Bowl Chronicles: A Sportswriter Reflects on the First 30 Years of America's Game, Jerry Green (1995)
Super Bowl: The Game of Their Lives, Danny Peary (ed.) (1997)
The Football Game I'll Never Forget: 100 NFL Stars' Stories, selected by Chris McDonell (2004)
Steel Dynasty: The Team That Changed the NFL, Bill Chastain (2005)
The Ultimate Super Bowl Book, Bob McGinn (2009)
50 Years, 50 Moments: The Most Unforgettable Plays in Super Bowl History, Jerry Rice and Randy O. Williams (2015)
Super Bowl Gold: 50 Years of the Big Game, Sports Illustrated (2015)
The Super Bowl: The First Fifty Years of America's Greatest Game, David Fischer (2015)
The NFL in the 1970s: Pro Football's Most Important Decade, Joe Zagorski (2016)
The First 50 Super Bowls: How Football's Championships Were Won, Ed Benkin (2018)