1976 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Owner	Art Rooney
Head coach	Chuck Noll
Home field	Three Rivers Stadium
Results
Record	10–4
Division place	1st in AFC Central
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs (at Colts) 40–14 Lost AFC Championship (at Raiders) 7–24
Pro Bowlers	12 CB Mel Blount QB Terry Bradshaw S Glen Edwards DT Joe Greene DE L. C. Greenwood LB Jack Ham RB Franco Harris LB Jack Lambert LB Andy Russell WR Lynn Swann S Mike Wagner CB J.T. Thomas
AP All-Pros	5 Jack Ham (1st team) Jack Lambert (1st team) Glen Edwards (2nd team) Joe Greene (2nd team) Mike Wagner (2nd team)
Team MVP	Jack Lambert
← 1975 Steelers seasons 1977 →

The 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 44th in the National Football League. The team attempted to win their third consecutive Super Bowl championship, but ultimately lost to their bitter rivals, the Oakland Raiders, in the AFC Championship Game. Despite failing to reach the Super Bowl, the 1976 Steelers are fondly remembered as one of the franchise's most dominant teams, thanks to a record-setting defense and running game. The Steelers' strong defense finished the season with just 9.9 points allowed per game, the fewest in the NFL, and a franchise record that still stands.

Season Summary[edit]

The Steelers started the season looking to become the first team in the Super Bowl era to win three-straight league championships (and first since the 1929–1931 and 1965–1967 Green Bay Packers). However, many thought that would be in doubt after the team started 1–4 and saw quarterback Terry Bradshaw injured in the week 5 loss to the Cleveland Browns after a vicious sack by Joe "Turkey" Jones that has since become immortalized in NFL Films as part of the Browns-Steelers rivalry.

Despite the setbacks, behind the strength of the Steel Curtain defense and the dual threat of Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier at running back, the Steelers ended the season on a nine-game winning streak to finish 10-4 and win the AFC Central. Harris rushed for 1,128 yards and 14 touchdowns, while Bleier had the best season of his career with 1,036 rushing yards and five touchdowns. With both running backs rushing for over 1,000 yards, the Steelers became the second team in NFL history to have a 1,000 yard rushing duo (the first being the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins, the 1976 Steelers and the 1972 Dolphins are the only teams to accomplish this in a 14-game schedule).

Meanwhile, led by linebacker Jack Lambert, the 1976 Defensive Player of the Year, the Steel Curtain had its most dominant season. The defense posted five shutouts, the most in a single season in the Super Bowl era; all five shutouts came during the team's nine-game winning streak. This included three consecutive shutouts (from Weeks 7-9), a 15-quarter shutout streak, and five consecutive games where the team did not allow a touchdown (Weeks 6-10). During the winning streak, the team did not allow a touchdown in eight games. Overall, the defense allowed just 138 points (including only 28 during the winning streak), forced 46 turnovers, and sent eight starting defensive players to the Pro Bowl, including the entire starting secondary.

Rookie quarterback Mike Kruczek wound up going 6–0 starting in place of Bradshaw, largely due to the strength of the ground game and defense. This would also stand as an NFL record for best start for a rookie quarterback until 2004—when the Steelers' own Ben Roethlisberger more than doubled that record and went 13–0 as a starter his rookie season.

However, injuries to both Bleier and Harris in the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Baltimore Colts sidelined them both for the following week's AFC Championship game against the Oakland Raiders. Without both of their 1,000-yard rushers, the Steelers lost to the Raiders by a score of 24–7. Even with Pittsburgh coming up short, many Steelers fans—including the Rooney family themselves—consider the 1976 Steelers the best team in franchise history, even better than all six world championship teams.^{[citation needed]} Jack Lambert, who won 4 Super Bowls with the Steelers between 1974 and 1979, claimed that the 1976 Steelers team was the best team that he ever played for, and subsequently, the loss to the Raiders in the AFC Championship game was the most painful loss of his career. He (Lambert) is convinced that they would have beaten the Raiders and gone on to win that season's Super Bowl had Harris and Bleier both been healthy and available for said AFC Championship game. Despite their opinions, the 1976 Steelers were not on the 100 greatest teams of all time presented by the NFL on its 100th anniversary.^[1][2]

In 2007, ESPN.com named the 1976 Steelers the greatest defense in NFL history,^[3] noting, "the 1976 unit was the best (slightly better than the '75 squad). Here's why: 28. That's how many points the Steel Curtain surrendered in the last nine games of the season. That's a total. As a result, Pittsburgh, which started the season 1–4, made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game. Only one of the seven teams the Steelers played during the streak finished the season with a winning record (Cincinnati) and none made the playoffs. However the defensive dominance did extend to the Divisional playoff with a resounding 40–14 defeat of the AFC East Champion Baltimore Colts. The Steelers' defense had Hall of Famers Mean Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham and Mel Blount. And eight Steelers defensive players made the 1976 Pro Bowl team: cornerback J.T. Thomas, defensive end L. C. Greenwood, Greene, Ham, Lambert, defensive back Glen Edwards, safety Mike Wagner, and Blount."

Personnel[edit]

Staff[edit]

1976 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 Director of player personnel — Dick Haley Assistant director of player personnel — Bill Nunn Director of professional scouting — V. Timothy Rooney Head coaches Head coach — Chuck Noll Offensive coaches Offensive backfield — Dick Hoak Offensive line — Dan Radakovich Offensive assistant — John Spezzaferro Receivers — Lionel Taylor

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator — Bud Carson Defensive line — George Perles Linebackers — Woody Widenhofer 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 [4]

Roster[edit]

1976 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster

	Quarterbacks 12 Terry Bradshaw 15 Mike Kruczek Running backs 20 Rocky Bleier 35 Jack Deloplaine 33 John Fuqua 32 Franco Harris 46 Reggie Harrison Wide receivers 83 Theo Bell PR 43 Frank Lewis 22 Ernie Pough KR 82 John Stallworth 88 Lynn Swann Tight ends 87 Larry Brown 89 Bennie Cunningham 84 Randy Grossman		Offensive linemen 50 Jim Clack G/C 57 Sam Davis G 71 Gordon Gravelle T 55 Jon Kolb T 56 Ray Mansfield C 72 Gerry Mullins G/T 74 Ray Pinney C/T 52 Mike Webster C Defensive linemen 76 John Banaszak DE 67 Gary Dunn DT 64 Steve Furness DT 75 Joe Greene DT 68 L. C. Greenwood DE 63 Ernie Holmes DT 78 Dwight White DE		Linebackers 53 Greg Blankenship OLB 59 Jack Ham OLB 54 Marv Kellum MLB 58 Jack Lambert MLB 34 Andy Russell OLB 51 Loren Toews OLB Defensive backs 45 Jimmy Allen DB 47 Mel Blount CB 27 Glen Edwards FS 31 Donnie Shell S 24 J. T. Thomas CB 23 Mike Wagner SS Special teams 52 Mike Webster LS 10 Roy Gerela K 39 Bobby Walden P/H		Reserve lists 44 Mike Collier RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 73 Jim Files G (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 36 Wentford Gaines DB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 86 Reggie Garrett WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 11 Allen Hooker S (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 66 Al Humphrey LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 29 Brent Sexton DB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad 16 Neil Graff QB [5] [6] [7] Rookies in italics 44 active, 7 inactive, 1 practice squad

Regular season[edit]

Schedule[edit]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Time (ET)	TV
1	September 12	at Oakland Raiders	L 28–31	0–1	4:00 pm	NBC
2	September 19	Cleveland Browns	W 31–14	1–1	1:00 pm	NBC
3	September 26	New England Patriots	L 27–30	1–2	1:00 pm	NBC
4	October 4	at Minnesota Vikings	L 6–17	1–3	9:00 pm	ABC
5	October 10	at Cleveland Browns	L 16–18	1–4	1:00 pm	NBC
6	October 17	Cincinnati Bengals	W 23–6	2–4	1:00 pm	NBC
7	October 24	at New York Giants	W 27–0	3–4	1:00 pm	NBC
8	October 31	San Diego Chargers	W 23–0	4–4	1:00 pm	NBC
9	November 7	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 45–0	5–4	2:00 pm	NBC
10	November 14	Miami Dolphins	W 14–3	6–4	4:00 pm	NBC
11	November 21	Houston Oilers	W 32–16	7–4	1:00 pm	NBC
12	November 28	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 7–3	8–4	1:00 pm	NBC
13	December 5	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 42–0	9–4	1:00 pm	NBC
14	December 11	at Houston Oilers	W 21–0	10–4	4:00 pm	NBC
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries[edit]

Week 1: at Oakland Raiders[edit]

Week 2: vs. Cleveland Browns[edit]

Week 3: vs. New England Patriots[edit]

Week 4: at Minnesota Vikings[edit]

Week 5: at Cleveland Browns[edit]

Terry Bradshaw was injured on a sack by Turkey Jones and missed six weeks.

Week 6: vs. Cincinnati Bengals[edit]

Week 7: at New York Giants[edit]

This was the first of five shoutout victories, and the second of a sequence of nine games conceding just two touchdowns.

Week 8: vs. San Diego Chargers[edit]

Week 9: at Kansas City Chiefs[edit]

Week 10: vs. Miami Dolphins[edit]

Week 11: vs. Houston Oilers[edit]

Week 12: at Cincinnati Bengals[edit]

Week 13: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers[edit]

Week 14: at Houston Oilers[edit]

With this win the Steelers record the most NFL shutouts in a season in 50 years with their fifth and set a new NFL record forcing 71 punts in a season.

Standings[edit]

AFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Pittsburgh Steelers(3)	10	4	0	.714	5–1	9–3	342	138	W9
Cincinnati Bengals	10	4	0	.714	4–2	8–4	335	210	W1
Cleveland Browns	9	5	0	.643	3–3	7–5	267	287	L1
Houston Oilers	5	9	0	.357	0–6	3–9	222	273	L2

Postseason[edit]

Schedule[edit]

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
Divisional	December 19	at Baltimore Colts (2)	W 40–14	1–0	Memorial Stadium	59,296
AFC Championship	December 26	at Oakland Raiders (1)	L 7–24	1–1	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	53,821

Game summaries[edit]

AFC Divisional Playoffs: at (2) Baltimore Colts[edit]

Pittsburgh gained a then-NFL record 524 total yards, but Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier were lost to injuries.

AFC Championship: at (1) Oakland Raiders[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers season at Profootballreference.com
• 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers season statistics at jt-sw.com