![]() ![]() Had the ball hit the ground before Harris scooped it up? If so, it was an incomplete pass. But just as the ball was about to hit the ground, running back Franco Harris scooped it up and ran it in for a touchdown.īut wait! The referees hadn’t signaled a touchdown. Either way, it looked like an incomplete pass. The ball may have bounced off Fuqua’s hands, or perhaps it got batted away by safety Jack Tatum. What happened next will forever be a matter of dispute. Bradshaw ran to his right and threw the ball over the middle to running back John Fuqua. He dropped back to pass and was immediately under heavy pressure by the Raiders’ pass rush. On fourth down–and with only 22 seconds remaining in the game–Terry Bradshaw had perhaps one last chance. The Steelers got the ball with just over a minute to play. With a successful PAT, the Raiders led 7–6. Stabler ran 30 yards for a touchdown with just minutes remaining. The solution was to bring in QB Ken Stabler and sit starter Daryle Lamonica. Raiders’ coach John Madden knew he had to do something to shake up his stagnant offense. In the 4th quarter, Pittsburgh added another field goal to take a 6–0 lead. The Steelers led 3–0 after three-quarters. The playoff game would be a hard-hitting defensive battle. The two teams had played each other during the regular season in a high-scoring offensive affair. The payoff came in 1972 when Pittsburgh finished the season 11–3 and made the playoffs. In 1972, running back Franco Harris became a Steeler.įans thought it would only be a matter of time before the Steelers’ draft picks would pay off. In 1971, D-lineman Dwight White and linebacker Jack Ham joined the team. 1970 brought cornerback Mel Blount and quarterback Terry Bradshaw. Among them were D-linemen Joe Greene and LC Greenwood, along with O-lineman Jon Kolb–all of whom were drafted in 1969. Steelers’ fans had hope, though, mainly because of the players Noll was bringing to Pittsburgh. In his first three seasons at the helm, Noll only went 12–30. Noll built a foundation for winning, but it took time. From 1933–1971, Pittsburgh reached the playoffs only once–in 1947.įortunes began to change in 1969 when the Steelers hired Chuck Noll as head coach. The longtime NFL member (from 1933) was a mediocre (at best) franchise. Those Steelers weren’t much of a story until 1972. Oakland went 10-3-1 and was back in the playoffs. Things got worse in 1971 when the team failed to reach the playoffs, but 1972 was a turnaround year. Oakland continued winning over the next three seasons, but each time the team finished one game short of reaching the Super Bowl. That direction changed in 1967 when the Raiders went 14–1 before losing to the Packers in Superbowl II. The team notched only three winning seasons in its first seven years. The Raiders joined the American Football League in 1960 and sputtered. Today we’re going to discuss the 1970s rivalry between the Oakland Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers. ![]()
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