1977 Pittsburgh Steelers season

The 1977 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 45th in the National Football League. After what was considered the franchise's greatest season ever in 1976, the 1977 Pittsburgh Steelers failed to improve on their 10-4 record from 1976 and finished with a 9-5 record; however, they appeared in the playoffs for their 6th straight season and won the AFC Central again. They had a hard time for most of the season as their record hovered around .500. Even the Steel Curtain seemed to have a little wear and tear allowing 243 points on the season, more than 100 more than the previous season. The sloppy plays would catch up with them in the Divisional Playoffs when they were knocked off by the Broncos 34–21 in Denver.

1977 Pittsburgh Steelers season
OwnerArt Rooney
Head coachChuck Noll
Home fieldThree Rivers Stadium
Results
Record9–5
Division place1st in AFC Central
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(at Broncos) 21–34
Pro Bowlers
4
AP All-Pros
4
  • Joe Greene (1st team)
  • Jack Ham (1st team)
  • Franco Harris (1st team)
  • Lynn Swann (2nd team)
Team MVPTerry Bradshaw

The 1977 season is remembered as one of the most turbulent in franchise history, as numerous players were involved with off-the-field issues. Defensive tackle Ernie Holmes was arrested for cocaine possession, and despite being found not guilty, lawsuits followed. Head coach Chuck Noll was also subject to a defamation lawsuit, as Oakland Raiders safety George Atkinson sued Noll and the Steelers for a disparaging comment in which Noll called Atkinson part of the "criminal element" in football. Though Atkinson lost the lawsuit, Noll was forced to bring Steelers cornerback Mel Blount into the suit, which upset Blount as he was one of many Steelers players engaged in a contract holdout, with others including linebacker Jack Lambert and safety Glen Edwards. Disputes between these players and Steelers owner Art Rooney were often publicized, and the overall drama played a significant part in the regression of the Steel Curtain defense.[1][2] This was also the first season that the Steelers wore black face masks on their helmets.

Personnel

Staff
1977 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
  • Ticket office coordinator – Geraldine Glenn
  • Director of player personnel – Dick Haley
  • Assistant director of player personnel – Bill Nunn
  • Director of professional scouting – V. Timothy Rooney

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches


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

[3]

Roster
1977 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad

[4] [5] [6]
Rookies in italics
 48 active, 6 inactive, 1 practice squad

The Pittsburgh Steelers began the 1977 season looking to improve upon their 10–4 record in 1976; when they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders.

While the Steelers once again won the AFC Central crown, they finished with one fewer win; going 9–5 and losing to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional playoff game at Denver.

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Kickoff (ET) TV Result Record Game Site
1 Mon. Sep. 19 San Francisco 49ers 9:00 p.m. ABC W 27–0 1–0 Three Rivers Stadium
2 Sun. Sep. 25 Oakland Raiders 4:00 p.m. NBC L 7–16 1–1 Three Rivers Stadium
3 Sun. Oct. 2 at Cleveland Browns 1:00 p.m. NBC W 28–14 2–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium
4 Sun. Oct. 9 at Houston Oilers 2:00 p.m. NBC L 10–27 2–2 Astrodome
5 Mon. Oct. 17 Cincinnati Bengals 9:00 p.m. ABC W 20–14 3–2 Three Rivers Stadium
6 Sun. Oct. 23 Houston Oilers 1:00 p.m. NBC W 27–10 4–2 Three Rivers Stadium
7 Sun. Oct. 30 at Baltimore Colts 4:00 p.m. NBC L 21–31 4–3 Memorial Stadium
8 Sun. Nov. 6 at Denver Broncos 4:00 p.m. NBC L 7–21 4–4 Mile High Stadium
9 Sun. Nov. 13 Cleveland Browns 1:00 p.m. NBC W 35–31 5–4 Three Rivers Stadium
10 Sun. Nov. 20 Dallas Cowboys 4:00 p.m. CBS W 28–13 6–4 Three Rivers Stadium
11 Sun. Nov. 27 at New York Jets 1:00 p.m. NBC W 23–20 7–4 Shea Stadium
12 Sun. Dec. 4 Seattle Seahawks 1:00 p.m. NBC W 30–20 8–4 Three Rivers Stadium
13 Sat. Dec. 10 at Cincinnati Bengals 1:00 p.m. NBC L 10–17 8–5 Riverfront Stadium
14 Sun. Dec. 18 at San Diego Chargers 4:00 p.m. NBC W 10–9 9–5 San Diego Stadium

Week 1 (Monday September 19, 1977): vs. San Francisco 49ers
1 2 3 4 Total
49ers 0 0 0 0 0
Steelers 0 10 3 14 27

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 2 (Sunday September 25, 1977): vs. Oakland Raiders
1 2 3 4 Total
Raiders 0 9 0 7 16
Steelers 0 0 0 7 7

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 4:00 pm EDT
  • Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C), wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 50,398
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Curt Gowdy (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

Week 3 at Browns
See also: 1977 Cleveland Browns season
Week Three: Pittsburgh Steelers (1–1) at Cleveland Browns (2–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Steelers 7 7 7728
Browns 7 7 0014

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Game information

Week 4 (Sunday October 9, 1977): at Houston Oilers
1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 3 7 0 0 10
Oilers 7 0 10 10 27

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas

Scoring drives:

Week 5 (Monday October 17, 1977): vs. Cincinnati Bengals
1 2 3 4 Total
Bengals 0 7 0 7 14
Steelers 0 13 0 7 20

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 9:00 pm EDT
  • Game weather: 39 °F (4 °C), wind 18 mph (29 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 47,950
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • TV announcers: (ABC) Frank Gifford (play by play) and Don Meredith (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

Week 6 (Sunday October 23, 1977): vs. Houston Oilers
1 2 3 4 Total
Oilers 0 7 0 3 10
Steelers 0 7 6 14 27

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
  • Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C), wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 48,517
  • Referee: Bernie Ulman
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Stu Nahan (play by play), Andy Russell (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

Week 7 (Sunday October 30, 1977): at Baltimore Colts
1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 0 7 14 21
Colts 3 14 7 7 31

at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

  • Game time: 4:00 pm EST
  • Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C), wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 60,225
  • Referee: Red Cashion
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Marv Albert (play by play), Len Dawson (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

Week 8 (Sunday November 6, 1977): at Denver Broncos
1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 0 7 0 7
Broncos 14 7 0 0 21

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

  • Game time: 4:00 pm EST
  • Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C), wind 7 mph (11 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 74,967
  • Referee: Fred Wyant
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Jim Simpson (play by play), Merlin Olsen (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

Week 9 (Sunday November 13, 1977): vs. Cleveland Browns
1 2 3 4 Total
Browns 3 0 7 21 31
Steelers 7 21 0 7 35

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST
  • Game weather: 30 °F (−1 °C), wind 13 mph (21 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 47,055
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Jim Simpson (play by play), Merlin Olsen (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

Week 10 (Sunday November 20, 1977): vs. Dallas Cowboys
1 2 3 4 Total
Cowboys 6 7 0 0 13
Steelers 0 14 14 0 28

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 4:00 pm EST
  • Game weather: 48 °F (9 °C), wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 49,761
  • Referee: Bob Frederic
  • TV announcers: (CBS) Pat Summerall (play by play), Tom Brookshier (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

Week 11 at Jets
See also: 1977 New York Jets season
Week Eleven: Pittsburgh Steelers (6–4) at New York Jets (2–8)
Period 1 2 34Total
Steelers 6 14 0323
Jets 6 7 0720

at Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York

Game information

Week 12 (Sunday December 4, 1977): vs. Seattle Seahawks
1 2 3 4 Total
Seahawks 0 3 10 7 20
Steelers 7 6 0 17 30

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST
  • Game weather: 33 °F (1 °C), wind 7 mph (11 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 45,429
  • Referee: Cal Lepore
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Sam Nover (play by play), Mike Haffner (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

Week 13 (Saturday December 10, 1977): at Cincinnati Bengals
1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 10 0 0 10
Bengals 7 0 10 0 17

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST
  • Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C), wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 36,133
  • Referee: Jim Tunney
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Curt Gowdy (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

Week 14 (Sunday December 18, 1977): at San Diego Chargers
1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 0 10 0 10
Chargers 6 3 0 0 9

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Game time: 4:00 pm EST
  • Game weather: 63 °F (17 °C), wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 50,727
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Charlie Jones (play by play), Andy Russell (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

Standings
AFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Pittsburgh Steelers(3) 9 5 0 .643 4–2 7–5 276 243 W1
Houston Oilers 8 6 0 .571 3–3 6–6 299 230 W2
Cincinnati Bengals 8 6 0 .571 3–3 6–5 238 235 L1
Cleveland Browns 6 8 0 .429 2–4 5–7 269 267 L4

Postseason

AFC Divisional Playoff (Saturday December 24, 1977): at Denver Broncos
1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 14 0 7 21
Broncos 7 7 7 13 34

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

See also

References
  1. Chester, Simon (January 29, 2019). "No season in team history was plagued by as much drama as the Steelers 1977 campaign". Behind the Steel Curtain. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  2. "The 1978 Season: Part 1, The Prelude". www.steelers.com. Pittsburgh Steelers. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  3. 1977 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  4. 1977 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  5. 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  6. "1977 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
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