The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Best Ever…Super Bowl Win
By Todd
When your team has won more Super Bowls than any other team, there are a lot of games to choose from as for which one was the best.
One could argue that SB40 was the best given how poorly Ben Roethlisberger played and that the win tied the Steelers for the most Super Bowl victories. Not to mention the climatic championship that capped Jerome “The Bus” Bettis’s Hall of Fame career.
Or you could say that SB10 was great because it tied the Steelers for the most wins in the Super Bowl at the time.
But for my money, here are the best three wins in the Super Bowl for the Mighty Black and Gold.
No. 3 – Super Bowl 13
It was the first time there was ever a rematch in the Super Bowl. The Steelers had won back to back Super Bowls in 1975 and ’76. The Cowboys had just won their second in 1978 after having won their first in 1972.
Both teams made a lot of mistakes, but they also scored a lot of points. In fact, this remains the only time in Super Bowl history that a team scored more than 30 points and lost the Super Bowl.
Terry Bradshaw had three turnovers, but also threw for a then-Super Bowl record 318 yards and four touchdowns. His 75-yard pass for a touchdown to John Stallworth tied the Super Bowl record for the longest touchdown pass, the record that had been set by the legendary John Unitas in Super Bowl 5.
The play that defined the game and the Cowboys’ inability to get out of their own way was on 3rd and 3 from the Steelers’ 10-yard in the 3rd quarter.
Roger Staubach dropped back and found Jackie Smith, a 38-year-old backup tight end, wide open in the end zone. The ball was thrown a little low and Smith’s feet seem to slip out from under him. The ball bounced off his numbers and fell incomplete. At the time, Verne Lundquist said, “Aw, bless his heart, he’s got to be the sickest man in America. Aw, Jackie was so wide open it was incredible!”
The Cowboys would make a valiant effort to come back after being down 35-17 in the fourth quarter. After scoring 14 unanswered points, and with only 22 seconds left in the game, an onside kick would have given them a chance to win the game. The chance died in the sure hands of Rocky Bleier, however, and the Steelers became the first team to win three Super Bowls.
No. 2 – Super Bowl 9
In terms of utter defensive domination, few Super Bowls can compare to SB9.
The Steel Curtain, determined to prove that the Steelers were not a fluke, shut down the Minnesota Vikings for the entire game.
The Steelers intercepted Fran Tarkenton three times and held him to no touchdowns on 11 of 26 for 102 yards. In fact, the Vikings offense didn’t score a single point. Their only touchdown came on a blocked punt and even then, the Steelers prevented the conversion of the extra point. It remains only the second time an offense has been held without a point in the Super Bowl.
Remarkably, the Steelers were without two of their starting linebackers for most of the second half: Andy Russell and the incomparable Jack Lambert, both of whom were injured.
The Steel Curtain set Super Bowl records for first downs (9), offensive yards (119), and rushing yards (17). They tied Super Bowl records for rushing first downs allowed (2) and passing first downs allowed (5).
The MVP of the game was Franco Harris, who accumulated 158 yards rushing (then a Super Bowl record). You read that right. The game’s MVP had more rushing yards than the entire Viking’s offense hadtotal!
This win was the beginning of a dynasty. The Steelers would go on to win four out of six Super Bowls.