What if Troy Polamalu played for the Steelers in the 1970s?

Steelers 1977 season

In 1977, there were only three notable additions to Pittsburgh: Robin Cole and Dennis Winston and a scrawny kid named Tony Dungy. Whereas in 1976, the Steelers had a phenomenal defensive year, offensively, they struggled more than normal.

How would that have changed with Troy Polamalu on the roster? Sadly to say not very much.

Conceivably, the Steelers could have beat the Bengals, going 10-5. The Steelers, in the other five losses, last by a sizable margin. That said, Polamalu’s talent could change a game on a dime, so a well-timed interception could have changed game momentum. However, the Steelers would have had to have finished higher than 11-3 to change the playoff seeds that year, as the NFL had a restriction preventing Oakland from playing Denver in the divisional round of the playoffs.

That would have unlikely occurred as the Steelers’ opponents outscored Pittsburgh 95-45 in those four games.

That said, anyone knows in the playoffs, the Steelers found ways to win. Plus, Polamalu could do things very few other defensive backs could, like instinctively line up in the C-gap.

So When the Steelers meet Denver in the playoffs, instead of the 34-21 win by Denver, the Steelers stop one touchdown drive and are good enough to prevent two field goals. Thus, the game ends in a 21-21 tie, setting up sudden-death overtime.

With pressure on Craig Morton as he had in the Super Bowl, the Broncos subsequently cave, and the Steelers upend the Broncos in a wild overtime finish, almost similar to the Steelers playoff victory over the Colts in 2005, just not in overtime. If you recall, in 2005, officials stripped Polumalu of an interception erroneously, however not in an overtime situation. The refs do not bungle the call this time in this 1977 playoff game.

As Tunch Ilken once said during a Steelers broadcast, “when you need a big play who shows up, number 43.”

The win sets up yet another showdown with the Raiders. The Steelers get revenge for the 1976 loss.

In typical fashion, it’s a slugfest, but the Steelers win 17-13. Thus the victory sets up what becomes the Steelers’ third matchup with the Cowboys. This is the 1970s, and the Steelers find a way to win big games.

There is no way they lose one to the Cowboys, and the Steelers win their fourth championship.