Most know about the Pittsburgh Steelers' run during their dominant dynasty in the 1970s. They had one of the best rosters of all-time, littered with Hall of Fame talent both on offense and defense. They won four Super Bowls during that decade, but it's easy to see that they could've easily won more.
There are many teams throughout Steelers history who failed to win the ultimate prize, but a specific team in the 70s was the biggest outlier.
Going into the 1976 season, Pittsburgh was coming off back-to-back Super Bowl victories in 1974 and 1975. They were now the powerhouse of the NFL with their Steel Curtain defense leading the way. Expectations remained high for the Steelers going into the 1976 campaign, but after a stumbling 1-4 start to the season, the team caught fire. The defense produced historic numbers.
While the Steelers' offense had some highlights that season, they were still trying to catch up to their dominant defensive counterparts. This was still a group of players pushed along by the star players on the roster. Failing to win a Super Bowl after a historic effort by the defense was troublesome, and it has many wondering what if the team had started that season better.
Pittsburgh Steelers history will look back at the 1976 roster as biggest Super Bowl flub
The season started slowly after what appeared to be a Super Bowl hangover. Sitting at a 1-4 record, the team was in trouble of missing the playoffs. The club found a way to rebound and lead their way to nine straight victories to conclude the regular season. Most of those wins were direct results of their destructive defense, which put up one of the
Five of those nine victories saw the defense produce shutouts against their competition.
That unit allowed just 138 points, one of the lowest totals ever over a 14-game season. Having countless Hall of Famers on the field is one thing, but having them in their prime is another. The defense gave them a fantastic shot at winning the Super Bowl for a third year in a row.
While the offense wasn't terrible for the Steelers during the season, it showed signs of weakness. They had a fantastic rushing duo with Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier, but they needed more from their passing attack. It was a season to forget for Terry Bradshaw, who missed six games and produced a mediocre stat line of 1,177 passing yards, ten touchdowns, and nine interceptions.
After destroying the Colts in the divisional round 40-14, the Steelers would get embarrassed by the Raiders 24-7 in AFC title game.
The defense showed some cracks, but the offense didn't do anything to help. Almost all of their playmakers were quiet, and Bradshaw had another poor performance. Pittsburgh's defense was let down that day, and the team couldn't get the best defense in Steelers history a Super Bowl victory.
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