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1978 Pittsburgh Steelers

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Record: 14-2-0, Finished 1st in AFC Central Division
NFL Season Summary

1978 Super Bowl Champions

Scored 356 points (22.2/g), 5th of 28 in the NFL.
 Allowed 195 points (12.2/g), 1st.
 Differential of 161 points (10.1/g), 2nd.
 Expected W-L: 12.9-3.1.

 Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +9 (0.6/g), 5th.

Coached by Chuck Noll (14-2-0)

1978 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees

Team Games & Schedule

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Score Offense Defense
Week Date Rec Opp Tm Opp 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO
1 Sun September 3 W 1-0 @ Buffalo Bills 28 17 21 359 217 142 1 16 264 164 100 1
2 Sun September 10 W 2-0 Seattle Seahawks 21 10 26 336 185 151 1 18 247 154 93 3
3 Sun September 17 W 3-0 @ Cincinnati Bengals 28 3 26 447 235 212 4 9 179 123 56 2
4 Sun September 24 W 4-0 Cleveland Browns 15 9 18 339 200 139 3 19 199 102 97 2
5 Sun October 1 W 5-0 @ New York Jets 28 17 20 327 189 138 2 18 297 142 155 1
6 Sun October 8 W 6-0 Atlanta Falcons 31 7 28 387 206 181 3 20 257 144 113 4
7 Sun October 15 W 7-0 @ Cleveland Browns 34 14 20 321 153 168 19 360 228 132 4
8 Mon October 23 L 7-1 Houston Oilers 17 24 21 328 215 113 1 22 329 160 169 1
9 Sun October 29 W 8-1 Kansas City Chiefs 27 24 17 215 80 135 3 20 322 141 181 3
10 Sun November 5 W 9-1 New Orleans Saints 20 14 20 345 200 145 2 23 421 340 81 2
11 Sun November 12 L 9-2 @ Los Angeles Rams 7 10 12 174 115 59 3 14 313 121 192 2
12 Sun November 19 W 10-2 Cincinnati Bengals 7 6 14 154 84 70 5 15 246 149 97 5
13 Mon November 27 W 11-2 @ San Francisco 49ers 24 7 22 380 168 212 4 12 141 74 67 5
14 Sun December 3 W 12-2 @ Houston Oilers 13 3 17 251 74 177 2 9 164 83 81 6
15 Sat December 9 W 13-2 Baltimore Colts 35 13 20 373 234 139 3 12 129 43 86 5
16 Sat December 16 W 14-2 @ Denver Broncos 21 17 14 260 144 116 2 19 300 226 74 2
Playoffs
Division Sat December 30 W 15-2 Denver Broncos 33 10
ConfChamp Sun January 7 W 16-2 Houston Oilers 34 5
SuperBowl Sun January 21 W 17-2 N Dallas Cowboys 35 31

Team Stats and Rankings

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Passing Rushing
Pts Yds Ply Y/P 1stD Cmp Att Yds TD Int NY/A 1stD Att Yds TD Y/A 1stD TO FL 1stPy
Team Offense 356 4996 1046 4.8 316 212 380 2699 28 22 6.7 149 641 2297 16 3.6 133 39 17 34
Team Defense 195 4168 999 4.2 424 221 442 2394 10 27 4.9 119 513 1774 11 3.5 265 48 21 40
Lg Rank Offense 5 8 4 22 12 1 15 4 3 14 12 23 15 10
Lg Rank Defense 1 3 9 19 12 2 7 5 6 2 2 2 2 3

Passing

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Age Pos G GS Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate Sk Yds NY/A ANY/A Sk%
Terry Bradshaw*+ 30 QB 16 16 207 368 56.3 2915 28 7.6 20 5.4 70 7.9 6.2 14.1 182.2 84.7 21 222 6.9 5.3 5.4
Mike Kruczek 25 9 0 5 11 45.5 46 0 0.0 2 18.2 21 4.2 -4.0 9.2 5.1 17.8 4 40 0.4 -5.6 26.7
Franco Harris* 28 FB 16 16 0 1 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 39.6 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Team Total 26.4 16 212 380 55.8 2961 28 7.4 22 5.8 70 7.8 5.9 14.0 185.1 81.5 25 262 6.7 4.9 6.2
Opp Total 16 221 442 50.0 2394 10 2.3 27 6.1 5.4 2.9 10.8 149.6 48.4 44 361 4.9 1.9

Rushing & Receiving

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Rushing Receiving
Age Pos G GS Att Yds TD Lng Y/A Y/G A/G Rec Yds Y/R TD Lng R/G Y/G YScm RRTD Fmb
Franco Harris* 28 FB 16 16 310 1082 8 37 3.5 67.6 19.4 22 144 6.5 0 15 1.4 9.0 1226 8 4
Rocky Bleier 32 RB 16 0 165 633 5 24 3.8 39.6 10.3 17 168 9.9 1 32 1.1 10.5 801 6 6
Sidney Thornton 24 16 0 71 264 2 27 3.7 16.5 4.4 5 66 13.2 1 24 0.3 4.1 330 3 3
Rick Moser 22 15 0 42 153 0 15 3.6 10.2 2.8 1 -1 -1.0 0 -1 0.1 -0.1 152 0 3
Terry Bradshaw*+ 30 QB 16 16 32 93 1 17 2.9 5.8 2.0 94 1 8
Jack Deloplaine 24 10 0 11 49 0 19 4.5 4.9 1.1 49 0 0
Mike Kruczek 25 9 0 5 7 0 8 1.4 0.8 0.6 7 0 1
Alvin Maxson 27 5 0 4 9 0 7 2.3 1.8 0.8 9 0 2
Lynn Swann*+ 26 WR 16 16 1 7 0 7 7.0 0.4 0.1 61 880 14.4 11 62 3.8 55.0 887 11 0
John Stallworth 26 WR 16 16 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 41 798 19.5 9 70 2.6 49.9 798 9 2
Randy Grossman 26 TE 16 10 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 37 448 12.1 1 26 2.3 28.0 448 1 1
Bennie Cunningham 24 te 6 6 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 16 321 20.1 2 48 2.7 53.5 321 2 1
Theo Bell 25 RET 16 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 6 53 8.8 1 15 0.4 3.3 53 1 0
Jim Smith 23 9 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 6 83 13.8 2 29 0.7 9.2 83 2 1
Team Total 26.4 16 641 2297 16 37 3.6 143.6 40.1 212 2961 14.0 28 70 13.3 185.1 5258 44 35
Opp Total 16 513 1774 11 3.5 110.9 32.1 221 2394 10.8 10 13.8 149.6 4168 21 33

Kick & Punt Returns

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Punt Returns Kick Returns
Age Pos G GS Ret Yds TD Lng Y/R Rt Yds TD Lng Y/Rt APYd
Larry Anderson 22 RET 16 1 37 930 1 95 25.1 930
Theo Bell 25 RET 16 0 21 152 0 18 7.2 205
Randy Reutershan 23 11 0 20 148 0 18 7.4 148
Jim Smith 23 9 0 9 65 0 13 7.2 1 16 0 16 16.0 164
Nat Terry 22 6 0 7 80 0 24 11.4 80
Alvin Maxson 27 5 0 2 33 0 21 16.5 42
Jack Deloplaine 24 10 0 1 19 0 19 19.0 68
Rick Moser 22 15 0 1 8 0 8 8.0 160
Gerry Mullins 29 RG 16 0 1 0 0 0 0.0 0
Donnie Shell* 26 SS 16 16 1 6 0 6 6.0 6
Sidney Thornton 24 16 0 1 37 0 37 37.0 367
Team Total 26.4 16 58 451 0 24 7.8 44 1043 1 95 23.7 6752
Opp Total 16 38 0 60 1336 0 22.3

Kicking & Punting

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Kicking Punting
Age Pos G GS FGA FGM FG% XPA XPM XP% Pnt Yds Lng Blck Y/P
Roy Gerela 30 K 16 0 26 12 46.2% 45 44 97.8%
Craig Colquitt 24 P 16 0 66 2642 58 0 40.0
Team Total 26.4 16 26 12 46.2% 45 44 97.8% 66 2642 58 0 40.0
Opp Total 16 26 14 53.8% 22 21 95.5% 82 3231 39.4

Defense & Fumbles

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Def Interceptions Fumbles Tackles
Age Pos G GS Sk Int Yds TD Lng PD FF Fmb FR Yds TD Tkl Ast Sfty
Larry Anderson 22 RET 16 1 2 0 0 0
Theo Bell 25 RET 16 0 0 1 0 0
Rocky Bleier 32 RB 16 0 6 1 0 0
Mel Blount* 30 RCB 16 16 4 55 0 35
Terry Bradshaw*+ 30 QB 16 16 8 1 -3 0
Steve Courson 23 16 1 0 1 0 0
Bennie Cunningham 24 te 6 6 1 0 0 0
Sam Davis 34 LG 16 16 0 1 0 0
Tony Dungy 23 16 2 6 95 0 65 0 2 8 0
Gary Dunn 25 16 0 0 1 0 0
Steve Furness 28 rdt 10 6 0 1 12 0
Joe Greene* 32 LDT 16 16 0 5 0 0
L.C. Greenwood* 32 LDE 14 14 0 1 0 0
Randy Grossman 26 TE 16 10 1 0 0 0
Jack Ham*+ 30 LLB 14 14 3 7 0 7 0 2 0 0
Franco Harris* 28 FB 16 16 4 1 0 0
Ron Johnson 22 LCB 16 16 4 24 0 21 0 1 0 0
Jon Kolb 31 LT 16 16 0 1 0 0
Mike Kruczek 25 9 0 1 1 0 0
Jack Lambert* 26 MLB 16 16 4 41 0 24 0 2 0 0
Alvin Maxson 27 5 0 2 0 0 0
Rick Moser 22 15 0 3 2 0 0
Gerry Mullins 29 RG 16 0 0 1 0 0
Ray Pinney 24 RT 13 11 0 1 0 0
Donnie Shell* 26 SS 16 16 3 21 0 20 0 5 21 1
Jim Smith 23 9 0 1 0 0 0
John Stallworth 26 WR 16 16 2 1 0 0
Sidney Thornton 24 16 0 3 1 0 0
Loren Toews 27 RLB 11 10 1 12 0 12
Mike Wagner 29 FS 14 0 2 34 0 20
Mike Webster*+ 26 C 16 16 1 0 -2 0
Dwight White 29 RDE 15 11 0 1 0 0
Dirt Winston 23 16 0 0 1 0 0
Team Total 26.4 16 27 289 0 65 35 36 36 1
Opp Total 16 25 33 12

Scoring Summary

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Age Pos G GS RshTD RecTD PR TD KR TD FblTD IntTD OthTD 2PM XPM FGM Sfty Pts
Roy Gerela 30 K 16 0 44 12 80
Lynn Swann*+ 26 WR 16 16 11 66
John Stallworth 26 WR 16 16 9 54
Franco Harris* 28 FB 16 16 8 48
Rocky Bleier 32 RB 16 0 5 1 36
Sidney Thornton 24 16 0 2 1 18
Bennie Cunningham 24 te 6 6 2 12
Jim Smith 23 9 0 2 12
Larry Anderson 22 RET 16 1 1 6
Theo Bell 25 RET 16 0 1 6
Terry Bradshaw*+ 30 QB 16 16 1 6
Randy Grossman 26 TE 16 10 1 6
Donnie Shell* 26 SS 16 16 1 6
Team Total 26.4 16 16 28 1 1 44 12 356
Opp Total 16 11 10 21 14 195