Since the turn of the century, the Pittsburgh Steelers lead the Cleveland Browns 16-9 when they play in Cleveland. Most of those victories came from the hand of Ben Roethlisberger. Since his retirement, the Steelers have lost three straight games when they travel up the Turnpike.
The Browns completely dominated the early contests when they just had to turn up to beat the Same Old Steelers. After Chuck Noll took over as Pittsburgh’s head coach, that superiority initially stayed intact in Cleveland when the Browns won the first five contests that Noll coached.
It changed for Noll the season the Steelers won their first Lombardi. On the way to Super Bowl IX, the Steelers swept the series home and away for only the second time. The previous occasion was 1959 when Bobby Layne led the team to two victories.
Following the 1974 season, the Steelers were chasing back-to-back Lombardis. They began with an easy 37-0 shutout in San Diego but surprisingly lost a home game 21-30 to the Bills.
O.J. Simpson ran all over the Steelers in front of a sellout crowd. His fourth 200-yard game tied Jim Brown’s record, and he became only the second running back to gain 100 yards on the Steelers in Three Rivers Stadium. Simpson ran for a total of 227 yards, a record that held until 2000 when Jaguars Fred Taylor totalled 234 as Jacksonville beat Pittsburgh 34-24.
After the Bills loss, Coach Noll stayed positive. “We didn’t expect smooth sailing this season,” he offered. “There’s not much difference between a good performance and a lousy performance.”
The (1-1-) Steelers at the (0-2) Browns; October 5, 1975
The Steelers scored on the game’s opening possession. Terry Bradshaw found Lynn Swann and Larry Brown with passes of 20 yards on a 12-play drive of 85 yards. A 3-yard touchdown pass to John Stallworth was followed by Roy Gerela’s successful point after.
In the second quarter, despite the persistent holding from the Browns defense, the Steelers kept moving the ball. Bradshaw continued to find his receivers. He led another drive of 84 yards finishing with a 1-yard touchdown run from Franco Harris.
The Browns pass defense had gone missing and Bradshaw took full advantage. Completions of 45 yards to Swann and 28 yards to Mike Collier sparked a drive that Collier’s 1-yard touchdown run ended.
With the Browns 21 point behind and receiving a battering, the rancour between the teams boiled over. The Steelers had become frustrated with the holding by their opponents that wasn’t being penalized. The Browns had become disheartened by the Steelers complete dominance.
L.C. Greenwood threw a few punches first before the officials attempted to break the melee up. Under the pile Joe Greene and Browns Tom DeLeone were kicking each other. Both were ejected. The situation became so confused that one official told Greenwood he had been ejected. Greenwood held his ground to allow things to cool down before realising he hadn’t been ejected.
The brawl was followed by a Steelers turnover when Mel Blount intercepted a pass from Mike Phipps and returned it 17 yards. Joe Gilliam came on for Bradshaw who cut his hand on the facemask of a Browns player. Gilliam took just two plays to find Swann with a touchdown pass of 45 yards. The Steelers took a 28-0 lead into the locker room at the half.
After the intensity of the second quarter, the third became a quiet scoreless period when the defenses stifled the offenses.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Steelers defense assisted the Browns in moving the ball. Five penalties, including a 31-yard pass interference call, saw the Browns go 82 yards finishing with a 7-yard touchdown run from Hugh McKinnis. Don Cockcroft missed the conversion.
The Steelers replied with Gilliam taking to the air and finding Garrett with a 45-yard touchdown pass.
Gilliam continued through the air, completing three passes for 71 yards, including a 53-yard screamer to Stallworth. Reggie Harrison ended the drive scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run to complete the Steelers victory.
The Pittsburgh Steelers 42 at the Cleveland Browns 6
Of his ejection, Joe Greene said, “I just wish #12 was under me and then I would not have minded getting kicked out of the game.” #12 was the referee, Ben Dreith.
“We’re going to play ‘em again and we’re going to kick their butts again,” promised Greene. Taking a shot at the Browns coach Greene added, “If they were taught to play football instead of how to hold, they would be a better team.” The return game in Pittsburgh was a 31-17 decisive win for the Steelers.
Terry Bradshaw would recover from his hand injury to play the following Sunday. The team would finish the season 12-2. Having sealed their number one playoff seeding before the season finale, Coach Noll rested some of his players. The 3-10 loss to the Rams was Pittsburgh’s first defeat since the Buffalo game in week 2.
They rolled over the Baltimore Colts 29-10 in the divisional game. For the third time in four years, they dumped the Oakland Raiders out of the playoffs, 16-10.
In Super Bowl X, the Steelers overcame the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 to become the second team to win back-to-back Lombardis.
