The Turnpike Rivalry continues this Sunday when the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Cleveland Browns. The Steelers own a 54-22 advantage when they play in Pittsburgh.
1970 was an important year for the Steelers. Having gone 1-13 in his first season, many fans might have thought Chuck Noll’s position as head coach was untenable. Fortunately, the Rooneys kept faith in their choice knowing that despite the defeats, he had never lost the team. The players and the organization accepted that building a winning team would take time.
That year’s media guide confirmed the view. “It was obvious that significant progress was made in 1969. Noll’ accepted the Steelers job with great credentials and everything and anything that happened in 1969 did not do anything to tarnish his hard-earned reputation.”
What vision the author had when he continued the coach’s bio, “It is generally agreed among knowledgeable pro football people that he is the man who can lead the Steelers into the ranks of pro football’s top teams and last season was the first step in building a solid foundation.”
The Steelers opened the 1970 season with another three defeats. As Pittsburgh sports fans’ attention focussed on the Pirates in the National League playoffs, the third loss in Cleveland didn’t generate much reaction. It was their sixteenth consecutive defeat.
After the Pirates were knocked out, the attention turned to the Steelers next opponents. The fans had to be excited by the visit of the Buffalo Bills and O.J. Simpson. In the Bills’ previous week’s win over the Jets, Simpson rushed for 99 yards on 21 carries, caught three passes for 63 yards and returned two kickoffs 141 yards for a total offense of 303 yards.
The Steelers held Simpson to 60 yards and won 23-10.
As much as the fans were confused by the Steelers poor record, so was Coach Noll. “I think we have a much better team than last year’s, even if we have lost three games,” he acknowledged before adding, “It’s a young team.”
The coach was also juggling his quarterbacks, not knowing which to call his best as he rotated rookie Terry Bradshaw and 2-year veteran Terry Hanratty.
Cleveland was led by quarterback Bill Nelson who was traded by the Steelers to the Browns in 1969 for Dick Shiner. The Browns held a 32-9 lead in the series which began in 1950 when Cleveland moved into the NFL from the AAFC.
Andy Russell noted the Steelers had never beaten the Browns with Nelson at quarterback. “Boy, we hope we can Sunday,” said Russell. He added that the Steelers defense held an impromptu meeting after their Wednesday workout. “All members of the defense sort of pledged that we would play the game on Sunday as if it was for the title. We are going to walk all over the Browns if we can.”
The (4-6) Steelers vs the (5-5) Browns; November 29, 1970
Terry Hanratty was given the lead quarterback role and justified Coach Noll’s choice. He led the Steelers on a drive of 88 yards finishing with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Ron Shanklin. Allan Watson kicked the extra point.
Against a stiff Steelers defense, the Browns could only reply with a 16-yard field goal in the first quarter before adding a 38-yard one in the second.
Pittsburgh’s defense raised the bar higher when Chuck Beatty return his interception 30 yards for a touchdown to bolster the Steelers advantage to 14-6 at the half.
After Hanratty suffered a slight concussion, Terry Bradshaw came on for the second half. When the Browns added a field goal from 46 yards, it was Bradshaw’s turn to shine. On a first down, he rifled a perfect pass over the middle to Shanklin who beat his defender and raced untouched for an 81-yard touchdown.
Bradshaw increased the Steelers lead in the fourth quarter on a screen pass to John Fuqua which he took 57 yards to the end zone to complete the Steelers victory.
The Pittsburgh Steelers 28 vs the Cleveland Browns 9
After the game, reporters gathered around Andy Russell seeking a quote. He indicated there were plenty of other guys they could interview. Eventually, forced to say something, he admitted it was one of his best games which saw him finish with four tackles and several batted down passes. “I study the game so I can get the jump,” Russell said. “I like to know exactly what the offense is doing. I feel more aggressive now than I did when I was a rookie.”
Former Steeler Bill Nelsen smiled as he said, “It’s probably the best game they have played all year. It had to be against me.”
Terry Bradshaw echoed those sentiments. “This by far was the best game we played,” he said. “It was the best overall defensively and the best overall offensively.”
The win found the Steelers joining the Browns and Bengals on top of the AFC Central Division at 5-6. The Steelers failed to win any of their remaining three games and finished 5-9, but it was sign of what was about to come as the team grew in experience. They would eventually leave their fifties’ losing record against the Browns behind and now lead the series overall 83-65-1.
Cincinnati won the division, but they were dumped in the divisional game against the Colts who would go onto to win Super Bowl V against the Cowboys 16-13.
