This Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers face their division rivals Cincinnati Bengals. Since Cincinnati joined the NFL with the merger in 1970, the Steelers have dominated them. Pittsburgh’s superiority is both at home (37-19) and in Cincinnati (35-22) for an overall lead of 72-41.
1978 was the first 16-game season in the NFL. After two years of failing to make the Super Bowl, the Steelers began their new season in earnest. They won their first seven games including a 28-3 victory in Cincinnati.
A defeat against Houston broke their winning streak. Another loss against the Rams still saw them go into their week 12 game against the Bengals with a healthy 9-2 record.
On the contrary, Cincinnati was having an awful season. After a 0-5 start their head coach Bill Johnson resigned to be replaced by Homer Rice. Their one success was a comfortable 28-13 win over Houston, one of the two teams who had beaten Pittsburgh. Cincinnati’s season began with a hand injury to their veteran quarterback Ken Anderson, but he was back to face the Steelers.
“No matter what happens today,” acknowledged Anderson, “we always enjoy playing the Steelers. We’ve had a lot of fun games. We’ve haven’t had a lot of successful times, but they are a good football team, and you always go into an enthusiastic stadium. That’s what it is all about.”
The Bengals had never won in Three Rivers Stadium and faced a Terry Bradshaw who was having his best season. He had thrown a career high 19 touchdown passes while Lynn Swann led the league with 9 touchdown catches.
Everything pointed to an overwhelming Steelers triumph, but Pittsburgh sportswriter Pat Livingston cautioned, “The Bengals very well could be a pack of sleeping Tigers.” He also reminded his readers of the old cliché, “Any Given Sunday.”
The (9-2) Steelers vs the (1-10) Bengals; November 19, 1978
The promise of a high scoring game was left in the locker room when the teams took to the field.
The Bengals struck first. Cincinnati cornerback Louis Breeden intercepted Terry Bradshaw. Ken Anderson accepted the opportunity and marched his team 69 yards in 9 plays before settling for a Chris Bahr 29-yard field goal.
With the game moving into the second quarter, Bradshaw sparked into life finding John Stallworth twice with passes of 21 yards to move the chains. Rocky Bleier finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge. Roy Gerela kicked the point after to put the Steelers 7-3 ahead.
Mel Blount intercepted Anderson on the Bengals next drive but the Steelers failed to take advantage. Bradshaw returned the favor, throwing to Cincinnati’s Ken Riley, but his defense held the Bengals to a three and out.
On Pittsburgh’s next possession, Bradshaw was intercepted again by Louis Breedon. Anderson ensured Cincinnati benefited from the turnover when Bahr kicked a 38-yard field goal to move the Bengals within one point.
The last play of the first half saw Bradshaw throw his fourth interception, but the Steelers retained their 7-6 lead.
In the third quarter, Mel Blount’s interception gave the Steelers an opportunity to extend their lead, but they failed to capitalise on the turnover. They also spurned another chance after Joe Greene recovered a fumble forced by Jack Ham. Gerela missed a field goal from 34 yards. The Bengals also failed on a 48-yard field goal attempt to keep the scoreboard static.
With less than a minute remaining and with the Bengals driving to get into a game winning field goal range, Anderson dropped back to pass looking for a receiver. Mike Wagner hit him in the back on a safety blitz causing Anderson to fumble. Jack Ham recovered to ensure the Steelers secured a slender victory.
The Pittsburgh Steelers 7 vs the Cincinnati Bengals 6
Terry Bradshaw admitted the team didn’t play with any emotion, but he also accepted the blame for the performance. “I played absolutely horrible. It’s the worst feeling in the world. It’s embarrassing. They played a heckuva game and we didn’t.”
“I felt I was hit by a truck,” admitted Ken Anderson as he described Mike Wagner’s hit that caused him to fumble.
Joe Greene added a touch of realism when he acknowledged, “The good teams win these kinds of games regardless.”
The Steelers would put this lethargic performance behind them and win their remaining four games. They finished the season at 14-2 winning their sixth division title. They would go into the playoffs as the number one seed rolling over Denver (33-10) and Houston (34-5).
After the Steelers beat Dallas 35-31 in one of the great Championship games, the fans soon forgot that poor showing against the Bengals. Terry Bradshaw would vanquish the memories of the loss and bathe in the adoration of Super Bowl XIII MVP.
