Following the Pittsburgh Steelers bye week, their rivalry with the Bengals will go under the spotlight on Sunday Night Football. The Steelers have only played one SNF game in Cincinnati when they lost 27-3, but that was in 1990. When they play the Bengals in Pittsburgh, they lead 3-0.
Overall, in all regular season games against the Bengals, the Steelers comfortably lead 72-41 while on the road they are 35-22.
The Steelers entered the 1975 season in the unique position of defending Super Bowl champions for the first time. Selecting last, the Steelers did little in the draft. The organisation believed they had sufficient players for a repeat. They even traded their second-round pick, defensive end Bob Barber, to Green Bay for a future draft selection.
On the trade, defensive line coach George Perles admitted, “His (Barber) biggest problem was that we have a pretty good group of players here and we weren’t sure we were going to have room for him. We had a lot of offers for him, but this was too good to turn down. It was only smart business.”
Despite closing out their first losing preseason since 1969 with a 17-16 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the Steelers were confident about the season ahead. Joe Greene said, “Everything I feel about this team is positive now. This is a cold-blooded ship. It’s weathered a lot of storms.”
The Steelers got off to a great start to the new season when they travelled to San Diego and beat the Chargers 37-0. It was the biggest win of Coach Noll’s career and fans were confident of a stout defense of their championship title.
Just seven days later that confidence was destroyed when O.J. Simpson and the Bills came to Pittsburgh. Simpson’s 227 yards rushing, including a touchdown run of 88 yards, ensured Buffalo left with a 30-21 victory and put doubt in the mind of Steelers fans.
Terry Bradshaw played bad enough for Coach Noll to replace him with Joe Gilliam, who led the team to their three touchdowns. Despite his benching, Bradshaw would start the following week in Cleveland where the Steelers overwhelmed the Browns 42-6.
That thumping victory against their Turnpike rivals ensured that any fans’ misgivings over their team’s ability vanished. Four more wins followed before they travelled to Cincinnati to meet another division rival.
The Bengals series with the Steelers began after the AFL merged with the NFL in 1970. The home team had won all bar one encounters when the Steelers triumphed in 1971, the rookie season of Cincinnati’s quarterback Ken Anderson.
Facing an undefeated Bengals, the scene was set for an almighty AFC Central clash that would test the nerves of both sets of fans.
Paul Brown, the Bengals coach, was realistic in his outlook. “This is an important game, and the Steelers have shown this is when they are at their best when the chips are down. It’ll be an all-out effort. Nobody is kidding anybody. We’re not slipping up on them, and they’re not slipping up on us.”
The (5-1) Steelers at the (6-0) Bengals; November 2, 1975
The game began with both defenses in control. On the Bengals first play, Dwight White sent the tone with his sack of Ken Anderson. Cincinnati then played their part intercepting Terry Bradshaw twice and forcing a fumble after a sack.
As both offenses struggled, it was the kickers who put points on the board. Bengals’ Dave Green hit one from 23 yards before the Steelers replied with Roy Gerela’s from 42 yards.
With less than a minute remaining in the first half and the score tied at 3-3, the Steelers took over on their own 47. Bradshaw attempted a pass to Lynn Swann. The Bengals strong safety slipped trying to cover Swann who caught the pass before racing 37 yards for the touchdown. After Gerela’s extra point, the Steelers took a 10-3 lead into the locker room at the half.
The third quarter began with a Steelers drive of 70 yards. Assisted by a pass interference penalty, Rocky Bleier finished the series with a 3-yard touchdown pass.
The Steelers momentum continued with Bengals mistakes helping them along the way. Another slip from a defensive player allowed Swann to complete a touchdown catch of 25 yards. After Gerela missed the conversion, the Steelers led 23-3 as the home crowd were stunned into silence.
When the game entered the final period, Anderson finally gave Bengals fans a glimpse of an unlikely win. Touchdown passes of 34 yards to Charlie Joiner and 3 yards to Essex Johnson took them within six points. The crowd were now in full voice chasing the victory that would keep them on top of the division.
Cincinnati continued to press. They moved the ball from their own 20 to Pittsburgh’s 25 with five minutes remaining. A holding penalty took the ball back to 35, but Anderson was looking to find that killer pass. He spotted Chip Meyers on the 17 and attempted to thread a pass to his receiver. Mike Wagner leapt in front of Myers for the interception he returned 65 yards to Cincinnati’s 18. Four plays later, Bradshaw took it over from the one and his team led again by 13 points. The Bengals hopes of a win were dashed as Riverfront Stadium regained it’s aura of stillness.
A consolation touchdown catch of 22 yards by Myers on the last play of the game meant nothing to the fans as they quietly filed out of Riverfront Stadium.
The Pittsburgh Steelers 30 at the Cincinnati Bengals 24
“The difference was the big play (Wagner’s interception) and we made it,” grinned Coach Noll. “It was one of our better efforts.”
“Pittsburgh outplayed us,” admitted Cincinnati’s Coach Paul Brown. “They have a great team. Don’t take anything away from them.”
The result meant a three-way tie at the top of the competitive AFC Central division with Houston also in the mix. The Steelers would lose just one more game and their 12-2 record would see them win their third division title and go into the playoffs as the number one seed.
The Steelers would beat the Colts (28-10) and the Raiders (16-10) before meeting the Cowboys in Super Bowl X. Lynn Swann would win the MVP award with the Steelers 21-17 victory.
