The Steelers and the Browns have played each other twice a season since 1950. That was the year the NFL merged with three teams from the rival All-American Football Conference. The 49ers and the Colts also joined the NFL along with the Browns.
Cleveland dominated the early contests. Before Coach Noll was hired in 1969, the Same Old Steelers lost 31 of the 40 games played between the two teams. Only twice did Pittsburgh sweep the series in a season.
Coach Noll, who spent seven seasons playing with the Browns as a guard and linebacker, initially continued the misery. He lost the first three games he coached against his former team.
As Coach Noll built his Super Bowl winning teams, the balance of power changed. Of the 46 games he coached when they played, Coach Noll won 25 while sweeping the series six times.
After winning back-to-back Super Bowls in 1974 and 1975, the Steelers waited two seasons before returning to the championship game when they won their third Lombardi. They entered the 1979 season as the reigning champions to find once again they were the team all the others wanted to beat.
Terry Bradshaw felt the team was stronger than the previous season when they overcame Dallas to win Super Bowl XIII. “We’re a lot deeper team than we were last year,” Bradshaw said. “Our second line players are a lot stronger and getting J.T. Thomas back in the secondary after missing all last year is a definite plus.”
Bradshaw believed the only thing that could beat Pittsburgh was overconfidence. “We ran into problems a couple of years ago after we won the Super Bowl,” he said. “I think the guys felt nobody could beat us. We found out different right away. I think we were 2-4 and we had to win eight in a row to make the playoffs. We can’t afford that kind of thinking this year.”
As the Steelers thrived in the seventies and blossomed into a team that could win Super Bowls, the Browns wilted and faded after winning the division title in 1971.
They began the 1979 season 4-0 before losing to division rivals the Houston Oilers. The Steelers also began 4-0 before travelling to Philadelphia where they lost 17-14 despite Jack Ham’s 28th career interception. The most by an active linebacker at the time.
The Turnpike Showdown would see both teams affected by injuries. Cleveland would be without their star running back Greg Pruitt while the Steelers would be missing Lynn Swann.
Cleveland’s coach Sam Rutigliano praised Terry Bradshaw as the best quarterback in the NFL adding, “We can’t worry about injuries. We’re going to have to contain Bradshaw and come up with our best effort to beat them.”
The (4-1) Steelers at the (4-1) Browns; October 7, 1979
The Steelers set the tone on their first play from scrimmage when Sidney Thornton ran 24 yards. Terry Bradshaw also made an impact on Pittsburgh’s first series firing a pass over the middle to Bennie Cunningham for a 7-yard touchdown.
On the Steelers next possession Bradshaw continued his fire power on the first play finding John Stallworth with a pass of 37 yards. He ended the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Thornton.
The Browns first attempt to put points on the scoreboard failed when Don Cockcroft missed a 27-yard field goal. The Steelers took over on their twenty. On third and one on the 29, Franco Harris went off right tackle and took the ball 71 yards for another score.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Browns fumbled the kick catch and Larry Anderson recovered the ball to set the Steelers up on their opponents’12. Two plays later, Bradshaw lofted a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jim Smith. Matt Bahr’s point after attempt went wide left, but the Steelers now led 27-0.
Cleveland’s quarterback Brian Sipe attempted a fightback, but it foundered on the Steelers one. Sipe attempted a pass to Mike Pruitt, but the ball ended up in the hands of Steelers safety Donnie Shell and Sipe’s hard work was undone.
On their next possession, Sipe was more successful and found Reggie Rucker with a 32-yard touchdown pass.
The Browns were fighting back urged on by 81,260 boisterous fans. On their following possession, faced with a fourth-and-seven, the Browns lined up in punt formation. Punter Johnny Eve fooled the Steelers special team by passing to Ricky Feacher for a first down. Sipe completed the drive with an 18-yard touchdown throw to Ozzie Newsome.
After Matt Bahr kicked a 42-yard field goal, the Steelers took a healthy 30-14 lead into the locker room at the half.
The teams swapped touchdowns in the third period. Harris added a scoring run of 25 yards and Calvin Hill caught a touchdown pass of 14 yards for the Browns.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, faced with a third and one, Bradshaw handed the ball to Rocky Bleier who scampered 70 yards for a touchdown.
Despite being twenty-three points behind, the Browns continued to battle. A Greg Hawthorne fumble gifted the Browns a first down on the Steelers 30. Sipe made short work of the turnover with his 30-yard touchdown pass to Dave Logan.
The Browns were successful with their onside kick and Sipe and Logan combined again for a 13-yard touchdown to bring Cleveland within nine points.
With Sipe gaining confidence and playing the game of his life, Bradshaw took over with nine minutes left in the game. Bradshaw showed why he had led his team to three Super Bowl triumphs. He engineered a 94-yard, 15 play, eight-minute drive that crushed the Browns spirit. Converting on three third downs to move the chains, Thornton completed the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run to confirm the Steelers victory.
The Pittsburgh Steelers 51 at the Cleveland Browns 35
The sport page headlines the next day told the story. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette went with “Steelers Crush Browns” while Cleveland’s Plain Dealer ran “Steelers Wallop Browns.”
A frustrated Coach Rutigliano said, “If you had told me we would have scored 35 points against Pittsburgh, I would have bet the ranch that we’d come out winners.”
The combined 361 yards on the ground set a franchise record. “This is the best we’ve run the ball in a long time,” enthused Coach Noll.
Franco Harris contributed his thirty-first 100-yard game. Rocky Bleier’s touchdown run of 70 yards was the longest of his NFL career and moved him pass Fran Rogel into fourth place on the franchise’s ground gainers list.
Sipe tied the Browns franchise record with his five touchdowns
The Steelers would finish the season 12-4 to win their sixth division title. Playoff wins over Miami and Houston saw them advance to Super Bowl XIV where they beat the Rams 31-19 to bring their fourth Lombardi back to Pittsburgh.
