The Denver Broncos were a founding member of the American Football league in 1960. The Steelers began playing them after the 1970 merger when Pittsburgh moved into the AFC to join Denver and the rest of the AFL teams.
The Broncos lead the series 20-13 with one game tied. The Steelers have won only 5 of the 19 games played in Denver with the last success in 2009.
The seventies saw the Same Old Steelers turn into winners when Chuck Noll was installed as their coach. After making the AFC Championship game in 1972 where they lost to the unbeaten Dolphins, the following season saw them lose the divisional playoff game in Oakland.
The Steelers improved every year after Noll became their coach and 1974 saw the organization select their Hall of Fame draft. It was the all-time greatest draft by any NFL team. Four Hall of Famers were selected with the team’s first five picks:
Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth and Mike Webster.
The preparations for the 1974 season were disrupted by a players’ strike. With much expected from the team, Coach Noll was disappointed when the picket line formed outside St. Vincent College. “This is a sad time,” the coach said. “You hate to see something destroyed that you’ve worked hard to build up.”
Dan Rooney thought the team was ready for a run at the Super Bowl. “These disruptions bother us seriously,” Rooney stated.
Quarterback Joe Gillam crossed the picket line a week prior to the first exhibition game. Although Terry Bradshaw arrived in Pittsburgh, he joined his striking teammates. “I’ve got to stick with the players,” the Post-Gazette reported him as saying.
With most of the veterans not in camp, it provided additional time for the coaches to spend with the rookies. It would make them better prepared for their introduction into professional football and certainly helped them adapt to what was expected of them. Coach Noll was a great teacher, and the rookies would benefit from his schooling.
The Steelers first preseason game would see Gilliam lead a team of primarily rookies to a 30-0 win over the rookies of the Saints.
Possibly thinking he would lose his starting position; Bradshaw crossed the picket line three days later while Terry Hanratty continued to stay out. Bradshaw started the next exhibition game against the Bears, but it would be Gillam who received the credit as the team crushed their opponents 50-21. Gilliam threw three touchdown passes and ran for another.
Before their exhibition game in Philadelphia, a temporary truce was reached in the strike to allow a cooling off period. All the veterans were now back in camp. The suspension would last two years when it would be resolved in the players’ favor in the courts.
The Steelers won all six of their preseason games, with Joe Gilliam’s performances making a convincing case for him to be named the starter for the regular season.
Coach Noll called the 1974 training camp, “both the longest training camp and the shortest training camp I have ever known.” Despite all the disruptions the team endured, Coach Noll was still confident about the season ahead. “This team has our greatest potential,” he said. “This is the championship season.”
After the Steelers shutout the Baltimore Colts 30-0 in the season opener, the fans began to believe in their coach’s confidence.
Despite never beating the Broncos in their three previous contests, the Steelers were favored by seven points.
The (1-0) Steelers at the (0-1) Broncos; September 22, 1974
When the Broncos began the game with an onside kick, the fans knew they were in for a special footballing treat. The Broncos recovered the kick on their 45. The Steelers defense prevented their opponents from capitalizing on the surprise special teams’ play, but on their next possession it was Denver who struck first.
Denver’s quarterback Charley Johnson found Otis Armstrong, who swept behind Jack Lambert, with a 45-yard touchdown pass.
The Steelers replied when Joe Gilliam threw a screen pass to Steve Davis. He broke two tackles and behind a block from Larry Brown ran 61 yards for the score.
After a kick return of 33 yards, Johnson took to the air again to put Denver ahead with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Haven Moses. The Broncos increased their advantage after Frank Lewis fumbled a completion after a hit by Denver’s cornerback.
Mike Simone recovered the loose ball and manged to get to the Steelers one before he was tackled by Jon Kolb. The tackle only delayed another Denver score when Jon Keyworth burst over for a 1-yard touchdown and the Broncos led 21-7.
After a frantic first quarter, the pace slackened off as the game moved into the second. The only score came from a Steelers 18-play drive of 87 yards. Combining short runs from Franco Harris with his passes, Gilliam finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. It was the first touchdown of his NFL career and reduced the Steelers half time deficit to 21-14.
On the third play of the second half, Joe Greene knocked Johnson out of the game with a sprained shoulder. Johnson’s wayward pass was intercepted by Mike Wagner and set the Steelers up for a short scoring drive that tied the game 21-21. Steve Davis completed the series with a 1-yard touchdown run.
A Davis fumble set the Broncos up to take a seven-point lead again after Riley Odoms caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Denver’s backup quarterback Steve Ramsey.
The Steelers subsequent drive included a 45-yard completion from John Stallworth. Pittsburgh went 73 yards in six plays ending with a 1-yard touchdown run from Davis and the game was tied again.
As the game went into the final period, the seesawing scoring continued. A 1-yard touchdown run from John Fuqua gave the Steelers their first lead of the game. It was cancelled out by a 23-yard touchdown catch by Armstrong.
With both teams giving everything, the sixty minutes finished 35-35. The tie saw the new NFL overtime rule come into effect for the first time.
The overtime period saw the teams spurn chances to take the win. Both teams went for the knockout blow with field goal attempts. Jim Turner’s 40-yard effort went wide right. Roy Gerela’s 25-yard attempt was blocked, and the game would finish all square.
The Pittsburgh Steelers 35 at the Denver Broncos 35
The NFL’s first regular-season overtime game ended in a tie which was the first in 72 games for Coach Noll.
Gilliam’s 31 completions set a Steelers record, and his 348 yards passing were the second best for the franchise after Bobby Layne’s 409 yards in 1958.
The 484 yards of offense was a new high for a Coach Noll team.
Lynn Swann had five teeth knocked out by John Rowser with what Coach Noll described as “a left hook.”
The following week saw the Steelers lose in Oakland to go 1-1-1. They finished the season 10-3-1 which saw them go into the playoffs for the third straight year. This time, a win in Oakland would propel them into their first Super Bowl.
A 16-6 victory over the Vikings would see the first Lombardi appear in the trophy cabinet and complete the historic season which the Steelers are celebrating this year.
The Steelers would overcome their Brocos jinx the following year with a 20-9 victory.
