Tennessee have only been playing in the NFL as the Titans since 1999 after relocating from Houston to Nashville. They originally entered the NFL in 1970 as the Houston Oilers after the AFL merger. As the Oilers, they were placed in the AFC Central along with Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Cleveland and were perennial rivals until the league reorganization in 2002.
The Steelers are 10-9 in games played since Tennessee morphed into the Titans and have won the last four.
For their first five years in the NFL after the merger, the Oilers failed to post a winning record, and for the first two years of the seventies neither did the Steelers. While the Steelers were improving, the Oilers invariably finished bottom of the division.
When the Steelers won their first Super Bowl, the Oilers finished 7-7 and had improved over their other division rivals to finish second behind Pittsburgh. It was the Oilers best season in the NFL, but their head coach stepped down naming his assistant Oail “Bum” Phillips as his replacement.
Phillips was given credit for the improvement the Oilers made and was positive of more to come in the 1975 season. That confidence was well placed when they went 6-1 before traveling to Pittsburgh who had the same record. Going into the week 8 games, both teams were tied at the top of the Central division with the Bengals.
The Steelers’ one loss was in Three Rivers Stadium where O.J. Simpson flattened the Steel Curtain as the Bills won 30-21. Simpson’s 227 total rushing yards included an 88-yard touchdown run.
The (6-1) Steelers vs the (6-1) Oilers; November 9, 1975
The Steelers started without Joe Greene for the first time in 91 starts with a pulled groin muscle.
In a game that both teams were desperate to win, it was the Steelers who began the strongest. The Oilers had allowed the fewest points in the league before conceding 10 points to the Steelers in the first fifteen minutes.
Roy Gerela kicked a 22-yard field goal to put the first points on the board. After being hit by Jack Ham, Houston’s Ken Burrough fumbled and Mike Wagner recovered on the Steelers’ 47. Terry Bradshaw made quick work of the short field finishing with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Lynn Swann for a 10-0 lead.
While the Steelers were controlling the game, it was a turnover on a punt return that saw the momentum shift to the Oilers. The ball bounced off Swann’s face mask as he attempted to gain possession only to see the Oilers recover the loose ball. Houston’s Ronnie Coleman scored on a 3-yard run to complete the Steelers agony.
On the Steelers next drive, Bradshaw fumbled but regained possession after the ball bounced before he threw a pass to Frank Lewis. The receiver was open in the end zone but juggled the ball before dropping it. Three plays later, Bradshaw found Larry Brown with a perfect 6-yard strike and the Steelers increased their lead to 17-7.
They took their ten-point lead into the locker room at the half after Mel Blount intercepted a Dan Pastorini pass in the end zone to prevent a Houston score.
As both defenses dominated the third quarter, the Oilers added a 48-yard field goal to reduce their deficit to seven points. Their scoring drive was extended by a roughing the passer penalty on Jack Lambert that knocked quarterback Pastorini out of the game for a couple of series.
In the final period, Pastorini returned to lead the Oilers on a touchdown scoring drive extended by a pass interference penalty on Mel Blount. A 1-yard touchdown run by Fred Willis now saw the game tied 17-17.
With just over two minutes left in the game, Bradshaw took 6 plays to go 78 yards to end the Oilers comeback. Houston had double covered Swan throughout the game. With 38 seconds remaining, as they broke from the huddle, Bradshaw told John Stallworth to give him a cue if he got clear.
Stallworth went to the outside as the Oilers focused on Swann and Bradshaw found the perfect pass to hit his receiver. Stallworth’s touchdown catch of 21 yards finally saw off the Oilers’ challenge.
The Pittsburgh Steelers 24 vs the Houston Oilers 17
Bradshaw threw three touchdowns for the third time in his career. On his touchdown pass to John Stallworth, Bradshaw said, “I couldn’t believe he was so open. I was going to Swann, but just as he broke, I saw Stallworth would be open. The only thing I had to think about was getting the ball there.”
Glen Edwards’ 49 yards on punt returns saw him become the Steelers all-time punt returner with 826 yards.
Mel Blount had a career high 5 interceptions.
“They are a fine football team,” offered Oilers’ Coach Phillips. “They proved that. I thought our guys played extremely well, but they played better. Terry Bradshaw was the difference.”
Two weeks later, the Steelers rolled over the Oilers 32-9 in Houston. The Oilers would have to wait until 1991 before winning their first NFL division title.
The Steelers went on to set a franchise record of eleven straight regular season wins before losing to the Rams in the season finale.
The Steelers would finish the season as division champions for the third time in four years with the Bengals in second place. They would progress through the playoffs beating the Colts and their old foes the Raiders before defeating the Cowboys 21-17 in Super Bowl X.
