Seattle joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team playing in the NFC West. The contests between the Seahawks and the Steelers are evenly split at 10-10 but are heavily favored with the home team. The Steelers fall to 1-7 when they travel to Seattle.
The two teams met in Super Bowl XL. Despite Ben Roethlisberger not having the best of days, the Steelers won their fifth Lombardi in Detroit.
After winning four Super Bowls in six years, the Steelers began to fade when the years rolled into the eighties. As their stars succumbed to aging bones or retirement, in three seasons the Steelers went 23-18. Their one short visit to the playoffs was in the strike affected 1982 season.
The team still had Franco Harris as their main ground threat, but he was supplemented by Walter Abercrombie who they drafted in 1982.
The 1983 season began with Terry Bradshaw on injured reserve after having surgery on his throwing arm. The Steelers selected backup quarterback Cliff Stoudt in the 1977 draft. He set an NFL record spending 56 games on the team’s active roster without ever playing in a game.
Stoudt’s only start was a defeat in Cleveland two years previously. He now found himself thrust into the spotlight that Pittsburgh fans shine on their athletes.
Seattle had never finished higher than third in the division, but with their new head coach Chuck Knox, Seahawks fans were expecting improvement. Knox had taken the Bills to two playoff appearances.
Going into the Seahawks contest, the Steelers were top of the AFC Central. Four of their five wins were divisional games, so they were in a good position if it came down to a tie breaker at the end of the season.
The previous week, the Seahawks beat the Raiders which saw the Steelers match their AFC rivals with five wins.
The Pittsburgh organization needed a lift after the devastating car accident of their number one draft pick, Gabe Rivera, left him paralyzed. The Steelers were leading the league in sacks and Rivera had been part of that success.
Veteran Jack Lambert would miss the contest after suffering a bad reaction to an injection for an ankle problem.
The (5-2) Steelers at the (4-3) Seahawks; October 23, 1983
The Steelers went ahead after taking advantage of a 16-yard punt return that gave them good field position at midfield. Walter Abercrombie and Franco Harris combined to move the chains before Harris scored with a 9-yard touchdown run.
In the second quarter, Pittsburgh stamped their authority on the game. A fumble recovery by Tom Beasley saw the Steelers begin a drive on their 29. Abercrombie and Harris once again moved the chains, complemented by completions from Gregg Garrity. To finish the drive, Cliff Stoudt burst through for a 1-yard touchdown to give the Steelers a 14-0 lead.
Another fumble recovery, this time by Bob Kohrs, gave the Steelers a short field on the Seahawks’ 29. A completion of 24 yards by Bennie Cunningham gained most of the yards before Frank Pollard ran over for a 1-yard touchdown.
Before the first half drew to a close, Gary Anderson added a 20-yard field goal that saw the Steelers lead 24-0 at the half and seemingly in complete control.
When the second half began, the Kingdome fans got behind their team. Coach Knox replaced the ineffective Jim Zorn with Dave Kreig at quarterback. The fans made their feelings on the change known as the volume increased. “Some guys thought I had called an audible and I hadn’t,” remarked Stoudt on the noise made by the home crowd.
Under pressure from Seattle’s Greg Gaines, Stoudt lost the football. As the ball bounced around with a mind of its own, Ted Petersen scooped it up to save the Steelers’ blushes.
The Seahawks finally gave their fans some return on their support. With the vocal encouragement from the fans, Kreig led his team on a drive of 62 yards finished by a 1-yard touchdown run from Curt Warner.
As the game went into the final quarter, a Franco Harris fumble gifted the Seahawks a short field when they recovered on the Steelers’ 11. A penalty moved the ball back before Kreig found Steve Largent with a 21-yard touchdown pass.
The Steelers responded with a drive that was kept alive by consecutive Seattle penalties before Gary Anderson kicked a 32-yard field goal.
With just over four minutes remaining, Kreig connected on four straight passes to raise the decibel level. His touchdown pass of 26 yards to Paul Johns made it a six-point game as the home fans confirmed the Kingdome as the noisiest stadium in the NFL.
After the ensuing kickoff, the Steelers went three and out. The home fans began to believe that Kreig would provide them with a victory to savor. The volume inside the stadium reached a peak before it abruptly faded. Dwayne Woodruff strangled the noise when he batted down Krieg’s fourth down pass to hand the Steelers the victory.
The Pittsburgh Steelers 27 at the Seattle Seahawks 21
Franco Harris contributed his 46th 100-yard game to the win. The following season he played sparingly for Seattle.
After week 11, the Steelers were 9-2. Losing four of their last five games saw them stumble into the playoffs as division champions for the eighth time under Coach Noll.
They would meet the Raiders in Los Angeles in the divisional game. Marcus Allen rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns as the Raiders beat the Steelers 38-17.
After fracturing his spine, Gabe Rivera would never play football again.
