NFC:  Los Angeles Rams

AFC:  Pittsburgh Steelers

Date:  January 20, 1980

Super Bowl XIV

 

Scoring:

Team                1          2          3          4          Final

LA                   7          3          0          7            17

PIT                  7          0          0          14         21

 

NFC playmakers:

FB Cullen Bryant, WR Ron Smith

 

AFC playmakers:

RB Franco Harris, WR Lynn Swann, LB Jack Lambert, WR John Stallworth

 

Network:  CBS (KDKA Pittsburgh)

Announcers:  Pat Summerall, Tom Brookshier

 

Pregame:  Yes – Cheryl Ladd sings the National Anthem

Halftime:  No

Postgame:  Yes – including the celebration in Pittsburgh 2 weeks later

Commercials:  No

 

Grade:  7/10

 

Notes:  There was a nice moment of heroism and self-sacrifice when an old warrior, Rams defensive end Jack Youngblood, announced his intention to play in his team’s first Super Bowl, despite a fractured leg.

 

There was a rush of “what if?” euphoria as the Rams took a 19-17 lead into the fourth quarter.

 

And there was cold reality:  Pittsburgh, a team with as much patience as talent, struck quickly and surely for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and it was over.  In the first month of 1980, the Steelers officially shut the door on their decade.  This Super Bowl victory, their fourth, meant they had won nearly a third of the Vince Lombardi trophies to that point.

 

The signature image of Super Bowl XIV is of Steelers wide receiver John Stallworth at the LA 32, having outraced Rams safety Dave Elmendorf and cornerback Rod Perry, looking back over his head for a lofty Terry Bradshaw pass, catching it in stride, and continuing into the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown.

 

The Steelers had taken the lead and then surrendered it in the third quarter.  Bradshaw hit wide receiver Lynn Swann over the middle for a 47-yard score.  The Rams came back with a surprise – a 24-yard halfback pass from Lawrence McCutcheon to Ron Smith that made it 19-17 before Bradshaw-to-Stallworth put Pittsburgh ahead for good.

 

The Rams intercepted Bradshaw three times, but it was the Steelers’ lone interception – by linebacker Jack Lambert – that punctuated the ending.  With the score 24-19 and Los Angeles driving, Lambert intercepted a pass from Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo at the Steelers’ 14.  Another Rams drive broke under the weight of the Steelers’ defense.

 

For the second year in a row, Bradshaw was named the game’s Most Valuable Player for the resiliency that produced 309 passing yards and two touchdowns for a completion rate of 14-for-21.

 

(Thanks to The NFL History Network - http://nflhistory.net/)

 

Thanks Rick!

 

Running time:  4:00 (2 discs)