1979 Steelers 7 at Chargers 35

[mcmillenandwife]

> 1979 Steelers 7 at Chargers 35

I find it interesting that Chargers fans, nearly 40 years later, still find ways to talk trash about this regular season debacle as if it would have ensured them a trip to the Super Bowl "if only." Yeah, if only they hadn't gotten their @$$es kicked in the first round of the playoffs by an injury-ravaged Houston team missing Earl Campbell, Dan Pastorini and a host of others. "If only." LOL. What happened in this game is the Steelers had a bad day. Especially Bradshaw, who had the worst, most off-target game I've ever seen him have. It was an out-of-body "Who are you and what have you done with Terry Bradshaw" experience. Turnover city: 5 interceptions (1 for a long TD) and 3 fumbles lost including a fumbled kickoff and a muffed punt. San Diego started 2 drives inside the Steeler 10-yard line and a 3rd inside the 20. In spite of all this, the Steel Curtain looked pretty darn good. They harassed Fouts, forced 2 INT and sacked him 3 times. Let's not forget, the Steelers had a similar awful performance against Cinci in 1979. We lost 34-10 to a win-less team courtesy of 9 turnovers. Cinci was obliterated in the rematch. And if the Chargers couldn't get past the Oilers with NO Earl Campbell and NO Dan Pastorini, they weren't going to get past a post-season juggernaut like Pittsburgh. Regardless of what happened during the regular season, two things were proven repeatedly by the Steelers and Chargers of this era: 1) The Steelers knew how to CRANK IT UP during the post season, and 2) the Chargers didn't. 

[Guest]

1979 Steelers 7 at Chargers 35

I find it interesting that Chargers fans, nearly 40 years later, still find ways to talk trash about this regular season debacle as if it would have ensured them a trip to the Super Bowl "if only." Yeah, if only they hadn't gotten their @$$es kicked in the first round of the playoffs by an injury-ravaged Houston team missing Earl Campbell, Dan Pastorini and a host of others. "If only." LOL. What happened in this game is the Steelers had a bad day. Especially Bradshaw, who had the worst, most off-target game I've ever seen him have. It was an out-of-body "Who are you and what have you done with Terry Bradshaw" experience. Turnover city: 5 interceptions (1 for a long TD) and 3 fumbles lost including a fumbled kickoff and a muffed punt. San Diego started 2 drives inside the Steeler 10-yard line and a 3rd inside the 20. In spite of all this, the Steel Curtain looked pretty darn good. They harassed Fouts, forced 2 INT and sacked him 3 times. Let's not forget, the Steelers had a similar awful performance against Cinci in 1979. We lost 34-10 to a win-less team courtesy of 9 turnovers. Cinci was obliterated in the rematch. And if the Chargers couldn't get past the Oilers with NO Earl Campbell and NO Dan Pastorini, they weren't going to get past a post-season juggernaut like Pittsburgh. Regardless of what happened during the regular season, two things were proven repeatedly by the Steelers and Chargers of this era: 1) The Steelers knew how to CRANK IT UP during the post season, and 2) the Chargers didn't. 

Good points. The Chargers are choke artists (I can't stand them as a Denver fan). Their only SB team (1994) was total BS. That was an 8-8 team at best. I was shocked when the Steelers lost to them in the AFC Title Game. I predicted a Steeler blowout (however, Pittsburgh may have been over-confident. They were filming a rap video that week).

I remember being at work for SB XXIX. My manager had a friend call him, and said that the 49ers just scored to make it 7-0. Then, a bit later, he told him that it was 14-0. I remember not being too surprised because I thought that the 49ers would blow them out.

[mcmillenandwife]

Good points. The Chargers are choke artists (I can't stand them as a Denver fan). Their only SB team (1994) was total BS. That was an 8-8 team at best. I was shocked when the Steelers lost to them in the AFC Title Game. I predicted a Steeler blowout (however, Pittsburgh may have been over-confident. They were filming a rap video that week).

I remember being at work for SB XXIX. My manager had a friend call him, and said that the 49ers just scored to make it 7-0. Then, a bit later, he told him that it was 14-0. I remember not being too surprised because I thought that the 49ers would blow them out.

Pittsburgh SHOULD have blown them out. The Steelers physically dominated San Diego in that '94 AFC Championship game, but the Chargers were smart in their game plan.  Shut down our running game and chuck it deep. The Steelers were up 13-3 and in total control of that game. But settling for FGs instead of TDs came back to haunt us. The vulnerability of the Blitzburgh defense was the bomb. Stan Humphries tested us deep repeatedly, nearly getting killed in the process, and got lucky enough to strike gold on two passes. Other than those two 43-yard bombs, San Diego did nothing offensively. 

You live by the blitz, you die by the blitz. That was a frustrating game.

[Guest]

The only thing that a Steelers/Chargers AFC-CG would have guaranteed was that the Rams and Buccaneers would have had a 1:00 kickoff.

And who's to say Pittsburgh couldn't go on the road and win anyway? I mean, didn't they start their dynasty with an AFC-CG road win in California. And keep in mind, that Raiders team was WAY more battle-tested than San Diego.

[mcmillenandwife]

The only thing that a Steelers/Chargers AFC-CG would have guaranteed was that the Rams and Buccaneers would have had a 1:00 kickoff.

  Truth.

And who's to say Pittsburgh couldn't go on the road and win anyway? I mean, didn't they start their dynasty with an AFC-CG road win in California. And keep in mind, that Raiders team was WAY more battle-tested than San Diego.

Exactly. That Oakland was a much better team than S.D., plus it was highly unlikely that Pittsburgh would fall twice to the same team in the same season. Oakland did it to us in '76, but they shouldn't have even won the first game (fluke) and for the second game, the Steelers were missing Franco, Rocky, Frenchy and Gerela due to injury and Reggie Harrison (who's claim to fame was blocking a punt in Super Bowl X) was the only active RB on our roster.

 Beyond that, the fact that the Fouts/Coryell Chargers got whipped every year in the playoffs by lesser teams than the '79 Steelers tells me they would've taken a nasty beating at the hands of Lambert & company had they survived the crippled Oilers.

[Guest]

The thing that stands out about this game is that, for the Steelers, the cracks in the armor were beginning to show. The blowout loss to Cincinnati a few weeks before could have been dismissed as an anomaly, especially given the Steelers had proceeded to blow out their next four opponents. But here, everything seemed to go wrong. Larry Anderson fumbling a kick off, Rocky Bleier fumbling on a key drive, Cunningham dropping a sure catch that would have picked up big yards (again, why wasn't Grossman starting, he's got better hands?) We all know that in the end, Pittsburgh got it all back together and won the Super Bowl, but these kinds of mistakes came back and haunted them in '80.

[Crash]

Eric Green was unstoppable all day, but when they got in the red zone they ignored him. The most frustrating game I ever went to. No one said a word as fans were leaving, it was like a funeral.

The rap video was for charity. Wasn't just guys goofing off but Cowher made the mistake of not controlling how much time they were spending on it at the stadium during the week. Should have been Monday after film watch and that's it, not every day.

[Garrett Garlits]

This tape taken from KYW-TV in Philadelphia cuts out of the Steeler game with seven minutes left and San Diego up 28-7. We instead see the last two minutes of Chiefs-Raiders, which ends with Raiders kicker Jim Breech missing an 18-yard chip shot that costs the Raiders the game and their shot at the playoffs.

[Bobcat29]

They thought the won the Super Bowl. History shows otherwise.

[mcmillenandwife]

They thought the won the Super Bowl. History shows otherwise.

Yes, repeatedly.