1977 Pittsburgh Steelers season

1977 Pittsburgh Steelers season
1977 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Owner	Art Rooney
Head coach	Chuck Noll
Home field	Three Rivers Stadium
Results
Record	9–5
Division place	1st in AFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs; (at Broncos) 21–34
Pro Bowlers	4 RB Franco Harris; LB Jack Ham; LB Jack Lambert; WR Lynn Swann;
AP All-Pros	4 Joe Greene (1st team); Jack Ham (1st team); Franco Harris (1st team); Lynn Swann (2nd team);
Team MVP	Terry Bradshaw
	← 1976; Steelers seasons; 1978 →;

The 1977 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 45th in the National Football League. After what was considered the franchise's greatest season ever in 1976, the 1977 Pittsburgh Steelers failed to improve on their 10-4 record from 1976 and finished with a 9-5 record; however, they appeared in the playoffs for their 6th straight season and won the AFC Central again. They had a hard time for most of the season as their record hovered around .500. Even the Steel Curtain seemed to have a little wear and tear allowing 243 points on the season, more than 100 more than the previous season. The sloppy plays would catch up with them in the Divisional Playoffs when they were knocked off by the Broncos 34–21 in Denver.

The 1977 season is remembered as one of the most turbulent in franchise history, as numerous players were involved with off-the-field issues. Defensive tackle Ernie Holmes was arrested for cocaine possession, and despite being found not guilty, lawsuits followed. Head coach Chuck Noll was also subject to a defamation lawsuit, as Oakland Raiders safety George Atkinson sued Noll and the Steelers for a disparaging comment in which Noll called Atkinson part of the "criminal element" in football. Though Atkinson lost the lawsuit, Noll was forced to bring Steelers cornerback Mel Blount into the suit, which upset Blount as he was one of many Steelers players engaged in a contract holdout, with others including linebacker Jack Lambert and safety Glen Edwards. Disputes between these players and Steelers owner Art Rooney were often publicized, and the overall drama played a significant part in the regression of the Steel Curtain defense.^[1]^[2] This was also the first season that the Steelers wore black face masks on their helmets.

Personnel

Staff

**1977 Pittsburgh Steelers staff**
	Front office Chairman of the board – Arthur J. Rooney President – Daniel M. Rooney Vice president – John R. McGinley Vice president – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr. Public relations director – Ed Kiely Traveling secretary – James A. Boston Publicity director – Joe Gordon Controller – Dennis P. Thimons Ticket manager – Joseph H. Carr Ticket office coordinator – Geraldine Glenn Director of player personnel – Dick Haley Assistant director of player personnel – Bill Nunn Director of professional scouting – V. Timothy Rooney Head coaches Head coach – Chuck Noll Offensive coaches Offensive backfield – Dick Hoak Receivers – Tom Moore Offensive line – Dan Radakovich			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Bud Carson Defensive line – George Perles Linebackers – Woody Widenhofer Strength and conditioning Strength – Louis Riecke Flexibility – Paul Uram Team Physician, M.D. – Dr. David S. Huber Team physician, orthopedic – Dr. Paul B. Steele, Jr. Team dentist – Dr. George P. Boucek Trainer – Ralph Berlin Assistant trainer – Robert Milie Equipment manager – Anthony Parisi Field manager – Jack Hart Film director – Bob McCartney Photographer – Harry Homa ^[3]

Roster

**1977 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster**

	Quarterbacks 12 Terry Bradshaw 15 Mike Kruczek 16 Neil Graff Running backs 20 Rocky Bleier 35 Jack Deloplaine 32 Franco Harris 46 Reggie Harrison 28 Alvin Maxson 37 Laverne Smith KR 38 Sidney Thornton Wide receivers 43 Frank Lewis 85 Ernie Pough 86 Jim Smith KR/PR 82 John Stallworth 88 Lynn Swann Tight ends 89 Bennie Cunningham 84 Randy Grossman		Offensive linemen 79 Larry Brown T 50 Jim Clack G/C 57 Sam Davis G 55 Jon Kolb T 72 Gerry Mullins G/T 66 Ted Petersen T/C 74 Ray Pinney T 52 Mike Webster C Defensive linemen 76 John Banaszak DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 64 Steve Furness DT 75 Joe Greene DT 68 L. C. Greenwood DE 63 Ernie Holmes DT 78 Dwight White DE		Linebackers 56 Robin Cole OLB 60 Brad Cousino OLB 59 Jack Ham OLB 54 Dave LaCrosse OLB 58 Jack Lambert MLB 51 Loren Toews OLB 53 Dennis Winston MLB Defensive backs 45 Jimmy Allen DB 47 Mel Blount CB 21 Tony Dungy S 27 Glen Edwards FS 29 Brent Sexton DB 31 Donnie Shell SS 24 J. T. Thomas CB Special teams 52 Mike Webster LS 10 Roy Gerela K 39 Bobby Walden P/H (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 17 Rick Engles P/H		Reserve lists 65 Tom Beasley DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 83 Theo Bell WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 77 Steve Courson G (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 67 Gary Dunn DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 36 Wentford Gaines DB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 23 Mike Wagner FS (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad 18 Cliff Stoudt QB ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] Rookies in italics 48 active, 6 inactive, 1 practice squad

The Pittsburgh Steelers began the 1977 season looking to improve upon their 10–4 record in 1976; when they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders.

While the Steelers once again won the AFC Central crown, they finished with one fewer win; going 9–5 and losing to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional playoff game at Denver.

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Kickoff (ET)	TV	Result	Record	Game Site
1	Mon. Sep. 19	San Francisco 49ers	9:00 p.m.	ABC	W 27–0	1–0	Three Rivers Stadium
2	Sun. Sep. 25	Oakland Raiders	4:00 p.m.	NBC	L 7–16	1–1	Three Rivers Stadium
3	Sun. Oct. 2	at Cleveland Browns	1:00 p.m.	NBC	W 28–14	2–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
4	Sun. Oct. 9	at Houston Oilers	2:00 p.m.	NBC	L 10–27	2–2	Astrodome
5	Mon. Oct. 17	Cincinnati Bengals	9:00 p.m.	ABC	W 20–14	3–2	Three Rivers Stadium
6	Sun. Oct. 23	Houston Oilers	1:00 p.m.	NBC	W 27–10	4–2	Three Rivers Stadium
7	Sun. Oct. 30	at Baltimore Colts	4:00 p.m.	NBC	L 21–31	4–3	Memorial Stadium
8	Sun. Nov. 6	at Denver Broncos	4:00 p.m.	NBC	L 7–21	4–4	Mile High Stadium
9	Sun. Nov. 13	Cleveland Browns	1:00 p.m.	NBC	W 35–31	5–4	Three Rivers Stadium
10	Sun. Nov. 20	Dallas Cowboys	4:00 p.m.	CBS	W 28–13	6–4	Three Rivers Stadium
11	Sun. Nov. 27	at New York Jets	1:00 p.m.	NBC	W 23–20	7–4	Shea Stadium
12	Sun. Dec. 4	Seattle Seahawks	1:00 p.m.	NBC	W 30–20	8–4	Three Rivers Stadium
13	Sat. Dec. 10	at Cincinnati Bengals	1:00 p.m.	NBC	L 10–17	8–5	Riverfront Stadium
14	Sun. Dec. 18	at San Diego Chargers	4:00 p.m.	NBC	W 10–9	9–5	San Diego Stadium

Game summaries

Week 1 (Monday September 19, 1977): vs. San Francisco 49ers

	1	2	3	4	Total
49ers	0	0	0	0	0
Steelers	0	10	3	14	27

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time: 9:00 pm EDT
Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C), wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
Game attendance: 48,046
Referee: Bernie Ulman
TV announcers: (ABC) Frank Gifford (play by play), Don Meredith & Howard Cosell (color commentators)