1979, Steelers 27, Oilers 13
Every week, we’ll take a look at one of the week’s matchups and reminisce about a previous meeting between the teams.
Once upon a time, the Tennessee Titans were originally the Houston Oilers, one of the eight original franchises in the American Football League. The franchise called Houston home for 37 seasons before moving to Tennessee in 1997, hence the Tennessee Oilers in 1997-98 before settling on the Tennessee Titans in ’99. Obviously, that resolution of their identity crisis was good for the team that season as it made its lone Super Bowl appearance.
But back to the late 1970s, when the Oilers were led by head coach Bum Phillips, quarterback Dan Pastorini and a young running back named Earl Campbell, who looked like he was destined for greatness as soon as he stepped onto the field. As a rookie in 1978, the former Texas Longhorn led the NFL in rushing, a feat he would manage his first three seasons in the league. The Oilers’ defense also had its share of standouts, including Pro Football Hall of Famer in nose tackle Curley Culp and defensive end Elvin Bethea.
In 1978, Phillips’ team would finish 10-6, four games behind AFC Central champion Pittsburgh (14-2), and the franchise would be making its first postseason appearance since 1969. The Oilers would beat the Dolphins and Patriots on the road before losing to the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game, 34-5, in a rainy and cold afternoon at Three Rivers Stadium in which turnovers ruled the afternoon.
A year later, a more seasoned Oilers’ team seemingly posed a bigger threat to the now-defending Super Bowl champion Steelers, although you would have not thought that after Phillips’ club went into Pittsburgh in Week 2 and left 38-7 losers.
Three months later, Houston showed its mettle via a 20-17 Monday night win over the champs. The Steelers would win the division once again at 12-4, but the Oilers were back in the postseason with an 11-5 mark. In a 13-7 playoff win over the Broncos at the Astrodome, Campbell and Pastorini and wide receiver Ken Burrough would all go down with injuries and would not be available to face the heavily-favored Chargers in San Diego in the Divisional Playoffs.
But in one of the great gut-check efforts, quarterback Gifford Nielsen and wide receiver Mike Renfro, who combined for the eventual game-winning touchdown, and unheralded safety Vernon Perry (four interceptions and a blocked field goal) helped Phillips’ club pull off the 17-14 upset. The Oilers were headed back to Pittsburgh for an AFC title game rematch, with both Campbell and Pastorini available.
The opportunistic Perry looked like he might be the hero again as the defender stole a pass from quarterback Terry Bradshaw and raced 75 yards to give the Oilers a 7-0 lead. Houston would take a 10-3 lead in the second quarter before a pair of Steelers’ touchdown drives gave Pittsburgh a 17-10 halftime advantage.
Late in the third quarter, Houston would mount a drive that would reach the Steelers’ six-yard line. On first down, Pastorini tossed a pass deep on the right side of the end zone to Renfro, who appeared to make a spectacular catch for the game-tying touchdown. But indecisiveness by one official and an eventual incompletion ruling by the group had the Oilers settling for a field goal and still trailing, 17-13.
The Steelers would score the final 10 points of the game for a 27-13 win and two weeks later, Chuck Noll’s team would wrap up a fourth Super Bowl title in six seasons with a victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
But the story of the game was the Renfro play, which many have pointed to over the years as one of the league’s springboards for adopting instant replay.
