Pittsburgh's opening game was a signal to the rest of the league of what to expect from the Steeler defense the rest of the year. They won the game, 30-0, over Baltimore by totaly overpowering the Colt's offense. And, although they would give up 35 points their next game in an overtime tie with the Denver Broncos, the Steelers defense would only allow a team to score more than 17 points in a game one more time all season.
In game three, Pittsburgh suffered it's second consecutive loss as the offense, led by Terry Bradshaw, could not get on track against the Oakland Raiders defense. Completely dismantled by Oakland, the Steelers were shut out 17-0 at home. Their record was 1-2, but things were just about to come together. The steel curtain was about to be dropped.
Pittsburgh proceeded on a tear the next five games, winning all of them, and holding their opposition to an average of 12.8 points per game while averaging just under 20 points per game themselves. On a weekly basis, the Steelers got out in front of their competition with the passing of Bradshaw and the running of Harris. Then they would feed Franco the football to run the clock as the defense stymied all attempts by the other team's offense.
The Steelers defense was quickly gaining a reputation as a fierce group of warriors that were going to do everything they could to keep you from getting a first down, let alone score. With guys like Jack Lambert and "Mean" Joe Greene, the defense was putting fear into the eyes of every offensive player they were scheduled to face and doubt into the minds of those they already had. They were suddenly the team no one wanted to face.
In week nine, the Steelers were finally beaten again... this time by the Cincinnati Bengals. The defense did a fine job holding the Bengals to 17 points, but a sluggish offense could only manage ten of their own. Then after two fairly easy wins, one at Cleveland and another at New Orleans, they were once again held to just ten points and went down to defeat to the Houston Oilers. This would be the last time they would lose in 1974.
After finishing the season with wins over New England and Cincinnati, the Pittsburgh Steelers opened the playoffs against the Buffalo Bills and easily defeated them, 32-14. Then in the AFC Championship game they avenged their early-season loss to the Oakland Raiders by knocking them off, 24-13.
The defense was at its best in Super Bowl IX as they smothered the explosive Minnesota Vikings' offense, which was led by Fran Tarkenton. And on the other side of the football, Franco Harris was running all over the Viking defense as he amassed a total of 158 yards rushing on 34 carries. Harris went on to collect the Super Bowl MVP trophy as the Pittsburgh Steelers collected their first Super Bowl championship and then went on to dominate the NFL for rest of the 70s.
