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Football Footnotes: Round 4 of Mahomes vs. Allen conjures memories of Bradshaw vs. Stabler

Tim Benz
Tim Benz

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Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw (left) and Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler — both seen during the 1976 season.

The Steelers and Raiders haven’t faced each other in the playoffs since 1983-84. But with the Buffalo Bills preparing to lock horns with the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, the glory days of Black and Gold versus Silver and Black are coming back to mind.

That’s because Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes are about to play each other as starting quarterbacks in the postseason for a fourth time. Kansas City has won the first three contests with Mahomes under center. Via Sportradar, only four other sets of QBs have faced each other at least four times in the playoffs.

One of those pairs is Pittsburgh’s Terry Bradshaw and (then) Oakland’s Ken Stabler. They split four starts against one another in the 1970s. The other twosomes are:

• Peyton Manning (IND/DEN) and Tom Brady (NE): Five times, with Manning winning three.

• Brady and Joe Flacco (BALT): Four times with two wins apiece.

• Brett Favre (G.B.) and Steve Young (S.F.): Four times, with Favre winning three.

In this Friday’s edition of “Football Footnotes,” we look back at those four historic games between the Steelers and Raiders when Bradshaw battled Stabler.

No, one of them was not the famous 1972 AFC Divisional Round game at Three Rivers Stadium. That’s the one the Steelers won 13-7 on Franco Harris’s “Immaculate Reception.”

That game didn’t count toward this total because, while Stabler played (and scored Oakland’s lone touchdown on a 30-yard run), Daryle Lamonica started the game for Oakland and went 6 of 18 for 45 yards and two interceptions.

1973 AFC Divisional Round

Raiders win 33-17

The year after the Steelers won the “Immaculate Reception” game, the Raiders hosted Pittsburgh in Oakland and won by 16 points in the first round.

It was a tough day for Bradshaw. Phil Villapiano intercepted a deflected pass. George Atkinson also had a pick, and Willie Brown brought an interception back to the end zone for a defensive touchdown.

Meanwhile, Stabler didn’t have to do much, but he was good, completing 14 of 17 passes for 142 yards (68 of those yards went to Mike Siani). Marv Hubbard had 20 carries, two for touchdowns and 91 yards rushing. Oakland amassed 232 yards on the ground.

Pittsburgh’s only scores were TD passes from Bradshaw to Barry Pearson to make the game 10-7 Oakland at halftime and a 26-yarder to Frank Lewis as the Steelers were trailing 26-7.

Oakland would end up losing the next week to Miami, 27-10, in the Orange Bowl. The Dolphins then beat the Vikings in Super Bowl VIII for their second consecutive crown.

1974 AFC Championship Game

Steelers win 24-13 in Oakland

The Steelers booked their first trip to the Super Bowl by virtue of a huge fourth quarter. After trailing 10-3 entering the final frame, the Steelers put up three touchdowns on the Oakland defense. Harris scored twice on the ground to go along with 111 rushing yards, and Bradshaw hit rookie Lynn Swann for a go-ahead touchdown.

The Steelers withstood a fumble by Rocky Bleier and a controversial call that prevented a one-handed John Stallworth touchdown catch. Bradshaw also fumbled in the second half, but Bleier recovered it.

Bleier had 20 touches for 120 yards. Jack Ham intercepted Stabler twice. J.T. Thomas picked off a pass, as well. Stabler was also sacked by “Mean Joe” Greene and L.C. Greenwood. He posted 271 yards and a TD pass to Cliff Branch, who had 186 yards on nine catches.

The Steelers won despite getting only 95 passing yards from Bradshaw. They would then go on to beat the Vikings in Super Bowl IX for the first of the franchise’s first of six titles.

1975 AFC Championship Game

Steelers win 16-10

This time, the AFC title between the clubs was on the line at Three Rivers Stadium. It was 18 degrees on the North Side with a wind chill of 2.

It was another defensive battle, with Pittsburgh up 3-0 after three quarters. Then, the teams combined for 23 points in the fourth.

The Steelers wrapped a Harris 25-yard touchdown run and a 20-yard Bradshaw-to-Stallworth TD connection around a 14-yard score for Siani to keep the Raiders close. Stallworth also threw a crucial block on Harris’ run.

All Oakland could muster from there was a 41-yard George Blanda field goal. This was the game where Oakland owner Al Davis insisted to NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle that the Steelers had allowed the sidelines to get icy overnight in an effort to minimize their outside passing attack.

This was also the game that featured Atkinson knocking out Swann and sending him to the hospital.

Branch caught a Stabler bomb at the end of the game, but Mel Blount dragged him down in bounds, and the clock expired. There were 12 turnovers on the day, seven by Pittsburgh and five from Oakland. Mike Wagner had two interceptions and dropped a third. Jack Lambert recovered three fumbles.

Stabler was 18 of 46 for 246 yards and a touchdown, plus Wagner’s two picks. Bradshaw was 15 of 25 for 215 yards, with three interceptions and the touchdown to Stallworth. He was also injured in the game, taking a knee to the head from linebacker Monte Johnson.

The Steelers ended up beating the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl X.

1976 AFC Championship Game

Raiders win 24-7

Considered by many to be the best edition of the Steel Curtain, the 1976 team went to Oakland on a 10-game winning streak. During that run, they pitched five shutouts and allowed a total of only 36 points.

But during a 40-14 win over the Baltimore Colts in the divisional round, both Bleier and Harris were injured. Neither 1,000-yard rusher played in the title game against the Raiders. Reggie Harrison and John Fuqua could only manage 68 combined rushing yards in their absences.

Bradshaw couldn’t pick up the slack and was just 14 of 35 for 176 yards with no touchdowns and an interception by Willie Hall that nearly went all the way back for a touchdown after a 25-yard return.

Stabler went 10 of 16 for 88 yards and two touchdowns. The Raiders rushed 51 times for 157 yards.

The game ended with the fans rushing onto the field while Swann was still running with a reception. Oakland opened the year by beating the Steelers, 31-28, and they closed out the Steelers’ season with an AFC Championship game defeat as well.

The Raiders won the franchise’s first Super Bowl in Pasadena two weeks later against the Vikings. They’d also go on to claim rings in 1980 and ‘83.

The Steelers added two more titles in 1978 and ‘79.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

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