Mighty Steelers Conquer Rams, 31-19

Ladies and gentlemen, start waving your Terrible Towels--the Pittsburgh Steelers have won the Super Bowl for an unprecendented fourth time.

With quarterback Terry Bradshaw leading the way, the Steelers came from behind in the fourth quarter to put the clamps on the gutsy Los Angeles Rams, 31-19, in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., yesterday.

Twice in the game's final quarter, Bradshaw went deep to ace receiver John Stallworth, once for a 73-yard touchdown play and then for a big 44-yard gain, in the drive which produced the Steeler's final touchdown, a one-yard plunge by Franco Harris.

Bradshaw, voted the game's Most Valuable Player, completed 13 of 19 passes including two for touchdowns, and fullback Harris ran for two scores, to deflate the hopes of the hard-fighting Rams, who went into the contest as big underdogs.

The game began with the Steelers kicking off, and right away things began to look bad for Ram quarterback Vince Ferragamo and the rest of his offense, as Pittsburgh tacklers swarmed all over halfback Wendell Tyler on the first two plays from scrimmage.

The Rams were forced to punt, and Bradshaw wasted no time getting his troops moving, as the Steelers scored first on a 41-yd. field goal by Matt Bahr. The big play of the drive was a dump pass to Harris over the middle, which the big fullback promptly turned into a 32-yd. gain.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Steelers went for a little razzle-dazzle, attempting an onside kick. Luckily for the Rams, linebacker George Andrews fell on the ball.

With good field position as a result of the kick, the Ram offense perked up. On the second play of the series, Tyler went off left tackle, exploded between two Steeler defenders and eluded the grasp of another, before going out of bounds for a 39-yd. gain.

Los Angeles moved the ball down to Pittsburgh's one-yard line, and on third down fullback Cullen Bryant dove over the goal line. Frank Corral booted the extra point to give the Rams a 7-3 lead.

Steeler kick-returner Larry Anderson brought the Steelers back down field in a hurry, as he returned the kickoff to the Pittsburgh 47.

Bradshaw quickly went to work, and after Rocky Bleier ran up the middle for a Steeler first down, the quarterback found wide receiver Lynn Swann all alone at the Ram's 18-yard-line and hit him with a perfect pass.

The Steelers went to the air two more times, bringing the ball down to the one, where Franco Harris waltzed into the endzone behind the blocking of Bleier.

Mixing passes and runs, Ferragamo directed the Rams to the Steeler 38. A pass interference call on the next play put the Ram's first-and-ten at the Steeler 18, but they could not move the ball into the endzone, settling for a 29-yd. Corral field goal which tied the score, 10-10.

After the teams exchanged punts, Ram safety Dave Elmendorf intercepted an errant Bradshaw pass. Ferragamo passed the Rams down the field, and Corral ended the half by booting a 45-yd. field goal to give the Rams a 13-10 lead.

As the season boiled down to the final 30 minutes of play, the Steelers seemed to get going. Bradshaw threw a 47-yd. touchdown pass to Swann.

But the never-say-die Rams charged right back, as Ferragamo threw a 48-yd. pass to Billy Waddy, and Lawrence McCutcheon threw a halfback option touchdown pass to Ron Smith to regain the lead for the Rams, 19-17.

It was not to be for the Rams to win this game over the powerful and more-experienced Pittsburgh team, as Bradshaw and Stallworth teamed up for their fourth quarter heroics, and the Steelers readied their fingers for their fourth Super Bowl rings.