Terry Bradshaw completed 14 of 21 passes for 309 yards and set two passing records as the Steelers became the first team to win four Super Bowls.
Despite three interceptions by the Rams, Bradshaw kept his poise and brought the Steelers from behind twice in the second half. Trailing 13-10 at halftime, Pittsburgh went ahead 17-13 when Bradshaw hit Lynn Swann with a 47-yard touchdown pass after 2:48 of the third quarter.
On the Rams' next possession Vince Ferragamo, who completed 15 of 25 passes for 212 yards, responded with a 50-yard pass to Billy Waddy that moved Los Angeles from its 26 to the Steelers' 24. On the following play, Lawrence McCutcheon connected with Ron Smith on a halfback option pass that gave the Rams a 19-17 lead.
On Pittsburgh's initial possession of the final period, Bradshaw lofted a 73-yard scoring pass to John Stallworth to put the Steelers in front to stay 24-19.
Franco Harris scored on a 1-yard run later in the quarter to seal the verdict. A 45-yard pass from Bradshaw to Stallworth was the key play in the drive to Harris's score.
Bradshaw, the game's most valuable player for the second straight year, set career Super Bowl records for most touchdown passes (9) and most passing yards (932).
Larry Anderson gave the Steelers excellent field position throughout the game with five kickoff returns for a record 162 yards.
SCORING
Los Angeles 7 6 6 0 -- 19
Pittsburgh 3 7 7 14 -- 31
PIT- FG Bahr 41, 7:29 1st
LA- Bryant 1 run (Corral kick), 12:16 1st
PIT- Harris 1 run (Bahr kick), 2:08 2nd
LA- FG Corral 31, 7:39 2nd
LA- FG Corral 45, 14:46 2nd
PIT- Swann 47 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick),
2:48 3rd
LA- R. Smith 24 pass from McCutcheon
(kick failed), 4:45 3rd
PIT- Stallworth 73 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick),
2:56 4th
PIT- Harris 1 run (Bahr kick), 13:11 4th
TEAM STATISTICS L.A. Pitt.
Total First Downs 16 19
Rushing 6 8
Passing 9 10
Penalty 1 1
Total Net Yardage 301 393
Total Offensive Plays 59 58
Avg. Gain per Offensive Play 5.1 6.8
Rushes 29 37
Yards Gained Rushing (Net) 107 84
Average Yards per Rush 3.7 2.3
Passes Attempted 26 21
Passes Completed 16 14
Had Intercepted 1 3
Tackled Attempting to Pass 4 0
Yards Lost Attempting to Pass 42 0
Yards Gained Passing (Net) 194 309
Punts 5 2
Average Distance 44.0 42.5
Punt Returns 1 4
Punt Return Yardage 4 31
Kickoff Returns 6 5
Kickoff Return Yardage 79 162
Interception Return Yardage 21 16
Fumbles 0 0
Own Fumbles Recovered 0 0
Opponent Fumbles Recovered 0 0
Penalties 2 6
Yards Penalized 26 65
Total Points Scored 19 31
Touchdowns 2 4
Rushing 1 2
Passing 1 2
Returns 0 0
Extra Points 1 4
Field Goals 2 1
Field Goals Attempted 2 1
Safeties 0 0
Third-Down Efficiency 5/14 9/14
Fourth-Down Efficiency 1/2 0/0
Time of Possession 29:31 30:29
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Los Angeles No. Yds. LG TD
Tyler 17 60 39 0
Bryant 6 30 14 1
McCutcheon 5 10 6 0
Ferragamo 1 7 7 0
Pittsburgh No. Yds. LG TD
Harris 20 46 12 2
Bleier 10 25 9 0
Bradshaw 3 9 6 0
Thornton 4 4 5 0
Passing
Los Angeles Att. Comp. Yds. TD Int.
Ferragamo 25 15 212 0 1
McCutcheon 1 1 24 1 0
Pittsburgh Att. Comp. Yds. TD Int.
Bradshaw 21 14 309 2 3
Receiving
Los Angeles No. Yds. LG TD
Waddy 3 75 50 0
Bryant 3 21 12 0
Tyler 3 20 11 0
Dennard 2 32 24 0
Nelson 2 20 14 0
D. Hill 1 28 28 0
R. Smith 1 24 24t 1
McCutcheon 1 16 16 0
Pittsburgh No. Yds. LG TD
Swann 5 79 47t 1
Stallworth 3 121 73t 1
Harris 3 66 32 0
Cunningham 2 21 13 0
Thornton 1 22 22 0
Interceptions
Los Angeles No. Yds. LG TD
Elmendorf 1 10 10 0
Brown 1 6 6 0
Perry 1 -1 1 0
Thomas 0 6 6 0
Pittsburgh No. Yds. LG TD
Lambert 1 16 16 0
Punting
Los Angeles No. Avg. LG Blk.
Clark 5 44.0 59 0
Pittsburgh No. Avg. LG Blk.
C. Colquitt 2 42.5 50 0
Punt Returns
Los Angeles No. FC Yds. LG TD
Brown 1 0 4 4 0
Pittsburgh No. FC Yds. LG TD
Bell 2 0 17 11 0
Smith 2 0 14 7 0
Kickoff Returns
Los Angeles No. Yds. LG TD
E. Hill 3 47 27 0
Jodat 2 32 16 0
Andrews 1 0 0 0
Pittsburgh No. Yds. LG TD
L. Anderson 5 162 45 0
Los Angeles Rams Pittsburgh Steelers
== Offense ==
Saul, Rich C Webster, Mike C
Harrah, Dennis G Davis, Samuel G
Hill, Kent G Mullins, Gerry G
France, Doug T Brown, Larry T
Slater, Jackie T Kolb, Jon T
Nelson, Terry TE Cunningham, Bennie TE
Dennard, Preston WR Stallworth, John WR
Waddy, Billy WR Swann, Lynn WR
Bryant, Cullen RB Bleier, Rocky RB
Tyler, Wendell RB Harris, Franco RB
Ferragamo, Vince QB Bradshaw, Terry QB
== Defense ==
Brooks, Larry DT Dunn, Gary DT
Fanning, Mike DT Greene, Joe DT
Dryer, Fred DE Banaszak, John DE
Youngblood, Jack DE Greenwood, L. C. DE
Brudzinski, Bob OLB Cole, Robin OLB
Youngblood, Jim OLB Winston, Dennis OLB
Reynolds, Jack MLB Lambert, Jack MLB
Perry, Rod CB Blount, Mel CB
Thomas, Patrick CB Johnson, Ronald CB
Cromwell, Nolan FS Thomas, J.T. FS
Elmendorf, Dave SS Shell, Donnie SS
== Substitute ==
Andrews, George Anderson, Anthony
Bain, Bill Anderson, Larry
Brown, Eddie Bahr, Matt
Clark, Ken Beasley, Tom
Corral, Frank Bell, Theo
Doss, Reggie Colquitt, Craig
Gravelle, Gordon Courson, Steve
Harris, Joe Dornbrook, Thom
Hill, Drew Furness, Steve
Hill, Eddie Graves, Tom
Jodat, Jim Grossman, Randy
McCutcheon, Lawrence Hawthorne, Greg
O'Steen, Dwayne Moser, Rick
Ryczek, Dan Petersen, Ted
Smith, Ronnie Smith, Jim A.
Sully, Ivory Thornton, Sidney
Wallace, Jackie Toews, Loren
Westbrooks, Gregory Valentine, Zack
Wilkinson, Gerald White, Dwight
Young, Charle Woodruff, Dwayne
== Did Not Play ==
Ellis, Ken Ham, Jack
Lee, Bob Kruczek, Mike
Rutledge, Jeff Stoudt, Cliff