1982 Pittsburgh Steelers season

Pittsburgh Steelers 50th US football season March 2023 March 2026 Pittsburgh Steelers Steelers50seasons.jpg Steelers 50th Anniversary Logo 1982 6–3 4th AFC (Would have been 2nd in the AFC Central) Chuck Noll Woody Widenhofer Dick Haley Art Rooney Three Rivers Stadium Lost Wild Card Playoffs(vs. Chargers) 28–31 OT Larry BrownLB Jack LambertS Donnie ShellWR John StallworthC Mike Webster Jack Lambert (1st team)Donnie Shell (1st team) Dwayne Woodruff Steelers seasons thumb|175px|right|Bradshaw setting up a play against the Chiefs during week 13. The 1982 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 50th in the National Football League. The Steelers returned to the playoffs after missing the playoffs for two years. This was also the Steelers 50th Anniversary season. Although the season was shortened as a result of the 1982 strike, the Steelers finished with a strong 6–3 record, good enough for fourth in the AFC as a whole. Although division standings were thrown out as a result of the strike, the Steelers unofficially finished second in the AFC Central, one game behind the defending AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals. This for first time since 1968 that Joe Greene was not on the opening day roster. The 1982 season is best remembered as the final seasons for Hall of Famers Lynn Swann and Jack Ham and the "unofficial" final season of fellow Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw, who would miss much of the 1983 season due to injuries before retiring. On the flip side, it would also be the first year of placekicker Gary Anderson and the first year of the team using a 3–4 defense, a style still used by the team as of 2019. The Steelers would lose in the first round of the playoffs to the San Diego Chargers, in what would be the last home playoff game for the Steelers for the next ten years. Offseason NFL draft 1982 NFL draft 1982 Pittsburgh Steelers 1 12 Walter Abercrombie Running back Baylor no yes 2 43 John Meyer Tackle Arizona State no no 3 70 Mike Merriweather Linebacker Pacific yes yes 4 97 Rick Woods Cornerback Boise State no yes 5 124 Ken Dallafior Guard Minnesota no no 6 155 Mike Perko Defensive tackle Utah State no no 6 167 Craig Bingham Linebacker Syracuse no yes 7 172 Edmund Nelson Defensive tackle Auburn no yes 7 182 Emil Boures Center Pittsburgh no yes 8 209 John Goodson Punter Texas no yes 9 236 Mike Hirn Tight end Central Michigan no no 10 267 Sal Sunseri Linebacker Pittsburgh no no 11 293 Mikal Abdul-Saboor Guard Morgan State no no 12 320 Al Hughes Defensive end Western Michigan no no no Personnel Staff 1982 Pittsburgh Steelers #08214A white #EEC607 Chairman of the board – Arthur J. Rooney President – Daniel M. Rooney Vice president – John R. McGinley Vice president – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr. Controller – Dennis P. Thimons Assistant controller – Dan Ferens Traveling secretary – James A. Boston Public relations director – Ed Kiely Publicity director – Joe Gordon Assistant publicity director – John Evenson Director of ticket sales – Geraldine Glenn Director of player personnel – Dick Haley Assistant director of player personnel – William Nunn, Jr. Pro talent scout – Tom Modrak Talent scout – West Coast – Bob Schmitz College talent scout – Joe Krupa Head coach – Chuck Noll Assistant head coach – George Perles Offensive line – Rollie Dotsch Offensive backfield – Dick Hoak Receivers – Tom Moore Defensive coordinator – Woody Widenhofer Defensive backfield – Tony Dungy Conditioning coach – Jon Kolb Physician, M.D. – Dr. David S. Huber Physician, M.D. – Dr. Anthony P. Yates Physician, orthopedic – Dr. Paul Steele Neurological surgery consultant – Dr. Joseph C. Maroon Dentist – Dr. George P. Boucek Ophthalmologist – Dr. Phillip Buzzelli Trainer – Ralph Berlin Assistant trainer – Gary Stragar Equipment manager – Anthony Parisi Field manager – Rodgers Freyvogel Film director – Bob McCartney Photographers – Harry Homa, Bill Amatucci 1982 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide Roster 1982 Pittsburgh Steelers 49 9 12 Terry Bradshaw 16 Mark Malone 18 Cliff Stoudt 34 Walter Abercrombie y 45 Russell Davis running back 32 Franco Harris 27 Greg Hawthorne 44 Frank Pollard 86 Jim Smith wide receiver 82 John Stallworth 88 Lynn Swann 85 Calvin Sweeney 83 Willie Sydnor y 89 Bennie Cunningham 87 John Rodgers American football y 71 Emil Boures y G 79 Larry Brown tight end, born 1949 T 77 Steve Courson G 55 Rick Donnalley C/G 62 Tunch Ilkin T 61 Tyrone McGriff G 66 Ted Petersen T 74 Ray Pinney T 52 Mike Webster C 73 Craig Wolfley G 65 Tom Beasley DE 67 Gary Dunn NT 95 John Goodman American football DE 64 Edmund Nelson American football y NT 93 Keith Willis y DE 54 Craig Bingham American football y OLB 56 Robin Cole OLB 59 Jack Ham OLB 53 Bryan Hinkle OLB 90 Bob Kohrs ILB 58 Jack Lambert American football ILB 50 David Little linebacker ILB 57 Mike Merriweather y OLB 36 Guy Ruff y OLB 51 Loren Toews ILB 23 Fred Bohannon y SS 47 Mel Blount CB 29 Ron Johnson cornerback FS 31 Donnie Shell SS 42 Anthony Washington American football CB 41 Sam Washington CB 49 Dwayne Woodruff CB  1 Gary Anderson placekicker y K 17 John Goodson y P -- Mikal Abdul-Saboor y no G IR  5 Craig Colquitt P PUP 72 Ken Dallafior y T IR 20 Ernest French y no S IR 97 John Meyer no y T IR 60 Sal Sunseri LB y IR 38 Sidney Thornton RB IR 37 Frank Wilson no TE IR 22 Rick Woods American football y S IR 1982 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide 1983 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/pit/1982_roster.htm 1982 Pittsburgh Steelers Pro-Football-Reference.com December 11, 2014 Offseason The 1982 offseason was the start of a slow transition period for the team, as the defensive line was hit with key retirements in "Mean Joe" Greene and L. C. Greenwood. Partially due to the team losing two key players and partially due to the need to go up against a more wide-open NFL, head coach Chuck Noll switched from the traditional 4–3 defensive alignment (four lineman & three linebackers) to the 3–4 (three lineman & four linebackers). The Steelers would more than make a good transition to the 3–4, as many teams have since tried to copy the Steelers success with the 3–4 alignment, especially since 2001, when the Steelers were the only team in the NFL with the alignment but led the league in defense. 1982 did see the Steelers sign a rookie placekicker from Syracuse named Gary Anderson, claiming him off waivers from Buffalo just before the start of the season. Anderson would stay in Pittsburgh for the next 13 season and play an additional 10 with four other teams to become the Steelers' all-time leading scorer. He retired after the 2004 season as the NFL's all-time leading scorer, a record since surpassed by Morten Andersen. Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 August 14, 1982 vs. New England Patriots W 24–20 1–0 Neyland Stadium (Knoxville, Tennessee) 2 August 21, 1982 at New York Giants W 13–10 2–0 Giants Stadium 3 August 28, 1982 Baltimore Colts W 37–15 3–0 Three Rivers Stadium 4 September 4, 1982 Philadelphia Eagles W 27–24 4–0 Three Rivers Stadium Regular season Schedule Week Originalweek Date Opponent Result Record Venue 11 September 13, 1982 at Dallas Cowboys W 36–28 1–0 Texas Stadium 22 September 19 Cincinnati Bengals W 26–20 (OT) 2–0 Three Rivers Stadium — 3 September 26 New York Giants Canceled 2–0 Three Rivers Stadium —4 October 3 at Denver Broncos Mile High Stadium — 5 October 11, 1982 Philadelphia Eagles Three Rivers Stadium —6 October 17 at Washington Redskins RFK Stadium —7 October 24 Cleveland Browns Postponed Three Rivers Stadium —8 October 31 at Cincinnati Bengals Canceled Riverfront Stadium —9 November 7 Houston Oilers Three Rivers Stadium —10 November 14 New York Jets Three Rivers Stadium 311 November 21 at Houston Oilers W 24–10 3–0 Astrodome 412 November 28 at Seattle Seahawks L 0–16 3–1 Kingdome 513 December 5 Kansas City Chiefs W 35–14 4–1 Three Rivers Stadium 614 December 12 at Buffalo Bills L 0–13 4–2 Rich Stadium 715 December 19 at Cleveland Browns L 9–10 4–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 816 December 26 New England Patriots W 37–14 5–3 Three Rivers Stadium 917 January 2 Cleveland Browns W 37–21 6–3 Three Rivers Stadium Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1 at Cowboys 1982 Dallas Cowboys season Pittsburgh Steelers 1982 2; text-align:center collapsed Week One: Pittsburgh Steelers (0–0) at Dallas Cowboys (0–0) September 13 Monday 9:00 p.m. EST Steelers 6 7 17 6 Cowboys 7 7 0 14 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas 63,431 84 F C Pat Haggerty ABC Frank Gifford, Don Meredith & Howard Cosell Pro-Football-Reference.com First quarter PIT – John Stallworth 8-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (kick failed). Steelers 6–0. Drive: DAL – Drew Pearson 4-yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick). Cowboys 7–6. Drive: Second quarter PIT – Jim Smith 7-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Gary Anderson kick). Steelers 13–7. Drive: DAL – Doug Cosbie 12-yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick). Cowboys 14–13. Drive: Third quarter PIT – Frank Pollard 1-yard run (Gary Anderson kick). Steelers 20–14. Drive: PIT – Jim Smith 15-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Gary Anderson kick). Steelers 27–14. Drive: PIT – Gary Anderson 26-yard field goal. Steelers 30–14. Drive: Fourth quarter PIT – Gary Anderson 43–yard field goal. Steelers 33–14. Drive: DAL – Tony Hill 45-yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick). Steelers 33–21. Drive: DAL – Billy Joe DuPree 5-yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick). Steelers 33–28. Drive: PIT – Gary Anderson 40-yard field goal. Steelers 36–28. Drive: Top passers PIT – Terry Bradshaw – 17/28, 246 yards, 3 TD DAL – Danny White – 25/36, 347 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT Top rushers PIT – Franco Harris – 24 rushes, 103 yards DAL – Tony Dorsett – 11 rushes, 30 yards Top receivers PIT – John Stallworth – 7 receptions, 137 yards, TD DAL – Tony Hill – 6 receptions, 130 yards, TD Week 2: vs. Cincinnati Bengals autocollapse September 19 1:00 pm EDT Bengals 0 3 7 10 0 Steelers 7 3 7 3 6 Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 59,973 55 F Jim Tunney NBC Don Criqui & John Brodie Pittsburgh – Stallworth 15 pass from Bradshaw (Anderson kick) Cincinnati – FG Breech 50 Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 25 Cincinnati – Johnson 1 run (Breech kick) Pittsburgh – Cunningham 2 pass from Bradshaw (Anderson kick) Cincinnati – Johnson 9 run (Breech kick) Cincinnati – FG Breech 31 Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 42 Pittsburgh – Stallworth 2 pass from Bradshaw Week 3: vs. New York Giants Cancelled due to player's strike. Week 4: at Denver Broncos Cancelled due to player's strike. Week 5: vs. Philadelphia Eagles Cancelled due to player's strike. Week 6: at Washington Redskins Cancelled due to player's strike. Week 7: vs. Cleveland Browns Postponed due to player's strike. Week 8: at Cincinnati Bengals Cancelled due to player's strike. Week 9: vs. Houston Oilers Cancelled due to player's strike. Week 10: vs. New York Jets Cancelled due to player's strike. Week 11: at Houston Oilers autocollapse November 21 1:00 pm EST Steelers 3 7 7 7 Oilers 0 3 7 0 Astrodome, Houston, Texas 42,338 indoors (dome) Dick Jorgensen NBC Jay Randolph & John Brodie Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 48 Pittsburgh – Hawthorne 17 pass from Bradshaw (Anderson kick) Houston – FG Kempf 31 Houston – Casper 9 pass from Nielsen (Kempf kick) Pittsburgh – Cunningham 17 pass from Bradshaw (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – Smith 27 pass from Bradshaw (Anderson kick) Week 12: at Seattle Seahawks autocollapse November 28 4:00 pm EST Steelers 0 0 0 0 Seahawks 3 6 7 0 Kingdome, Seattle, Washington 55,553 indoors (dome) Fred Silva NBC Charlie Jones & Len Dawson Seattle – FG N. Johnson 35 Seattle – FG N. Johnson 48 Seattle – FG N. Johnson 29 Seattle – Johns 11 pass from Zorn (N. Johnson kick) Week 13: vs. Kansas City Chiefs autocollapse December 5 1:00 pm EST Chiefs 0 7 0 7 Steelers 14 14 0 7 Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 52,090 58 F Red Cashion NBC Jay Randolph & Bob Griese Pittsburgh – Stallworth 3 pass from Bradshaw (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – Stallworth 74 pass from Bradshaw (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – Hawthorne 5 pass from Bradshaw (Anderson kick) Kansas City – B. Jackson 1 run (Lowery kick) Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run (Anderson kick) Kansas City – Scott 3 pass from Fuller (Lowery kick) Pittsburgh – Thornton 2 run (Anderson kick) Week 14: at Buffalo Bills autocollapse December 12 1:00 pm EST Steelers 0 0 0 0 Bills 0 10 3 0 Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York 58,391 20 F, wind chill 8 F Pat Haggerty NBC Don Criqui & John Brodie Buffalo – Leaks 1 run (Herrera kick) Buffalo – FG Herrera 34 Buffalo – FG Herrera 19 Week 15: at Cleveland Browns autocollapse December 19 1:00 pm EST Steelers 0 7 0 2 Browns 3 0 7 0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio 67,139 35 F, wind chill 26 F Jerry Markbreit NBC Dick Enberg & Merlin Olsen Box Score Cleveland – FG Bahr 44 Pittsburgh – Stallworth 6 pass from Bradshaw (Anderson kick) Cleveland – Davis 1 run (Bahr kick) Pittsburgh – Safety, Cox ran out of end zone Week 16: vs. New England Patriots autocollapse December 26 1:00 pm EST Patriots 0 0 7 7 Steelers 10 10 0 17 Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 50,515 51 F Tom Dooley NBC Bob Costas & Bob Trumpy Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 21 Pittsburgh – Pollard 1 run (Anderson kick) PIttsburgh – Stallworth 9 pass from Bradshaw (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 25 New England – Dawson 23 pass from Cavanaugh (J. Smith kick) Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 44 New England – Morgan 75 pass from Cavanaugh (J. Smith kick) Pittsburgh – Hawthorne 46 pass from Bradshaw (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – Abercrombie 1 run (Anderson kick) Week 17: vs. Cleveland Browns autocollapse January 2 1:00 pm EST Browns 0 7 0 14 Steelers 7 6 7 17 Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 53,312 31 F, wind chill 26 F Ben Dreith NBC Bob Costas & Bob Trumpy Pro-Football-Reference.com Pittsburgh – Pinney 3 pass from Bradshaw (Anderson kick) Cleveland – Feacher 1 pass from McDonald (Bahr kick) Pittsburgh – Rodgers 18 blocked punt return (run failed) Pittsburgh – Harris 6 run (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – Smith 38 pass from Bradshaw (Anderson kick) Cleveland – Logan 8 pass from McDonald (Bahr kick) Cleveland – Feacher 12 pass from McDonald (Bahr kick) Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 34 Pittsburgh – Abercrombie 1 run (Anderson kick) Browns Paul McDonald 22/47, 313 Yds, 3 TD, 4 INT Mike Pruitt 11 Rush, 30 Yds Ozzie Newsome 9 Rec, 123 Yds Steelers Terry Bradshaw 14/24, 269 Yds, 2 TD, 2 INT Franco Harris 23 Rush, 120 Yds, TD Lynn Swann 5 Rec, 114 Yds Standings Postseason Game summary First Round/Wild Card: vs. San Diego Chargers On January 9, 1983, the Pittsburgh Steelers played the San Diego Chargers in a Wild Card playoff game at the Three Rivers Stadium. Being the member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Quarterback Terry Bradshaw, recorded high score totals during the game. Despite this performance, the Steelers lost, which ended their postseason that year. The game began with Chargers RB-James Brooks dropping the opening kickoff at the 3-yard line. Brooks frantically struggled to get control of the ball that was bouncing around on the cold turf as the Steelers special teams was quickly advancing towards him. Unfortunately, for Brooks and the Chargers the ball was recovered by Steelers LB-Guy Ruff in the end zone to give Pittsburgh a quick 7–0 lead after only 12-seconds into the contest. On the ensuing Steelers kickoff, Brooks dropped another return in almost the exact same manner as the first, except this time Brooks was able to recover his fumble after diving on top of the loose ball at the 2-yard line, like it was a live hand grenade. From there, the Chargers began to turn their misfortunes around by mostly passing the ball for 77-yards on 12-plays and putting some points on the scoreboard after future Chargers Hall of Fame kicker Rolf Benirschke booted a 25-yard field goal to make it a manageable 7–3 game after a disastrous start for the Chargers. However, the Steelers immediately responded with a long touchdown drive of their own that ended with a 1-yard plunge by QB-Terry Bradshaw to give the Steelers their biggest lead of the game 14–3. Now down by 11-points with 5-minutes left in the 1st-quarter, the Chargers finally handled the kick return without a major incident occurring, then drove the ball down the field resulting in James Brooks self-redeeming 18-yard rushing touchdown early in the 2nd-quarter to make it a 14–10 game, and once again pulling within just 4-points of the Steelers. Then, after a quick Steelers possession and a punt, the Chargers put together a long time consuming offensive drive that came to a disappointing end after CB-Mel Blount recovered a fumble by TE-Kellen Winslow at the Pittsburgh 7-yard line. With the ball back, Bradshaw drove the Steelers offense to the Chargers 29-yard line, until he threw a long pass that sailed way over the head of a leaping WR-Lynn Swann. The Chargers SS-Bruce Laired intercepted Bradshaw's over thrown pass at the 3-yard line and returned it to their own 35, where San Diego's offense went back to work with 2-minutes left in the half. After Dan Fouts connected with WR-Wes Chandler for a 33-yard reception giving the Chargers a 1st-and-10 at the Steelers 23-yard line. Two plays later, Fouts connected with WR-Scott Fitzkee for a 10-yard TD pass that gave the Chargers a surprising 17–14 half-time lead. Despite the shocking 1st-half turn of events, the 2nd-half belonged almost entirely to Bradshaw and the Steelers. At one point Bradshaw completed 15 passes in a row, threw 2-TD passes that put the Steelers back in the lead with a commanding 28–17 score early in the 4th-quarter after hitting WR-John Stallworth on a 3rd-and-9 for a 14-yard touchdown. Bradshaw finished his last playoff appearance with 28-completions in 39-attempts for 335-yards, 1-rushing and 2-passing TD's. But, Bradshaw also threw two interceptions, which shifted all the games momentum back to the Chargers who responded with a touchdown each time. Just prior to Bradshaw throwing his 2nd interception, the Steelers were solidly holding on to a 28–17 lead with 11-minutes remaining in the game. However, when Pittsburgh faced a 3rd-and-8 at their own 20-yrd line, predictably Bradshaw dropped back to pass. Then, after escaping the Chargers aggressive pass rush by moving up into the pocket before scrambling outside to his right where there was no one within 10-yards of him in either direction, and he could've run forward for the 1st-down. However, instead of running for it, Bradshaw slung the ball wildly back across the field toward a well covered Lynn Swann. The pass was easily intercepted by Chargers CB-Jeff Allen and returned to the Steelers 29-yard line. Despite Bradshaw's reckless 4th-quarter interception, Mel Blount appeared to have saved the Steelers season after intercepting Dan Fouts 19-yard pass attempt into the end zone. However, Blount's 2nd-defensive turnover of the game was nullified by a holding penalty against the defense. With new life, Fouts moved the Chargers offense down the field for their 1st-score in the 2nd-half that came on an 8-yard TD pass to Winslow with 8:50 left in the game, that once again cut the Steelers seemingly insurmountable 11-point lead to within 4-points. Now feeling the pressure of holding on to a tenuous 28–24 lead, the Steelers needed a solid offensive possession and score to finally secure the win. While the Steelers were able to grind out a few time consuming 1st-downs to get close to midfield, John Goodson, an eighth-round draft pick who replaced veteran Craig Colquitt after he suffered a season-ending injury in the preseason, had to come on to punt. But instead of pinning the Chargers deep, Goodson (a barefoot punter) shanked one for only 20 yards to the Chargers 36-yard line. With just under 4-minutes remaining and 64-yards away from the end zone, Fouts combined the Chargers passing attack with a balanced rushing attack (which featured RB-Chuck Muncie) to move the ball down the field against the "Steel Curtain" defense. Then, with 1-minute left to play, Fouts threw a 12-yard screen-pass to Winslow for the winning touchdown, making the final score 31–28, and eliminating the Steelers from the tournament. autocollapse January 9, 1983 12:30 pm EST Chargers 3 14 0 14 Steelers 14 0 7 7 Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 53,546 32 F, wind chill 23 F Bob Frederic NBC Dick Enberg & Merlin Olsen Pro-Football-Reference.com First quarter PIT – Guy Ruff recovered fumble in end zone (Gary Anderson kick) SD – Rolf Benirschke 25-yard field goal PIT – Terry Bradshaw 1-yard run (Gary Anderson kick) Second quarter SD – James Brooks 18-yard run (Rolf Benirschke kick) SD – Eric Sievers 10-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick) Third quarter PIT – Bennie Cunningham 2-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Gary Anderson kick) Fourth quarter PIT – John Stallworth 14-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Gary Anderson kick) SD – Kellen Winslow 8-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick) SD – Kellen Winslow 12-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick) Chargers Dan Fouts 27/42, 333 Yds, 3 TD Chuck Muncie 25 Rush, 126 Yds Wes Chandler 9 Rec, 124 Yds Steelers Terry Bradshaw 28/39, 325 Yds, 2 TD, 2 INT Franco Harris 10 Rush, 35 Yds John Stallworth 8 Rec, 116 Yds, TD References 30em External links 1982 Pittsburgh Steelers season at Profootballreference.com 1982 Pittsburgh Steelers season statistics at jt-sw.com 50th season news feature Category:Pittsburgh Steelers seasons Pittsburgh Steelers Pitts