NFL game summary for 09/22/1974:
The NFL's first regular season overtime game ended in a tie after 60 minutes of regulation play and 15 minutes of sudden death. The Broncos led 21-7 at the end of the first quarter but Joe Gilliam, who completed 31 of 50 passes for 348 yards and one TD, brought the Steelers back. Barney Chavous and Bill Thompson blocked a Pittsburgh 25-yard FG try by Roy Gerela with five seconds left in regulation time. John Rowser, ex-Steeler, stopped a Pittsburgh overtime drive with an interception and Jim Turner's 41-yard FG try was wide with 3:13 to go in the extra period. The game lasted 3 hours 49 minutes with 160 plays, 93 by the Steelers. Denver's Otis Armstrong topped the rushers with 131 yards and added 86 as a pass receiver.
Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):
| Team | Rush Yds/Gm | Pass Yds/Gm | Tot Yds/Gm | Turnovers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Pittsburgh Steelers | OFFENSE | 103.0 (19) | 289.0 (1) | 392.0 (3) | 2 |
| DEFENSE | 118.0 (10) | 48.0 (3) | 166.0 (5) | 4 | |
 Denver Broncos | OFFENSE | 52.0 (26) | 104.0 (17) | 156.0 (24) | 0 |
| DEFENSE | 145.0 (15) | 127.0 (14) | 272.0 (12) | 2 |
Line: Steelers by 8
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0-1) | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 35 |
| Denver Broncos (0-1-1) | 21 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 35 |
( 0- 7) DEN Otis Armstrong 45 yard pass from Charley Johnson (Jim Turner kick) ( 7- 7) PIT Steve Davis 61 yard pass from Joe Gilliam (Roy Gerela kick) ( 7-14) DEN Haven Moses 7 yard pass from Charley Johnson (Jim Turner kick) ( 7-21) DEN Jon Keyworth 1 yard rush (Jim Turner kick) (14-21) PIT Joe Gilliam 1 yard rush (Roy Gerela kick) (21-21) PIT Steve Davis 1 yard rush (Roy Gerela kick) (21-28) DEN Riley Odoms 3 yard pass from Steve Ramsey (Jim Turner kick) (28-28) PIT Steve Davis 1 yard rush (Roy Gerela kick) (35-28) PIT Frenchy Fuqua 1 yard rush (Roy Gerela kick) (35-35) DEN Otis Armstrong 23 yard pass from Steve Ramsey (Jim Turner kick)
PIT DEN
First Downs: 33 20
Rushes-yards: 40-160 37-156
Yards/rush: 4.0 4.2
Comp-Att-Yd-INT: 31-50-348-2 12-27-191-2
Sacked-yards: 3-24 3-15
Net pass yards: 324 176
Net yards/pass: 6.1 5.9
Total net yards: 484 332
Total plays: 93 (43% run) 67 (55% run)
Yards/play: 5.2 5.0
Fumbles-lost: 3-2 1-1
Turnovers: 4 3
Penalties-yards: 12-91 7-61
Attendance: 50,858
Passing:PIT: Joe Gilliam, 31 of 50 for 348 yards and 1 TD (2 int)
DEN: Charley Johnson, 6 of 15 for 129 yards and 2 TDs (1 int); Steve Ramsey, 6 of 12 for 62 yards and 2 TDs (1 int)
Rushing:
PIT: Franco Harris, 20 for 70 yards; Preston Pearson, 8 for 47 yards; Steve Davis, 6 for 16 yards and 2 TDs; Joe Gilliam, 4 for 21 yards and 1 TD; Frenchy Fuqua, 2 for 6 yards and 1 TD
DEN: Otis Armstrong, 19 for 131 yards; Floyd Little, 14 for 21 yards; Jon Keyworth, 4 for 4 yards and 1 TD
Receiving:
PIT: Franco Harris, 9 for 84 yards; Frank Lewis, 5 for 65 yards; Steve Davis, 5 for 58 yards and 1 TD; Randy Grossman, 5 for 43 yards; John Stallworth, 3 for 67 yards; Lynn Swann, 2 for 15 yards; Larry Brown, 1 for 10 yards; Preston Pearson, 1 for 6 yards
DEN: Otis Armstrong, 5 for 86 yards and 2 TDs; Haven Moses, 3 for 61 yards and 1 TD; Riley Odoms, 3 for 26 yards and 1 TD; Floyd Little, 1 for 18 yards
Kick returns:
PIT: Preston Pearson, 2 for 43 yards; Steve Davis, 1 for 23 yards
DEN: Otis Armstrong, 3 for 72 yards
Punt returns:
PIT: Dick Conn, 2 for 26 yards; Glen Edwards, 2 for 25 yards
DEN: Charlie Greer, 3 for 23 yards; Bill Thompson, 1 for 4 yards
Interceptions:
PIT: Mike Wagner, 1 for 4 yards; Marv Kellum, 1 for 0 yards
DEN: Tom Jackson, 1 for 39 yards; John Rowser, 1 for 7 yards
Punting:
PIT: Bobby Walden, 6 for 250 yards
DEN: Billy Van Heusen, 7 for 311 yards
Field Goals:
PIT: Roy Gerela, 0/1
DEN: Jim Turner, 0/1