NFL game summary for 12/11/1976:
Terry Bradshaw passed for one touchdown and ran for another while the Pittsburgh defense picked up its fifth shutout of the season as the Steelers clinched their third straight AFC Central title. Mel Blount intercepted Dan Pastorini at the Houston 41 yard line and returned it 28 yards to set up Bradshaw's 21-yard touchdown pass to Lynn Swann with 2:59 left in the first half. Franco Harris gave Pittsburgh a two touchdown lead on an 11-yard run in the third quarter and, along with Rocky Bleier, rushed for over 100 yards, both going over 1,000 yards for the season.
Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):
| Team | Rush Yds/Gm | Pass Yds/Gm | Tot Yds/Gm | Turnovers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | OFFENSE | 208.7 (1) | 122.3 (21) | 331.0 (9) | 30 |
| DEFENSE | 104.9 (1) | 138.5 (7) | 243.5 (1) | 44 | |
 | OFFENSE | 108.1 (26) | 154.4 (14) | 262.5 (24) | 31 |
| DEFENSE | 139.5 (12) | 141.5 (8) | 281.0 (10) | 27 |
Line: Steelers by 13
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers (10-4-0) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Houston Oilers (5-9-0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
( 7- 0) PIT Lynn Swann 21 yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick)
(14- 0) PIT Franco Harris 11 yard rush (Roy Gerela kick)
(21- 0) PIT Terry Bradshaw 1 yard rush (Roy Gerela kick)
PIT HOU
First Downs: 20 9
Rushes-yards: 53-258 26-93
Yards/rush: 4.9 3.6
Comp-Att-Yd-INT: 8-19-76-1 13-29-95-1
Sacked-yards: 0-0 3-30
Net pass yards: 76 65
Net yards/pass: 4.0 2.0
Total net yards: 334 158
Total plays: 72 (73% run) 58 (44% run)
Yards/play: 4.6 2.7
Fumbles-lost: 0-0 2-1
Turnovers: 1 2
Penalties-yards: 10-80 6-50
Attendance: 52,437
Passing:
PIT: Terry Bradshaw, 8 of 19 for 76 yards and 1 TD (1 int) HOU: Dan Pastorini, 13 of 29 for 95 yards (1 int)
Rushing:
PIT: Franco Harris, 23 for 104 yards and 1 TD; Rocky Bleier, 22 for 107 yards; Terry Bradshaw, 4 for 35 yards and 1 TD; Frenchy Fuqua, 2 for 9 yards; Reggie Harrison, 2 for 3 yards HOU: Ronnie Coleman, 14 for 49 yards; Fred Willis, 11 for 49 yards; Billy Johnson, 1 for -5 yards
Receiving:
PIT: Lynn Swann, 2 for 34 yards and 1 TD; Rocky Bleier, 2 for 28 yards; Franco Harris, 2 for 12 yards; Larry Brown, 1 for 4 yards; John Stallworth, 1 for -2 yards HOU: Ken Burrough, 3 for 44 yards; Billy Johnson, 3 for 19 yards; John Sawyer, 2 for 13 yards; Ronnie Coleman, 2 for -5 yards; Mack Alston, 1 for 9 yards; Altie Taylor, 1 for 8 yards; Fred Willis, 1 for 7 yards
Kick returns:
PIT: Ernest Pough, 1 for 21 yards HOU: Billy Johnson, 2 for 35 yards; Altie Taylor, 1 for 15 yards
Punt returns:
PIT: Theo Bell, 4 for 53 yards; Lynn Swann, 2 for 4 yards; Jack Deloplaine, 1 for 5 yards HOU: Billy Johnson, 2 for 12 yards
Interceptions:
PIT: Mel Blount, 1 for 28 yards HOU: Gregg Bingham, 1 for 3 yards
Punting:
PIT: Bobby Walden, 7 for 270 yards HOU: Leroy Clark, 10 for 335 yards; Dan Pastorini, 1 for 43 yards
Field Goals:
PIT: Roy Gerela, 0/1 HOU: Skip Butler, 0/1
PIT: Terry Bradshaw, 8 of 19 for 76 yards and 1 TD (1 int) HOU: Dan Pastorini, 13 of 29 for 95 yards (1 int)
Rushing:
PIT: Franco Harris, 23 for 104 yards and 1 TD; Rocky Bleier, 22 for 107 yards; Terry Bradshaw, 4 for 35 yards and 1 TD; Frenchy Fuqua, 2 for 9 yards; Reggie Harrison, 2 for 3 yards HOU: Ronnie Coleman, 14 for 49 yards; Fred Willis, 11 for 49 yards; Billy Johnson, 1 for -5 yards
Receiving:
PIT: Lynn Swann, 2 for 34 yards and 1 TD; Rocky Bleier, 2 for 28 yards; Franco Harris, 2 for 12 yards; Larry Brown, 1 for 4 yards; John Stallworth, 1 for -2 yards HOU: Ken Burrough, 3 for 44 yards; Billy Johnson, 3 for 19 yards; John Sawyer, 2 for 13 yards; Ronnie Coleman, 2 for -5 yards; Mack Alston, 1 for 9 yards; Altie Taylor, 1 for 8 yards; Fred Willis, 1 for 7 yards
Kick returns:
PIT: Ernest Pough, 1 for 21 yards HOU: Billy Johnson, 2 for 35 yards; Altie Taylor, 1 for 15 yards
Punt returns:
PIT: Theo Bell, 4 for 53 yards; Lynn Swann, 2 for 4 yards; Jack Deloplaine, 1 for 5 yards HOU: Billy Johnson, 2 for 12 yards
Interceptions:
PIT: Mel Blount, 1 for 28 yards HOU: Gregg Bingham, 1 for 3 yards
Punting:
PIT: Bobby Walden, 7 for 270 yards HOU: Leroy Clark, 10 for 335 yards; Dan Pastorini, 1 for 43 yards
Field Goals:
PIT: Roy Gerela, 0/1 HOU: Skip Butler, 0/1