NFL game summary for 01/06/1980:

The Steelers advanced to their fourth Super Bowl appearance since 1974 by eliminating the Oilers 27-13 in the AFC title game. It was the second consecutive year that Pittsburgh had defeated Houston at Three Rivers Stadium in the AFC finale. The Steelers were stunned early when Houston strong safety Vernon Perry intercepted his fifth pass in two playoff games and returned it for a 75-yard touchdown (a championship game record) with just 2:30 elapsed in the contest. Pittsburgh fell behind 10-3 in the second quarter, but quarterback Terry Bradshaw capped drives of 67 and 49 yards with touchdown passes to Bennie Cunningham (16 yards) and John Stallworth (20 yards), respectively. The Oilers narrowed the margin to 17-13 three seconds into the final quarter on Toni Fritsch's 23-yard field goal, but the Steelers scored 10 points in the final 10 minutes to ensure their second straight Super Bowl berth. Pittsburgh's Franco Harris rushed for 85 yards on 21 carries to increase his NFL postseason record to 1,442 yards. Bradshaw's touchdown passes brought his postseason total to 26, the most in NFL history.

Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):

	Rush Yds/Gm	Pass Yds/Gm	Tot Yds/Gm	Turnovers
OFFENSE	160.7 (4)	141.0 (25)	301.7 (22)	32
DEFENSE	139.1 (17)	172.8 (14)	311.9 (13)	50
OFFENSE	162.7 (2)	228.4 (2)	391.1 (1)	52
DEFENSE	106.8 (4)	160.1 (10)	266.9 (2)	42

Line: Steelers by 9½

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Houston Oilers (13-6-0)	7	3	0	3	13
Pittsburgh Steelers (14-4-0)	3	14	0	10	27

( 7- 0) HOU Vernon Perry 75 yard interception return (Toni Fritsch kick) ( 7- 3) PIT Matt Bahr 21 yard field goal (10- 3) HOU Toni Fritsch 21 yard field goal (10-10) PIT Bennie Cunningham 16 yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Matt Bahr kick) (10-17) PIT John Stallworth 20 yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Matt Bahr kick) (13-17) HOU Toni Fritsch 23 yard field goal (13-20) PIT Matt Bahr 39 yard field goal (13-27) PIT Rocky Bleier 4 yard rush (Matt Bahr kick)

                     HOU             PIT
First Downs:         11              22
Rushes-yards:        22-24           36-161
Yards/rush:          1.1             4.5
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     20-29-203-1     18-30-197-1
Sacked-yards:        1-9             3-22
Net pass yards:      194             175
Net yards/pass:      6.5             5.3
Total net yards:     218             336
Total plays:         52 (42% run)    69 (52% run)  
Yards/play:          4.2             4.9
Fumbles-lost:        4-2             1-1
Turnovers:           3               2
Penalties-yards:     2-10            5-34

Attendance: 50,475

Passing:
HOU: Dan Pastorini, 19 of 28 for 203 yards (1 int); Gifford Nielsen, 1 of 1 for 9 yards PIT: Terry Bradshaw, 18 of 30 for 219 yards and 2 TDs (1 int)
Rushing:
HOU: Earl Campbell, 17 for 15 yards; Tim Wilson, 4 for 9 yards; Rich Caster, 1 for 0 yards PIT: Franco Harris, 21 for 85 yards; Rocky Bleier, 13 for 52 yards and 1 TD; Terry Bradshaw, 1 for 25 yards; Sidney Thornton, 1 for -1 yards
Receiving:
HOU: Tim Wilson, 7 for 60 yards; Rob Carpenter, 5 for 23 yards; Mike Renfro, 3 for 52 yards; Ronnie Coleman, 2 for 46 yards; Guido Merkens, 1 for 12 yards; Earl Campbell, 1 for 11 yards; Mike Barber, 1 for 8 yards PIT: Franco Harris, 6 for 50 yards; Lynn Swann, 4 for 64 yards; John Stallworth, 3 for 52 yards and 1 TD; Rocky Bleier, 3 for 39 yards; Bennie Cunningham, 2 for 14 yards and 1 TD
Kick returns:
HOU: Rich Ellender, 4 for 47 yards; Carter Hartwig, 1 for 13 yards; Rob Carpenter, 1 for 4 yards PIT: Larry Anderson, 4 for 82 yards
Punt returns:
HOU: Rich Ellender, 3 for 8 yards PIT: Theo Bell, 3 for 8 yards
Interceptions:
HOU: Vernon Perry, 1 for 75 yards and 1 TD PIT: Dwayne Woodruff, 1 for 0 yards
Punting:
HOU: Cliff Parsley, 4 for 120 yards PIT: Craig Colquitt, 3 for 153 yards
Field Goals:
HOU: Toni Fritsch, 2/2 PIT: Matt Bahr, 2/3