NFL game summary for 01/20/1980:
There was a nice moment of heroism and self-sacrifice when an old warrior, Rams defensive end Jack Youngblood, announced his intention to play in his team's first Super Bowl, despite a fractured leg. There was a rush of "what if?" euphoria as the Rams took a 19-17 lead into the fourth quarter.
And there was cold reality: Pittsburgh, a team with as much patience as talent, struck quickly and surely for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and it was over. In the first month of 1980, the Steelers officially shut the door on their decade. This Super Bowl victory, their fourth, meant they had won nearly a third of the Vince Lombardi trophies to that point.
The signature image of Super Bowl XIV is of Steelers wide receiver John Stallworth at the L.A. 32, having outraced Rams safety Dave Elmendorf and cornerback Rod Perry, looking back over his head for a lofty Terry Bradshaw pass, catching it in stride, and continuing into the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown.
The Steelers had taken the lead and then surrendered it in the third quarter. Bradshaw hit wide receiver Lynn Swann over the middle for a 47-yard score. The Rams came back with a surprise -- a 24-yard halfback pass from Lawrence McCutcheon to Ron Smith that made it 19-17 before Bradshaw-to-Stallworth put Pittsburgh ahead for good.
The Rams intercepted Bradshaw three times, but it was the Steelers' lone interception -- by linebacker Jack Lambert -- that punctuated the ending. With the score 24-19 and Los Angeles driving, Lambert intercepted a pass from Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo at the Steelers' 14. Another Rams drive broke under the weight of the Steelers' defense.
For the second year in a row, Bradshaw was named the game's Most Valuable Player for the resiliency that produced 309 passing yards and two touchdowns and a completion rate of 14-for-21.
Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):
| Team | Rush Yds/Gm | Pass Yds/Gm | Tot Yds/Gm | Turnovers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Pittsburgh Steelers | OFFENSE | 162.7 (2) | 228.4 (2) | 391.1 (1) | 52 |
| DEFENSE | 106.8 (4) | 160.1 (10) | 266.9 (2) | 42 | |
 Los Angeles Rams | OFFENSE | 153.8 (7) | 167.1 (17) | 320.8 (13) | 49 |
| DEFENSE | 124.8 (10) | 159.8 (9) | 284.6 (7) | 41 |
Line: Steelers by 10
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers (15-4-0) | 3 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 31 |
| Los Angeles Rams (11-8-0) | 7 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 19 |
( 3- 0) PIT Matt Bahr 41 yard field goal ( 3- 7) LA Cullen Bryant 1 yard rush (Frank Corral kick) (10- 7) PIT Franco Harris 1 yard rush (Matt Bahr kick) (10-10) LA Frank Corral 31 yard field goal (10-13) LA Frank Corral 45 yard field goal (17-13) PIT Lynn Swann 47 yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Matt Bahr kick) (17-19) LA Ron Smith 24 yard pass from Lawrence McCutcheon (kick failed) (24-19) PIT John Stallworth 73 yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Matt Bahr kick) (31-19) PIT Franco Harris 1 yard rush (Matt Bahr kick)
PIT LA
First Downs: 19 16
Rushes-yards: 37-84 29-107
Yards/rush: 2.3 3.7
Comp-Att-Yd-INT: 14-21-309-3 16-26-236-1
Sacked-yards: 0-0 4-42
Net pass yards: 309 194
Net yards/pass: 14.7 6.5
Total net yards: 393 301
Total plays: 58 (63% run) 59 (49% run)
Yards/play: 6.8 5.1
Fumbles-lost: 0-0 0-0
Turnovers: 3 1
Penalties-yards: 6-65 2-26
Attendance: 103,985
Passing:PIT: Terry Bradshaw, 14 of 21 for 309 yards and 2 TDs (3 int)
LA: Vince Ferragamo, 15 of 25 for 212 yards (1 int); Lawrence McCutcheon, 1 of 1 for 24 yards and 1 TD
Rushing:
PIT: Franco Harris, 20 for 46 yards and 2 TDs; Rocky Bleier, 10 for 25 yards; Sidney Thornton, 4 for 4 yards; Terry Bradshaw, 3 for 9 yards
LA: Wendell Tyler, 17 for 60 yards; Cullen Bryant, 6 for 30 yards and 1 TD; Lawrence McCutcheon, 5 for 10 yards; Vince Ferragamo, 1 for 7 yards
Receiving:
PIT: Lynn Swann, 5 for 79 yards and 1 TD; John Stallworth, 3 for 121 yards and 1 TD; Franco Harris, 3 for 66 yards; Bennie Cunningham, 2 for 21 yards; Sidney Thornton, 1 for 22 yards
LA: Billy Waddy, 3 for 75 yards; Cullen Bryant, 3 for 21 yards; Wendell Tyler, 3 for 20 yards; Preston Dennard, 2 for 32 yards; Terry Nelson, 2 for 20 yards; Drew Hill, 1 for 28 yards; Ron Smith, 1 for 24 yards and 1 TD; Lawrence McCutcheon, 1 for 16 yards
Kick returns:
PIT: Larry Anderson, 5 for 162 yards
LA: Eddie Hill, 3 for 47 yards; Jim Jodat, 2 for 32 yards; George Andrews, 1 for 0 yards
Punt returns:
PIT: Theo Bell, 2 for 17 yards; Jim Smith, 2 for 14 yards
LA: Eddie Brown, 1 for 4 yards
Interceptions:
PIT: Jack Lambert, 1 for 16 yards
LA: Dave Elmendorf, 1 for 10 yards; Eddie Brown, 1 for 6 yards; Rod Perry, 1 for -1 yards
Punting:
PIT: Craig Colquitt, 2 for 85 yards
LA: Ken Clark, 5 for 220 yards
Field Goals:
PIT: Matt Bahr, 1/1
LA: Frank Corral, 2/2