1978 AFC Championship: Houston Oilers at Pittsburgh Steelers Jan. 7, 1979 #Steelers #ThreeRivers

The 14-2 Pittsburgh Steelers host the 10-6 Houston Oilers for the AFC Championship on Jan. 7, 1979, at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Earl "the Tyler Rose" Campbell was in his rookie season as Houston's premier running back, amassing 1,450 yards and 13 TDs on 302 carries. Can the Steelers stifle this powerhouse? This season and the Steelers' performance is the exact reason I bought my first APBA Football game, which I've been playing for 47 years now! I uploaded this game from my collection of vintage NFL games because apparently it hadn't yet been available on YouTube. The 1978 NFL season featured a number of firsts: • First 16-game season • First year with two wild-card teams per conference • First year of the "Mel Blount" rule, in which wide receivers could not be touched once they were five yards past the line of scrimmage. • First year offensive linemen could extent their arms and use open hands when blocking 1978 also saw the emergence of a masterful Terry Bradshaw, whose square-jawed determination was in clear view game after game. After earning Super Bowl rings in the 1974 and 1975 seasons, the Steelers fell to the Oakland Raiders in the 1976 AFC Championship and to the Denver Broncos in the 1977 AFC divisional round. #football #footballgame #nfl #nflhistory #footballhistory #classicfootball #pittsburghsteelers #houstonoilers #apbafootball #stratomatic #afcchampionship #1978