Super Bowl XIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1979 season….as the Steelers defeated the Rams by the score of 31 – 19….while becoming the first team to win four Super Bowls. The game was played on January 20, 1980, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California….and was attended by a Super Bowl record 103,985 spectators…..as this also became the first Super Bowl where the game was coincidentally played in the home market of one of the participants…..as Pasadena is about 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It was the last time the Rams made the Super Bowl while based in Los Angeles until Super Bowl LIII in 2018….when they lost to the New England Patriots by a score of 13 – 3.
The Rams became the first team to reach the Super Bowl after posting nine wins or fewer during the regular season since the NFL season expanded to 16 games in 1978…..as their 9–7 regular season record was followed by postseason wins over the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers…..whereas, the Steelers were the defending Super Bowl XIII champions….while fininshing the 1979 regular season with a 12 – 4 record…..along with playoff victories over the Miami Dolphins and the Houston Oilers.
Super Bowl XIV was a close game during the first three quarters…..as the Rams led 13–10 at halftime before Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw connected with wide receiver Lynn Swann on a 47-yard touchdown pass…..then the Rams regained the lead on a halfback option play….with running back Lawrence McCutcheon’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Ron Smith…..but Pittsburgh controlled the fourth quarter scoring 14 unanswered points with Bradshaw’s 73-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver John Stallworth….and running back Franco Harris‘ 1-yard touchdown run…..and despite throwing three interceptions, Bradshaw was named Super Bowl MVP by completing 14 of 21 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns.
