Today in 1974 - Pittsburgh Steelers vs Houston Oilers

October 12, 1974 – Today in 1974, the Pittsburgh Steelers went to the Astrodome to play the Houston Oilers in a Week 4 game.

Both defenses showed up to produce a scoreless first quarter.  In the second quarter, Billy “White Shoes” Johnson took off on a 47 yard touchdown run to put the Oilers on the board 7-0.  Roy Gerela answered with a 37 yard field goal.  Houston led Pittsburgh at halftime 7-3.

Gerela closed the gap to 7-6 in the third quarter with a 27 yard field goal.  In the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh took the lead for good with a 9 yard touchdown rush by Preston Pearson.  The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Houston Oilers 13-7.

Dan Pastorini passed 3-6 for 69 yards and Lynn Dickey passed 9-17 79 yards and an interception for the Oilers.  Joe Gilliam passed 17-32 202 yards and 2 interceptions for the Steelers.  Preston Pearson rushed 15-117 yards and a touchdown.  He also had 3 receptions for 42 yards.

Houston went to 1-3 with the loss.  They would finish the season at 7-7.  Pittsburgh improved to 2-1-1.  They would finish the season at 10-3-1, including a 13-10 loss to the Oilers at home.  The Steelers went on to win Super Bowl IX over the Minnesota Vikings 16-6.

Notables

• There were 11 Hall of Famers present at the game: Elvin Bethea for the Oilers, and Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Mel Blount, Mean Joe Greene, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, Mike Webster, and head coach Chuck Noll for the Steelers.
  
• This was Noll’s sixth season as head coach of the Steelers.  He coached the team from 1969-91 and led the team to four Super Bowl wins.
  
• This was Sid Gillman’s second and final season coaching the Oilers.  He coached the Los Angeles Rams from 1955-60 and the Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers from 1961-71.  He led the team to an AFL championship in 1963.  He was replaced in 1975 by defensive coordinator Bum Phillips.
  
• Noll was a defensive assistant coach for the Chargers from 1960-65.
  
• Steelers defensive coordinator Bud Carson went on to be the head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 1989-90.  Chuck Noll played for the Browns from 1953-59.

The Pittsburgh Steelers host the former Houston Oilers, the Tennessee Titans, at home this weekend.

Here are some other scores on this day for teams facing each other this week, on October 6,

1962 – Boston Patriots 43 – New York Titans (Jets) 14

1963 – San Diego Chargers 50 – Denver Broncos 34

1963 – St. Louis Cardinals 56 – Minnesota Vikings 14

1968 – Green Bay Packers 38 – Atlanta Falcons 7

1996 – San Diego Chargers 28 – Denver Broncos 17

2002 – San Diego Chargers 26 – Denver Broncos 9

Game stats can be found on Pro-Football-Reference.com at Pittsburgh Steelers vs Houston Oilers - October 6, 1974.