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. The Steelers defeated the Rams by the score of 31–19, winning their fourth Super Bowl in team history.
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. It was also the first time that the Super Bowl was coincidentally played in the home market of one of the participants; at the time, the Rams played at nearby Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The Rams became the first team to reach the Super Bowl after posting nine wins or fewer during the regular season. Their 9-7 regular season record was followed by postseason wins over the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Steelers were the defending Super Bowl XIII champions, and finished the 1979 regular season with a 12-4 record, and posted playoff victories over the Miami Dolphins and the Houston Oilers.
Super Bowl XIV was a close game during the first three quarters. The Rams led, 13-10, at halftime before Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw connected with wide receiver Lynn Swann on a 47-yard touchdown pass. Los Angeles regained the lead again on a halfback option play with running back Lawrence McCutcheon's 24-year touchdown 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. Despite throwing three interceptions, Bradshaw was named Super Bowl MVP by completing 14 of 21 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns.
Read more about Super Bowl XIV: Television and Entertainment, Game Summary, Starting Lineups, Officials
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“It seemed a long way from 143rd Street. Shaking hands with the Queen of England was a long way from being forced to sit in the colored section of the bus going into downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. Dancing with the Duke of Devonshire was a long way from not being allowed to bowl in Jefferson City, Missouri, because the white customers complained about it.”
—Althea Gibson (b. 1927)
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—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)