Super Bowl XIV

Super Bowl XIV
19	31
Date	January 20, 1980
Stadium	Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
MVP	Terry Bradshaw, quarterback
Favorite	Steelers by 10.5
Referee	Fred Silva
Attendance	103,985
Ceremonies
National anthem	Cheryl Ladd
Coin toss	Fred Silva with Art Rooney
Halftime show	Up with People presents "A Salute to the Big Band Era"
TV in the United States
Network	CBS
Announcers	Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier
Nielsen ratings	46.3 ; (est. 76.2 million viewers)
Market share	67
Cost of 30-second commercial	$222,000
Radio in the United States
Network	CBS Radio
Announcers	Jack Buck and Hank Stram
	← XIII ; Super Bowl ; XV → ;

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, 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.^[3]^[4] It was also the first Super Bowl where the game was played in the home market of one of the participants, as Pasadena is 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Downtown Los Angeles.

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. 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.

Despite the final score, Super Bowl XIV was a seesaw battle for the majority of the contest. The lead changed seven times, which remains a Super Bowl record as of 2023. It was the third Super Bowl where the winning team was behind at halftime (Super Bowl V and Super Bowl X were the others; the Colts trailed the Cowboys 13–6 at the half in V en route to win 16–13, while the Steelers trailed the Cowboys 10–7 in X and won 21–17) and the first where they were behind by the fourth quarter. Los Angeles took the lead three times while Pittsburgh took it four times, including the game clincher. 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 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 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.^[6]

^ DiNitto, Marcus (January 25, 2015). "Super Bowl Betting History – Underdogs on Recent Roll". The Linemakers. Sporting News. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
^ "Super Bowl History". Vegas Insider. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Super Bowl XIV Box Score: Pittsburgh 31, Los Angeles 19". National Football League. Archived from the original on July 9, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
^ ^a ^b The Super Bowl was attended by a record 103,985 spectators, which remains a record through Super Bowl 50 in 2016. The last time that the Rose Bowl held an NFL game was Super Bowl XXVII, and will never host a Super Bowl again as long as the league maintains its current policy that only a home stadium of an NFL team may host the championship game.
^ "Historical Super Bowl Nielsen TV Ratings, 1967–2009 – Ratings". TVbytheNumbers. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
^ Bradshaw became the second player to win two Super Bowl MVP awards and the second to win them back-to-back (both after Bart Starr in Super Bowls I and II). Bradshaw is also the only quarterback to throw for more the 300 yards in consecutive Super Bowls. Joe Montana and Kurt Warner would eventually tie Bradshaw but never in back-to-back championship games. Bradshaw's three interceptions were the most ever by a quarterback who won the Super Bowl MVP award. He is the only quarterback to win Super Bowl MVP honors despite throwing more interceptions than touchdown passes.

[1] DiNitto, Marcus (January 25, 2015). "Super Bowl Betting History – Underdogs on Recent Roll". The Linemakers. Sporting News. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2015.

[2] "Super Bowl History". Vegas Insider. Retrieved February 4, 2015.

[attendance1-3] "Super Bowl XIV Box Score: Pittsburgh 31, Los Angeles 19". National Football League. Archived from the original on July 9, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2017.

[attendance2-4] The Super Bowl was attended by a record 103,985 spectators, which remains a record through Super Bowl 50 in 2016. The last time that the Rose Bowl held an NFL game was Super Bowl XXVII, and will never host a Super Bowl again as long as the league maintains its current policy that only a home stadium of an NFL team may host the championship game.

[5] "Historical Super Bowl Nielsen TV Ratings, 1967–2009 – Ratings". TVbytheNumbers. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved October 9, 2012.

[6] Bradshaw became the second player to win two Super Bowl MVP awards and the second to win them back-to-back (both after Bart Starr in Super Bowls I and II). Bradshaw is also the only quarterback to throw for more the 300 yards in consecutive Super Bowls. Joe Montana and Kurt Warner would eventually tie Bradshaw but never in back-to-back championship games. Bradshaw's three interceptions were the most ever by a quarterback who won the Super Bowl MVP award. He is the only quarterback to win Super Bowl MVP honors despite throwing more interceptions than touchdown passes.

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