GAME HIGHLIGHTS Video footage from the expansion season is limited to occasional clips from the NFL Films season highlight film as NBC who broadcast all 14 games that season, destroyed the master tapes some years later leaving none of the games available in the way other games from Buc history are. However I have been able to obtain the coverage from NFL Films’ Review of the Week in which the Bucs were featured, sometimes though not in the most flattering of highlights. The left video are the selected Bucs clips. The right video is the one from the Review of the Week.

By this point in the season, teams were not even bothering to start their top players against the Bucs and this shutout defeat to the Steelers was no different. Ricky Bleier had a 100-yard game and Terry Bradshaw did not appear until the second half before throwing a pair of scores to Lynn Swann. Pittsburgh were favoured by a record 26 points against the spread. The Bucs were held to 105 yards in total offense and turned the ball over four times after allowing former Steeler QB Terry Hanratty to start in place of Steve Spurrier. John McKay's take on the game: "There were times that I felt like leaving the stadium and hitch- hiking home."

STARTERS OFFENSE DEFENSE LT 71 Young LDE 78 Rudolph LG 72 Fest DT 76 Pear C 51 Ryczek DT 64 Robinson RG 67 Alward RDE 66 Toomay RT 74 Current LLB 30 Gunn TE 82 Pagac MLB 52 Reese WR 88 Smith RLB 54 Wood WR 84 Douglas LCB 24 Word FB 43 Williams SS 33 Cotney RB 32 Carter FS 28 Stone QB 5 Hanratty RCB 25 Jordan PLAYED 4 Green, 11 Spurrier, 19 Johnson, 20 Pierson, 21 Martin, 22 McNeill, 27 Davis, 35 DuBose, 44 Moore, 53 Ball, 55 Sims, 59 Lemon, 65 Moore, 69 McAleney, 70 Young, 77 Little, 79 Wilson, 80 Novak, 85 Owens, 89 McKay DID NOT PLAY 86 Moore INACTIVES 61 Selmon, 81 Jennings

SCORING PIT 7:01-1Q Bleier 7 run (Gerela kick) PIT 13:37-2Q Bleier 1 run (Gerela kick) PIT 12:53-2Q Kruczek 1 run (Gerela kick) PIT 6:05-2Q Bleier 3 run (Gerela kick) PIT 9:42-3Q Swann 35 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) PIT 0:17-3Q Swann 23 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)

GAME REPORTS Ron Martz of the St.Petersburg Times - how he saw the game Hubert Mizell of the St.Petersburg Times - his game column Click here for the gamebook and the play-by-play

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING BUCS: DuBose 5-32, Carter 11-26, Williams 8-25, McNeill 2-14, Hanratty 1-1, Green 1-0, MMoore 2-(-4). STEELERS: Bleier 29-118, Harris 14-55, Harrison 8-29, Lewis 1-8, Bradshaw 2-7, Fuqua 1-2, Pough 1-2, Kruczek 1-1, Deloplaine 1-0. PASSING BUCS: Hanratty 4-1-(-1)-1-0, Spurrier 10-4-58-1-0. STEELERS: Kruczek 7-6-84-0-0, Bradshaw 8-6-79-0-2. RECEIVING BUCS: Novak 2-30, Owens 1-27, Williams 1-1, Carter 1-(-1). STEELERS: Swann 5-92, Brown 2-29, Cunningham 2-15, Bleier 1-15, Lewis 1-9, Deloplaine 1-3. INTERCEPTIONS BUCS: none. STEELERS: Blount 1-27, Shell 1-4. KICK RETURNS BUCS: McNeil 3-47, Douglas 2-45, M.Moore 1-23, Johnson 1-16. STEELERS: Deloplaine 1-24. PUNT RETURNS BUCS: M.Moore 2-6. STEELERS: Deloplaine 3-14, Bell 2-12. SACKS BUCS: none. STEELERS: Greene 1.5-13.5, Furness 1.5-10.5, Lambert 1-15, Shell 0.5- 3.5, Toews 0.5-3.5.