Throughout NFL history, there have been a number of iconic teams that have burned their way into the memories of fans and media members everywhere. The ’85 Bears, the ’72 Dolphins, the ’07 Patriots, a number of Steelers teams in the ’70s and more come to mind.
When it comes to thinking about those past great teams, the conversation often centers on how good that team would be against other great teams or in other eras.
That was the case Wednesday morning on a special edition of Good Morning Football. After announcing the 2024 NFL International Games schedule, the GMFB crew did a whiteboard segment talking about the dream matchups they’d love to see from great teams in NFL history.
For Peter Schrager, his matchup was the 1978 Steelers against the 1999 St. Louis Rams, they of “Greatest Show on Turf” fame.
“Yeah, I would love to go to the NFL Films archives and splice together a game between these two teams. Gimme the ‘Greatest Show on Turf,’ the 1999 Rams, with, of course, Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Orlando Pace, Torry Holt, Az-Zahir Hakim, Isaac Bruce. We keep going and pin them against one of the greatest defenses of all time, the ’78 Steelers,” Schrager said, according to video via NFL.com. “I want to see a clash of styles. I want to see the ’78 Steelers versus the ’99 Rams.”
What a clash of styles that would be.
The Steelers went 14-2 in 1978 thanks to the best defense in the NFL that allowed just 12.2 points per game. In fact, that season the Steelers held opponents to 10 points or less eight times in the 16-game regular season, and then held two opponents to 10 points or less in the playoffs, that being the Denver Broncos in a 33-10 win in the AFC Divisional Round matchup and then the Houston Oilers in a 34-5 win in the AFC Conference Championship.
Featuring Hall of Famers Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Mel Blount, and Donnie Shell and greats like L.C. Greenwood and Mike Wagner defensively, the Steelers suffocated opponents.
That dream matchup would see one of the best defenses ever take on one of the most explosive offenses the NFL has ever seen in the ’99 Rams.
That season, St. Louis averaged 32.9 points a game offensively under head coach Dick Vermeil and offensive coordinator Mike Martz, as quarterback Kurt Warner became a sensation, going from stocking shelves while playing in the Arena League to an NFL MVP in St. Louis.
Along with Warner, who threw for 4,353 yards and 41 touchdowns that season to earn MVP, the Rams had Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk, Hall of Fame receiver Isaac Bruce, future Hall of Fame receiver Torry Holt, and Hall of Fame offensive tackle Orlando Pace.
The ’99 Rams are one of just five teams in NFL history to score more than 30 points 12 separate times in a single season. That’s how explosive that offensive was.
Both teams in Schrager’s dream matchup went on to win the Super Bowl those respective years, with the Steelers winning a shootout over the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII, 35-31, and the Rams winning Super Bowl XXXIV over the Tennessee Titans, 23-16. That game came down to the last play, a Mike Jones tackle on Titans receiver Kevin Dyson.
