Steelers Play an Old Tune for Oilers : Abercrombie and Pollard Go Over 100 Yards in 30-7 Win

It was vintage Pittsburgh Steelers, but instead of Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier carrying the load, it was Frank Pollard and Walter Abercrombie.

Pollard gained 123 yards, Abercrombie had 107 and the former Baylor running backs each scored a touchdown Sunday in a 30-7 victory over the Houston Oilers.

Abercrombie and Pollard both carried the ball 23 times and became the first pair of Steelers to gain more than 100 yards in the same game since Harris and Bleier did it in a 21-0 victory over Houston in 1976.

“I give our line all the credit,” Abercrombie said. “They fired off the line well and helped Frank and me all day. Our guys played a courageous game, like Steeler teams of the past.”

Pollard broke a 56-yard run in the fourth quarter to set up Abercrombie’s score.

“I needed a game like this mentally,” Pollard said. “I kept thinking about not having a 100-yard game yet, but now I can quit thinking about that so much.”

David Woodley scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak and Gary Anderson kicked three field goals as the Steelers (6-5) won their third straight game to remain atop the AFC Central.

“We played a few good games earlier in the season and lost,” Steeler Coach Chuck Noll said. “But today, we reached down deep and won.”

Houston (4-7), which lost quarterback Warren Moon with a hip pointer late in the first quarter, was held to 163 yards total offense.

The Oilers were penalized 13 times for 75 yards compared to Pittsburgh’s 7 for 53. Pittsburgh held the ball for 40:17 to Houston’s 19:43.

“We just couldn’t seem to get anything going offensively,” Houston Coach Hugh Campbell said. “It seemed whenever we got something started, we had a penalty or lost yardage. Some of that credit has to go to Pittsburgh.”

Pittsburgh led, 10-0, at halftime on Anderson’s 52-yard field goal and Pollard’s two-yard scoring run, but the Oilers cut the deficit to three 1:35 into the third period.

Avon Riley jarred the ball loose from Pollard, and Frank Bush recovered at the Pittsburgh 21. It was only Pittsburgh’s fifth fumble of the season. Two plays later, Mike Rozier dashed in from 15 yards out for Houston’s only touchdown.

Pittsburgh came back with Woodley passing to Louis Lipps for a 50-yard gain to the Houston 18 but settled for a 31-yard Anderson field goal with 10:17 left in the quarter.

Two plays later, Oilers’ backup quarterback Oliver Luck fumbled the snap from center, and Robin Cole recovered at the Houston 33. The Steelers went the distance in six plays with Woodley scoring from a yard out to make it 20-7.

Anderson increased the lead to 23-7 with a 34-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the third period, and Abercrombie scored on a five-yard run with 3:07 left to cap Pittsburgh’s scoring.