Chargers Shred Steelers’ Lace Curtain, 54-44

Somewhere, Mean Joe Green, Jack Lambert and Mel Blount must have been staring blankly at their TV sets, not believing what they saw. The Steel Curtain of yesteryear seemed to have dissolved into a flimsy thing as easily shredded as a pair of cheap pantyhose.

It must have seemed an insult to every fan who ever hoisted a shot and a beer when the Pittsburgh defense, which was ranked atop the AFC statistically, gave up 34 points in the first half to the San Diego Chargers here Sunday night. The Steelers had not allowed that many points in one half since 1968, a span of 243 games that takes in a lot of history, including four Super Bowl championships.

Fortunately for the Steelers and the TV ratings, they were paired against a team with one of the more generous defenses in pro football. The Steelers were able to overcome a 34-17 deficit before being overrun, 54-44, in the fourth-highest scoring game in NFL history.

“It was a great defensive game,” Pittsburgh Coach Chuck Noll said, oozing sarcasm. “If you believe that, you’ll believe anything.

“The thing that’s disheartening is that we had guys who played hurt and played their hearts out.”

Strangely, it was the San Diego defense, which sometimes seems to have little heart and less skill, that settled the outcome after the Charger offense had thoroughly embarrassed the Steelers.

In the final two minutes, the Chargers intercepted two David Woodley passes and returned one for a touchdown.

“Without a doubt this is the most explosive attack we’ve ever had,” said Charger quarterback Dan Fouts, who threw for 372 yards and 3 touchdowns.

It was the the most points ever scored against a Pittsburgh team coached by Noll.

And it could have been worse. Fouts threw three interceptions, which detracted ever so slightly from the onslaught. As the game ended, the Chargers were encamped at the Pittsburgh one-yard line after a John Hendy interception.

“We weren’t trying to pour it on,” Fouts said. “I believe Coach Noll and the Steelers know that.”

Fouts was asked what makes the Charger offense just a little different from any other in Pete Rozelle’s domain. “You have to start with our head coach, Don Coryell,” he said. “There’s no finer offensive coach in NFL history. He instills a lot of confidence.”

Defense or no defense, this wildly gyrating affair made for one of the more entertaining games ABC has televised this year.

There seemed to be plenty of drama in store as the Chargers left the Steelers 2:25 to work with after taking a 47-44 lead on a short run by Gary Anderson.

Against the San Diego defense, that can be an eternity. Not this time, though. Jeff Dale intercepted a Woodley pass and went 47 yards to end the suspense in the highest scoring game in Pittsburgh history.

The loss left the Steelers at 6-8 and severely damaged their already thin playoff hopes. The Chargers, meanwhile, evened their record at 7-7 and boosted their faith in a better tomorrow.

“We’re unlimited in what we can do offensively,” running back Lionel James said. “This was the best we’ve played all year, and it was nice to get so much help from our defense.”

James rated the game his second-biggest thrill of the weekend, topped by his former Auburn teammate, Bo Jackson, winning the Heisman Trophy.

Center Don Macek said he’d never had more fun.

“It’s fun to look good on national TV and score 54 points on the top rated defense in the league,” he said.

Defensive back Donnie Shell offered a few thoughts on what happened to the Steelers.

“They were hitting us in our zone,” he said. “We felt we were going to stop them on their last drive, but we have a few breakdowns in communication that resulted in big plays. We couldn’t come up with the big play that would have iced it for us.”

Pittsburgh generosity contributed to three Charger touchdowns in the first half. The Steelers hadn’t permitted so much scoring in one half since a game against the San Francisco 49ers in 1968, the year before Noll became coach.

The Chargers put behind them the slow starts that had haunted them the two preceding games.

Thanks to a blocked punt by Derrie Nelson on Pittsburgh’s first series, the Chargers grabbed a 7-0 lead before the game was three minutes old. Tim Spencer scored on a 12-yard run.

Offense then became the keynote of the first period.

The Steelers marched 79 yards to tie the game on a 15-yard pass to Walter Abercrombie.

The Chargers answered with a 36-yard scoring pass to Wes Chandler.

San Diego, putting an emphatic end to the first half blahs of recent weeks, exploded to a 21-7 lead after Billy Ray Smith recovered an Abercrombie fumble at the Steeler 24.

Fouts delivered a 20-yard TD pass to Pete Holohan to give the Chargers a 14-point lead.

The Pittsburgh pass defense helped reduce that lead as Dwayne Woodruff picked off a Fouts throw and returned it 13 yards to the San Diego 38.

The Steelers got back in the game on an 8-yard TD toss to Louis Lipps.

They closed within four points at 21-17 on a 45-yard field goal by Gary Anderson his 16th in a row.