1965 Pittsburgh Steelers season

1965 Pittsburgh Steelers season
1965 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Head coach	Mike Nixon
Home field	Pitt Stadium
Results
Record	2–12
Division place	7th NFL Eastern
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
	← 1964; Steelers seasons; 1966 →;

The 1965 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 33rd in the National Football League.

The team set a modern NFL record with a minus-30 turnover ratio.^{[citation needed]} Their -195 point differential is the worst in Steelers history.

NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1965 Pittsburgh Steelers draft
2	18	Roy Jefferson *	Wide receiver	Utah
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

**1965 Pittsburgh Steelers roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 14 Bill Nelsen 16 Tommy Wade Running backs (RB) 23 Cannonball Butler FB 38 Mike Lind 42 Dick Hoak Wide receivers (WR) 87 Roy Jefferson 27 Red Mack 25 Jerry Simmons Tight ends (TE) 85 Gary Ballman 82 John Hilton		Offensive linemen (OL) 67 Ed Adamchik C 71 Charlie Bradshaw T 51 Ken Henson C 56 Art Hunter C 77 Dan James T 72 Ray Lemek G 68 Mike Magac G 62 Mike Sandusky G Defensive linemen (DL) 78 John Baker DE 64 Chuck Hinton DT 75 Ken Kortas DT 73 Ray Mansfield DT 60 Ben McGee DE		Linebackers (LB) 52 Gene Breen 53 John Campbell 50 Bill Saul 34 Andy Russell Defensive backs (DB) 24 Jim Bradshaw S 44 Willie Daniel CB 26 Brady Keys CB 20 Paul Martha FS 28 Clendon Thomas S 47 Marv Woodson CB Special teams 83 Mike Clark K 46 Frank Lambert P		Rookies in italics 49 active, 0 reserve, 5 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue
1	September 19	Green Bay Packers	L 9–41	0–1	Pitt Stadium
2	September 26	at San Francisco 49ers	L 17–27	0–2	Kezar Stadium
3	October 3	New York Giants	L 13–23	0–3	Pitt Stadium
4	October 9	at Cleveland Browns	L 19–24	0–4	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
5	October 17	St. Louis Cardinals	L 7–20	0–5	Pitt Stadium
6	October 24	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 20–14	1–5	Franklin Field
7	October 31	Dallas Cowboys	W 22–13	2–5	Pitt Stadium
8	November 7	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 17–21	2–6	Busch Stadium (I)
9	November 14	at Dallas Cowboys	L 17–24	2–7	Cotton Bowl
10	November 21	Washington Redskins	L 3–31	2–8	Pitt Stadium
11	November 28	Cleveland Browns	L 21–42	2–9	Pitt Stadium
12	December 5	at New York Giants	L 10–35	2–10	Yankee Stadium
13	December 12	Philadelphia Eagles	L 13–47	2–11	Pitt Stadium
14	December 19	at Washington Redskins	L 14–35	2–12	D. C. Stadium

Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1 (Sunday September 19, 1965): Green Bay Packers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	0	7	13	21	41
Steelers	0	9	0	0	9

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 38,383
Referee:
TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

Pittsburgh – FG Clark 21
Pittsburgh – FG Clark 34
Green Bay – Adderley 34 interception (Chandler kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Clark 32
Green Bay – Fleming 31 pass from Starr (Chandler kick)
Green Bay – FG Chandler 9
Green Bay – FG Chandler 19
Green Bay – Hornung 10 pass from Starr (Chandler kick)
Green Bay – Pitts 2 run (Chandler kick)
Green Bay – Pitts 2 run (Chandler kick)

Week 2 (Sunday September 26, 1965): San Francisco 49ers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	7	0	10	0	17
49ers	7	6	7	7	27

at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, California

Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 30,140
Referee:
TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

San Francisco – Crow 49 pass from Brodie (Davis kick)
Pittsburgh – Hoak 1 run (Clark kick)
San Francisco – FG Davis 37
San Francisco – FG Davis 27
Pittsburgh – FG Clark 32
San Francisco – Wiltard 9 run (Davis kick)
Pittsburgh – Campbell 15 fumble return (Clark kick)
San Francisco – Brodie 4 run (Davis kick)

Week 3 (Sunday October 3, 1965): New York Giants

	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	7	7	0	9	23
Steelers	0	3	3	7	13

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 31,871
Referee:
TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

New York Giants – Thurlow 6 run (Stynchula kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Clark 22
New York Giants – Morrison 4 pass form Morrall (Stynchula kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Clark 48
New York Giants – FG Timberlake 43
Pittsburgh – Hoak 1 run (Clark kick)
New York Giants – Thomas 29 pass form Morrall (kick failed)

Week 4 (Saturday October 9, 1965): Cleveland Browns

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	6	6	7	19
Browns	10	0	7	7	24

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 80,187
Referee:
TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

Cleveland – FG Groza 38
Cleveland – Brown 4 pass from Ryan (Groza kick)
Pittsburgh – Nelsen 1 run (kick failed)
Pittsburgh – Hoak – 42 run (kick failed)
Cleveland – Brown 1 run (Groza kick)
Pittsburgh – Hoak 15 run (Clark kick)
Cleveland – Collins 14 pass from Ryan (Groza kick)

Week 5 (Sunday October 17, 1965): St. Louis Cardinals

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	7	0	3	10	20
Steelers	7	0	0	0	7

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 31,085
Referee:
TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

St. Louis – Randle 8 pass from Johnson (Bakken kick)
Pittsburgh – Ballman 5 run (Clark kick)
St. Louis – FG Bakken 32
St. Louis – Conrad 71 pass from Johnson (Bakken kick)
St. Louis – FG Bakken 35

Week 6 (Sunday October 24, 1965): Philadelphia Eagles

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	6	7	7	0	20
Eagles	7	0	0	7	14

at Franklin Field, Philadelphia

Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 56,515
Referee:
TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

Philadelphia – Gros 4 run (Baker kick)
Pittsburgh – Daniel 17 fumble return (kick failed)
Pittsburgh – J. Bradshaw 82 interception return (Clark kick)
Pittsburgh – Lind 4 pass from Nelsen (Clark kick)
Philadelphia – Poage 14 pass from Concannon (Baker kick)

Week 7 (Sunday October 31, 1965): Dallas Cowboys

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	6	0	7	0	13
Steelers	0	19	0	3	22

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 37,804
Referee:
TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

Dallas – Smith 2 pass from Meredith (kick failed)
Pittsburgh – Hoak 2 pass from Nelsen (kick failed)
Pittsburgh – Ballman 20 pass from Nelsen (kick failed)
Pittsburgh – Ballman 72 pass from Nelsen (Clark kick)
Dallas – Gent 8 pass from Meredith (Villanueva kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Clark 18

Week 8 (Sunday November 7, 1965): St. Louis Cardinals

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	3	0	0	14	17
Cardinals	0	7	7	7	21

at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri

Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 31,899
Referee:
TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

Pittsburgh – FG Clark 11
St. Louis – Triplett 3 run (Bakken kick)
St. Louis – Randle 15 pass from Johnson (Bakken kick)
Pittsburgh – Jefferson 50 pass from Nelsen (Clark kick)
Pittsburgh – Lind 2 run (Clark kick)
St. Louis – Gambrell 59 pass from Johnson (Bakken kick)

Week 9 (Sunday November 14, 1965): Dallas Cowboys

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	7	0	10	0	17
Cowboys	7	3	0	14	24

at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 57,293
Referee:
TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

Pittsburgh – Hoak 3 run (Clark kick)
Dallas – Clarke 1 pass from Meredith (Villanueva kick)
Dallas – FG Villanueva 33
Pittsburgh – FG Clark 32
Pittsburgh – Folkins 18 fumble return (Clark kick)
Dallas – Reeves 2 run (Villanueva kick)
Dallas – Hayes 28 pass from Meredith (Villanueva kick)

Week 10 (Sunday November 21, 1965): Washington Redskins

	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	0	10	14	7	31
Steelers	3	0	0	0	3

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 25,052
Referee:
TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

Pittsburgh – FG Clark 34
Washington – Lewis 1 run (Jencks kick)
Washington – FG Jencks 9
Washington – Taylor 8 run (Jencks kick)
Washington – Coia 45 pass from Jurgensen (Jencks kick)
Washington – Harris 57 punt return (Jencks kick)

Week 11 (Sunday November 28, 1965): Cleveland Browns

	1	2	3	4	Total
Browns	0	7	14	21	42
Steelers	0	0	7	14	21

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 42,757
Referee:
TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

Cleveland – Kelly 56 punt return (Groza kick)
Cleveland – Brown 2 run (Groza kick)
Cleveland – Brown 2 run (Groza kick)
Pittsburgh – Ballman 87 pass from Nelsen (Clark kick)
Cleveland – Brown 15 run (Groza kick)
Pittsburgh – Butler 43 pass from Nelsen (Clark kick)
Cleveland – Brewer 25 pass from Ninowski (Groza kick)
Pittsburgh – Thomas 80 pass from Nelsen (Clark kick)
Cleveland – Brown 27 pass from Ninowski (Groza kick)

Week 12 (Sunday December 5, 1965): New York Giants

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	3	7	0	0	10
Giants	7	21	0	7	35

at Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York

Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 62,735
Referee:
TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

New York Giants – Shofner 33 pass from Morrall (Timberlake kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Clark 25
Pittsburgh – Ballman 1 run (Clark kick)
New York Giants – Frederickson 13 run (Timberlake kick)
New York Giants – Frederickson 3 run (Timberlake kick)
New York Giants – Frederickson 19 pass from Morrall (Timberlake kick)
New York Giants – Jones 28 pass from Wood (Timberlake kick)

Week 13 (Sunday December 12, 1965): Philadelphia Eagles

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	27	7	6	7	47
Steelers	0	13	0	0	13

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 22,002
Referee:
TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

Philadelphia – Gros 2 run (Baker kick)
Philadelphia – Retzlaff 13 pass from Snead (kick failed)
Philadelphia – Matson 8 run (Baker kick)
Philadelphia – Baughan 33 interception return (Baker kick)
Philadelphia – Nettles 56 interception return (Baker kick)
Pittsburgh – Ballman 20 pass from Wade (Clark kick)
Pittsburgh – Woodson 61 interception return (kick failed)
Philadelphia – Tarasovic 40 interception return (kick failed)
Philadelphia – Lang 8 run (Baker kick)

Week 14 (December 19, 1965): Washington Redskins

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	14	0	0	14
Redskins	14	14	7	0	35

at D.C. Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 49,806
Referee:
TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

Washington – Lewis 10 pass from Jurgensen (Jencks kick)
Washington – Harris 34 interception (Jencks kick)
Pittsburgh – Ballman 2 run (Clark kick)
Washington – Walters 63 interception return (Jencks kick)
Pittsburgh – Ballman 44 pass from Wade (Clark kick)
Washington – Pellegrini 31 fumble return (Jencks kick)
Washington – Hughley 4 pass from Jurgensen (Jencks kick)

Standings

NFL Eastern Conference
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns	11	3	0	.786	11–1	363	325	W1
Dallas Cowboys	7	7	0	.500	6–6	325	280	W3
New York Giants	7	7	0	.500	7–5	270	338	L1
Washington Redskins	6	8	0	.429	6–6	257	301	W1
Philadelphia Eagles	5	9	0	.357	5–7	363	359	L1
St. Louis Cardinals	5	9	0	.357	5–7	296	309	L6
Pittsburgh Steelers	2	12	0	.143	2–10	202	397	L7

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References

External links

1965 Pittsburgh Steelers season at Profootballreference.com
1965 Pittsburgh Steelers season statistics at jt-sw.com