Age: 34
13th
season in pro football & with Steelers
College: Louisiana Tech
Height: 6’3” Weight: 210
Prelude:
The first
overall pick by the Steelers in 1970, Bradshaw took time to develop. In 1974, his
fifth season, he lost his starting job early to Joe Gilliam but reclaimed it
and led Pittsburgh to the first NFL Championship in franchise history. Unchallenged
as the starting quarterback, he was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time
in 1975 as the Steelers won a second straight Super Bowl. Following an
injury-plagued 1976 season, he came back in ’77 to achieve a new high with 2523
passing yards while leading the NFL with 8.0 yards per attempt and in 1978 he
received MVP and consensus first-team All-NFL honors as he led the league in TD
passes (28) and yards per attempt (7.9) and the AFC in passing (84.7 rating),
and the Steelers won another Super Bowl. Bradshaw had another Pro Bowl season
in 1979, throwing for a career-high 3724 yards and leading the Steelers to a
fourth NFL title. While there were no more championships, Bradshaw played well
for a team showing its age in 1980, passing for 3339 yards and 24 touchdowns,
and he threw for 2887 yards and 22 TDs in 1981.
1982 Season Summary
Appeared and
started in all 9 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 240
[15]
Most
attempts, game – 42 vs. Cincinnati 9/19
Completions –
127 [15]
Most
completions, game – 29 vs. Cincinnati 9/19
Yards – 1768
[14]
Most yards,
game – 298 vs. Cincinnati 9/19
Completion
percentage – 52.9
Yards per
attempt – 7.4 [11]
TD passes – 17
[1, tied with Dan Fouts & Joe Montana]
Most TD
passes, game – 3 at Dallas 9/13, vs. Cincinnati 9/19, at Houston 11/21, vs.
Kansas City 12/5
Interceptions
– 11 [8, tied with six others]
Most
interceptions, game – 4 at Cleveland 12/19
Passer rating
– 81.4 [8]
200-yard
passing games – 6
Rushing
Attempts – 8
Yards – 10
Yards per
attempt – 1.3
TDs – 0
Postseason: 1
G (AFC First Round playoff vs. San Diego)
Pass attempts
– 39
Pass
completions – 28
Passing
yardage – 325
TD passes – 2
Interceptions
– 2
Rushing
attempts – 2
Rushing yards
– 12
Average gain
rushing – 6.0
Rushing TDs –
1
Steelers went
6-3 in the strike-shortened season and were fourth seed in the AFC playoff
tournament that replaced the usual postseason format. Lost First Round playoff
to San Diego Chargers (31-28).
Aftermath:
The 1982 season
proved to effectively be Bradshaw’s last as a severe elbow injury limited him
to the season finale in 1983, and he was forced to retire. For his career, he
passed for 27,989 yards and 212 TDs, but most significantly had a 107-51 record
as a starting quarterback (as well as 14-5 in the postseason, 4-0 in the Super
Bowl). Bradshaw was a consensus first-team All-NFL selection once, received
second-team All-NFL or All-AFC honors after two other years, and was selected
to the Pro Bowl three times. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of
Fame, Class of 1989.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
