The best thing about the Browns’ 1979 season is that they proved they had the stuff to beat Pittsburgh.

And beating the Steelers was a must, for it is what the Browns had to do to win the division and have a chance to get to the Super Bowl for the first time, and, hopefully, win it. The road to success went through Pittsburgh.

The Steelers in 1979 captured their second straight Super Bowl and fourth in six years dating back to 1974 as head coach Chuck Noll, a Cleveland Benedictine High School product and a messenger guard for Paul Brown with the Browns, rose from being the most inept franchise in the NFL for decades to becoming a dynasty.

Here’s a look at the Browns’ highlights in their two games against the Steelers in 1979, albeit both losses, including the one at Three Rivers Stadium in Week 13, 33-30 in overtime as Cleveland blew a two-touchdown lead:

*The Browns scored 65 points in the two meetings. You have to score to win, which was a challenge against a star-studded defense.

*Quarterback Brian Sipe picked apart the Steelers.  In the two games combined, he threw for 684 yards and eight touchdowns with four interceptions. He finished the year with a league-leading 28 TD passes. The Browns needed to have a prolific quarterback if they wanted to beat Pittsburgh. And they had one.

*His two favorite targets in the two games were wide receiver Dave Logan and tight end Ozzie Newsome. Logan had a combined total of 12 receptions for 226 yards (18.8 average) and three touchdowns, while Newsome added 11 catches for 174 yards (15.8) and two scores. Thus, the Browns had two pass-catchers the Steelers couldn’t cover.

This was a good thing for the Browns to think about — a real confidence-builder, to sure — in the offseason leading into 1980.

Steve King