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. Their -195 point differential is the worst in Steelers history.
NFL draft
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1 (Sunday September 19, 1965): Green Bay Packers
at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 38,383
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh â FG Clark 21
- Pittsburgh â FG Clark 34
- Green Bay â Adderley 34 interception (Chandler kick)
- Pittsburgh â FG Clark 32
- Green Bay â Fleming 31 pass from Starr (Chandler kick)
- Green Bay â FG Chandler 9
- Green Bay â FG Chandler 19
- Green Bay â Hornung 10 pass from Starr (Chandler kick)
- Green Bay â Pitts 2 run (Chandler kick)
- Green Bay â Pitts 2 run (Chandler kick)
at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, California
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 30,140
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- San Francisco â Crow 49 pass from Brodie (Davis kick)
- Pittsburgh â Hoak 1 run (Clark kick)
- San Francisco â FG Davis 37
- San Francisco â FG Davis 27
- Pittsburgh â FG Clark 32
- San Francisco â Wiltard 9 run (Davis kick)
- Pittsburgh â Campbell 15 fumble return (Clark kick)
- San Francisco â Brodie 4 run (Davis kick)
Week 3 (Sunday October 3, 1965): New York Giants
at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 31,871
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- New York Giants â Thurlow 6 run (Stynchula kick)
- Pittsburgh â FG Clark 22
- New York Giants â Morrison 4 pass form Morrall (Stynchula kick)
- Pittsburgh â FG Clark 48
- New York Giants â FG Timberlake 43
- Pittsburgh â Hoak 1 run (Clark kick)
- New York Giants â Thomas 29 pass form Morrall (kick failed)
Week 4 (Saturday October 9, 1965): Cleveland Browns
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 80,187
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Cleveland â FG Groza 38
- Cleveland â Brown 4 pass from Ryan (Groza kick)
- Pittsburgh â Nelsen 1 run (kick failed)
- Pittsburgh â Hoak â 42 run (kick failed)
- Cleveland â Brown 1 run (Groza kick)
- Pittsburgh â Hoak 15 run (Clark kick)
- Cleveland â Collins 14 pass from Ryan (Groza kick)
at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 31,085
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- St. Louis â Randle 8 pass from Johnson (Bakken kick)
- Pittsburgh â Ballman 5 run (Clark kick)
- St. Louis â FG Bakken 32
- St. Louis â Conrad 71 pass from Johnson (Bakken kick)
- St. Louis â FG Bakken 35
at Franklin Field, Philadelphia
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 56,515
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Philadelphia â Gros 4 run (Baker kick)
- Pittsburgh â Daniel 17 fumble return (kick failed)
- Pittsburgh â J. Bradshaw 82 interception return (Clark kick)
- Pittsburgh â Lind 4 pass from Nelsen (Clark kick)
- Philadelphia â Poage 14 pass from Concannon (Baker kick)
As of 2024, this remains the Steelers last win over the Eagles in Philadelphia.
Week 7 (Sunday October 31, 1965): Dallas Cowboys
at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 37,804
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Dallas â Smith 2 pass from Meredith (kick failed)
- Pittsburgh â Hoak 2 pass from Nelsen (kick failed)
- Pittsburgh â Ballman 20 pass from Nelsen (kick failed)
- Pittsburgh â Ballman 72 pass from Nelsen (Clark kick)
- Dallas â Gent 8 pass from Meredith (Villanueva kick)
- Pittsburgh â FG Clark 18
at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 31,899
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh â FG Clark 11
- St. Louis â Triplett 3 run (Bakken kick)
- St. Louis â Randle 15 pass from Johnson (Bakken kick)
- Pittsburgh â Jefferson 50 pass from Nelsen (Clark kick)
- Pittsburgh â Lind 2 run (Clark kick)
- St. Louis â Gambrell 59 pass from Johnson (Bakken kick)
Week 9 (Sunday November 14, 1965): Dallas Cowboys
at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 57,293
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh â Hoak 3 run (Clark kick)
- Dallas â Clarke 1 pass from Meredith (Villanueva kick)
- Dallas â FG Villanueva 33
- Pittsburgh â FG Clark 32
- Pittsburgh â Folkins 18 fumble return (Clark kick)
- Dallas â Reeves 2 run (Villanueva kick)
- Dallas â Hayes 28 pass from Meredith (Villanueva kick)
at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 25,052
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh â FG Clark 34
- Washington â Lewis 1 run (Jencks kick)
- Washington â FG Jencks 9
- Washington â Taylor 8 run (Jencks kick)
- Washington â Coia 45 pass from Jurgensen (Jencks kick)
- Washington â Harris 57 punt return (Jencks kick)
Week 11 (Sunday November 28, 1965): Cleveland Browns
at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 42,757
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Cleveland â Kelly 56 punt return (Groza kick)
- Cleveland â Brown 2 run (Groza kick)
- Cleveland â Brown 2 run (Groza kick)
- Pittsburgh â Ballman 87 pass from Nelsen (Clark kick)
- Cleveland â Brown 15 run (Groza kick)
- Pittsburgh â Butler 43 pass from Nelsen (Clark kick)
- Cleveland â Brewer 25 pass from Ninowski (Groza kick)
- Pittsburgh â Thomas 80 pass from Nelsen (Clark kick)
- Cleveland â Brown 27 pass from Ninowski (Groza kick)
Week 12 (Sunday December 5, 1965): New York Giants
at Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 62,735
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- New York Giants â Shofner 33 pass from Morrall (Timberlake kick)
- Pittsburgh â FG Clark 25
- Pittsburgh â Ballman 1 run (Clark kick)
- New York Giants â Frederickson 13 run (Timberlake kick)
- New York Giants â Frederickson 3 run (Timberlake kick)
- New York Giants â Frederickson 19 pass from Morrall (Timberlake kick)
- New York Giants â Jones 28 pass from Wood (Timberlake kick)
at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 22,002
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Philadelphia â Gros 2 run (Baker kick)
- Philadelphia â Retzlaff 13 pass from Snead (kick failed)
- Philadelphia â Matson 8 run (Baker kick)
- Philadelphia â Baughan 33 interception return (Baker kick)
- Philadelphia â Nettles 56 interception return (Baker kick)
- Pittsburgh â Ballman 20 pass from Wade (Clark kick)
- Pittsburgh â Woodson 61 interception return (kick failed)
- Philadelphia â Tarasovic 40 interception return (kick failed)
- Philadelphia â Lang 8 run (Baker kick)
at D.C. Stadium, Washington, D.C.
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 49,806
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Washington â Lewis 10 pass from Jurgensen (Jencks kick)
- Washington â Harris 34 interception (Jencks kick)
- Pittsburgh â Ballman 2 run (Clark kick)
- Washington â Walters 63 interception return (Jencks kick)
- Pittsburgh â Ballman 44 pass from Wade (Clark kick)
- Washington â Pellegrini 31 fumble return (Jencks kick)
- Washington â Hughley 4 pass from Jurgensen (Jencks kick)
Standings
References
External links