Editing Immaculate Reception (section)

==Background==
===Playoff history===
The [[1972 Oakland Raiders season|Oakland Raiders]] had been to the [[postseason]] four previous times. In [[1967 American Football League season|1967]] they won the AFL Championship before losing [[Super Bowl II]] against the [[1967 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers]]. The following three seasons they made it back to the playoffs but lost to the eventual champions in all three instances ([[1968 New York Jets season|New York Jets]] in [[Super Bowl III|1968]], [[1969 Kansas City Chiefs season|Kansas City Chiefs]] in [[Super Bowl IV|1969]], [[1970 Baltimore Colts season|Baltimore Colts]] in [[Super Bowl V|1970]]). The "Immaculate Reception" game thus marked their return to the postseason after missing out on a playoff berth the year before.<ref>[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/rai/playoffs.htm Las Vegas Raiders Playoff History], ''Pro Football Reference''. Retrieved February 17, 2021.</ref>

The [[1972 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Pittsburgh Steelers]], on the other hand, had appeared in the postseason only once, losing against the [[1947 Philadelphia Eagles season|Philadelphia Eagles]], 21–0, in an NFL divisional playoff game on December 21, 1947. The Steelers' fortunes began to change, however, in 1969, when they hired head coach [[Chuck Noll]], who won four Super Bowls in six years with the team [[Pittsburgh Steelers#The Chuck Noll era|between the 1974 and 1979 seasons]]. That streak began two years after the "Immaculate Reception" game.<ref>[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/pit/playoffs.htm Pittsburgh Steelers Playoff History], ''Pro Football Reference''. Retrieved February 17, 2021.</ref>

===1972 season===
The [[1972 NFL season|1972 season]] marked the third year after the [[AFL-NFL merger]], which had the Steelers move to the newly formed American Football ''Conference'' despite not having been a member of the [[American Football League|American Football ''League'']]. Thus, this was the third year in which a playoff meeting between the Raiders and the Steelers could take place outside a Super Bowl.

Having missed the playoffs the year before, the two teams met in the opening game of the season (on September 17), which Pittsburgh won, 34–28. In that game, the Steelers took leads of 17–0 and 27–7 on a blocked-punt return touchdown and two rushing touchdowns by [[quarterback]] [[Terry Bradshaw]]. Oakland fought back with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including a 70-yard touchdown pass from quarterback [[Daryle Lamonica]] to [[wide receiver]] [[Mike Siani (American football)|Mike Siani]], but Pittsburgh prevailed.<ref>[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197209170pit.htm Oakland Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers - September 17th, 1972], ''Pro Football Reference''. Retrieved February 17, 2021.</ref>

Both teams won their respective divisions. Pittsburgh's 11–3 record put them one game over the [[1972 Cleveland Browns season|Cleveland Browns]], who earned the AFC's [[wild card (sports)|wild card]] spot, and Oakland's mark of 10–3–1 ousted the [[1972 Kansas City Chiefs season|Kansas City Chiefs]] by 2½ games. Until 1975 the home teams in the playoffs were two of the three division champions decided based on a yearly divisional rotation. The [[1972 Miami Dolphins season|Miami Dolphins]] hosted the wild card team in the first round of the playoffs, which set up the matchup between Pittsburgh and Oakland.<ref>[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1972/ 1972 NFL Standings & Team Stats], ''Pro Football Reference''. Retrieved February 17, 2021.</ref>