Lambert was selected by the
Steelers in the second round of the
1974 NFL draft, he measured and as a rookie. As a high school senior, he was 6 ft 3½ in and 170 pounds (77 kg), In Carson's "Double-Rotating Zone"/
Cover-2 defense, the safeties played back in a two-deep zone and the cornerbacks played in two shallow zones, or in bump-and-run coverage. Along with that, the middle linebacker dropped back into a middle zone to cover the space between the safeties. Middle linebackers had not been positioned in such a way previously (
Dick Butkus and
Ray Nitschke were the epitomes of the run-support middle linebacker playing close to the line). But Lambert's size, speed, and talents facilitated the new role. Early on, Carson had Lambert covering tight ends and the first back out of the backfield (unique at the time for a middle linebacker), and calling defensive play changes to match what the offense would call. That Steelers team included five rookies who would be future Hall of Fame players (including Lambert). He would lead the Steelers in tackles every season but his last, and would be voted team MVP twice. Lambert was first-team All-Conference and second-team All-Pro that year. Greene was unable to play in the AFC divisional playoff game against the
Baltimore Colts or in the
AFC Championship Game against the
Oakland Raiders. Yet, the Steelers defeated both the Colts and the Raiders. In the championship game, Lambert compensated for Greene's absence by moving all over the field, recovering a record three fumbles in the Steelers' victory. Lambert had 14 tackles in the game. Even in the 3–4, Lambert retained the "Mike" role as the team's signal-caller on defense. According to Steelers media guides, Lambert averaged 146 tackles per season through his 10th year. He recorded only 19 in his 11th and final season because of an injury. Before that final year, Lambert missed only six games in the previous ten years. In a nine-year span, Jack Lambert was named to nine straight Pro Bowls and was NFL Defensive Player of the Year once. commemorating the careers of four Hall of Fame inductees, including Lambert's on the far right sideIn 1976, after quarterback
Terry Bradshaw, receiver
Lynn Swann and several other starters went down with injuries, the Steelers struggled to a 1–4 record early in the season. (Other sources state that Bradshaw was injured in game 5 against the
Cleveland Browns when hit by
Joe "Turkey" Jones, and missed games after that fifth game, with only three starts the rest of the season.) At a "players only" meeting, Lambert made it clear that "the only way we are going to the playoffs to defend our title is to win them all from here out." In a remarkable nine-game span, the Steelers defense allowed only two touchdowns and a total of 28 points, including five shutouts. The Steelers won all of these games and finished at 10–4. The defense gave up only a league leading 138 points for the entire season, and allowed the fewest yards. This was the least points allowed per game in AFC history at that time (9.9), and third least in NFL history, behind the
1969 Minnesota Vikings (9.5) and the
1975 Los Angeles Rams (9.6). Eight of the eleven defensive starters on the Steelers made the
Pro Bowl that year. In a first, all three of the Steelers starting linebackers (Lambert,
Jack Ham and
Andy Russell), were named Pro Bowl starters. In 1976, however, the Steelers lost in the AFC championship game to Oakland, and in 1977, they lost in the divisional playoff round to the
Denver Broncos. In 1978 and 1979, they returned to the Super Bowl, winning again over Dallas in
Super Bowl XIII and defeating the
Los Angeles Rams in
Super Bowl XIV. Lambert had a key interception in securing the victory over the Rams. ==Broadcasting career==