TAMPA, Fla. - The game could have been remembered for Arizona's incredible comeback, the way the Cardinals scored 16 points in five minutes late in the fourth quarter against the powerful Steelers defense.
The game might have been remembered for the final score of that flurry, a deep post pattern where Larry Fitzgerald caught the short pass in stride, split two defenders, then raced 64 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. The game might have been remembered simply because the Arizona Cardinals, the laughingstocks of the NFL, were leading the Super Bowl with 2:27 left in the game.
Super Bowl XLIII should have been remembered for the ensuing drive, where Ben Roethlisberger took over, got the Steelers as far as midfield with a minute to play, then hit Santonio Holmes with a pass down to the 4-yard line. Then certainly, the game absolutely should have been remembered for what happened next, maybe the greatest pass in Super Bowl history, as Roesthlisberger rolled right, saw Holmes in the back corner of the end zone, and threw a pass that only Holmes could catch, and catch it he did, all fingertips and toes, somehow holding on to the ball and somehow staying in bounds.
That is really what should be the lasting memory of the game: Holmes' incredible, jaw-dropping, game-winning catch in the corner of the end zone, the kind of catch that every young receiver dreams of making but so few professional receivers even have the ability to make. It gave the Steelers a 27-23 lead, a lead they held for the final 35 seconds.
But what people remember most about that game is the final play of the first half, where the longest play in Super Bowl history became the mother of all momentum swings.
Kurt Warner had led the Cardinals down to the 4-yard line with :18 seconds left in the half. As he walked to the line and surveyed the defense, he recognized instantly the defense the Steelers were playing: when linebacker James Harrison rushed off the right end, he would leave a hole in the defense, which would then be filled by Anquan Boldin running a slant. Touchdown. 14-10 Cardinals at the half.
Except Harrison didn't rush. He took two steps in, then dropped back right into the passing lane. Did he do this because he wasn't sure on what play was called? Or did he see something in what the Cardinals were doing to put himself in that position? Whatever the reason, Warner didn't see him there, didn't expect him to be there, and he fired a pass directly into Harrison's chest. And then Harrison took off.
And as Harrison ran down the sidelines with a convoy of defenders-turned-blockers in front of him, it started to look like the Steelers would end this in position to try a Hail Mary pass at the end of the half. And as he broke a couple tackles on the sideline, it looked like they'd actually be able to try a kick. And then Harrison made that cut to the inside, looking more like a running back than a linebacker, and the impossible seemed plausible: was he really going to take it to the house? After running 98 yards, Harrison was finally caught by Fitzgerald, who had run 110 and been knocked down along the way, but as Fitzgerald made the tackle, Harrison's momentum took him into the end zone for the most shocking touchdown in Super Bowl history.
The game should have been over at that point. A certain 14-10 Cardinals lead at halftime turned into a 17-7 lead for Pittsburgh in the time it took Harrison to rumble 100 yards. The Steelers added a field goal in the third to make it 20-7, and against that defense, it wouldn't have been out of the question for the Cardinals to lose hope. So give them credit for fighting back, for making the fourth quarter one of the most exciting in the history of the game.
But everything that happened in the fourth quarter pales in comparision to the vision of Pittsburgh's linebacker rumbling down the sideline, somehow avoiding stepping out of bounds or getting tackled, and running into the NFL record books.
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh Steelers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh Steelers. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
January 28, 1996: The best team money can buy
TEMPE, Ariz. - The NFL's salary cap for the 1995 season was $37.2 million per team. Jerry Jones' Dallas Cowboys made a combined $62 million that year. Using a combination of signing bonuses and delayed payments to get around the league's hard salary cap, Jones made his Cowboys the best team money could buy.
He needed that money to keep that team together. Keeping offensive stars like Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, and Michael Irvin together long-term was expensive, not to mention one of the best defenses in the game. Plus, after the Cowboys had lost the previous year's NFC Championship Game to San Francisco, Jones went out and signed San Francisco's best defender, Deion Sanders, to shore up his defense.
The addition of Sanders was the spark the Cowboys needed to get back to their third Super Bowl in four years for the 1995 season, and in that game, Sanders had the impact Jones was looking for. He caught one pass for 47 yards and returned one punt for 11 yards - numbers that don't look too impressive. But Sanders' mere presence on one side of the defensive secondary forced the Steelers to ignore that side of the field completely in their passing game. This led to more throws being forced to the other side, where cornerback Larry Brown was waiting.
Despite all the star power on the Cowboys sideline, the Steelers stayed in the game. Bam Morris outrushed the future hall of famer Smith for the game. And while Steelers quarterback Neil O'Donnell is remembered for having a particularly bad game - throwing three interceptions - two of his interceptions came in the fourth as the Steelers were desperately trying to come back, and he actually threw for more yards than Aikman in the Super Bowl.
The Steelers entered the fourth quarter trailing 20-7, but, with the help of a successful surprise onside kick, cut that deficit to 20-17 with 6:36 left. After the Steelers forced a Cowboys punt, they got the ball back with 4:01 left with a chance to drive for the lead. But Brown intercepted O'Donnell on the second play of the drive - Brown's second pick of the game - and returned the ball to the 6-yard line. From there, Smith clinched the Cowboys' third title in four years with his second touchdown run of the game.
Brown was named MVP of the Super Bowl, the first cornerback so honored, then signed a big free-agent contract with the Raiders and had only one interception the rest of his career. The Cowboys had become the first team to win three Super Bowls in four seasons and had become the first NFL franchise to reach five Super Bowl wins, but that was the peak of their dynasty. They only won one playoff game the next season, then didn't win another one until 2009.
Still, Jerry Jones' spending spree paid off in the victory in Super Bowl XXX, as the Cowboys won the game that cemented their legacy as the Team of the 90s.
He needed that money to keep that team together. Keeping offensive stars like Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, and Michael Irvin together long-term was expensive, not to mention one of the best defenses in the game. Plus, after the Cowboys had lost the previous year's NFC Championship Game to San Francisco, Jones went out and signed San Francisco's best defender, Deion Sanders, to shore up his defense.
The addition of Sanders was the spark the Cowboys needed to get back to their third Super Bowl in four years for the 1995 season, and in that game, Sanders had the impact Jones was looking for. He caught one pass for 47 yards and returned one punt for 11 yards - numbers that don't look too impressive. But Sanders' mere presence on one side of the defensive secondary forced the Steelers to ignore that side of the field completely in their passing game. This led to more throws being forced to the other side, where cornerback Larry Brown was waiting.
Despite all the star power on the Cowboys sideline, the Steelers stayed in the game. Bam Morris outrushed the future hall of famer Smith for the game. And while Steelers quarterback Neil O'Donnell is remembered for having a particularly bad game - throwing three interceptions - two of his interceptions came in the fourth as the Steelers were desperately trying to come back, and he actually threw for more yards than Aikman in the Super Bowl.
The Steelers entered the fourth quarter trailing 20-7, but, with the help of a successful surprise onside kick, cut that deficit to 20-17 with 6:36 left. After the Steelers forced a Cowboys punt, they got the ball back with 4:01 left with a chance to drive for the lead. But Brown intercepted O'Donnell on the second play of the drive - Brown's second pick of the game - and returned the ball to the 6-yard line. From there, Smith clinched the Cowboys' third title in four years with his second touchdown run of the game.
Brown was named MVP of the Super Bowl, the first cornerback so honored, then signed a big free-agent contract with the Raiders and had only one interception the rest of his career. The Cowboys had become the first team to win three Super Bowls in four seasons and had become the first NFL franchise to reach five Super Bowl wins, but that was the peak of their dynasty. They only won one playoff game the next season, then didn't win another one until 2009.
Still, Jerry Jones' spending spree paid off in the victory in Super Bowl XXX, as the Cowboys won the game that cemented their legacy as the Team of the 90s.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
December 23, 1972: The Immaculate Reception
PITTSBURGH - The Steelers were facing fourth and 10 from their own 40, only 22 seconds left. Trailing 7-6, they had to find some way to get into field goal range, some way to pull off a miracle and avoid another heart-wrenching loss. The Steelers had led most of the way in this game, up until Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler scored on a 30-yard run with 1:17 left to give Oakland the lead. The Steelers had gone from being a minute away from the first postseason win in franchise history to looking defeat in the face.
The play was 66 Circle Option. Terry Bradshaw dropped back to pass and immediately faced heavy pressure from two Raiders defenders. He threw a ball deep over the middle, intended for running back Frenchy Fuqua. The ball, Fuqua, and Raiders safety Jack Tatum all converged at the Oakland 35 yard line, resulting in a bone-crushing collision. The ball caromed straight back from that collision, and it looked like it was over.
But then, Steelers running back Franco Harris reached down, grabbed the ball off his shoetops, and took off down the sideline. Stunned, the Raiders tried to shift direction to chase him down. Harris stiff-armed Oakland cornerback Jimmy Warren at the 12 yard line and ran in for an improbable touchdown.
It was bedlam at Three Rivers Stadium. Fans were going crazy in the stands, even running onto the field to celebrate. Meanwhile, the officials ran off the field and huddled. They had a lot to talk about.
The first thing was the catch itself. Did Harris catch the deflected ball before it hit the ground? The officials who were watching the ball said he did. Television replays were inconclusive, and remain so to this day. There are two angles that show Harris grabbing the point of the ball seemingly just before it hit the ground, but neither shows a view of the ground, so nobody except Harris can say for sure whether he caught it. For his part, Harris has never said one way or the other. This question of the play has never been conclusively resolved.
The second thing was the deflection. Which player did the ball hit before caroming back toward Harris? According to the rules at the time, if an offensive player touched a forward pass, no other player on the offensive team was eligible to catch the pass, but if a defensive player touched the ball, anybody could catch it. The collision between Fuqua and Tatum happened so fast that it's impossible to see which player touched the ball; in fact, a couple of the cameras covering the game didn't even get the collision on frame. The people watching the game live thought the ball hit Tatum's shoulder pads, making it a legal catch, but Tatum and the Raiders insisted it caromed off Fuqua instead. Again, this portion of the play has never been conclusively resolved.
Armed with that data, and with the fact that the original ruling on the field was a touchdown, referee Fred Swearingen called up to the head of the NFL officials. Many people say Swearingen was using instant replay to determine the right call, but this was not the case; he was merely calling up to confirm that the on-field officials were interpreting the deflection rule properly. Receiving confirmation, he ran onto the middle of the field, putting his arms up and starting the celebration all over again.
The Immaculate Reception, as it has become known, instantly earned a place in pro football history. It gave the Steelers their first postseason victory in franchise history and it helped kick-start the Steelers-Raiders rivalry that would dominate the 1970s. With their first playoff victory finally behind them, the Steelers began their climb to the top of the NFL, becoming one of the model franchises in the league.
The play has time and again been voted the most famous in NFL history, and it is often voted the most controversial, as well. Nobody who saw the play ever forgot it, and those involved still cannot fully explain what happened. Most notably among the affected was Raiders coach John Madden, who has said he never got over what happened that day. Later in his life, he wrote the ultimate testament to the play: "No matter how many times I watch the films of the 'immaculate reception' play, I never know for sure what happened."
The play was 66 Circle Option. Terry Bradshaw dropped back to pass and immediately faced heavy pressure from two Raiders defenders. He threw a ball deep over the middle, intended for running back Frenchy Fuqua. The ball, Fuqua, and Raiders safety Jack Tatum all converged at the Oakland 35 yard line, resulting in a bone-crushing collision. The ball caromed straight back from that collision, and it looked like it was over.But then, Steelers running back Franco Harris reached down, grabbed the ball off his shoetops, and took off down the sideline. Stunned, the Raiders tried to shift direction to chase him down. Harris stiff-armed Oakland cornerback Jimmy Warren at the 12 yard line and ran in for an improbable touchdown.
It was bedlam at Three Rivers Stadium. Fans were going crazy in the stands, even running onto the field to celebrate. Meanwhile, the officials ran off the field and huddled. They had a lot to talk about.
The first thing was the catch itself. Did Harris catch the deflected ball before it hit the ground? The officials who were watching the ball said he did. Television replays were inconclusive, and remain so to this day. There are two angles that show Harris grabbing the point of the ball seemingly just before it hit the ground, but neither shows a view of the ground, so nobody except Harris can say for sure whether he caught it. For his part, Harris has never said one way or the other. This question of the play has never been conclusively resolved.
The second thing was the deflection. Which player did the ball hit before caroming back toward Harris? According to the rules at the time, if an offensive player touched a forward pass, no other player on the offensive team was eligible to catch the pass, but if a defensive player touched the ball, anybody could catch it. The collision between Fuqua and Tatum happened so fast that it's impossible to see which player touched the ball; in fact, a couple of the cameras covering the game didn't even get the collision on frame. The people watching the game live thought the ball hit Tatum's shoulder pads, making it a legal catch, but Tatum and the Raiders insisted it caromed off Fuqua instead. Again, this portion of the play has never been conclusively resolved.
Armed with that data, and with the fact that the original ruling on the field was a touchdown, referee Fred Swearingen called up to the head of the NFL officials. Many people say Swearingen was using instant replay to determine the right call, but this was not the case; he was merely calling up to confirm that the on-field officials were interpreting the deflection rule properly. Receiving confirmation, he ran onto the middle of the field, putting his arms up and starting the celebration all over again.
The Immaculate Reception, as it has become known, instantly earned a place in pro football history. It gave the Steelers their first postseason victory in franchise history and it helped kick-start the Steelers-Raiders rivalry that would dominate the 1970s. With their first playoff victory finally behind them, the Steelers began their climb to the top of the NFL, becoming one of the model franchises in the league.
The play has time and again been voted the most famous in NFL history, and it is often voted the most controversial, as well. Nobody who saw the play ever forgot it, and those involved still cannot fully explain what happened. Most notably among the affected was Raiders coach John Madden, who has said he never got over what happened that day. Later in his life, he wrote the ultimate testament to the play: "No matter how many times I watch the films of the 'immaculate reception' play, I never know for sure what happened."
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