This guy, Number 92, was the reason that the Steelers won their last Super Bowl


James Harrison, 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, won that Super Bowl with 100-yard return

… responsible for 14 point turnaround

On paper, the Steelers should never have won their sixth Super Bowl, number XLIII. They were thoroughly outplayed offensively by the Arizona Cardinals, but the key play — and the MVP performance — occurred on the final play of the first half, not late in the game. 

On that play, the Cardinals were on the 2-yard line, and 37-year-old QB Kurt Warner completely misread the Steeler defense. Dick LeBeau blitzed from the outside, and that put pressure on Warner.

Warner flipped the ball on a short look-in but did not see Harrison. The rest, as they say, is history,


Why is that such an important play?

Not only did Harrison intercept, the ball he returned it a record 100 yards for a Steeler touchdown. 

At the time, the Steelers were leading, 10-7, and if Warner completes that for a TD, it would be 14-10 Cardinals at halftime. Instead, it was 17-7. 

Woeful Steeler offense

Placing that further into context. The Steelers pulled the game out in the last 2:37, and the plaudits were given to the Steeler offense. Santonio Holmes did deserve the MVP away for his play on the final drive. 

However, the catch that is called great, was really not the great play. That call before that when he took a pass and ran 40 yards to the Arizona 6 to set up the finale. He caught 9 passes for 131 yards and one TD. 

However, on that drive alone, he had four catches for 73 yards. Before that, he had just 5 catches for 58 yards and no touchdowns. 

In short, the Steeler offense under Ben Roethlisberger had just one touchdown in 57 minutes and 23 seconds of play. 

And yet I saw headlines recently about how Ben Roethlisberger won that Super Bowl. 

Santonio Holmes could claim that distinction, but certainly not Roethlisberger. Before that final drive, Roethlisberger had thrown for just 183 yards, no touchdown, and one interception. 

Warner, on the other hand, completed 31 of 43 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns. His 377 yards was the second best in history at that time. 

The Steeler offense was thoroughly outplayed by the Cardinals, who had a 407-292 advantage in net yards. Warner threw for 374 yards, but he had the infamous interception that was returned for a TD that made the difference in the game.

Without that interception

The Harrison interception provided a 14-point turnaround: one TD the Cardinals did not get, and one that the Steelers did. 

Without that, the score prior to the Steelers mounting that last drive would have been 23-13, and that drive would have been meaningless. 

The reality is that the defense won this game, though they had almost blown it because of Mike Tomlin’s Cover 2 defense that Dick LeBeau was forced to incorporate when Tomlin came to town. 

That is another story for another day. 

For this day, remember that the guy who won that Super Bowl was none other than James Harrison. 

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