Most Memorable Plays

• The Good

There have been many great plays during the last 10 years. Here are my personal favorites (in chronological order):

• 1997 at New England Patriots: The Kevin Henry play. Still the most improbable moment of the last ten years.



• 1997 vs Denver Broncos (AFC Championship Game): Few people will remember that Pittsburgh's first score of this game was a 33 yard touchdown run by Kordell Stewart. Even fewer people will remember the unbelievable display of blocking on the play by center Dermontti Dawson. The Hall of Fame voters have been shunning Dawson for the past two years, but I would like them all to see a video of this play and then try to justify why he is not considered an all-time great.



• 2000 vs Oakland Raiders: Early in the 3rd quarter, the Steelers mounted a comeback that was propelled by a brilliant play by Kordell Stewart. On a 2nd and 16 play, he was hit in the backfield, fumbled, picked up the ball, broke a few tackles, and ran 17 yards for the first down. "Houdini is alive!" bellowed CBS announcer Kevin Harlan.



• 2001 at Baltimore Ravens: The rivalry in 2001 between the Steelers and the Ravens was extremely intense. They met in December to decide the division, and the Steelers broke the game wide open in the 4th quarter with a team-record 90 yard touchdown pass from Kordell Stewart to the legendary Bobby Shaw.



• 2002 vs Cleveland Browns: The mulligan field goal. I've never seen anything like that before, and I doubt I'll ever see it again.



• 2003 at Baltimore Ravens: ESPN presents the absolute worst coverage of an NFL game ever. The Steelers were playing out the end of a miserable season, but The Drug Dealer had a chance to break the NFL single-season rushing record, so ESPN went WAY overboard with constant interviews with The Drug Dealer's mom and shots of Eric Dickerson watching the game from his house! But the game featured an amazing Steelers play that made it all worthwhile - an 81 yard touchdown pass from Josh Miller to Chris Hope on a fake punt.



• 2004 at Dallas Cowboys: Vinny Testaverde's fumble late in the 4th quarter when the Cowboys were about to ice the game. It was just remarkable. Testaverde's career against the Steelers has been nothing short of tragic.



• 2004 vs New England Patriots: Deshea Townsend picked off Tom Brady and returned it for a touchdown, giving the Steelers a shocking 21-3 lead over the team of the decade. It was a great moment for that 2004 team, because up until that moment no one was sure if they were really good or just on a lucky roll. That 15-1 season may have come up short, but it set the groundwork for the following season's championship.



• 2004 vs New York Jets: Doug Brien's second miss, which came at the end of regulation and wasn't even close. I never thought in a million years he would miss that kick. I just slumped into my seat at Heinz Field in elated disbelief.



• 2005 vs Chicago Bears: Jerome Bettis was worn down and playing out his final season. Bears LB Brian Urlacher was in his prime and in the middle of a season during which he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year. But when the two crashed into each other in this pivotal December game, the Bus got the better of Urlacher and bowled him over on his way into the endzone.



• 2005 at Indianapolis Colts (AFC Divisional Playoffs): The Tackle. Ben Roethlisberger trips up Nick Harper on his way to the endzone. Ben saved the game, the season, and a Super Bowl title. I would put it amongst the top five plays in Steelers history.



• 2005 vs Denver Broncos (AFC Championship Game): After a penalty negated a touchdown right before halftime, everyone figured what the Steelers would simply set up for an easy field goal. After all, they had a 17-3 lead, and traditional Steelers football dictated that they wouldn't attempt anything risky. But the 2005 Steelers were not a traditional team. Ben Roethlisberger rolled out, scrambled away from a few guys, and hit Hines Ward in the back of the endzone. The absolute signature play of a dream season iced Pittsburgh's first trip to the Super Bowl since 1995.



• 2005 vs Seattle Seahawks (Super Bowl XL): Antwaan Randle El's touchdown pass to Hines Ward which caught Seattle completely offguard. The Steelers were clinging to a 14-10 lead when that trick play fulfilled the dreams of the Steelers Nation and finally returned the franchise to glory after so many years of waiting.



• 2006 at Cincinnati Bengals: Big Ben hits rookie Santonio Holmes for a 67-yard touchdown in overtime. This play was historic for two reasons: (1) it was the final play that Bill Cowher would ever call with the Steelers and (2) it knocked the Bengals - a team of complete frauds - out of the playoffs.

• The Bad

Conversely, there have been many awful and disastrous plays during the last 10 years. Here is my list of the worst (in chronological order):

• 1997 at Jacksonville Jaguars: The Steelers had a chance to win this big early-season divisional game with a field goal in the final seconds, but Jacksonville's Chris Hudson blocked the kick and returned it for a touchdown, nearly getting leveled by Bill Cowher on the way.



• 1998 at Cincinnati Bengals: The Steelers were nursing a two-point lead and had Neil O'Donnell pinned deep in his own territory late in the 4th quarter. On 4th and 12, O'Donnell heaved up a 50 yard bomb which Carl Pickens caught over Dewayne Washington. A few plays later Pickens would nab the game-winner, again against Washington.



• 2000 at Cleveland Browns: The Kent Grahm sack. It took special skill to blow that game. To this day, I'm still in shock that we lost that one.



• 2001 vs New England Patriots (AFC Championship Game): The blocked field goal in the 3rd quarter which all but iced the game for the upstart Pats. Had Kris Brown made the kick, it would have been a one-score game. Instead, New England blocked the kick and returned it for a touchdown. I'll always remember narrating that play to the guy next to me at Heinz Field, because he was too nervous to watch the kick knowing full well how awful the special teams were that season.



• 2002 vs Oakland Raiders: The Steelers defense had played perhaps their worst game ever, allowing Rich Gannon to come within two completions of setting an NFL record. However, they still had a chance late in the game when they pulled within three points when the special teams allowed Terry Kirby, who was so old that he had actually passed away three years earlier, to race down the field for a 96 yard kickoff return score. I was so miffed that I briefly considered decking the Raiders fan who was sitting next to me at the game.



• 2002 at Tennessee Titans (AFC Divisional Playoffs): Kicker Joe Nedney missed the game-winning field goal in overtime, but a ticky-tack roughing the kicker call on Dewayne Washington gave them a second chance. I rarely blame losses on the refs, and by all means the Steelers defense deserved to lose after getting smoked in OT by Steve McNair for the 798th time, but it was ridiculous to decide the whole season on a play where Washington barely bumped a guy who later admitted that he was acting on the play.



• 2003 at Seattle Seahawks: WR Darrell Jackson smokes and then stiff-arms Dewayne Washington on his way to the endzone. It's not very often that you see a player's career with his team end on one play, but this is exactly what happened to Dewayne in Seattle that day.



• 2005 vs New England Patriots: Antwaan Randle El makes a boneheaded decision to lateral the ball to Hines Ward after a long pass which would have set the Steelers up for a chance to break the game wide open. This may be the angriest I have gotten over a play simply because he consciously made the decision to do something stupid.



• 2005 vs Jacksonville Jaguars: Tommy Maddox had already fumbled the ball away in overtime, and when he was given a second chance, he threw a terrible interception which the Jags returned for the game-winning score. Probably the worst QB performance by a Steeler since Neil O'Donnell in Super Bowl XXX.



• 2006 vs Cincinnati Bengals: Ricardo Coclough muffs a punt late in the game, blowing a Steelers lead and costing them the game. I don't know what was worse about this play - the fact that Coclough couldn't catch a punt, or the fact that he was even in the game to begin with after EVERYONE knew he was struggling to handle kicks.