Pro sports have the power to produce the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. We can all recall moments from our favorite teams that shaped our lives and brought us tremendous joy or painful heartache. As ABC’s Wide World of Sports once reminded us weekly, sports consist of the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”
Pittsburgh Steelers fans have certainly experienced their share of victory and celebration with the team winning six Super Bowls. But they have also experienced those excruciatingly painful moments that broke hearts and shattered dreams. This series looks back at five devastating plays that crushed the souls of die-hard Steelers fans.
No. 5: Say it ain’t so, Joe (Montana)
No. 4: Third time is a charm…or a curse
Background: Jan. 11, 2003, Divisional Round of the AFC Playoffs. Steelers vs. Titans at The Coliseum in Nashville, Tenn. The Steelers had gone 10-5-1 in the regular season and finished atop the AFC Central. They had beaten the hated Browns (thank you, Dennis Northcutt) 36-33 in the Wild Card Round the week before. Pittsburgh, led by Tommy Maddox, was eyeing a fifth Lombardi trophy but Steve McNair, Eddie George and Co. stood in the way.
The game was a shootout, going back and forth. Maddox’s first pass of the game was picked off and set up a McNair eight-yard scramble for a score. George scored on short run to make it 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Pittsburgh dominated the second quarter. A Hines Ward eight-yard touchdown catch and two Jeff Reed field goals ended the half at 14-13 Titans. The second half started with a Casey Hampton forced fumble and a 31-yard Amos Zereoue touchdown to make it 20-14.
The Titans then scored twice within five minutes on McNair strikes to tight ends Frank Wycheck and Erron Kinney. The third quarter ended 28-20 Titans.
In the fourth, Maddox hit Ward for a score and Plaxico Burress added a two-point conversion to make the game 28-28. After the ensuing kickoff, McNair was picked off by Steelers cornerback Deshea Townsend, which led to another Reed field goal that put the Steelers up 31-28. The Titans scored a field goal on their next possession to tie the game at 31. Pittsburgh’s defense held the rest of the quarter and regulation ended with Joe Nedney missing a 48-yard field goal. The Titans won the toss and McNair drove the Titans to the Pittsburgh 16-yard line. That is when madness ensued.
The play: Nedney came on to try and end the game with a 31-yard field goal. Nedney drilled his first attempt but Steelers coach Bill Cowher had called timeout prior to the kick. The stadium fireworks guy prematurely shot off a firework display and the game had to be paused until the smoke cleared and the commotion ceased. Nedney’s second attempt sailed wide right and the Steelers thought they had life left.
However, Nedney pulled off one of the greatest acting jobs since Al Pacino in “The Godfather.” He took a dive after Steelers defender Dewayne Washington brushed into him with the force of a feather. A flag flew. Cowher and the Steelers were incensed, and Nedney was granted a third attempt. He didn’t miss. The “Music City Mulligan” was born. Rage ran rampant through Steelers Nation as the Titans moved on to AFC Championship game where they lost to the Oakland Raiders. Small consolation.
Why it stung: The egregious roughing the kicker call and the absolute acting job by Nedney. It was so clearly a dive by the kicker and the official absolutely blew the call. It’s one thing to lose the game because the other team made a play or someone just simply got beat on a play. But to give the Titans another chance on a phantom penalty that should never have been called due to an Oscar Award-worthy kicker just made this play so much more heartbreaking. Yinzer Nation could be heard around the world screaming at their TVs, “YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!”
