Chances are you remember where you were when Pittsburgh Steelers LB James Harrison rumbled the entire length of the field to return an interception off Arizona Cardinals QB Kurt Warner for a touchdown as the first half expired in Super Bowl 43. What you might not remember is where the Steelers’ biggest defensive playmaker, S Troy Polamalu, was during the play.
On Tuesday’s episode of the Rich Eisen Show, Eisen asked Polamalu that exact question. Polamalu could not help but interject some humor into his description of the events surrounding the pick-six.
“I hate to say this, but I made the key block in order to score that touchdown,” Polamalu said through laughter. “So James actually owes me a lot to this day. And he does give me a lot of thanks. But no, I actually just like everybody else, I was running for my life, trying to get in somebody’s way. I was so exhausted after that play. I knew that it was a touchdown, so I just went straight to the locker room, and I actually watched the whole call from the locker room.”
With just seconds remaining in the first half and the Cardinals driving inside the red zone, Harrison stepped in front of Warner’s throw and began an incredible run that was officially scored a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown. However, Harrison had to outrun the entire Cardinals offense, including WR Larry Fitzgerald. That meant Harrison needed help, and among others, Polamalu delivered.
Polamalu raced down the field and delivered a big block on Fitzgerald, who looked like he had a chance to catch Harrison from behind. However, Polamalu was quick to credit someone else for the decisive block after a moment.
“The truth was, I didn’t make the key block,” Polamalu said. “It was his teammate that made the key block because I pushed him into his teammate… So note to everybody on the sidelines and all the strength coaches, listen to them. Back up, get off the white.”
Right before the clip above cuts off, you can see Polamalu push Fitzgerald out of bounds. Fitzgerald stays on his feet, but you can see one of his teammates who was not on the field was on the sideline and directly in the path of Fitzgerald, effectively cutting him off entirely from his pursuit of Harrison.
Everyone will remember Harrison’s pick-six and Santonio Holmes’ toe-tapping touchdown that won the game. We all should remember that a lot of players had to help make those highlight-reel plays possible. Including an unnamed Cardinals player who got in the way of Fitzgerald on the sideline.
