In the NFL, there isn’t any greater heartbreak than losing the Super Bowl, even if you’ve won it before. To put all that hard work and dedication into a season only to come up short right at the finish line is absolutely crushing. The Pittsburgh Steelers may be tied for the most Super Bowl victories, but their most recent trip to the big game ended in a loss to the Packers. It’s a game most fans have burned into their memories for all the wrong reasons. The play most often talked about from that game is Rashard Mendenhall’s fumble during the beginning of the fourth quarter. Most fans will point to this as the moment the Steelers lost, but one former player disagrees.
Appearing on the Steelers Nation Australia YouTube channel, former Steelers’ cornerback Bryant McFadden was asked his thoughts on Mendenhall’s fumble and if he resents him at all.
“Man, there were a lot of moments in that ballgame that led to us losing,” he said. “Shouts out to Rashard Mendenhall. I know some months ago he spoke about some of the things he’s been through since that happened, and one play does not decide the ballgame. We hear that all the time, I know it’s cliché, but it’s legit. It’s the truth, and that fumble was not the reason why we lost that ballgame. There were so many things that happened before Rashard and that play that had us in position to lose.”
McFadden is right in that it is a cliché, but it’s true that one play does not win or lose a game. He explains that the determining factor in the Steelers’ Super Bowl loss was the slow start they had, both on offense and defense. Two interceptions thrown by Ben Roethlisberger in the first half resulted in 14 points for the Packers. Just as well, the defense wasn’t playing up to their own standard either, as they struggled against quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ premium offense.
While the Mendenhall fumble played a part in killing the Steelers’ second-half comeback attempt, the team put themselves in that situation in the first place. If they hadn’t had such a poor first half, Mendenhall’s fumble would have matter significantly less. It was a series of compounding bad plays that resulted in the Steelers losing, just as McFadden says. No single player should take the blame, and Mendenhall himself has even spoken about the play recently, asking what more he could have done in that situation.
McFadden’s answer is mature and well-thought. Though he doesn’t blame Mendenhall, it doesn’t take the sting out of the loss.
“That’s one that I think about a lot that really, not necessarily put a cloud over the two that I won. But it’s like, I got two, but I felt like I should’ve had three.”
McFadden did win two Super Bowls, including one as a rookie, so he has experienced that high. And yet, it’s the loss that truly sticks with him. If anyone can blame Mendenhall for that loss, it’s someone who was on that team playing in that game. Instead, McFadden gives the merciful answer by exonerating Mendenhall of the blame. The fumble doesn’t kill the comeback if the Steelers hadn’t put themselves in a hole early. Football is a game with four quarters, and every quarter matters.
