Sacking the quarterback didn’t happen very often for former Pittsburgh Steelers’ nose tackle Casey Hampton. But when they did, they were big.
None bigger than the fourth-quarter sack of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck in Super Bowl XL.
Early in the fourth quarter, in the midst of a long Seattle drive that moved deep into Pittsburgh territory, Hampton shot home for a sack of Hasselbeck, stalling the Seahawks’ drive. Two plays later, cornerback Ike Taylor picked off Hasselbeck, ultimately setting up the Super Bowl-clinching Hines Ward touchdown catch from Antwaan Randle El, giving the Steelers their fifth Super Bowl in franchise history.
For Hampton, that sack was a crazy moment in his career, especially because it came in the Super Bowl in a big spot.
“I think we were running…we were slanting. I think it was a defense where everybody was slanting one way. So I came off, and I slant it that way, but the center kind of overwent that one way. Once I got that hand on him, it was over with,” Hampton said to Steelers.com’s Rob King, recalling his sack in the Super Bowl. “He was a little bitty dude, you know what I’m saying? He was a little bitty dude when I put that hand on and got him in the area, it was over with, man.
“I don’t get a whole lot of chances to get sacks. So to be able to get a sack in the Super Bowl, that was crazy, dude. It was crazy.”
In his career, Hampton had just 9.0 sacks. He had just one sack in the playoffs in his career, and that came on the biggest stage. In fact, that sack was the first one that Hampton had since Week 2 of the 2003 season, which came in a 41-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
So, Hampton went 36 regular season games and four playoff games before recording a sack. No better time for it.
Here’s the play.
Hampton misremembers the play just a bit. It was more than him slanting one way and knifing home. Hampton had some incredible strength, and Seattle center Robbie Tobeck found that out the hard way.
Hampton used a long arm to get underneath Tobeck and throw him off balance, opening up a lane to Tobeck’s right, which took Hampton right to Hasselbeck.
The Steelers’ standout nose tackle, who was in the midst of going to three straight Pro Bowls, got his hands on Hasselbeck, spun him around, and slammed him to the ground for a 5-yard loss, setting up a 2nd and 25. This came one play after a holding penalty on right tackle Sean Locklear wiped out an 18-yard pass from Hasselbeck to tight end Jerramy Stevens, which would have given the Seahawks a 1st and Goal.
One play after Hampton’s sack, running back Shaun Alexander gained 7 yards to set up a 3rd and 18, but Taylor stepped in front of a Hasselbeck pass intended for Darnell Jackson, picking him off and returning it 24 yards to the Steelers’ 29-yard line.
Four plays later, Randle El took the end around from Ben Roethlisberger and heaved the ball downfield to Hines Ward for the iconic 43-yard touchdown, ultimately sealing the 21-10 win for the Steelers.
Forgotten in all of that was Hampton’s rare sack, one that is still crazy to him all these years later.
