Ben Roethlisberger may be the best quarterback in Steelers’ history, but Terry Bradshaw doesn’t make that discussion easy. Bradshaw may not have the stats of Roethlisberger, but he does have the jewelry, winning four Super Bowls with the Steelers’ dynasty of the 1970s and being named MVP in two of those championship games. Bradshaw also played in an era where throwing the ball was not common at all, not receiving the kind of support quarterbacks receive today to nurture and develop their abilities. However, Bradshaw makes the case for being the best quarterback of his era, at least in the eyes of one former Cowboys’ safety.
Cliff Harris is a Hall of Fame player, suiting up at safety for the Cowboys from 1970 to 1979, and will be most remembered by Steelers’ fans as the guy who taunted Steelers’ kicker Roy Gerela in Super Bowl X, only for Jack Lambert to lay him out. Clearly, that’s all water under the bridge now because, in a recent interview with the Chasing Hardware podcast, Harris was asked who the best quarterbacks he played against were, and the first name out of his mouth was Bradshaw’s.
”The number one guy that beat me in two Super Bowls was Terry Bradshaw. The thing that Terry had was physical ability, and people give him flack about not being the brightest guy, but I think he was good enough to win two Super Bowls against me. He was a discus champion when he was at Louisiana in school, so he could just throw a bullet, and accurately, at 40 yards.”
Bradshaw did set a national record in javelin while he was in high school, so it’s clear that he always had a rocket for an arm. Back in the day, that physical ability would take a quarterback pretty far, but Bradshaw was no dummy. After all, it was him who called all the offensive plays, not Chuck Noll or any other coach. He was the offensive coordinator and the quarterback, showing just how valuable he was to the Steelers.
Harris could also be spiteful and not give Bradshaw his due, but considering how long ago it was and how Bradshaw always seemed to be at his best in the Super Bowl, it’s good to see Harris decide to be honest. The Cowboys’ defense during that time was one of the NFL’s best, and it was also when they were christened “America’s Team,” even though the Steelers could’ve had that moniker.
Harris was part of that success, but fortunately for Steelers’ fans, they still weren’t good enough to contain Bradshaw. While he may not have the statistics or the national acclaim, Bradshaw has the respect of his peers, something that probably means more.
