The 2008 season for the Pittsburgh Steelers will go down as one of the greatest single seasons in franchise history, thanks to an elite defense that remains in the discussion as one of the greatest in NFL history.
Featured prominently in that discussion is outside linebacker James Harrison due to his play that season.
Harrison, who went from being cut four times in his NFL career, playing in NFL Europe and even considering retirement before latching on with the Steelers, was an incredible success story. Harrison worked his way up from a special teams player early in his career into the best defensive player in football a few years later, wrecking the league in 2008.
His play that season helped the Steelers win Super Bowl XLIII. He also added some individual hardware to his trophy case as he was named the 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, capping a remarkable run for the former Kent State walk-on.
Sitting down with Steelers.com’s Rob King for a Time Machine segment, Harrison said that the DPOY award was the “cherry on top” of a great season.
“It was great. And it was great because we had already won the Super Bowl,” Harrison said of the 2008 DPOY, according to video via Steelers.com. “I think that’s when they notified you after the year was over with. So it was just a cherry on top to get recognition and notoriety that that’s how people saw and felt about my play.”
After breaking out in the 2007 season as a full-time starter, recording 8.5 sacks, Harrison took it up a notch in 2008, dominating from start to finish.
It helped that he learned his potent bull rush that summer in training camp from former Steelers great Kevin Greene, who was serving as a training camp coaching intern. He taught Harrison the bull rush, which Harrison took to another level in 2008.
That season, Harrison recorded 16 sacks, forced seven fumbles, and added 101 tackles. He also chipped in three passes defensed and picked off a pass during the regular season as he helped Pittsburgh have the league’s most dominant defense.
That Steelers allowed a league-low 3.9 yards per snap and 13.9 points per game. On top of those impressive numbers, the Steelers held opponents to the lowest third-down conversion rate (31.4) in the NFL and finished second in sacks (51). To close the season, Harrison’s pick-six in Super Bowl XLIII was a key moment in the Steelers edging the Cardinals, giving Pittsburgh its sixth Super Bowl title in franchise history, a then-NFL record.
After the season, Harrison was awarded the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, which is what the league once did, handing out season awards after the Super Bowl.
Harrison received 22 votes for the Defensive Player of the Year award, garnering 44% of the votes. He received nine more votes than Dallas pass rusher DeMarcus Ware, who finished second in the voting, while Baltimore safety Ed Reed received eight votes, Tennessee defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth received five votes and fellow Steeler Troy Polamalu received two votes.
On top of the DPOY award, Harrison finished fourth in the MVP voting that year, receiving three votes to tie with Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson for fourth place. Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning won the MVP in a landslide with 32 votes, while New York Jets QB Chad Pennington finished second with four votes. Atlanta running back Michael Turner also received four votes but finished third.
That season was the culmination of hard work for Harrison. He overcame some serious adversity during his playing career, working his way up the ladder and seeing all that hard work pay off in not only a Super Bowl title, but the Defensive Player of the Year award, too, putting him on a Hall of Fame path
