Former NFL cornerback Jason McCourty got his start with the Tennessee Titans, and his first career game came in 2009 against the reigning Super Bowl-champion Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1. While McCourty only played special teams in the 13-10 Steelers win, he remembered how cool it was to share the field with some of his “idols.”
“Probably my biggest memory was how good Big Ben [Roethlisberger] was. Troy Polamalu had a one-handed interception in that game, it was [incredible]. Obviously, you’re playing for the Titans, you want to win, but as a young rookie, a young pup, you’re seeing some of your idols and superstars out there on that football field that are making play after play, which was really cool as a rookie,” McCourty said on the Mr. Titan Show.
First, for nostalgia’s sake, here’s the clip of Polamalu’s one-handed interception McCourty referenced.
Entering the NFL, rookies are all of a sudden peers with players they grew up watching and idolizing, and that’s something that can be a little bit intimidating but also a little bit exciting. For McCourty, it’s an experience he still remembers 15 years after making his debut, and even though he was on the opposite sideline, I’m sure in retrospect seeing a play like the one Polamalu made firsthand is pretty cool as a defensive back, even if at the time it hurt his team. Roethlisberger was also impressive, throwing for 363 yards, although he did have two interceptions.
McCourty ended up playing sparingly as a rookie, but he developed into one of Tennessee’s top cornerbacks before continuing his career with the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots. He retired after playing seven games with the Miami Dolphins in 2021 and has since been a rising star in sports media, a fixture on Good Morning Football, although he won’t be moving with the show to Los Angeles.
Despite beating the Titans to open the season, the Steelers wouldn’t make the playoffs in 2009, dropping their next two games and finishing the season at 9-7. It wasn’t the season they expected coming off a Super Bowl victory, with a brutal five-game losing streak from Weeks 10-14 taking the team from 6-2 to 6-7.
Tennessee would finish that season 8-8 under Jeff Fisher, with Vince Young leading the team to an 8-2 record. Kerry Collins, who started that Week 1 game, was 0-6, a year after going 12-3 for Tennessee. Both Pittsburgh and Tennesse underperformed relative to expectations in 2009, but that Week 1 game was memorable for McCourty and likely pretty memorable for Steelers fans who got to see Polamalu make one of the better interceptions of his career.
You can watch the full interview with McCourty below.
