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Clay Matthews Calls Forcing Super Bowl Fumble Against Rashard Mendenhall Best Memory Of Career

Rashard Mendenhall Clay Matthews fumble

For Pittsburgh Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall, it was his worst moment. For Green Bay Packers OLB Clay Matthews, it was his best. For every great play that goes down in Super Bowl history, someone is on the wrong side of it. The corner who allows the touchdown. The offensive tackle who gets beat. Or in this case, the back who fumbled in the biggest game of his career.

On Bussin’ With The Boys in an episode that aired Thursday, Matthews called his Super Bowl XLV turnover the most special memory of his career.

“We won Super Bowl 45. And I forced a fumble on Rashard Mendenhall to start the fourth quarter that Desmond Bishop picked up,” Matthews told co-hosts Taylor Lewan and Will Compton. “We went down, scored.”

It’s a moment seared into Steelers’ fans minds for the wrong reasons. Falling behind early against QB Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh climbed back into the game. Once trailing 21-3, it was a 21-17 game with the Steelers at the Packers’ 33 to open the fourth quarter. But Mendenhall was immediately met in the backfield after taking the handoff, and his fumble was recovered by Green Bay.

Green Bay took over on its 45. Rodgers dropped back eight-straight times and finished the drive in the end zone with an 8-yard touchdown to WR Greg Jennings. The Packers would go on to win, 31-25.

Of course, Mendenhall has consistently refuted the notion that he “fumbled,” blaming poor blocking for the result. It’s one of several controversial comments he’s made in his post-playing day.

Great as the play was, Matthews admits he didn’t fully grasp the gravity of the moment.

“The problem was that was only my second year in the league. Much like Jayden Daniels, I didn’t know how big the moment was at the time,” he said. “We were 15-1. Giants beat us, they go on to beat the Patriots the next year. We go out to San Francisco, [Colin] Kaepernick runs wild on us the next year. It’s just so difficult to do that. That was probably my favorite moment.”

That Super Bowl would be the only ring of Matthews’ career, never getting back to the big game. But he can say what most players can’t. He won a Super Bowl. And he made one of the biggest plays to lead his team to a Lombardi.

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