In the Pittsburgh Steelers’ long history of intimidating players, James Harrison might take the cake as the scariest person to ever suit up for them. An undrafted free agent, Harrison built an incredible legacy as one of the most feared players of his generation. It feels like every offensive player has a story about being on Harrison’s bad side. That includes former Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Taylor Lewan.
“I played him my rookie year on Monday Night Football,” Lewan said on the podcast Bussin’ with the Boys. “Before the game started, all of the offensive linemen were like, ‘We know you like to chatter a little bit. Don’t talk to this guy. Don’t say a word to him, just leave him alone. Hopefully he stays asleep during the game.’ But it’s Monday Night Football, I’m hyped up, I’m juiced up.
“I’m ready to make a name for myself. Three plays into the game, something happens, I’m like, ‘I’m here all day.’ Whatever dumbass comment I make. ‘I’m here all fucking day.’ And he doesn’t say a word to me.”
That game came in Week 11 of the 2014 season. The Steelers won that contest 27-24, so Lewan couldn’t even get the last laugh against Harrison. While the Steelers didn’t record any sacks that day, their defense still had a good game, recording one interception and holding the Titans under 50 rushing yards as a team.
Trash talking Harrison usually didn’t end well for players. In 2014, Harrison was 36 years old, and he only recorded 5.5 sacks that season. While he was exiting his prime, that didn’t diminish the fear factor he brought to the field. His reputation spoke for itself.
As Lewan went on to explain, Harrison didn’t let that trash talk slide.
“Then, he lines up in a four [technique], and I’m like, ‘I’m about to cut off this dude so fast.’ I go to cut him off, I go to put an arm up, he drops down to the ground and grabs my ankle and just starts gator rolling. Starts gator rolling me. Right then and there, I thought, it might be over for me. It might be over for this conversation for the rest of the game.”
While Harrison didn’t get to the quarterback, he clearly made an impact on a young Lewan. However, that lesson must not have stuck. A few years later, Lewan would have a confrontation with T.J. Watt, another fearsome Steelers pass rusher. Thankfully, that encounter didn’t escalate too much, but it goes to show that Lewan didn’t quit trash talking players after his incident with Harrison.
Lewan is also probably lucky that he caught Harrison closer to the end of his career. During his heyday, Harrison was known for inflicting some of the biggest hits in the NFL. He was often on the receiving end of some hefty fines.
However, rules changed over the years, and by 2014, a bigger concern was placed on player safety. Still, that didn’t stop Harrison from doing what he could to Lewan.
Unfortunately, Harrison didn’t play when the Steelers next played Lewan and the Titans in 2017. Pittsburgh came away with the victory again. However, Harrison got another chance to play Lewan later that year as a member of the New England Patriots. Again, Harrison didn’t record a sack, but his team beat Lewan’s Titans in the divisional round of the playoffs.
That was Harrison’s final NFL season, so Lewan didn’t get a chance to get his revenge against Harrison, although even then, that might not have ended well for him.
Lewan went on to have a fine career, playing until 2022 and making three Pro Bowls. The Titans played the Steelers two more times during his career there, but they never managed to leave with a win. Even after Harrison retired, Pittsburgh continued to plague Lewan. We’ll see if Tennessee can beat Pittsburgh next time the two teams meet.
