![]() ![]() “And Bradshaw, being as, you know, big and as strong as he is, you know, guys trying to bring him down, he’s able to fight them off and get the ball into the air.” “My thought was to release to be an outlet pass,” Harris said. Russo noted that Harris “did block well” on the play and noticed that quarterback Terry Bradshaw was scrambling under pressure from the defense. Harris joined the Seattle Seahawks in 1984. It seemed more of a letdown than anything.” We were winning the whole game and right at the end (the Raiders) scored. He recalled that “there wasn’t much … adrenaline” in the huddle. Harris’ assignment was to stay in and block. Just play it till the end.’Īnd (the coach) called that 66 halfback option.” 22 seconds.Īnd I go into the huddle and I tell myself, ‘Franco, this will probably be the last play of the season. ![]() “So, things didn’t go too well on those first three plays, as you know. Harris then went on to talk about the game-winning drive, how it started off poorly and left the Steelers in a desperate spot. “And, like as you said, 50 years ago, and, and it still feels brand new.” Fantastic,” Harris said, though he was coughing here and there. Russo, the host, opened the interview by asking, “How are you today, OK pal?” It was likely the last interview Harris did before his death was announced on Wednesday. Still, the team went on to dominate the 1970s, winning four Super Bowls. The Steelers won the game 13-7 for the team’s first-ever playoff victory but lost their next game. In explaining how he made the play, Harris noted that he “always had great reflexes but you don’t practice stuff like this. Tatum had collided with Steelers fullback Frenchy Fuqua. Looking at the film, Harris says, “I’m thinking that it could only have been” Raiders defender Jack Tatum “that the ball bounced off of” before Harris made the shoestring catch. “I have no recollection of seeing the ball at all,” Harris said. Russo noted Harris was “a long way away from where the ball ricocheted.” If another Steeler had touched the ball, Harris’ catch would not have been legal. “I have no idea, I have no idea,” Harris said. In the interview, Russo said some believe that the nose of the football hit the turf, “But you’re saying that’s not the case, correct?” The play was not without controversy: There were no convincing replays to determine who deflected the ball when two opposing players collided and whether the ball actually hit the ground when Harris caught it. ![]() The NFL Network in 2019 named the Immaculate Reception the top play in the 100 years of the league. 32 jersey during halftime of their game against the Raiders on Saturday. Harris died just days before the 50th anniversary of the catch, and the Steelers had planned to retire his No. Pittsburgh Steelers legend Franco Harris, known for 'Immaculate Reception,' dead at age 72 ![]() (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck, File) Harry Cabluck/AP 21, 2022, at age 72, just two days before the 50th anniversary of The Immaculate Reception. Like, I just don’t understand it.”įILE - Pittsburgh Steelers' Franco Harris (32) eludes a tackle by Oakland Raiders' Jimmy Warren as he runs 42-yards for a touchdown after catching a deflected pass during an AFC Divisional NFL football playoff game in Pittsburgh on Dec. And even looked up a little bit to try and get the lay of the land … I’m saying, ‘How did all that happen in just those few seconds?’ It didn’t make any sense. “But when I see the film, and I see it in real time, it just blows my mind how quick that is … And I have no idea how I reacted so quickly, and got it and kept in stride. “You know what, when I watch the film I can’t remember anything of the play past just leaving the backfield,” Harris told host Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo. Harris said his assignment was to block but he wound up going out for a pass when the fourth-down play broke down with 22 seconds left in the game. In a live interview Tuesday on “Mad Dog Unleashed” on SiriusXM radio, Harris recalled December 23, 1972, when he caught a deflected pass just before it hit the ground and ran for a playoff game-winning touchdown to lead his Pittsburgh Steelers over the Oakland Raiders. Fifty years after the “Immaculate Reception” and just hours before his death, Franco Harris said it “blows my mind” how he pulled off arguably the most memorable play in NFL history. ![]()
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