Skip to content

OhNo News

Latest News Update

Menu
  • About
  • Contact
Menu

Steelers honor Franco Harris by rallying past Raiders

Posted on December 25, 2022

PITTSBURGH — Mike Tomlin wasn’t ready to go there, with all due respect.

Yes, the Pittsburgh Steelers coach understands the symmetry between the 13-10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday night and a playoff victory over the same franchise 50 years ago, the one that ended with Steelers running back Franco Harris snagging a deflected pass and sprinting into NFL lore with what’s universally known as “The Immaculate Reception.”

Like that game five decades and one day ago, a rookie scored the winning touchdown, this time wide receiver George Pickens on a 14-yard dart from Kenny Pickett with 46 seconds remaining.

Yet the similarities end there. Harris’ play was voted the most famous in NFL history during the league’s 100th anniversary season in 2020 and helped launch a dynasty.

What happened at frigid Acrisure Stadium on Christmas Eve of 2022 was not that.

1 Related

“I’m not going to try to put it in that neighborhood,” Tomlin said with a laugh. “Not even in that city.”

Still, Tomlin can appreciate that Pickett, Pickens and the rest of Pittsburgh’s still incredibly young offense etched what he called a “small place in Steelers lore” by putting together an impressive late drive that kept Pittsburgh’s slim playoff hopes alive while simultaneously paying tribute to Harris .

The Hall of Fame running back died Wednesday, two days before the golden anniversary of his defining play and three days before the franchise retired his No. 32. His sudden passing turned what was supposed to be a celebration of his career into a poignant reflection on his remarkable life.

The current Steelers — all of whom were born after Harris retired in 1984 — did their best to pay tribute. Tight end Pat Freiermuth, a Penn State graduate like Harris, suggested to Tomlin during the week that the entire team show up Saturday night wearing replicas of Harris’ jersey.

Defensive end and co-captain Cam Heyward ran onto the field waving a massive flag with Harris’ number on it. Pickett made a dummy “Franco! Franco” call during his cadence before sneaking for a first down.

During halftime, Harris’ widow, Dana Dokmanovich, and their son, Dok, joined team president Art Rooney II for a tearful ceremony that included Dokmanovich leaning into Rooney for support after he presented her with her late husband’s jersey.

“We dedicated this to Franco,” Pickett said. “Felt like he was with us tonight.”

Pickett completed 26 of 39 passes for 244 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Freiermuth caught seven passes for 66 yards and Najee Harris had 95 total yards as the Steelers (7-8) won for the fifth time in seven games.

“We’re still in the hunt,” Heyward said. “I like to think we just keep getting better and better as the weeks go on.”

Derek Carr threw for 174 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions, the last one a floater down the middle of the field that was picked off by Cam Sutton with 29 seconds to go. Pittsburgh rookie Connor Heyward ran for a first down to help the Steelers run out of the clock.

The Raiders (6-9), coming off a dramatic last-play victory over New England last week, reverted to their form from earlier this season by losing their eighth one-score game of the year. They could be eliminated from the playoffs by the end of the week.

“We’ve pulled out plenty [of games] and then to lose in this fashion when you have a shot to win, you realize you’re close but close doesn’t really count in this league,” Las Vegas head coach Josh McDaniels said. “I obviously have to do a better job to try and close the gap.”

It was a gap the Raiders found themselves on the right side of for the first 59-plus minutes at the second-coldest home game in Steelers’ history.

Carr started crisply in the 8-degree (minus-13 Celsius) weather — the coldest home game for the Steelers since 1989 — and finished off a 14-play, 71-yard opening drive with a 14-yard touchdown strike to Hunter Renfrow.

Yet Las Vegas let the Steelers hang around, and Pickett — whose name was announced by Harris when Pittsburgh took him with the 20th overall pick in the 2022 draft — provided the first signature moment of what the Steelers hope will be a decorated career.

“I can’t say enough about [our young offensive players], all of them,” Tomlin said. “They showed poised and resolved and made the necessary plays. We move forward with a really good Christmas.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Source link

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

6aj6i 6aj7k 7ia87 8kajk 73i8 73kau a7ik a7ikc a7jky a7k7u a7khu a7yus a87iau ac7i ag7k ahj7k ak8a8 an7m an7y au7ka au7ks bhas7k bu8k bvu9ik c7a7k c8ka7 c8kao c9hi ca7ijk ca97k caj8k caj8o cb7m ch7i cha9c cj9kl cja8k cja8o cjau9a cjau9m ckal2m cni9l cr7akj cu8ak cua87 cua97k cua98k cua870 cya6i cyha6i cyuia7k d7aij g7iak gbad7u he7ki hey7k hga7ki hja7k hjajk7 hje7k hu76aui j3e8k j298alk j387kj ja6u ja7io ja8o jha7ki k8aui9 ka7i ka7k9 ku7t l2cc mc7k nbaulu t8ik uu38k

full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie full movie news news news news news news news news news news news news news

©2023 OhNo News | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme