The Pittsburgh Steelers’ last championship came after they won Super Bowl XLIII. That was one of the most exciting Super Bowls in the history of the game, coming down to the wire. While Santonio Holmes was named MVP of the game, James Harrison could’ve just as easily been given that honor. His pick-six to end the first half is arguably the best play in Super Bowl history. However, former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald thinks he had a real chance of bringing Harrison down had one of his teammates not gotten in his way.
“I think Antrel Rolle should get credit for tackling me on the sideline,” Fitzgerald said recently on the Pardon My Take podcast. “Because if I wouldn’t have ran into Antrel on the sideline, I definitely would’ve gotten James down or attempted to. I swear to you, when I got to James, it was like trying to move a refrigerator by yourself. It just doesn’t happen. The dude is made of granite.”
Fitzgerald looked like a man possessed on Harrison’s interception return. Initially, he was nowhere to be seen after Harrison picked the ball off. However, Fitzgerald burst onto TV screens as Harrison neared midfield. It looked like the receiver was going to catch the outside linebacker, too.
Fitzgerald battled to get around Steelers cornerback Deshea Townsend, and he ended up running on the sideline when Harrison got close to the Cardinals’ 30-yard line. It looked like he was going to catch Harrison, but he ran right into Rolle on the sideline, halting his momentum. That gave Harrison just enough time to reach the end zone.
It’s incredible that Fitzgerald still almost caught Harrison despite that. He tackled Harrison, but he was a step or two shy of bringing him down before he scored.
There’s some question as to whether or not Fitzgerald tackling Harrison would’ve been legal considering he was running out of bounds for so long. You could argue that Fitzgerald initially got pushed out of bounds. However, it didn’t look like he took the first opportunity to get back in bounds.
The NFL rules are murky on that subject, but Fitzgerald would’ve been smart to tackle Harrison either way. Even if the officials decided that he did something illegal, they wouldn’t be able to put a touchdown on the board for the Steelers. And the Steelers might’ve had to settle for a field goal.
Pittsburgh ended up winning 27-23, so that touchdown was huge. The final result could’ve changed if Harrison hadn’t scored. Fitzgerald’s efforts were admirable, but as he said, bringing Harrison down was no easy task.