Steelers Great James Harrison Believes Larry Fitzgerald Had Shot To Punch The Ball Out During Super Bowl XLIII

The Pittsburgh Steelers celebrated their sixth Super Bowl victory on February 1, 2009, when they defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 27-23. That game is well known and remembered, even by people who aren't Steelers fans, for having arguably the greatest play in Super Bowl history. Legendary Steelers linebacker, James Harrison intercepted Cardinals quarterback, Kurt Warner, and took it to the house, running 100 yards for the longest interception return for a touchdown in a playoff game. With the 15th anniversary passing, Harrison recently shared that a Cardinals player had a shot at changing the fate of that game. 

Harrison recently joined The Pat McAfee Show to talk about his time in Pittsburgh and to commemorate the anniversary of that play. McAfee shared a video of the play so everyone could recall exactly how it all went down. 

Steelers' James Harrison Said He Still Has The Greatest Play In Super Bowl History

You see the Steelers are backed way up and the Cardinals are on the two-yard line seemingly about to score. McAfee said that Warner had to be feeling pretty good about the game at that moment. There were :18 seconds left in the first half. The Cardinals were down 10-7 and hoping to shift the momentum before the half. 

Warner drops back and fires the ball toward the end zone in the direction of two incredible wide receivers, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. Since then, Fitzgerald has confirmed the ball was intended for Boldin, but he didn't stand a chance. But before the ball ccould even get within grabbing distance of Fitzgerald, you see this giant appear out of nowhere. 

Harrison snatches the ball around the goal line and takes off running. Football is definitely a team sport and that was never more evident than on that play. You see Harrison get practically escorted down the field by a convoy of defenders who were throwing blocks trying to help him get to the end zone. That group included Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor, Brett Keisel, Deshea Townsend, LaMarr Woodley, and Ryan Clark. 

Right as Harrison hits the other end zone, you see Fitzgerald gaining on Harrison and it was an incredible effort. Fitzgerald was bouncing off other players running down the sideline. He catches up to Harrison just before the end zone and dives for him trying to punch the ball out.

Harrison said they practically threw the ball right to him. He was supposed to drop because it was a max blitz. McAfee marvels at how close Fitzgerald came to getting the ball and Harrison agrees that he was "right there."   

This makes the crew laugh and McAfee said he appreciates how Harrison worded that because it is, "certainly talking sh*t at Larry Fitzgerald." To this, Harrison can only shrug and agree.

"He missed the ball and gave me time to cover it up," said Harrison. "I'm just saying, if his aim was a little better, I was carrying it like a loaf of bread, it would have flopped out right there."

Not all of his teammates had faith that Harrison would be able to take it all the way back. Right after he makes the interception, you see Townsend try to take the ball from him. He said he was not giving the ball up. After the game, Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau said Harrison was probably the only linebacker in the NFL who is conditioned well enough that he could have ran the ball back that far in the heat. 

Harrison has always given credit to the 2008 Steelers' defense, saying that was a touchdown earned by all the men on the field. He could not have done it alone. 

The game remained close right up to the end. The Cardinals were able to score with less than three minutes left in the game and Steelers fans were nervous. But Ben Roethlisberger was able to put the ball right into the hands of receiver Santonio Holmes, who toe-tapped like a ballerina on the sideline, somehow managing to reel the ball in. That gave the Steelers the lead and the win. Holmes' catch was nothing short of incredible and might have been the play of the game if he hadn't been overshadowed by his larger-than-life teammate.  

That game marked the last time the Steelers won a Super Bowl, so it is a good thing it was full of memorable catches and plays.