The Immaculate Rececption
... 22 seconds remained on the clock. An entire season of hard work. The
first division title in 40 years. The first playoff appearance in the history
of the franchise. An 11-3 season hung in the balance. The Steelers had
dominated most of the game, and held a 6-0 lead late on the strength of
two Roy Gerela field goals. The Steelers held the Raider offense in check
most of the afternoon, until the resourceful Kenny "The Snake" Stabler
scrambled 30 yards on a broken play to give Oakland a 7-6 lead with
73 seconds on the clock. It now it was fourth down with ten yards to go.
There were 60 yards between the Steelers and the end zone - too far to
kick a field goal. Three Terry Bradshaw passes had sailed incomplete.
The Steelers needed at least 10 yards for the first down and they had
only 22 seconds to get there. "66 out and L". That was the play that Barry
Pearson brought in from the sideline. Barry was just a rookie. He'd had
nothing thrown his way all game and the hope was to slip him free and
pick up the first down. Maybe he could pick up enough yardage to try a
long field goal. Fourth and ten with 60 yards to go. The ball is snapped,
and Terry drops back into the pocket. Barry gets stuffed at the line and
can't get free. The rush is on and Terry ducks a tackler and scrambles to
his right to buy some time. Frenchy Fuqua is running free in the Raider
secondary, but Terry is still scrambling. By the time Terry sees him, so
has Raider linebacker Jack Tatum. Franco Harris also sees Terry scrambling.
Originally designated a blocker, Franco releases downfield, hoping to give
Terry someone to dump the ball off to, or maybe throw a block for someone
else. Terry rifles the ball downfield to Frenchy just as the rush buries him.
Flat on his back, Terry sees none of what follows. Frenchy, Tatum and the
ball all arrive at the Raider 35 yard line simultaneously. There is a tremendous
collision, with Frenchy flying in one direction, and the ball in another. It
tumbles through the cold Pittsburgh air, fluttering towards the turf, taking
the Steelers' dreams of glory with it. And then it happened. Ten fingertips
grasp at the ball, stopping its descent mere inches from the turf. Franco
pulls the ball from his shoetops at the Raiders 42 yard line and races towards
the endzone. A roar arises from the crowd. The Raiders pursue, but they are
too late. Harris crosses the goal line. The Immaculate Reception stands as the
most historically significant play in NFL history. It clearly demarks the line
between a team that had some good players, but always found a way to snatch
defeat from the jaws of victory, to a team that always found a way to win.
