The Pittsburgh Steelers may not be in the Super Bowl this year, but they are no strangers to playing and winning them. The Steelers went to the Super Bowl three times in seven years, winning two.
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end, Heath Miller after winning Super Bowl XLIII. / Photo Credit: Steelers.com
The Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 21-10, at the end of the 2005 season in Super Bowl XL. Three seasons later in 2008, they again played in the biggest game in sports, beating the Arizona Cardinals, 27-23, in Super Bowl XLIII. Two years after that in 2010, the Steelers lost to the Green Bay Packers, 31-25, in Super Bowl. XLV.
Two players were there together for all three games, quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger and tight end, Heath Miller. Miller sat down with Bob Pompeani, the sports director/anchor from KDKA in Pittsburgh. They discussed his time in Pittsburgh including those two impressive Super Bowl wins.
Steelers' Miller In the Hot Seat
Pompeani and Miller spoke about the mind-boggling catches made during Super Bowl XLIII. One came from receiver Santonio Holmes who dragged the tips of his toes to stay in bounds and still pull the ball in.
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee / USA TODAY Sports
The second mind-blowing catch of that game came from linebacker, James Harrison. Harrison intercepted the Cardinals quarterback, Kurt Warner, and returned the ball for a touchdown. That 100-yard-long catch and score was the longest defensive return in Super Bowl history.
Photo Credit: Al Bello / Steelers linebacker Harrison returns an interception for a touchdown vs the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.
Pompeani asked Miller to speak about the two plays. He told Miller that Holmes said that when he missed the catch the first time they tried that play, Miller was the one who told him to shake it off, he'd get it next time:
"It was a tough catch, so you know you got one play to go, you got to try to get everybody's confidence up and you know, believe that you're going to make the next one and they sure did."
Next, he put Miller on the hot seat, asking if it was a better throw or a better catch. Miller, always the diplomat had this to say:
"I think both. It's an amazing, amazing catch, it's one of the best plays, I would say it's got to be in the top of the Super Bowl history along with James' interception return in the same game."
Pompeani wasn't going to let him off that easily, asking now which of those catches was better, Holmes or Harrison? That made Miller chuckle:
"Well, I'm an offensive guy, so I gotta go to that. But just the details that went into the play that James made is unbelievable. The details to make the interception, to even be in that position, and just the instincts that he had to do that and then the effort of everybody else on the field to get him to the end zone. It's pretty incredible."
Miller is the consummate teammate, never selfish and always crediting everyone for success:
"I think that play probably epitomizes the type of team that we were as a whole and the type of defense that they were."
Miller was asked if he knew it would be a touchdown when Harrison caught it or if he thought he'd get tackled:
"You know, you're like, 'Yes! Yes! Yes!' And you're like, 'Oh, yeah!' And then this might happen. Then even when he did score, you're holding your breath because you're like, 'Did he?' You want to make sure you don't get too excited. Even on Santonio's catch, I was excited, but then I was [like] now they got to review it. I don't want to have this huge letdown if they reverse the call. But in both cases, they didn't."
Do you remember Super Bowl XLIII? Which catch do you think was more impressive, Holmes' or Harrison's? What was the best Super Bowl catch you have ever seen? Comment below.
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