One week after one of the craziest finishes in the history of the NFL in Las Vegas, the Raiders will visit the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Eve to celebrate the legacy of one of the other wildest endings to a game from 50 years ago: the Immaculate Reception.
Steelers Terry Bradshaw (12) calls a play against Bengals in a game during the 1974 season. (Harry Homa/Pittsburgh Steelers)
Hall of Fame quarterback, Terry Bradshaw joined the Peter King Podcast to reminisce about the 60-yard 'completion' to legendary running back, Franco Harris, on 4th and 10 that sent the Raiders packing from the AFC divisional round. The Pittsburgh legend said for years he didn't think the first-year rusher had caught the ball. Then, he got a closer look.
"Until recently, and I have seen the endzone footage and he caught it, actually about a foot off the ground, " he said. "On the play, Franco doesn't block anyone. His college coaching is the reason he caught that pass."
Steelers Legends Remember the Play
In the moment, 50 years ago, lying on the ground after heaving the ball away and absorbing a hit from oncoming Raiders pass rushers, Bradshaw did know the game had ended with a Pittsburgh score due to the sounds coming from the seats at Three Rivers Stadium.
"I hear the roar of the crowd and I knew it was a touchdown," Bradshaw said to King. "People are swarming me and I'm like, 'Tell me what happened.' People said, 'Well, it went that Frenchy [John Fuqua] got the ball flying in the air, Franco scooped it up and ran for the touchdown.' I'm like, 'Really? That's what happened?'"
Harris, in his rookie season then, credited instincts taught to him at Penn State during an interview with Andy Frye for Forbes:
"The great Joe Paterno always yelled at us, 'Go to the ball, go to the ball!'" Harris said. “He said that to everybody, because no matter your position—when the ball comes down—you can throw a block, or if it’s intercepted, you can make a tackle. So when I got to rookie camp, every time Bradshaw threw a ball I ran to the spot.”
Bradshaw said that with how poor things had been going throwing the ball, including three straight incompletions on the drive, when the play call came in, the team was skeptical. The 74-year-old still recalls exactly what he was supposed to do in the play:
"The key was to pick up the safety. If he came down and bit on Frenchy coming out, I'd go to the split end who had the option of a post, corner, or take-off," he said of the play call made by head coach, Chuck Noll. "What happened, I never got to go through the read because I was flushed out of the pocket. I moved to the right, avoided the sack and I swung my right arm up high to avoid being tackled. Then when I came back down, I saw a black jersey going over the middle and I just gunned it."
For the Steelers and Pittsburgh, as Bradshaw told King, the win signified "the beginning of a young football team developing into a championship and then a dynasty," and the birth of a rivalry with the then-Oakland Raiders for stealing their shot of playing the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship Game.
As the two franchises recognize a milestone moment in their history, it's always fun to hear about how the legends that were a part of it remember it, or in the case of Bradshaw, who don't.
So, Steeler Nation, have you watched the Immaculate Reception enough times to know if Harris caught it? What will you be watching for in this storied matchup this weekend? Click to comment below.
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