March Madness of Steelers Moments: Chipped Ham Bracket

It’s day 3 of Steelers March Madness: the 64 greatest moments in team history. You decide which plays move on to the next round. We’ve already unveiled Part 1 & Part 2. Today we’re introducing our third bracket of 16: The Chipped Ham Bracket.

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1 - Stallworth’s 73-yd TD - 1/20/80 Super Bowl XIV

Stallworth outran everyone for a 73-yard touchdown that gave the Steelers a 24-19 lead in the 4th over the Rams. It is the 7th lead change in the game.

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16 - Gary Anderson’s Game-Winner in OT - 12/31/89 AFC Wildcard

It had been Pittsburgh’s longest playoff drought since the immaculate reception. The ‘89 team had one of the worst Steelers starts, but fought back to become a Cinderella in the playoffs. Then they completed the fairy tale story with a fairytale finish in OT.

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2 - Randle El’s Reverse Pass - 2/5/06 Super Bowl XL

Willie Parker takes the pitch and hands off to Antwaan Randle El on the reverse, who throws it to Hines Ward for the 43-yd touchdown. It gives the Steelers a 21-10 lead against the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.

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15 - ‘Shea Pick-6s Brady - 10/31/04 Week 8

The Patriots came to Heinz Field with a 21-game winning streak. But Dick Lebeau had other plans. Brady was sacked 4 times and picked off twice, including this pick-6 that put the Steelers up 21-3.

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3 - Swann’s Flying Circus - 1/21/79 Super Bowl XIII

When Roy Gerela slipped at kickoff, the squibbed kick went off Randy White, who was playing with a cast. Pittsburgh recovered and then fired the game-deciding score.

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14- Gunslinger Ben - 1/15/06 AFC Championship

This pass capped off Ben’s amazing 3-game road performance to get to the Super Bowl. In this game, he was 21-29 and 275 yards. Most importantly, he gave us this meme.

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4 - Ham Fried Stabler - 12/29/74 AFC Championship

Pittsburgh and Oakland were tied at 10 in the 4th. Lambert and the rush came up the middle, and Stabler never saw Ham as he made his 2nd interception of the game. It set up a go-ahead TD 3 plays later.

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13 - Troy’s Strip Sack - 12/5/10 Week 13

The Division title and a 1st round bye were on the line. Baltimore was winning 10-6 and had 3 and change left on the clock. They just needed a couple first downs to end the game. With a 2nd and 5 at their own 43, Pittsburgh blitzed Timmons and Troy. Ray Rice could only pick one.

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5 - Tommy’s Renegade Comeback - 1/5/03 AFC Wildcard

The birth of Renegade. Tommy Maddox, the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year, threw three touchdown passes in the final 19 minutes, rallying from a 17-point deficit to beat the Browns 36-33. A 2nd and goal draw from the 4 to Chris Fuamatu Ma’afala was the game-winner.

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12- Woodson’s Ball-Hawking Fumble - 11/6/94 Week 10

Houston and Pittsburgh went to overtime tied at 9. Neil O’Donnel left the game and Barry Foster was hurt. Houston’s Gary Brown appeared to take a handoff up the middle for a big gain. But Rod Woodson seeked him out, knocking out the ball, and leading to the game-winning Gary Anderson field goal.

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6 - Wagner Stalls Staubach - 1/18/76 Super Bowl 10

Mike Wagner steps in front of Drew Pearson and intercepts Roger Staubach, returning the ball inside the Cowboys 10 in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl X. Roy Gerela’s chip shot field goal makes it 15-10.

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11- Bus Runs Over Urlacher - 12/11/05 Week 14

Just a poster of a play. The Steelers were in the middle of an 8-game winning streak to secure the 6th seed in the playoffs and ultimately their 5th Super Bowl ring.

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7 - Holmes’ Punt Return TD - 1/11/09 AFC Divisional

Steelers were trailing the Chargers 7-0 with 8:00 left in the first. Santonio Holmes fielded the punt, and then dissected the coverage. He juked out one, made another miss, outran 3, jumped another, before making it to the endzone.

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10- Mean Joe Fumble Recovery - 1/12/75 Super Bowl 9

A pass interference call put the Vikings at the 5 in the 4th quarter of Super Bowl IX. Chuck Foreman is stopped for a 2-yard loss and Joe Greene recovered the fumble to preserve the 9-0 advantage.

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8 - Terry’s Perfect Game - 12/19/76 AFC Divisional

1976 afc divisional at baltimore. Bradshaw completed 14 passes on just 18 attempts for 264 yds and 3 TD’s, 0 int. The game was such a blowout that when a plane crashed into the upper deck, Colts fans had already left.

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9 - Russel’s Slowest TD in Existence - 1/4/76 AFC Divisional

Until a few months ago, it was the longest fumble return in NFL playoff history. Sports Illustrated called it the longest, slowest touchdown in existence. The Steelers were up 21-10, but the Baltimore Colts were threatening to score. Jack Ham hit quarterback Bert Jones and the ball ended up in Andy Russel’s hands. Jack Ham, Dwight White and Donnie Shell had key blocks on the return.

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Kyle Chrise is the host of the Steel Curtain Network podcast “What Yinz Talkin’ Bout.” New Episodes drop every Thursday.