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Welcome to the first edition of the Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Greatest Plays Bracket. In honor of March Madness, we at BTSC have decided to select, what we thought, the top 16 Steelers plays of all-time. Once we made the selections, we ranked them in order of importance.
Wednesday we saw Santonio Holmes' Super Bowl 43 touchdown catch defeat Willie Parker's 75-yard Super Bowl 40 run to move onto Round 2. The next matchup pits the No. 4 seeded John Stallworth touchdown catch in Super Bowl 14 against the Rams vs. No. 13 seeded Troy Polamalu's incredible interception against the San Diego Chargers in 2008.
As the bracket continues, the matchups get more and more difficult to choose one over the other. In a battle of old vs. new Steelers plays, will the Super Bowl play overcome an insane interception? Take a look and place your vote!
4. John Stallworth's over-the-shoulder catch in Super Bowl 14
Football in the 1970's was different than the modern game. There weren't as many big plays, and certainly not as much passing. However, in 1979 there was a big play on the biggest stage when Terry Bradshaw threw a beautiful pass into the bread basket of John Stallworth as he trotted into the endzone which gave the Steelers a lead they wouldn't relinquish. I don't what era you are talking about, this play is a beauty.
13. Troy Polamalu's insane finger tip interception of Philip Rivers
Troy Polamalu has made some incredible plays in his tenure in the NFL, but this ranks up among the greatest. Early in the game vs. the Chargers, Philip Rivers throws a pass which is deflected and looks to hit the turf. A diving Polamalu picks up the ball, and without a whistle starts running the ball back. Even announcer Jim Nantz doesn't believe it is an interception, until replay shows Polamalu got a finger tip underneath the football for one of the more incredible interceptions in NFL history. Polamalu would later say he was most disappointed in falling down on the run back, as he had nothing but daylight in front of him. Plays like these make you realize just how special a player Polamalu was for the Steelers.
Two incredible plays. One iconic image of Stallworth catching the ball over his shoulder, and the other a wild haired Tazmanian Devil diving for an unbelievable interception. Two phenomenal plays, but only one can move on to Round 2. Vote below!
Tomorrow's matchup has Jack Lambert's tossing of Dallas Cowboys' Cliff Harris going up against Troy Polamalu's interception of Joe Flacco in the 2008 AFC title game.
We hope you continue to enjoy the Sweet 16 bracket - Steelers style.