The Steelers did not close down Three Rivers Stadium yesterday as much as they lifted it off its concrete base and carried her memories into history.
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Brent Alexander and Jason Gildon drive Redskins quarterback Jeff George into the Three Rivers Stadium turf yesterday, (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette) |
There never has been a more joyous Irish wake than the one the Rooneys, their football team, their former football teams and the 58,183 fans staged in the old bowl on the North Side.
The Washington Redskins served themselves up as the ceremonial candles, and the Steelers blew them out, 24-3, on the way to their big party, and they kept their slim playoff hopes alive for at least another day.
If one thing epitomized the events, it occurred after the Washington Redskins (7-8) won the coin toss at midfield with Hall of Famers Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, Mel Blount and Franco Harris watching.
Lambert let out a yelp.
"Jack just got fired up," linebacker Levon Kirkland said, his voice shaking with emotion, "and said, 'All right defense! Let's kill, let's go!'
"That was great, man. You could see how intense he was. It just made us go out there and play better."
With the wet but festive crowd chanting the tune spawned long ago in Three Rivers Stadium, "Deee-fense, Deee-fense," the Steelers went out in a steady rain and shut down the worst team money could buy. They allowed an Eddie Murray 32-yard field goal in the first quarter and then rang down on them like a Steel Curtain.
The Steelers (8-7) recovered three fumbles, had two interceptions, knocked out Redskins quarterback Jeff George, had three sacks and cold-cocked defending NFL rush champion Stephen Davis, who had just 39 yards on 16 carries.
Still, it took rookie Hank Poteat, a Harrisburg native playing his only season in Three Rivers Stadium, to provide the spark that ignited the celebration. With the score tied, 3-3, he returned a punt 53 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter to make good on a promise he made to his grandmother in Philadelphia Friday night.
"I told her . . . I'm going to run one back for her."
It was that kind of magical day in which all the Steelers' wishes came true. The only thing missing was Santa landing at midfield. L.C. Greenwood tried his best by wearing a red Santa hat and his trademark gold playing shoes during a thundering, sentimental post-game introduction of nearly 50 former Steelers and all of the current ones as the stadium shook for the final time before it comes down Feb. 18.
"You know what was so great about today?" tight end Mark Bruener said as he took a break in the locker room where his giddy teammates were snapping hundreds of photos of each other. "First of all, the weather. It wasn't a bright sunny day, it was a typical Pittsburgh December day. To have the Hall of Fame players come back, the alumni to come back and be honored the way they were and to be part of them and see them. For Mr. Rooney to be as excited as he was, and to win the game in the fashion we did. I couldn't have expected a better situation or story line."
Quarterback Kordell Stewart ended some bittersweet personal times in Three Rivers Stadium by playing another strong game. He completed 11 of 21 passes for 175 yards, showing poise and composure and elusiveness against a good pass rush to direct his offense to two touchdowns and a field goal.
Jerome Bettis topped it off with a Harris-like 104 yards on 25 carries.
"All those great players being here," Bettis said, "it reminds you that when you put this jersey on, you don't put it on only for yourself."
A stifling defense, a 100-yard running game and bad weather. It had become the trademark of so many Steelers teams over the past 31 seasons in Three Rivers Stadium.
"We knew we were just going to come out and play Steelers football," said cornerback Dewayne Washington, who had his fifth interception. "We knew we had to run the ball with Jerome. We had to make some plays on defense. We did that early on and got up on them."
They made play after play.
Stewart, after struggling in the first quarter, kicked it in gear in the second when he found Bobby Shaw for a 34-yard pass, scrambled on third-and-7 for an 8-yard gain and Kris Brown kicked a 28-yard field goal for a 3-3 tie.
Poteat got a chance at his riveting touchdown return because punter Josh Miller, who later sustained a slight concussion but refused to stay out of the game, had his punt downed at the 4 and the Steelers' defense held the Redskins at the 9.
With the Steelers ahead, 10-3, cornerback Chad Scott ripped the ball out of the hands of wide receiver Albert Connell for his fifth interception at the Washington 38.
Stewart completed a 12-yard pass to Troy Edwards, and Richard Huntley eventually scored the first of his two touchdown runs, from 3 yards.
The score was 17-3 at halftime, and the $100 million Redskins cashed in their checks.
Washington caught a break early in the third quarter when the wet ball slipped through Miller's hands in punt formation and the Redskins got it at the Steelers' 19. But nose tackle Kimo von Oelhoffen stripped the ball from Davis on the first play, and safety Brent Alexander recovered. Later, tight end Stephen Alexander caught a 30-yard pass from backup quarterback Brad Johnson but had it knocked out by Jason Simmons at the 2, the ball rolled into the end zone and out of bounds. It was ruled a touchback -- Steelers' ball at the 20.
Certainly, it was no Immaculate Deflection, but it did happen in the same spot as Harris' famed touchdown run 28 years ago.
Bettis ran the Steelers toward their final touchdown in the fourth quarter with bursts of 9 and 23 yards. He came off to catch a breather, and Huntley ripped off left tackle for a 30-yard touchdown to make it 24-3, and the party was on.
"You see Franco and some of the old guys back," Huntley said, "you see all those guys and you look at the history of this football team, this stadium and everything like that, you try to put a performance on like they did."
Huntley will be remembered for scoring the final touchdown in the building -- and for losing its final fumble. That occurred at the Redskins' 9 after an 11-yard gain with 2:49 left. It appeared his knee was down, but Coach Bill Cowher's replay challenge was not successful.
"Just make sure y'all remember the last touchdown and not the last fumble here," Huntley said, smiling in a locker room that hasn't seen so many happy faces in the past three years.
Those have not been particularly good years for the Steelers, who have not made the playoffs since 1997. They had their only losing home record at 2-6 in stadium history last season. They avoided another by beating Washington to go 4-4.
They also avoided playoff elimination. But yesterday was not the time for talk of their postseason chances. It was a time to celebrate a place that gave rise to so many playoffs and Super Bowls of the past.
"To be here for that part of history is great," said the emotional Kirkland. "I'm just glad I got an opportunity to play for a very special team, a very special owner.
"When I woke up this morning, I realized that I was going to be part of history. I wanted to make it good history."
It was that.
Steelers bid fond farewell to Three Rivers Stadium by thrashing Redskins 
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