This is where it all began for Tommy Maddox: Cleveland, in Heinz Field. He does not want it to end there.
Before Sept. 29, Maddox was Tommy Who? He was the second-most famous alumnus from the XFL after He Hate Me, a curiosity as that failed league's MVP, a failure himself in the NFL 10 years earlier.
Before Sept. 29, Maddox never knew what it was like to contribute to a winning game in the NFL. He threw nine passes in 2001 as Kordell Stewart's backup, his first NFL passes in six years.
Then came the Browns in Heinz Field Sept. 29. The Steelers had celebrated their preseason favorites role in the AFC by losing their first two games, and they were losing game three to the Browns in the fourth quarter when Coach Bill Cowher put Maddox in for Kordell Stewart.
Maddox zipped the Steelers 77 yards on seven plays to tie the score with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with two minutes left. Then, the Steelers won in overtime after deflected and blocked field-goal attempts, and a star was born.
Cowher started Maddox the next game and he has stuck with him the rest of the season except for two games he missed after his temporary paralysis in Tennessee on Nov. 17.
Now Maddox prepares for another new experience at age 31 -- his first start in the playoffs. Maddox made a brief playoff appearance for Denver in 1993, completing 3 of 7 passes.
"Everybody wants to play in the playoffs," Maddox said. "Those are the games everybody shoots for and everybody wants to play in, so I'm very excited about it. It's taken 10 years to get here and I'm going to enjoy it and savor every moment I can."
The Steelers hope there will be more of them after Sunday. If they win, they will play at AFC South champion Tennessee, the No. 2 seed, the following weekend.
"I was excited about our situation last year and trying to make a run at the Super Bowl," said Maddox, who watched both of the Steelers' postseason games from the sideline as Stewart's backup. "Obviously, it takes on a different meaning because I'm going to go out there and play. It's even more special than last year. I'm looking forward to getting out there and getting this thing started."
The Steelers were 7-3-1 with Maddox as their starting quarterback, not counting his winning relief appearance against Cleveland. His passer rating, in the high 90s at midseason, settled to 85.2, in the middle of the pack in the AFC. He completed a team-record 62.1 percent of his passes for 2,836 yards, 20 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. But in his past five games, Maddox has thrown eight interceptions and for just five touchdowns.
In his second game against Cleveland Nov. 3, Maddox and the Steelers got off to a rough start. Maddox had trouble with the Browns' blitzing defense and the Steelers trailed, 14-3, in the second quarter.
That's when they went to a no-huddle offense and coordinator Mike Mularkey began calling some gadget plays to throw the hard-rushing Browns off balance. It worked.
"We went to the no-huddle, spread offense," Maddox said, "and kind of got them out of their rhythm a little bit and we were able to go down and put some points on the board. And then we got back in our regular offense and we kind of had more of a rhythm on offense than they did on defense.
"Whatever you can do to get a team out of their rhythm and get them kind of playing behind you is key in any game, especially in one where the opponents know each other so well."
Maddox threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter of 20 yards to Hines Ward and 1 yard to Mark Bruener, and the Steelers took a 17-14 halftime lead they did not relinquish.
Earlier in the game, the Browns lined up with 12 men on defense and defensive end Courtney Brown brutally slammed into Maddox unimpeded for an 8-yard loss. Cleveland was called for a 5-yard penalty for having too many men on the field. However, a theory circulated among the Steelers that the 12-man attack was on purpose to try to shake up Maddox.
Two days later, Coach Bill Cowher did nothing to put it to rest.
"I am not going to speculate on that," Cowher said. "I don't know and I am not going to start anything in regards to that."
Maddox this week said he wasn't sure if Cleveland Coach Butch Davis intentionally sent 12 men onto the field to go after him, but he wouldn't be surprised if he had.
"Whether they did or didn't, who knows? That's what you kind of expect in a rivalry of this sort. Everybody's going to pull out all stops, especially being a playoff game. They're going to do whatever they can to win the game. That's what's exciting about this time of year."
Maddox has been consistent in his response all season that he welcomes it if teams want to blitz him, and he said it again about the Browns.
"Maybe they will. It's not really their style of defense, so if they do that they're not doing something that they're maybe as comfortable at doing, so it might be an advantage to us. We'll just have to wait and see and adjust to what they're doing."
Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3878.
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