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Steelers get finishing kick from Hoak's call

Monday, January 06, 2003

By Gerry Dulac, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Alan Faneca stood there, listening, watching. Like everyone else in Heinz Field, he couldn't believe what he had just seen.

	Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala scores on a 3-yard run with 54 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Steelers thrier first lead yesterday. (Matt Freed, Post-Gazette)

When Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala scored on a 3-yard run with 54 seconds remaining in the game, capping a 17-point comeback in the second-wildest playoff game in Steelers history, Faneca was among the thousands caught up in the pandemonium.

"The thrill of victory ... just to stand there, take it all in, the stadium screaming, everyone excited, we just deflated the Browns, just the whooooole thing,' Faneca said. "Just sitting there and soaking it in, and you still don't even know what the hell happened. You're just there."

In case you missed it, this is what happened:

Down 24-7 in the third quarter, the Steelers scored two touchdowns in the final 3:06 to beat the Cleveland Browns, 36-33, and turn Heinz Field into a giant dance floor.

And they did it with a draw play called by running backs coach Dick Hoak -- 42 Base -- in which the Steelers use four wide receivers to make it look like a pass play. Fuamatu-Ma'afala has the option of running to either side of center Jeff Hartings, and he correctly chose to run to Hartings' left side.

When he did, the Steelers had an improbable AFC wild-card playoff victory that sends them to Nashville for a divisional playoff game against the Tennessee Titans. And they had an improbable hero: Fuamatu-Ma'afala, who made his only carry of the second half a significant one.

"We have Hines, [Randle] El, Plaxico and they called my number," Fuamatu-Ma'afala said. "I had to step up."

The touchdown came on second down after quarterback Tommy Maddox completed four of five passes for 58 yards to move the ball to the Browns' 3. The Steelers had another play called in the huddle -- a pass to Hines Ward in the right flat, a play similar to the one in which he scored a 5-yard touchdown that cut the Browns' lead to 33-28 with 3:06 remaining -- in case Fuamatu-Ma'afala didn't score.

But that play can go back into another game plan. The Steelers didn't need it.

"Dick Hoak kicked me in the leg and said, 'Why don't you try this?' " Mularkey said of the winning play.

Mularkey is glad he listened.

"It's a play that's called to take them by surprise," quarterbacks coach Tom Clements said. "We took a chance we could run and then come back and throw on the next play. But they played pass and a big hole opened."

"I knew as long as he kept it on that side we were going to walk in," Hartings said. "I was hoping he wasn't trying to squeeze back to the right, where it usually hits."

That's because Browns defensive tackle Orpheus Roye was lined slightly to Hartings' right side, making it easier for Roye to plug the hole on that side. But it also made it easier for Hartings and Faneca to block him to the right, creating a hole on the left for Fuamatu-Ma'afala.

The intent of the play is for Fuamatu-Ma'afala to run away from the direction in which the line is blocking. That forces the middle linebacker -- typically the player assigned to the ballcarrier -- to run away from the hole.

"Generally, though, it hits to the right side," Faneca said.

After looking to the right side, Fuamatu-Ma'afala changed direction and took the ball off the left. When he got a big block from left tackle Wayne Gandy, who turned defensive end Mark Word to the outside, Fuamatu-Ma'afala had an easy time fitting his 250-pound frame through the hole and into the end zone.

"That end is the guy you're really trying to get up the field," Gandy said. "But, being on the 3-yard line, he's not going to run that hard up the field. All I have to do is set and start run blocking. He listened to me."

"We all had so much confidence," Hartings said. "I don't think there was a whole lot of surprise. Obviously, we were excited, but I don't think we were all shocked like we did something we didn't think we could do."

When it was over, the Browns, kings of last-minute drama, had sustained a painful defeat. After taking a 33-21 lead with 10:17 remaining, it didn't appear the game would come down to the final 60 seconds. But, for the fifth consecutive game, 11th time this season, it did.

The Steelers were thrilled to oblige.

It was the second game in a row they had rallied in the final quarter. And it was the third time this season -- second against the Browns -- Maddox had brought them back for victory.

"Maybe we'll start getting to point where it's not about how you win," Gandy said. "Sometimes during the season, I think people say, 'Well, they struggled to beat so-and-so.' Well, man, we won the game. That got so lost in sports. This is the NFL. You're in the playoffs. All you can hope for is a 3-point win. But, this league, it's so much about going out, like the Jets did [Saturday]. How many times have you ever turned on the TV in a playoff game and it's 41-0? The object is to win. That's what this team got today. This is about just winning. I'll take a 1-point win as long as they come."