>> Welcome to "Blitzburgh." Blitz, as in 55 of them to lead the NFL and to set a Pittsburgh franchise record. It's a very unique defensive system. Give us some insight. >> Yeah, there's no question it's Blitzburgh. Ten of the eleven starters that Pittsburgh has on the field have sacks. But here's the play from the Bengals. They threaten the line of scrimmage with seven players. The offense's problem is, "Who's coming?" On this particular play, they really only pressure the quarterback with three players. Rod Woodson, the gifted cornerback, is the guy who makes the sack, and they have a linebacker who drops out. The problem is, the quarterback thinks he sees blitz when in fact it's zone. Woodson is unblocked. It's an easy sack. >> So, for San Diego the problem is seven are up there. Which five are coming? How do they attack it? >> They got to stay out of long-yardage situations. San Diego today key number -- they've got to win first down. That's at least 5 yards every first down. >> The Steelers will get the ball first. John Carney, who led the NFL in scoring this season, with 135 points, tees it up at his 30-yard line. And rookie from Colorado, Charles Johnson, awaits the biggest game of the year for these young men. And even the old-timers have said, or the ones that haven't made it to the Super Bowl, "This is it." Carney sends the AFC Championship under way. Through the rain to Johnson at the 9. Johnson across the 30 and finally dropped at the 33-yard line. Willie Clark, a Notre Dame rookie, makes the tackle. Neil O'Donnell the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not always cheered. Earlier this season was booed rather roundly by the home folks. Here are the men who will protect him, the front five. John Jackson. Love goes to the Pro Bowl. Dawson is brilliant. Strzelczyk and Searcy. In the backfield with O'Donnell, John L. Williams from Seattle. Barry Foster, who rushed for nearly 900. Yancey Thigpen started at San Diego. Ernie Mills. Eric Green's the biggest tight end in the league. And Johnson comes in in the three-wide. Barry Foster, and Foster dives under Junior Seau's hit and gains a couple across the 35. Chris Mims, who had a big season, 11 sacks. Parrella for the injured Shawn Lee. Reuben Davis, over 300 pounds. O'Neal again led the Chargers in sacks. Griggs, Gibson, the brilliant Seau, the middle backer. Gordon and Harper at the corners and Carrington and Richard at safety. The Chargers deep defense gave up a lot of passing yards this year. Clark and Vanhorse in the dime. O'Donnell on second and 7. To the 41-yard line, where Thigpen is hit by Darrien Gordon. It's short of the first down by 2. >> Dick, first of all, I think San Diego respects the running game of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Junior Seau down on the line of scrimmage like a 5-man front. But then, also, Pittsburgh shows here even in this driving rainstorm, not afraid to throw it. Single coverage. Darrien Gordon on Thigpen across the middle. A very conservative route, underneath gets Neil O'Donnell off to the right start. Needs some early good, solid completions here. >> And on third down, 2. Up the middle. First down and more to the 49. Barry Foster. [ Crowd cheers ] >> So much of what Pittsburgh does is put squarely on the shoulders of the offensive line. It's a gifted offensive line, all very athletic, all very strong. Now, Junior Seau blocked by John Jackson, number 65, and Barry Foster cuts back behind the block for a nice pickup. >> Ball at the Pittsburgh 49, and rookie "Bam" Morris -- Byron "Bam" Morris, from Texas Tech, replaces Barry Foster. He had 836 yards this year. O'Donnell down the middle. Incomplete unless it's ruled a fumble. No, they're saying incomplete to Ernie Mills, who was racked by Darren Carrington. >> Pittsburgh showing no problems with the weather here. There have been a lot of people in Pittsburgh who have said that Neil O'Donnell can't throw the football. He can't do this. One, two... Oh, it looked like that -- I'm not sure. It's got to have that second foot down, again. Gordon behind him, the hit by Carrington. No, I don't think he had a second foot down. But they're showing no problems with this weather. "Hey, we'll throw it. We've got no problems. We've practiced in worse weather than this." >> Second down, 10. Barry Foster, and he's met sharply by the San Diego Chargers Seau, with help from the secondary. >> The beauty of Junior Seau, the ability to roam. There he's got a good pursuit lane. Jumps over a blocker and was there. It was Strzelczyk, 73, that he had to jump over. That's that athleticism of a middle linebacker. They didn't used to have athletes like that playing middle linebacker. >> So, it is third down and long for O'Donnell, and he comes in with three wide receivers. Into the flat. Great throw. Ernie Mills appears to have a first down at the 40-yard line. Boy, that's a tough completion. Perfect throw by O'Donnell. >> And, Dick, if Willie Clark, number 31 for San Diego, looks back at the quarterback, he makes the interception. He's covering the man in motion. Watch how close Clark is. If he sees that ball thrown, he's got a break on it. But that is a beautiful throw by O'Donnell. >> Needed 7, got 8. >> Well, this is the way they started last week against Cleveland. Just pretty much doing anything and everything they wanted. >> Thigpen to the right, with Mills in the slot. And they run Foster, and it was Seau who was able to infiltrate, and a flag goes down. Seau breaking through the blocks and making the tackle in the backfield. First call of the day. Holding against the Steelers. Bobby Ross, 57, in his third year. He was a rookie coach the same year as Cowher. >> Holding, number 85 of the offense. 10 yards -- repeat first down. >> Tight end Jonathan Hayes, a former Kansas City Chief with the penalty. >> Here is Jonathan Hayes right here on the block. He's trying to capture the corner. Yeah, he definitely gets a mitt full of Chris Mims. There was no question about that. >> Well, the penalty takes it back to the 50. Cowher trying to become the youngest-ever coach in the Super Bowl. He's 37. Shula was 39 when he went to Super Bowl III with Baltimore. Down the middle. And too high for Yancey Thigpen. Darrien Gordon was on the coverage. >> One of the things you certainly want to have is good protection for your quarterback. Leslie O'Neal -- good double team by Jackson, 65, Duval Love, 67. Allows O'Donnell a chance to sit back there and look for the deep receiver. >> Second down and 20. O'Neal, who had 12 1/2 sacks, among the leaders in the NFL this year, only 1 1/2 behind Kevin Greene, Pittsburgh, who led the league. >> Screen. >> To Foster and well-read by Junior Seau. Seau right there to make the tackle for no gain, and that's why he's regarded as perhaps the best middle backer in the game. >> Dick, when he came into our meeting yesterday, he already had his game face on. Drops, gets around a block by Strzelczyk and then makes the tackle. This guy is redefining what middle linebackers should and will do in the next 10 years in the NFL. >> And it's stunning when you look at his size -- 250 pounds, runs like a deer. >> Still hobbled by that bed left shoulder but playing through the discomfort. >> Third and 20. To the sidelines. And a good gain, not enough for the first down. Andre Hastings, who caught 20 during the course of the year. A gain of around 18. So, on fourth down and 2, what's Cowher's call? >> Bill's already made the decision. He has great faith in his offense, and they're already motioning for certain personnel on the field. >> Fans like the fact they go for it fourth and 2. They bring in Hastings. John L. Williams stays, and Williams, remember, the fullback. Had 51 catches to lead this club during the year. And time is called by Pittsburgh. They had run out of time. With the substitutions, they could not get the play off. Welcome back to Pittsburgh, Three Rivers Stadium, no score, first possession of the game. Steelers have taken it from the kickoff to fourth and 2 at the Charger 32. It would be about a 49-yard field goal by Gary Anderson, but Cowher wants to establish an early statement here -- go for it. And they were 40% on the year. >> In fact, Neil O'Donnell said, "Bill Cowher wants to be out there with us. He would love to tape up and play." [ Crowd cheers ] >> John L. Williams stands next to O'Donnell. Wide open, Andre Hastings. First down at the 20. [ Crowd cheers ] Sean Vanhorse, an extra defensive back for San Diego, but no one picked up Hastings. >> Vanhorse was on single coverage. You just see the little option route run by Hastings. There's no way Vanhorse, without help outside, can cover that pattern, Dick. >> 11 yards and a first down. >> Bobby Ross -- there are some weaknesses. There is a weakness in every defense, and when you got single coverage and time for the quarterback to throw and the option available to the quarterback, the defensive back can't be right. >> Two consecutive passes to Hastings, 18 yards and 11. And here's Foster and drawing a crowd again. It appears, Bob Trumpy, that San Diego is really committing itself -- up to eight men on the line of scrimmage -- to stop the run. >> Yeah, the other thing -- Darren Carrington, 29, is the eighth guy. The other thing they're doing is they're also playing the defense in. Here's Carrington, the eighth guy. But they've got their splits a little wider, so it's a little more difficult for the offensive linemen to get the angle blocks that they normally do. Leslie O'Neal blows that play up first. Seau helps on the tackle. >> A loss of nearly 2. O'Donnell into the flat to Foster. Runs right by one Charger. Dennis Gibson makes the tackle after Junior Seau unable to get him 5 yards upfield. >> Good choice here by Neil O'Donnell. He's looking downfield. He's got the outlet of Foster in the flat. He's not there. "I'm not gonna take a chance." This is a nice, little move. It's not that easy to get around Junior Seau. He just froze him right in his tracks. Here's Junior. Oh, whoops. >> O'Donnell on this drive, 6-for-8, 49 yards. Third down and about 5. >> Blitz. >> John L. Williams. Touchdown! [ Crowd cheers ] A flag is down in the secondary. >> Holding, number 21. Penalty is declined. Touchdown. >> So, the best rushing team in the NFL uses the pass to drive 67 yards in 13 opening plays, using half the quarter, and leads, 6-0. >> Dick, Pittsburgh did a beautiful job with motion. We'll show you here in a minute. They got the matchup they wanted. >> Gary Anderson's try for point, and the Steelers are waving the Terrible Towels to the tune of an early 7-0 lead. And it was Neil O'Donnell's passing, 65 yards on the drive, and overcoming a critical third and 20 at midfield to get the first down on back-to-back passes on Hastings. And there's Ron Erhardt, who stood on the sidelines with Bill Parcells through two New York Giant championships, Super Bowl championships. "Fargo." He loves the ground control, but he showed on the opening drive that the Steelers can throw it. The kickoff by Anderson to Ronnie Harmon at the San Diego 16. And Harmon has a path. And the talented runner/receiver is out to to the 38-yard line. Stan Humphries will go to work. >> Back to that touchdown. Here's John L. Williams, and this is Dennis Gibson. He is run-stopping linebacker. Watch what they do. Motion, drag. John L. Williams runs the little delay over the middle. This one you got to give execution to the players, but the play design by Erhardt is spectacular. You isolate a receiver, one of the all-time-great receiving backs in the history of the game, against a run-stopping linebacker, and it's an easy score. >> So, Stan Humphries comes out passing. Goes deep. Incomplete to Mark Seay at the 50-yard line. Deon Figures on the coverage. >> Dick, another look at the touchdown here. Great protection for O'Donnell. The fourth-down conversion worked. The third and 20, they almost picked the whole thing up, and O'Donnell says, "Yeah." That opening score of a conference-championship game. >> And he found a man who knows how to catch it in John L. Williams, who has 522 career catches, second-best ever by a running back. Tied with Marcus Allen. Humphries going long this time. And too long and out of bounds. Intended for Shawn Jefferson. Figures again on the coverage, and Kevin Greene smacked Humphries as he threw it. Top sack man in the league, Greene. >> And, Dick, you don't think that that opening-drive score had something to do with this? On Stan Brock, look at the leverage he gets. Just shoves Stan Brock right back into Stan Humphries. Gets up and says something to Humphries. Son, it's gonna be a long day. As long as you're in third and 10, you are easy pickings. >> Carnell Lake sneaks up to the line of scrimmage. But they only rush four men. Humphries has a man open. And it goes right through the hands of Tony Martin at the Pittsburgh 38. >> Three plays, three passes, three incompletions. It's the double coverage -- corners up, safeties out. That ball should have been caught. But on a day like this, when the ball is wet, the field is wet, the gloves are wet, tough to hang onto it. >> Bryan Wagner, a wobbler that takes a lateral bounce and out of bounds at the Steeler 23, a 39-yard punt. And we have a time-out. Kevin Greene, part of the spurring influence of that Pittsburgh defense that held three-and-out. Chargers had the ball only 30-some seconds. Look at that. Pittsburgh's drive took 7:32. From the 23. O'Donnell passed the ball 9 of 13 times on the opening drive, and he comes out throwing again. Underneath, this time to Ernie Mills. Twisted down by Junior Seau. Three-yard gain. >> Certainly obvious that Pittsburgh's choice here is running crossing patterns. San Diego runs an awful lot of zone. And the matchup here is that Seau is running with Mills, catches him. Don't particularly care for the celebration here. I mean, it was a 3- or 4-yard gain, and you're down 7-0. >> Second down, 7. Barry Foster gets a couple more. This time hit by David Griggs, the linebacker. Played at Miami, out of Virginia. Here's rushing yards -- Steelers '91, averaged 101, 17th in the league. Moved up to fourth in Cowher's first year. And leveled off a bit last year, and then led the NFL this season. >> Yeah, in '92, that was almost all Barry Foster, MVP season. 1994, it's been a combination of John L. Williams, Barry Foster, and Bam Morris. They call two of them running backs, but it's basically three fullbacks back there. >> Foster has only 14 yards today on 5 carries. So, shotgun again, third and 5. And that'll be a first down, although they pull him back. Willie Clark takes Andre Hastings, but he was out to the 36 and a first down. [ Crowd cheers ] >> Dick, this is twice now that San Diego has bluffed Junior Seau up to the line of scrimmage, an they've thrown the ball right behind him. Just a little zone pattern, a hook by Hastings, and, see, Junior Seau comes in late. That's the threat of the Pittsburgh running game. There he is at the line of scrimmage again, just threatening. And there's Hastings wide open. Now, if he's back there, he can read that and help with the pass defense. >> Hastings' third catch. This is John L. Williams. And Williams has another Pittsburgh first down. [ Crowd cheers ] >> And they get the angle, Dick. You should see it perfectly. Duval Love out there. Junior Seau gets caught up in the wash behind. A good block by Yancey Thigpen, 82. They get the angle, they get the numbers, and then, all of a sudden, the runner's outside. Here's Leslie O'Neal. An excellent job of a block by the running back on him. >> David Griggs from his linebacker position fills and drops Foster for a yard loss. So, they really zeroed in on stopping Foster, but they haven't been able to corral O'Donnell. >> The other thing is, too, Pittsburgh will not go away from this running game. They stay with it and stay with it and stay with it, and that's Leon Searcy, 72, just shoving Chris Mims out of the way. And if this offensive line from Pittsburgh begins to get the feeling, "We got them," as they did last week against Cleveland, go the sideline, tell Erhardt, they're gonna run it on every down. >> Second and 11. Stanley Richard against Ernie Mills as Richard goes for the interception. He had 4 to tie for the Charger lead during the regular season. >> Dick, he had a tough choice. He chooses to go through the receiver, but I think he can break -- well, maybe not. Maybe not. I thought he could go after the football, and he does a good job of breaking it up, and I don't think that's interference. I think that's an excellent call by the officials. Contact right at the moment that the ball gets there. And they're both entitled to try for it. >> Third down, 11. Steelers are 4-for-5 on third down. Going long. Incomplete. Intended for Charles Johnson, the rookie. Darren Carrington on the coverage for San Diego. So, this has been exactly what no one expected. Everybody was talking about two great running offenses, and both have put the ball in the air consistently. Chargers forcing Cowher to do so by stuffing the run. Mark Royals, best in the league in punting inside the 20. Darrien Gordon returned two punts for touchdowns this year. Beautiful kick. Gordon. And then down at the 14-yard line. Tackled by Steve Avery. Dermontti Dawson, the star center of the Pittsburgh Steelers, on his way to the third Super Bowl. >> You mean Pro Bowl. >> Pro Bowl. >> Yet to be determined, Super Bowl. >> That's right -- Pro Bowl. Chargers were 3 incomplete passes. And now they run. Natrone Means for 2. Greg Lloyd made the tackle. The Chargers line up this way. Swayne, Davis, a 320-pound rookie, Hall, Cocozzo, the veteran Brock, in his 15th year. Means, the key runner. Was fourth in the league. Jefferson and Seay outside. Double tight end, Young and Pupunu. Martin and Ronnie Harmon come in the posse. Second and 8. Wrapped up by Chad Brown, the second-year middle linebacker who had a sensational season to lead the Steelers in tackles. Buckner, the rookie from Clemson, with Steed and Seals the front three. And what a set of linebackers -- Greene, Kirkland, Brown, and Lloyd. They feel all four should have gone to the Pro Bowl. Woodson and Figures at the corners. Lake and Perry at safety. Bell, a rookie from Michigan State, and the veteran Tim McKyer come in the dime. [ Crowd cheers ] Incomplete. Almost intercepted. Pupunu was the target, and Chad Brown almost got the ball. They brought Myron Bell from a safety on the blitz. >> And there it was. Watch all the guys at the line of scrimmage now. Now, who out of that bunch is gonna pressure the quarterback? That's what Stan Humphries has to worry about. Myron Bell is the one. He gets around a block by Means. Greg Lloyd, 95, also -- well, there's four of them there. Pick one. But that threat of the blitz... [ Crowd cheers ] >> And movement before the snap on the punt may cost the Chargers. And so... >> Before the snap, false start, number 54. 5 yards -- still fourth down. >> That's Doug Miller, a linebacker on the special teams. Rod Woodson, who has drifted back to midfield, should give the Steelers excellent field position, as Bryan Wagner will punt from just outside his end zone. Very high and Woodson returnable at the -- fumbled the ball! And it rolls out of bounds, I believe. The Chargers say they have it. Did it go out of bounds first? No signal yet. >> Wait a minute. That's a muff. I don't think anybody maintained control of that. It looked like the man that touched it, Dick, was already out of bounds. Nobody had control of that. >> Didn't matter. If the Chargers fall on it, it's their ball. >> But if he was out of bounds when he fell on it, it's not their ball. That's my point. >> Be the same as a fumble. >> Yeah, looked to me like he was out of bounds. >> The ball was touched by a player who was out of bounds. That makes the ball out of bounds. First down, Pittsburgh. >> Well, the Steelers get a break there, as Woodson unable to capture the punt. >> Clear muff. Goes right through his hands. Now, who is it that makes the contact? Looks like Gibson, 89. There are several players out of bounds touching the ball. At that point... >> It doesn't matter what color the uniform is. >> Doesn't matter. >> In fact, Woodson himself has touched it a bit and so has Avery, 43. And by touching it while he was out of bounds, the play is out of bounds. >> Excellent call, in amongst all that humanity, to make this call. There's the first contact right there on the sideline. Interesting, they punt that ball to the sideline to just cut down on the chances for Rod Woodson to come up with a big return. And he fumbles the ball. >> Bobby Ross, from his perspective, thought he had the ball. And, indeed, the Chargers did recover it in the field of play, but it had been touched in the process while the player was out of bounds. Oh, the Steelers, from their own 49, have owned the ball this first quarter and lead 7-0. O'Donnell unable to find John L. Williams on a little circle pattern. >> John L. stopped, and Neil O'Donnell led him a little bit here. >> Neil O'Donnell, a very quiet man this year. It was a difficult early part of the season. His father passed away just around Father's Day, and it had great impact on this young man. And then his team got off struggling, 2-2, and the fans were booing and blaming him. Barry Foster fumbles the ball. Was he down. No, he was not, and the Chargers have recovered at the 41-yard line. Darren Carrington came up with the ball, as Barry Foster, who so rarely gives up the ball. In fact, the Steelers were by far the best in the league in not turning it over. >> It's Chris Mims on this delay who comes back and strips the ball away. Watch 94. Pulls it out of his arms, and actually Barry Foster is on his back on top of Mims. >> So, he's not down. >> So, he's not down, and Mims strips it away. >> Steelers gave it up only 17 times all season. That's just about one a game. So, the Chargers get the first turnover at their own 41. [ Crowd cheers ] Natrone Means runs right over Carnell Lake and runs over some more, as he goes into Pittsburgh territory at the 47-yard line. Carnell Lake, a Pro Bowler, one of the best safeties in the league. >> And, Dick, in college, Carnell Lake played linebacker at UCLA, but Natrone Means gets his shoulder and helmet into 37, as he breaks outside and crumble. I mean, runs right over him. And then he also goes over several other defensive backs, Darren Perry, number 39. [ Crowd cheers ] >> Final minute of the first quarter. Means again plows to the 43, a gain of 4, as the final seconds tick away here in the opening quarter. Kirkland and Lake on the tackle. >> Dick, that turnover now allows San Diego to get to their game plan. That is, run Means between the 40s and go to their full offense. The fumble by Barry Foster now has given some life to San Diego. They must take advantage of it. >> The Chargers do not need to run a play and apparently will not. Pittsburgh with a scoring opening drive, a 16-yard touchdown pass from Neil O'Donnell to John L. Williams, owning a 7-0 lead. First play, second quarter. And Means gets a couple yards after contact, down to the 41-yard line, where it will be third down and 4. Steed and Buckner make the tackle. Humphries calls time. It'll be third down for San Diego, with the Steelers leading, 7-0, when we return to Three Rivers. The AFC Championship, and the Steelers lead, 7-0. Third down, a very long 4, and the Chargers have Ronnie Harmon in the backfield. >> Blitz! >> Lloyd and others smother Humphries. [ Crowd cheers ] But it was Greg Lloyd there first. Brentson Buckner, 96, to help out. >> He was untouched, Dick. Again, one of those designer sacks you get out of just one, the reputation of being Blitzburgh, and two, the threat of the blitz. Somebody's got to block him. Everybody blocked inside. Look at the speed. 225 pounds. >> Buckner got the sack, but it was obviously Greg Lloyd who made the play. Wagner's punt, trying to kill one at about the 10, and it's Woodson, fair catch at the 11-yard line, a 35-yard punt. Steel Curtain clangs on Humphries. From the 12-yard line. It's Foster. Chased by Seau and hit by Stanley Richard. Let's go back to the sack. Is it again seven, which five are coming? >> Well, sometimes it's seven, sometimes not. But here's Greg Lloyd, and he's gonna make the sack. But watch what happens. When these guys come up through here, he drops off. You got four guys in the middle all consumed with what's going on, and Greg Lloyd get there to put the pressure to move Humphries up in the pocket just before. And then Buckner is the one who comes off and makes the sack. It's the threat. It's the recognition that drives teams crazy when they play Pittsburgh. This defense can make you look foolish. >> On second and 9, fake to Foster. And throw to the big tight end, Hayes, and Jonathan Hayes has a first down at the 28. 16-yard play. >> Boy, this is part of that great running game now that Pittsburgh has. When you got a good running game, there's always the threat of the hand-off. O'Donnell sells it well. You see Hayes down the field. The linebacker Gibson, 57, looking for the run, and it ends up being a pass, and there's a nice, little seam there for Hayes to make the catch. >> Jonathan Hayes, who has done a lot of great work with diabetics. He himself is one. Takes insulin injections before the game. Foster and again a lot of white jerseys magnetized to 29. This time Reuben Davis got his 320 pounds on him, along with David Griggs. >> But what's beginning to unfold here is a lot of time on the field for the San Diego defense in this first half. This happened to Miami's defense last week in the second half. You begin to wear down and especially against a good running team, 'cause it takes so much energy on every snap. You got to play that run first. >> Well, Bill Arnsparger's design is stop the run -- 9 tries, 21 yards. But they haven't stopped the pass. Deep. Yancey Thigpen, a former Charger, first down at the San Diego 48. [ Crowd cheers ] >> But, Dick, your comment about Bill Arnsparger is correct. They've stopped the run. But what they've had to do is commit eight to the line of scrimmage to stop the run. And that's why the pass is open. How many times have we now seen single coverage on a receiver who breaks across the middle? The single coverage allows the strong safety up to the line of scrimmage to stop the run. Point/counterpoint. And to this point, Erhardt and Pittsburgh winning. >> Foster again up the middle to Seau's grasp. Gibson helps out on the tackle at the 44. >> There's Fargo. He told us the other day that he has a daily dozen. And a daily dozen is 12 or 15 plays that he puts on, he draws up -- every front that the opponent plays and all adjustments for his offensive linemen. And he said, "And we don't need any more running plays than that." The daily dozen is practiced time after time after time all week long. >> Second down, 6. >> Ooh. >> John L. Williams powering his 230 pounds through some linebackers, and Gordon finally makes the stop. >> Gordon gets rhinoed on this one. This is a truck for each side now. The sweep, the pull, and pancake. Mmm. Again, watch the offensive line. Strzelczyk, 73, gets the kickout, a good block down, and oh, the fold. We're talking playing-card proportions here. Just snapped them. >> Third, yard and a half. Foster. And he's pulled back by Darren Carrington, the safety, up on the line of scrimmage. And we'll see if they give forward progress for the first down. It appears to be short. >> Dick, we were warned by people from San Diego that they did not want these Pittsburgh running backs turned loose on their defensive backs. >> Gerry Austin, the referee, will ask for an official measurement. If the sticks are placed correctly across the way, they need to be right on the 38-yard line for the first down. It's not quite there. >> Yeah, near side is the real stick. Far side is... >> Estimate. >> Yeah, is the estimate. >> Bobby Ross, like Cowher, in his third season in the National Football League, a man whose team was picked by almost everyone to finish fifth out of five teams in the AFC West. >> Put me in that group. For what they lost, all the offense they lost, I didn't think they had any chance, not for what they didn't have. It's for what they had lost. >> But San Diego's machinery put together and coached outstandingly by Bobby Ross. Now fourth and inches. O'Donnell. Neil O'Donnell on the first thrust didn't make it, was rejected, but was able to slide off, and it appears edged forward for the first down. >> Dick, I don't know. >> It's a good spot. >> A very good spot, generous spot. Always wondered about that. You have the top-rushing team in the NFL, and I realize the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Don't take a chance on the hand-off, but you're paying some big people an awful lot of money to break tackles. Your quarterback, he's the TV star. Why he is in there getting dirty? >> Well, this quarterback doesn't care about being the TV star. He said, "I'd rather go walk my dog and be out of the public's eye." Boy, it is close, huh? >> They got it. >> By that much. [ Crowd cheers ] At the 38, the Steelers get the first down with 9:00-plus left in this first half, a half dominated by the Steelers, who lead, 7-0. >> Yeah, the tough part about this for San Diego, Dick, is they are a team that dominates. And when you dominate a team that likes to dominate, it really psychologically hurts. Pressing a presser, lobbing a lobber, dominating a dominator. >> Threw it away, and Eric Green was just breaking loose. David Griggs on the coverage for San Diego. >> It looked like that was going to be a tight end out-and-up, and somebody misread something. That's Hayes, 85, on the line. Green off the line. When he churns up, he's wide open but miscommunication. >> Eric Green, who's somewhere around 280 pounds. >> [ Laughs ] >> You couldn't convince any of the Chargers who are trying to defend him he's that light. >> Yeah, the Chargers said, "We've got tight ends that weigh 280. This guy -- he's a lot more than 280." >> Tenth play of the drive. Little delay, Barry Foster. And he gets those shoulders squared and going forward. Tough to bring down. First down, 12 yards on the play. >> Bill Cowher told us when we talked to him yesterday he thought Barry Foster would have a big game. All week long, he's been the first one here in the morning, the last one to leave at night. He's got that acceleration through the hole. Still suffering with somewhat of an ankle problem. Early, a back problem. And good blocking by Jackson. O'Neal runs up the field. Foster goes underneath him. >> His biggest run, a dozen. Foster again. And a good job coming up from the secondary, as a flag is down, as Darrien Gordon throwing his 180 pounds around the ankles of Barry Foster. Steelers caught holding. >> Holding, number 67. 10 yards -- repeat first down. >> Duval Love, in his tenth year, out of UCLA, going to his first Pro Bowl after his work this year. >> Part of this big offensive line. He's over here behind the center, and he comes out, and he's trying to log the defensive end in. That is, trying to roll the offense outside and just throws Griggs to the ground, 92. >> Penalty takes it back to the 37, first and 20. 7:49 left in this opening half, and the Steelers, while they have only 7, have not really been stopped by San Diego. Play-action and a screen, incomplete. And Junior Seau had his eyes kind of hiding and hoping he could slip through the blockers and pick that one off. >> Yeah, Reuben Davis and Leslie O'Neal good pressure on O'Donnell, made him throw it quickly. And you're right. Junior Seau, he was hiding there, for a guy who is 6'4", 250. But he reads this all the way. He's all over Barry Foster. He's trying to hide behind a tree there, you know? "Oh, there it comes. Oh, he caught me. Doggone it!" >> Had it been a pass a little higher... >> He could certainly run it in. >> O'Donnell into the flat. What a catch by John L. Williams, a gain of about 4. Seau makes the stop. Oh, and Seau -- talk about sideline to sideline. On one side he almost intercepts a screen, and he's way over here on this sideline to make the tackle on a fullback out of the backfield. >> Yeah, and there certainly have been a lot of great linebackers in the history of the NFL. Certainly one of them played here, Jack Lambert. Jack Lambert could have run like that, but he was 218 pounds. Junior Seau is 6'4 1/2", 250. So, he can take on guards by himself and run sideline to sideline. The greatest compliment you're gonna find scouts in the NFL say -- "Go out and find me a Junior Seau-type player to play middle linebacker." Sure, sure. >> Third and 17, and Neil O'Donnell wants time. 7:06 remaining in this first half. Third down, 17, at the 34. 7-0, Steelers. Going long and too wide for Ernie Mills. And Mills covered well, and pressure on O'Donnell. >> Had a lot of pressure on O'Donnell. Brought defensive backs. Looked like Darren Carrington and also -- yeah, Darren Carrington comes from the outside, and Parrella, 97, gets to the legs of Neil O'Donnell. This time, fourth and a lot. Bill Cowher's choice -- yeah, let's punt it away. Play field position with them here. >> Well, part of this is the new rule. If they try a field goal, the spot would be about the 41. You give the Chargers too good of field position. So, they'll try to squib one down. Just a high, little chip shot. And...into the end zone. San Diego gets it at the 20-yard line. [ Crowd cheers ] Trailing 7-0, less than 7:00 to go in the half. Means. And big Natrone has 17. Lake and Perry make the tackle. >> The Chargers like to feature the counterplay. You're gonna see running in front of Means, Davis, 73, Swayne, 72. Good kickout, good blocking down, and Means again with those shoulders straight up the field. Look, Dick. This offense now, pressure on them. They got to give this defense a rest. Take some control and steam away from Pittsburgh's offense here. >> Means again, and Natrone up to midfield and a first down at the Pittsburgh 48. 14 on that play. >> He's motioning now to Eric Bieniemy, "Give me a break here, pal." So, Eric Bieniemy goes on the field. Nice, little swing pass here. Secret to this? They beat the blitz. Greene on the outside, Lloyd on the other side. Humphries beats the blitz, and he hits Means in full stride for a nice pickup. >> Means caught 39 during the regular season. [ Crowd cheers ] He rests that 245 pounds. And Eric Bieniemy, from Colorado, the running back. Fake to Bieniemy. Humphries going long, long for Jefferson. Oh, he is -- interference against Pittsburgh. He was caught and pulled from behind, and that's gonna give the Chargers a first down inside the 5. Deon Figures was beaten by a half-step and that will cost Pittsburgh. Here's Figures, 21. >> I didn't think Jefferson was gonna catch up to this ball. Humphries absolutely -- yeah, right arm, no question. Excellent call. >> And he was going to catch the ball. >> So, it's a good penalty, even though it takes it to the goal line. But I didn't think Jefferson was gonna catch up to that. When Humphries let it go, it looked like it was going out of the end of the end zone. >> 46-yard penalty tagged on Figures, and here's Natrone back in the backfield for San Diego. They had trouble scoring when inside the 20 against Miami a week ago. But remember, they stopped on downs at the 1. Means. [ Crowd cheers ] And they pile him up. Greg Lloyd on his back. >> Dick, Bobby Ross told us, "We kind of outguessed ourselves last week. We thought we were gonna see man-to-man and saw zone. We're not doing that anymore. We got a powerful football team. We're gonna try to hammer it in the end zone." And they've got Means in here on the goal line along with "Rocket Head," Steve Hendrickson, and three tight ends. There's Rocket Head. >> No gain on first down. [ Crowd cheers ] And they topple Means for no gain on second down. Levon Kirkland, 99, third-year backer from Clemson. >> First half is decided on this series of plays. Kirkland makes the hit, but, Dick, for San Diego to get back in this football game, they got to try for it on four downs and re-establish some control of the game. Same is true for Pittsburgh. If they stop them, they have completely dominated in this first half. A lot at stake on these next two downs. [ Crowd cheers ] >> Talk about rejection! [ Crowd cheers ] Bobby Ross is convinced. He said, "We better go for 3." >> That's a statement by Pittsburgh. Whoo, don't run the ball in here. I mean, they didn't gain a yard. >> Carney, what amounts to an extra point for 3, a 20-yarder. Whoa, he just did sidewind that one through. And San Diego gets 3. Rod Woodson was the man firing in to block. >> Yeah, Dick, San Diego gets stopped here. This is the third-down play. They do get points. They do get points. But Pittsburgh wins that series. >> And with 3:41 left in the half, it's 7-3. >> From behind the offense, you're gonna see Joe Cocozzo gets stood straight up by Buckner, 96. Means runs right into his back. 91, Kevin Greene. Levon Kirkland. Man, that was a lot of Pittsburgh Steelers. That's three of the stiffest stops I've seen in a professional football game. >> Three tries by Means, a minus-1 total. And that 46-yard penalty against Figures actually becomes a 4-point plus for the Steelers 'cause that could have been a touchdown. Johnson at the 10. Charles Johnson dropped at the 27-yard line. >> Look at this meeting on the sideline. Young man, 22 years old, Natrone Means, calling his offensive line together and say, "I still got faith. We're still in this game." Keep plugging." >> O'Donnell. Tipped, incomplete. Eric Green, the tight end, the target, and Junior Seau in the midst of things again. >> You know, last week Junior only had four tackles, and some people were saying, "Well, he didn't have a particularly good game." But when you game-plan away from Junior Seau, he's not gonna have many tackles. Here, he's doing a lot of coverage for San Diego and been all over the football field. He read it wrong. Green turned in. O'Donnell threw it out. >> O'Donnell started 9-for-11. But he's made only 3 of his last 10. Steelers passing more than they're running. O'Donnell again to throw. Incomplete. Broken up, Yancey Thigpen, by veteran Dwayne Harper, acquired by the Chargers this year, an unrestricted free agent from Seattle. >> Dick, again, Pittsburgh using the crossing pattern in single coverage with Harper and just almost a footrace across there. Harper does an excellent job in coverage. Of course, somewhere on his body Yancey Thigpen has that Terrible Towel hidden. >> Like the one last week against Cleveland. Scored the touchdown and like a magician brought out the Terrible Towel. And that really caused Three Rivers to explode. Third and 10. Wide open, crossing, Ernie Mills. Stanley Richard makes the tackle. 18 yards on third and 10. >> This is a shotgun formation, rather unusual. Just a straight zone run by San Diego. Good patience by Neil O'Donnell and excellent protection. Fine throw. Neil O'Donnell has taken a lot of heat here in Pittsburgh, but he's only thrown 9 interceptions, and 4 of those came in one game against Seattle. He has protected the ball very well. Erhardt wants him to complement the offense, not be the offense. >> Foster hit in the backfield, as big Reuben Davis, at 320, from North Carolina, submarines. >> And if you can do that, get these running backs from Pittsburgh, here's Reuben Davis. He's tilted on the nose, shoots the gap. If you can get these guys before they get under way -- there he beats Dermontti Dawson. That's saying something. We feature him -- Davis at 320 pounds, dislocated elbow, still coming back from it. Excellent strength up there and a good play. >> 2:06 left. They might get one play off before the 2:00 time-out. [ Whistle blows ] Nope. Nope. No play. So, 2:00 remaining in this first half, the Steelers by 4. Pittsburgh with the yards, but the score is 7-3. Second and 13. >> Whoa. >> Into the flat for Mills, and he's knocked out of bounds by guess who? Seau. Just short of the 50-yard line. Mims was putting pressure on the Pittsburgh quarterback O'Donnell. >> Again, a nice, little waggle here by Neil O'Donnell. Mims is handled. And the wide receiver release is Ernie Mills. But also Eric Green was open a little farther down the field again. And Neil O'Donnell taking the high-percentage completion. Protect the football, especially here at the end of the first half. >> Third and 5. Boy, that's becoming a familiar theme. When they need yardage, over the middle. Hastings, first down inside the 35, his fourth catch. >> And Pittsburgh goes right back to the line of scrimmage with Darren Carrington, 29, the safety in coverage. >> 1:30 left. Hastings again. Wearing that familiar number 88 that Lynn Swann graced in his championship years here in the '70s. >> Hastings an excellent job there. His feet slipped out from underneath him. He still got up and made the catch. >> O'Donnell throws it away. There's a case where a skilled veteran quarterback, knowing that while somebody should be open, let's not take a chance. >> Sure, sure. >> He might have forced that one three years ago. >> Yeah, and that's part of the learning that you have to do in the NFL. All these guys -- I shouldn't say all of them. Most of them come into the NFL with cannon arms, and their tendency is, when in trouble, zing it in there. And the guys with the strongest arms, I think, I believe have the most to learn. That is, throw it away. We got another down. >> Third and 5. This is getting obvious, isn't it? This time it's Mills opened over the middle, and Richard gets him inside the 15. Pittsburgh has only one time-out left. See if O'Donnell downs the ball. That stops the clock with 48 seconds left in the half. Beating San Diego up over the middle. >> Yeah, and, Dick, again, Junior Seau faking the blitz at the line of scrimmage opens up the entire defense for O'Donnell to find the receivers. See if we can see 55. He's just over to the right. See, there's the opening. The man in coverage, Willie Clark, needs some help inside. Now let's see what Junior Seau was doing. Again, threatening the line of scrimmage. Drops out. >> He takes himself out of the play. >> Yes. But that's by design. Arnsparger has him up there by design. He's not freelancing there, but Pittsburgh is taking advantage of it. >> Out of bounds. Intended for Charles Johnson. Flag is down, and it's against the Steelers. >> Well, the only thing that's really hurt Pittsburgh in this first half is penalties. >> Holding, number 72 of the offense. 10 yards. >> Leon Searcy. Third-year tackle from Miami of Florida. >> He's on Raylee Johnson outside. Kind of got that hand in the spot where -- his feet slip out from under. It's tough as an official not to call that as holding. You know that, Dick? He may not have held, but the way that Johnson went down, it's hard not to call it holding. >> O'Donnell averaged only 26 pass attempts per game this year. He's already thrown 29 in the first half. The give is to John L. Williams. And that didn't fool the Chargers. See, what you do is you put that quarterback in a situation where he's almost got to throw into the end zone, and what if he throws a pick, and you've lost the opportunity? Here's Anderson, one of the better kickers. Missed only 5 all season and had a run of 19 in a row. He's the number-four scorer in field goals all time. This is 39 yards. And he's right there. 10-3, Pittsburgh. >> I think that's a great choice by Bill Cowher there. This is a relatively young coach, just his third year. And there, you don't have time to run any play if it's caught in the field of play and still get your field-goal team on. So, let's take the sure field goal. We've played a very good first half here. We've dominated. The only thing we haven't done is score points. >> They'll try to keep it away from Andre Coleman, who returned one 90 yards for a touchdown against the Steelers. But Coleman does get the ball on the bounce. And returns to the 29 with 2 seconds left in the half. Fred Foggie makes the tackle, number 36. Well, Humphries and the offense come out for a final play of the half. >> If I'm San Diego, boy, I'm breathing a sigh of relief. "We only trail by 7. We're in great shape here. Let's not mess around with it. Hey, we're a second-half team. We've proved it a lot of times this year. We don't mind this first half." [ Crowd cheers ] >> Pittsburgh had the ball over 22 minutes of the 30 in this half and lead, 10-3. Steelers will kick it off. So, San Diego has worked out its plan for this first possession against a team unbeatable when leading at halftime. And Pittsburgh has won their last 8 here at Three Rivers. Andre Coleman the deep man for the Chargers. And a sidewinder that goes out of bounds, and that's a favor with the new rules because the San Diego Chargers get the ball at the 40-yard line. >> ...30 yards from the spot of the kick. First and 10 at the 40. >> Well, Stan Humphries, the only completion was that little swing pass to Means that Means ran the 15 yards. >> Yeah, and make sure you understand. This is gross yards. We gave you net yards in the first-half stats. The net yards is 1-of-5 for 10 net yards. >> And O'Donnell very busy. Thrown more passes in the first half than his average for a whole game on the regular season. [ Crowd cheers ] Humphries goes long down the sidelines and broken up by Deon Figures, although it appeared Tony Martin had a shot. >> The one thing that Deon Figures does is watch him pin Martin up against the sideline. So, he's got no room to adjust to the pass. You see, it just kind of veers into him, and that hand here, hand there -- that's slow dancing. That's what that is. He's just slow dancing. >> Humphries hit him right between the 8 and the 1. Boy, those towels make a lot of noise! [ Crowd cheers ] You see how athletic Means is at 245. >> Yeah. >> He'll kick out of that first tackle. >> Dick, I saw some of those kids on the sideline with those Terrible Towels. Growing up, they saw those things, and they were kind of stuck back in the attic there for a few years here in Pittsburgh. They're probably like, "What are those?" Well, now they're all over Pittsburgh. >> 11,000 tickets go to the winning team. You can imagine how prized they'll be here and in San Diego. Third and 7. They pick up the blitz. And Rod Woodson makes the interception. [ Crowd cheers ] The All-Pro Woodson in front of Mark Seay. [ Crowd cheers ] >> When Humphries is flushed from the pocket, Woodson just drops back right in front of Seay and makes the interception. Good pressure by Kevin Henry of Pittsburgh. >> Interception by Woodson, and Boss Ross lets Humphries know he's not happy with his choice of receiver. >> Yeah, Dick, that's impatience on Stan Humphries' part. I'm sure he senses he only had one completion in the first half. Wanted to get something going here for his team. He made a poor choice. >> Woodson's interception gives the Steelers the ball at their 44. And they start with the running game, and Bam Morris, not Barry Foster, starts the second half, his first carry. And Reuben Davis says hello -- no gain. >> That's the problem with this Pittsburgh running game. Foster gets tired? What do they do? They bring in a bigger guy. Bam Morris, he's the young one now. Morris goes out. They bring Foster back in. They're all fullbacks. >> Pretty good bookends. 851, Foster's yardage. Morris in his first year in the league, 836. They fire BBs at you in Pittsburgh. Barry and Bam-Bam. Down the middle, wide open the big tight end, Green. To the 22. [ Crowd cheers ] Eric Green, the number-two receiver on the year. >> Play-action fake to the tight end. Holds the linebackers. Gibson, the man that's supposed to have the coverage. Excellent throw by O'Donnell. Outstanding. This is the way you beat the double zone. Yes, sir. He's winking to Fargo, Ron Erhardt, on the sideline. Great call. >> That was the best throw of the day by O'Donnell. >> Yes, beautiful. >> Seau almost beat the snap and still gets in on the tackle. No penalty. Seau out of the blocks right at the snap. Misses the play. Has enough talent to trail the play and still make the tackle for a 2-yard gain. >> Watch the speed. Through the line of scrimmage. Duval Love can't get him. Stays with the play. That's the thing I think I like most about Junior Seau. He never gives up. Runs plays down from behind, from one side of the field to the other. >> He was guessing the play was going right, and had it been, he was there to almost take the hand-off. >> Right, and run the other way. >> O'Donnell. Going deep and Thigpen had to play defense and deny Darrien Gordon. Stanley Richard there, as well. >> It's Harper, Dwayne Harper, who is in coverage there with Yancey Thigpen down in the end zone. Feet get tangled up, and then Stanley Richard comes in late. That little fade route into the end zone. >> Rain that pummeled the area during the evening and early morning hours and early this morning -- 60 degrees. It's warmer in Pittsburgh this week than San Diego. Third and 7. Crossing pattern again. Flag down as Harper was dragged down. And where they threw those flags, looked like there could be a double penalty against San Diego -- one against roughing the passer and one for face mask at the catching end. >> They'll take the major of the two penalties. >> We have two fouls on the play. Both of them are on the defense. Personal foul, roughing the passer, number 94. That penalty is declined. Personal foul, tackling by the face mask, number 28. Half the distance to the goal. First down. >> Well, they're both the same punishment, but there's the left hand on the side of the helmet, not really on the face mask. But still the same jeopardy for Yancey Thigpen. And here Chris Mims, 94. >> No question that was a late hit. >> You're allowed that one step now to the quarterback, not two. >> So, half the distance to the goal. They take the completed pass, plus the penalty. Pittsburgh leading by 7, at the 6 of San Diego. And the tackle made again by this time Reuben Davis, who was in the backfield. Went in low, and he comes up wincing with that big left elbow pad. Stan Humphries watches his interception critical on this Pittsburgh drive. >> 1-of-7. >> Hard to believe. >> I wouldn't have believed it. As beautifully as this offense has performed with the running game, to be just 1-of-7, I don't care who they're playing against or what the conditions are -- hard to imagine. >> Mills right, Thigpen to the left. O'Donnell. Incomplete and Mills the target. Gordon was closer to the ball, the corner for San Diego. So, two shots from the 6, no gain, and there's a man with a world of experience, Ron Erhardt. And here's Ernie Mills. He's trying to run the in pattern, and Darrien Gordon is sitting right there. He's waiting on the in route. >> Talk about Erhardt's experience This is his 38th year of coaching. His head coach, Bill Cowher, is 37 years old. >> [ Laughs ] >> Lots of time. And it hit the upright or the brace of the goal post, incomplete. Stanley Richard on Ernie Mills. And Gary Anderson and the field-goal unit in. Well, it wasn't as dramatic as the goal-line stand of Pittsburgh in the first half, but they stop Pittsburgh at the 6, and O'Donnell injured on that last pass. >> See if we can see who puts the contact. It's Leslie O'Neal and the combination of Mims down below the leg. >> He's had that sore ankle all year, he told us, that they'll have to go in and do a lot of scraping. He says it sounds like popcorn when he wakes up in the morning and tries to walk. Anderson off a bad snap hits from 23. [ Crowd cheers ] Steelers build their lead to 10. The Terrible Towels out, a 13-3 lead. Look at the job Royals does in handling a one-hopper and spotting it for Anderson. >> Yeah, Kendall Gammon was the snapper. Just skipped it back there. Always good to have a kicker holding the ball for kicker. They try a little harder. >> Kendall Gammon and David Binn, the two snappers, really were nervous this week after what happened in that last week, Miami. This is Coleman. Gets up a head of steam. Runs into his own man and is tackled at the 35-yard line. Willie Williams makes the stop. Had it not been for a white jersey, Coleman had a full burst of speed. 10:24 remaining in the third period. [ Crowd cheers ] Means for only a yard or 2. And it's got to be impossible for Humphries' teammates to hear his signal call. Incomplete to Mark Seay. Deon Figures on the coverage, and it appeared that Lloyd had jumped the gun from the right end position, as he was going to put the pressure on Humphries. Number 8, Dale Williams, with the call. >> Prior to the snap, number 95, unabated to the quarterback. Five yards -- it's still second down. >> In other words, he could have gotten himself back onside had he elected to do so. Hannah? >> Neil O'Donnell, it does appear, Dick, as if he may have aggravated that sprained ankle that you talked about. He's been walking it off on the sidelines. He's ready to go back in the game. Mike Tomczak is not warming up. Dick? >> All right, thanks, Hannah. Second down and 4 after the penalty. Means. Oh, he has to take a wicked hit from Rod Woodson to bring him down. Natrone Means is the only Charger with positive yardage today, receiving or rushing. >> You want to see the difference between Deion Sanders and Rod Woodson? Deion is a great coverage guy but doesn't like to get dirty or make hits. Woodson will. In a moment's notice, no question about it, Woodson will support. >> He did get help from Levon Kirkland, the linebacker. But Woodson at 200 pounds -- that's why he made the all-75th anniversary team. He's the complete package. First down. >> Oh, no. >> Right off Shannon Mitchell's shoulder. [ Crowd cheers ] Mitchell, that proverbial problem of running before you have the ball. >> It kind of looked like he was wearing bulletproof vest there. That baby just ricocheted off his hands. The Chargers have tried to hit every page in their playbook here to throw the ball down the field. Raylee Johnson on the sideline. "Give me a chance to catch it. Please." >> Well, the Cleveland Browns can identify with this, can't they? >> Yeah, maybe it's Three Rivers Stadium. >> Maybe it's that Pittsburgh defense that has everyone jittery. There's a catch, and this time Shawn Jefferson appears to be close to a first down. May have it at the 43 of Pittsburgh. Woodson makes the tackle, 11 yards on the play. And a good block by Natrone to help Humphries. >> Kept him clean. Always a little bigger star on your helmet when you catch a pass in front of Rod Woodson, but here. Watch Means on the left. Comes back in and gets Chad Brown, 94. Excellent job by Natrone Means. >> Boy, Brown must have thought he had a clear shot at Humphries. Fake to Means. Wide open, Pupunu. No one picked him up. The h-back, Pupunu, is in the end zone. Touchdown! Oh, my! >> No flags. >> Suddenly as quiet as it has been since 8:00 this morning at Three Rivers Stadium. Pupunu, primarily a blocker, an h-back. He's the man in motion often. No one picked him up. 43-yard touchdown, and San Diego, with 8:00 left in the third quarter, very much in it. >> Dropped coverage. They ran play-action right at Pupunu. And everybody expected the run. He released free, and Humphries makes the completion. Those are the hardest ones to catch, Dick. [ Chuckles ] They are difficult. >> Carney out of Gale Gilbert's hold. 13-10. >> Dick, as this play begins, it's play-action right to Pupunu. You see 37, Carnell Lake, bites. 21, Deon Figures, bites. He is wide open. Lumbers into the end zone. Yeah. >> So, the "Bolts," as they call them in San Diego, have struck with a man undrafted out of Weber State, Alfred Pupunu, born in Tonga. Wide open. He was on his own island, and Humphries found him. >> [ Laughs ] >> 13-10. >> [ Laughs ] >> Johnson weaving to the 28-yard line, and on comes Neil O'Donnell. Let's go back to the score. >> Dick, I can't tell you whose responsibility it is, but watch. This, this, this -- they're all thinking run, and here's Pupunu, who releases right down. No one even looks at him. They totally disregard him. And Humphries is saying, "Please, let me get it in Pupunu's hands. Please, let me catch this." Pupunu is Junior Seau's roommate on the road. They can both celebrate. Back on the sideline here with the offense. They're all huddled around Carl Mauck, the offensive line coach. That's Stan Brock, Courtney Hall, Swayne on the left, Humphries. They're trying to design and draw something here for a better running game in this second half. >> Now the fans a little nervous here in Pittsburgh, leading by only 3. And back to the running game. Foster for about 4. Let's go back to Pupunu's touchdown again. >> When you're seeing this wide open, Dick -- the ball is heavier. It's not spinning fast enough. All kinds of things could happen, but Pupunu does bring it in. >> There's his little celebration. He does this for Tonga. It's like cutting open the top of the coconut and drinking the juice, he said, but it's also a pineapple. The Chamber of Commerce out there in Tonga said, "We need a little help. The pineapple crop is big this year." >> Well, bless his heart! Yes. >> Second down and 6. >> I got him! I got him! I got him! >> Threw behind Yancey Thigpen with Dwayne Harper on the coverage. You could hear someone yelling, "I got him. I got him," apparently saying, "I'll pick up the blitz." >> Well, they didn't very well. Parinella along with Seau blitzing. Watch Parinella, 97, gets the inside move, and he's untouched, and then Barry Foster tries to block, and Parinella was right at Neil O'Donnell's feet. Excuse me -- Parrella is right at Neil O'Donnell's feet and almost makes the sack. >> We got a Parinella at NBC. That was an understandable mistake. He's sacked a few in his day. >> He looks like he should have, at least. >> On top to Thigpen. Incidental contact they're calling it. That's a tough call for an official right in front of that Pittsburgh bench. Ball thrown out of bounds, and three-and-out for Pittsburgh. >> Yeah, the only thing I can say here is watch the 5-yard chuck rule. Dwayne Harper spins around. Is there contact there? Yeah, that's an illegal chuck. There is no question about that. But the receiver then goes out of bounds. Not sure the ball was catchable. >> Rod Woodson, trying to do his own officiating, and he's gonna have to go back to work, as Royals sends one toward Gordon at the 27. And good coverage by Dwight Stone. 6:54 left in the third, a 3-point game. William Stanley Humphries. He was drafted in the sixth round by Joe Gibbs, the Washington Redskin coach, out of Northeast Louisiana. Didn't play much -- four years, four touchdowns with the Redskins. Rode the bench. Walked the sidelines, he said, for four years. With San Diego, he's had a chance. 45 touchdowns in 3 seasons. [ Crowd cheers ] Bobby Beathard, who was very familiar in Washington with Humphries. Acquired him. Means. Boy, it looked like that was designed for big yardage. He had blockers in front, but Joel Steed, 93, the big nose man, able to come over and plow through the blocks. >> Well, you mentioned Joe Gibbs. This is the play made famous by that group, the counter. You see Natrone Means has his hand on Ike Davis. Just puts his hand right on his hip and just rides him right up through the hole. There's Joe Gibbs watching. >> You think he's interested? >> Oh, yeah. He likes to see that counter series that they started in St. Louis, took to San Diego, back to Washington still working. [ Crowd cheers ] Oh, no! >> Right through the hands of Mark Seay. He was open. >> Yeah. Dick, he couldn't make up his mind. I was watching Mark Seay. He's running the delay. And one thing you have to do as a receiver, especially with underneath patterns, is be decisive. And he stopped. You see, Humphries is waiting for him. What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do? He changed his mind. And he started up again, and Humphries threw behind him. Just that communication. Watch here. See? He can't make up his mind what he's gonna do. When he moves, Humphries throws where he was. >> Humphries and Seay -- that was the connection, winning touchdown last week against Miami. Batted in the air, incomplete. A flag is down. Brentson Buckner, the rookie from Clemson, the big defensive end at 305, made the fly swat. But Steelers are signaled offside. >> Number 97 was lined up in the neutral zone. Defense, offsides. 5 yards -- repeat third down. >> Veteran Ray Seals, acquired from Tampa Bay as an unrestricted. Offsides. >> And the interesting thing about Ray Seals -- you mentioned Tampa Bay. At one time, Ray Seals, Shawn Lee, Reuben Davis, and Harry Swayne, the offensive tackle at San Diego, were all defensive linemen in Tampa. You want to know why they don't win? It's 'cause they go someplace else, and they play in a conference-championship game. >> They train them and move them on. >> Steve Young? He's playing later this afternoon. [ Crowd cheers ] >> Third down and 2. And the pass to Pupunu, and does he -- Rod Woodson. That's Deon Figures that makes the solid wallop, but it was something that Woodson would applaud himself, as Figures will see where they spot forward progress. >> Oh, Pupunu does a great job at hanging onto this. >> Doesn't he? >> Whoa! That shot was a helmet right in the breadbasket. >> Hung onto the coconut. Pupunu was a free-agent pick at Kansas City. They released him. San Diego took him last year. He had a good season -- 21 catches, 2 touchdowns, and because of his grip on that 2-yard play, San Diego gets four more downs. >> Yeah, this game kind of redefines tight ends and their size. Helmet right there. Hangs onto the football. Very generous spot -- does pick up the first down. But I think the smallest tight end in this game, or h-back, is Pupunu at, like, 265. >> What did you weigh? >> I had trouble getting to 230. [ Crowd cheers ] >> Ball at the 33. Humphries to Means. Well-covered. And there's 99, Levon Kirkland, along with Kevin Greene, and Greene -- they're faking the rush and then drifting back, and that's the frustration of reading this defense. >> The quarterback reads one thing, and the receiver reads something else. It could be you're thinking blitz at the line of scrimmage, the quarterback is, and they play zone behind it. And all the sudden there's no receiver. >> And there's the time. Humphries said, "Gosh, if I had known I'd get that much time, I should have found somebody open." Still no Ronnie Harmon. He has been a nonfactor today. [ Crowd cheers ] Second and 10. Screen. Incomplete. Means never had the ball. Jeff Zgonina from Purdue in his second year, 287 pounds of granite. >> They read this screen perfectly. Zgonina is right there over the center. He's with Cocozzo, 68, releases. Means cannot make the catch. Excellent read by Zgonina. >> Z-g-o-n-i-n-a. Zgonina. [ Crowd cheers ] Now the Chargers -- and this is what the Steelers love, to get a team third and 10. >> Blitz. >> Woodson. They pick up Woodson. Humphries incomplete. He had Tony Martin open, and there was contact downfield. No penalty. >> Yeah, Dick, San Diego is complaining, but I think the receiver was doing a little more pushing than the defender, yeah. Martin on Deon Figures. Figures falls down, and then Martin just pushes him out of the way. And no flag thrown. >> Back goes Woodson inside his 25, as Wagner punts. Woodson, who had trouble in the first half, handles this one cleanly. And just takes it to the sidelines and out of bounds at the 33. A flag down -- a late flag. 44 yards on the punt by Wagner, 11 on Woodson's return. Lewis Bush the special teams' tackler. Penalties have been just that for Pittsburgh today. They've punished the Steelers. >> During the runback, illegal block from behind, number 20. Ten yards -- first down. >> Dwight Stone, who made the big play on the tackle on the last special teams. >> Should come into the screen from the left-hand side here. Look at 44. That's Kassell. Yeah, just brushes him in the back. Actually, there's more than one choice. There's 92. >> Jason Gildon. >> Who also hits him in the back. But they chose that one. There's Bobby April, the special teams' coach. And Joel Steed being retaped on the sideline. That has been this kind of game. This is such a tough game, you got to get retaped. >> So, 5:00 left in the third. Pittsburgh at its 23. O'Donnell, with pressure, has to unload, as Reuben Davis, who has played a solid game for San Diego. He's been able to get into the Pittsburgh backfield on both run and pass. >> Rolls a little bit, and Reuben Davis, at 320 pounds, continues to pass-rush and just falling on you. You're bound to get up hurt. Doesn't have to hit you hard, just fall on you. >> Look at that right elbow of Reuben Davis. He dislocated in the first game of the year. Dislocated elbow. Played the next week. >> What are you trying to tell me, Dick? [ Laughs ] >> Big and tough. Barry Foster. Breaking tackles and finally brought down by former Lion Dennis Gibson. ...47 yards total today. Third and 3. Great catch. That was a Lynn Swann leap. Ernie Mills spearing that one for 20. >> "Swanny" is here, too. Saw him before the game. Again, the crossing patterns and trying to get on the nickel back or the dime back. It's Willie Clark in coverage. O'Donnell does an excellent job of leading the receiver. Mills goes up and makes the catch. >> Mills, who had only 19 receptions all year, has 6 today. >> Again, that extra guy at the line of scrimmage to stop the run and single coverage behind it -- Pittsburgh's been able to take advantage of it. >> Gibson gets Foster down after a 2-yard gain. Barry Foster, who hated the Steelers growing up, he told us. He loved the Dallas Cowboys and Tony Dorsett. And most of the athletes today, as you talk with them, you say, "Well, who were you pretending to be when you were a kid?" And it always comes down to Dallas or Pittsburgh, the two teams of the '70s, when they were the influence on the men who are the stars today. >> Yeah, you're right, except for the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He liked Butkus and Nitschke. Had pictures on his wall as he was growing up. So, you know Bill Cowher was born to be a linebacker. >> On second and 8. Into the flat to Williams. Can't quite turn upfield. out of bounds at the 43. It'll be third and 2. David Griggs on the coverage. This is where the Steelers have been tough -- third down. >> And when you have a John L. Williams in the backfield, sure, why not, if nothing else is open, throw it to him? More than an outlet -- over 500 receptions for his career. Spent so much time up there in Seattle, lead-blocking for Curt Warner, then Chris Warren. >> Mild mist -- this isn't a heavy rain. But the ball and the field will be slick. >> Southern California has redefined heavy rain this week. >> Boy, that's for certain. In the backfield, Foster. And Leslie O'Neal knifing in to make the stop. O'Neal going to his fifth Pro Bowl this year. >> Gets right up underneath the offensive left tackle, Jackson. Fakes the inside move. He even took the shield off of his face mask, Dick. Wears contacts, but apparently the rain was bothering him. He normally has the shield, but he takes it off so he can get a better look at the legs of that running back to make the tackle. >> So, with just under 2:00 left in the third and a 3-point game, Mark Royals to punt again. Beautiful spiral. It's headed toward the end zone and through. Dwight Stone the closest player. Net of 25 yards on the punt. Royals has been very good in dropping it inside the 20, but not that time. And then would go the next week to minus-59 chill in Cincinnati. Lose to the Bengals. Natrone Means gets about 3 off the left side. Chad Brown and Brentson Buckner make the tackle. And what is significant about that play back in '82 -- out of ten tries in history, it's the only time San Diego has come to Pittsburgh and left a winner. >> Yeah, I think if you're San Diego, you say, "Look. We got to take advantage of this good weather. We got to win this game, just because it's normally minus-5 degrees about this time of year in Pittsburgh." >> The average temperature on this date is 26. It's more than twice that. Means on a toss. Gets some running room. And the big man is out to the 34-yard line on a dozen, and a first down, San Diego, with less than a minute left in the third quarter. >> Now, this is just a push and shove here of San Diego. Get a bit guy on a big guy and stretch him out as much as you possibly can. And Means, again, at 240 pounds, still runs like that 190-pound scatback. It's his greatest ability, I think. He's a low, squat runner. You don't have a lot to shoot at. And he's got those quick feet. >> 58 yards today. [ Crowd cheers ] Boy, somebody buried Woodson, and wide open is Shannon Mitchell, and he slips down as he gets to the Pittsburgh 47, first down, a 19-yard play. Lake and Figures in the secondary for Pittsburgh, probably the final play of the third quarter. >> Nice, little roll here -- the fake to Means draws everybody, and there's not one, but two tight ends open. Mitchell makes the catch. Young is out in front to block. >> With Bob Trumpy, Hannah Storm, John Dockery, Dick Enberg. Welcome back to the fourth quarter. 13-10, Steelers. A quarter from the Super Bowl. San Diego starts at the 47. And Natrone Means to the 43, a gain of 4. Let's compare where the passes have gone today. O'Donnell has hit his wide receivers 14 times and only 1 catch by a San Diego wide receiver. >> That's absolutely remarkable. And the other thing is, I don't think Ronnie Harmon has a catch for San Diego. >> He's hardly played. >> Yeah, no factor in this game whatsoever. Ronnie Harmon on the sideline there. >> And he is one of the major threats of the San Diego offense. The game plan has gone away from Ronnie Harmon. [ Crowd cheers ] Means. First touched by Seals to slow him up and then plenty of black jerseys, who allow only a gain of a yard, maybe 2. >> Dick, now with the rain coming a little heavier, San Diego, they're going with three tight ends, one wide receiver, and that lone running back. There's Ralph Friedgen, the offensive coordinator. Just as we mention that, Ronnie Harmon does in fact come in the game. >> And, remember, San Diego, as that ball is spotted at the 42, has one of the top placekickers in John Carney, trailing by 3. [ Crowd cheers ] Harmon. Breaks a tackle, but he's gonna lose some yardage now at the 50. Just too many Steelers! [ Crowd cheers ] >> Again, they fake the blitz. Lloyd comes. You've also got several other defensive backs in there making, trying to put pressure. >> Myron Bell. >> Yeah, Mo Bell. Maybe that's why Ronnie Harmon is not a big part of this game plan. There are too many defensive backs to cover him in the flat. >> Now Wagner to punt, and the Steelers have 10 men on the line of scrimmage. He gets it out of there, and Charles Johnson calls for the fair catch at the 19. So, the Steelers have the ball back. Hear the cheering -- just preliminary to what might happen if Pittsburgh hangs onto the lead. But it's a tenuous 3-point advantage as Neil O'Donnell sets up at his 20. Pittsburgh has rushed for 66 yards, San Diego 61. O'Donnell. Into the flat to Bam Morris. Chopped down, no gain. Good coverage, David Griggs. Well, let's look at Pittsburgh running the ball. Best in the league at 136 and last week a field day against Cleveland. San Diego checking them on 66 yards this afternoon. >> Dick, against the Browns last week, they had 51 carries. That is domination, when you feel confident enough to give it to your running backs 51 times. >> John L. Williams with Bam Morris now in the backfield. And it's Morris. And he gets only a yard, and the Charger defense has been just that -- super-charged to stop the run. >> We mentioned at the outset of the game -- Mims is slow getting up here. A little slick on the field -- oh, he's got cramps. He's trying to stretch his right toe there. He got calf cramps. >> O'Donnell, more productive, however, in the opening half, including the first possession drive with a kickoff that went 67 yards, culminated on the touchdown to John L. Williams. >> Oh. >> Finds an open man again and a first down at the 40. Ernie Mills having a career day. 18 more for Mills. >> Boy, he threaded that one. He's looking for somebody outside. Catches Mills late. Can't really follow through because Parrella, 97, is right in his face. Boy, that's between hands. Vanhorse, 25, on one side, Richard on the other side. That was a fine completion there by Neil O'Donnell. >> And Mills, 93 yards for a man on 7 catches, who caught only 19 all year. Oh, off the fingertips of the diving Charles Johnson. And you could see the effect of the wet ball there. It squirted through. >> The interesting thing about Charles Johnson -- last week he had no catches against the Cleveland Browns, but in the last game of the season, against the Chargers, 4 catches, 165 yards, and 2 touchdowns. So, Pittsburgh -- they just discover these guys, I guess. "Oh, this guy can catch." "Well, let's throw it to him." "All right." Today it's been Mills. >> One long one of over 80 yards in that game, where he broke tackles. Next pass will be O'Donnell's 43rd. That would be his season-high. Foster. And you could see those defensive backs saying, "Well, I'm bracing myself. Where's Junior?" >> [ Laughs ] >> And Seau flying over to make the tackle. >> Yeah, they tell defensive players that you have to set yourself to make the tackle. And those defensive backs set themselves, and Junior did do a good job. He saved them a little bit of concussion there. >> Then you fall in on the tackle. Get an assist. >> [ Laughs ] >> Mims is back in. Third and 4. Throws. What a catch. Did he come up with that? No, the ball went flying away incomplete at the 50 and very nearly intercepted. Mills had his body covering our view and what an effort, as Darren Carrington up to make the defensive play. Again, trying to run the delay. Carrington from the inside and also Clark from the outside. You're right. That would have been a heck of a catch. >> I'm not sure this is a positive statistic for Pittsburgh, but O'Donnell has set a career high with 44 passes. I don't think that's what Cowher wants. >> That's not what their game plan was coming in here. >> So, Royals another punt, as we approach the 10-minute mark in the fourth quarter. Another good, high quick toward Gordon. He'll let it go. And into the end zone. San Diego will have it at the 20 when we come back. Just under 10 to go. 13-10, final quarter. Means hammered after a yard or two, as Levon Kirkland closed the hole. >> Watch Greg Lloyd here. Always tries to cheat that snap. Right on the snap. What a wonderful athlete he is. >> What a season -- 10 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, 8 blocked passes, and he was the number-three tackler. Greg Lloyd. [ Crowd cheers ] Coming again. And Humphries finds Pupunu. And Alfred Pupunu finally, and a couple of men coming in late but no flag at the 45. Pupunu didn't like it, and Humphries didn't like the way he got it as he delivered. >> Yeah, it's Greg Lloyd who gets him. Again, he's unblocked coming from the right. No, it's Levon Kirkland who gets him, 99, who hits Humphries. But the h-back -- "I'm not a tight end. I'm an h-back" -- Alfred Pupunu, another big completion. Here's the shot. Lloyd misses him. Levon Kirkland. Double linebacker blitz there, Dick. >> A field-goal game. 8:44 left. Pupunu again. And the big h-back is into Pittsburgh territory at the 49. Woodson the tackler. >> Yeah, he said something to Woodson. Said, "Hey, bring it on out here. It's all right. Bring it on out here, will you? I got no problem." Again, the roll. San Diego's now found something they can do here in the second half. Get it to the h-back -- half-roll, little waggle. >> An unlikely star offensively. Pupunu with 4 catches, 75 yards, and a touchdown. [ Crowd cheers ] Second and a long 2. Means. And it's Kirkland again with a tackle. >> Oh, Dick, see those guys just -- >> It is a curtain. >> You're right. And Joel Steed gave us a great line yesterday, when we talked to him at the Pittsburgh practice. I said, "The leading tacklers are the defensive backs, linebackers, and then you three grunts up front, your defensive line." Joel Steed said, "We're the ones who fall on the grenades. We clear everything out for the linebackers." They've done a beautiful job of that today. >> Only 1 yard for Means. So, it's third and 1. [ Crowd cheers ] And Humphries has to spend a time-out. [ Whistle blows ] Steelers by 3. Chargers in Pittsburgh territory. Third and 1. Means. Oh! One tackle away from a long gallop, and saving a touchdown was Darren Perry. The risk of that 9-, 10-man front in short yardage -- you break through, and look out. >> You see Carnell Lake dives inside. Pupunu gets him. Excellent move by Means. He was caught dead to rights there. That little shake got him to the line of scrimmage and through the line of scrimmage for the pickup. >> Bobby Ross learned his football at VMI. And Means can't outrun Kirkland. Second and 14. To the outside is Shawn Jefferson. Gained only the yards they lost on first down, as Woodson right there. That's the kind of pass play that sets up... >> Something else, yes. You're right. You were talking about the old Steel Curtain, and I had the misfortune to play against that great defense. And the same 11 guys were on the field every single snap. And they got all their pressure from four guys. >> That's what you saw most of. You thought Three Rivers was blue. >> I was always on my back. I remember nothing but sky and stitches in this stadium. >> Whoops. That'll be 5 yards against Harry Swayne. Swayne backing off. And the noise level here -- I just like to have the lozenges here. There's the view of Pittsburgh that Bob Trumpy remembers most. >> Yeah, I didn't even know it had stripes on it, lines, goal posts. I was always on my back looking at the pretty blue stadium. >> 5:30 remain. That penalty makes it a tough third and 14 for San Diego, trying to get in field-goal range for a tie. Humphries goes long. Has a man, Martin! Touchdown! Oh, my! No flag on the field, although let's see. Maybe there is. >> Personal foul -- roughing the passer. >> It's against Pittsburgh. >> Touchdown's good. The penalty will be administered on the kickoff. >> What a throw by Stan Humphries, and Tony Martin, like Shawn Jefferson, you never see when they're putting on the speed. They seem to run with that same loping grace, and Humphries right in the basket for the touchdown. 43-yard touchdown, and that's the magic number for San Diego. Both their scores have been from 43. >> And both have been kind of heave it down there and hope the receiver runs under it. >> Tim McKyer, the veteran back, with 6 DBs on that play. On third and 15, they hit the bomb. >> And, boy, did Stan Humphries take a shot and still got that ball down the field. >> Bit extra point here to make it a 4-point lead. For the first time today, San Diego has the bigger number, 17-13. >> From the spread formation, Pittsburgh comes with a blitz. It's picked up relatively well by San Diego. And Tony Martin breaks inside McKyer. Stan Humphries throws it beautifully. I mean, absolutely on target. McKyer and Martin both see it. >> Ooh, he almost jumped too soon. >> Yes, he did. There's a tendency for receivers to get up in the air to jump like that. Remember, his first catch as a receiver came as a professional. Again, the move here -- this is just a footrace. McKyer guesses wrong. He thinks it's going outside. Martin breaks inside. Beautiful throw by Stan Humphries. Now look at the hit that Stan Humphries takes. That's Chad Brown right on the chin. He follows through and gets that ball down there. >> Chad, after making the hit, had to hear Humphries say, "Six." [ Both laugh ] >> Pittsburgh also has 3 time-outs. So, this is pretty much the point of hurry-up offense for Pittsburgh. >> Suddenly, this big crowd very silent, as Charles Johnson pushed back. He didn't get to the 20-yard line. So, O'Donnell will start very deep in his own end, his worst field position of the day. Andre Coleman made the stop. >> They got to throw. >> And they've got to come from behind late. He'll find the biggest target in the lot, Eric Green, and a first down at the 34, as Darrien Gordon makes the stop. >> As we mentioned earlier, Ron Erhardt does not want Neil O'Donnell to be the entire offense. He wants him to complement them. This is a good zone by San Diego that's beaten well by a corner pattern by Eric Green, and he is a big target. >> Said he'd love to play in an offense like New England's. He wants more catches. He's big, but he'd rather be a receiver than a blocker. Over the middle to John L. Williams, short yardage to the 41. Junior Seau making another tackle. A good catch. He was juggling but able to hold on. >> Pittsburgh has done a lot of things here in this game with the underneath stuff, the backs, the crossing patterns. And if San Diego gets in that prevent zone mode, I don't like that. They got to keep coverage tight here because there are excellent underneath receivers here for the Steelers. >> Thoughts become deeper as the minutes and seconds tick away in the fourth. And another catch by Ernie Mills. Darrien Gordon. >> Just a square-in route. O'Donnell throws this beautifully. He's the youngest of nine kids in his family. O'Donnell's family nickname, "Soup," as in "super babe." He has played super throughout the latter stages of this season and certainly today. Ernie Mills got a mouthful of water there. >> O'Donnell -- biggest passing day of his career, but he needs a big one. To the sidelines to Williams. Junior Seau racking up another stop. Helped by Gordon. 5 catches for Williams today. And Seau, we'll take a check on his defensive statistics. >> They kind of guess at that until they watch the game films, but it's considerable tackles for Junior Seau. >> Pittsburgh has all its time-outs left. San Diego with 2. Seau has been credited with 10 tackles. Second down and 6. Screen it to Williams. And he fumbles the ball out of bounds. It will be marked for Pittsburgh at the 38. That will be a couple yards shy of a first down. Third and 2. >> The combination tight end Eric Green and John L. Williams the fullback out in the flat, and O'Donnell again makes the right choice. Gibson kind of strips the ball away. There's Green. He was the other receiver. >> Bill Arnsparger, the veteran defensive genius, who worked in that perfect season in Miami for Shula. Coached with Shula 12 years. Against Ron Erhardt. Two men in their mid-60s. It's their chess game now. Green -- first down at the 30, and the clock ticks at 2:50. >> Dick, if you're Bill Arnsparger now -- go ahead. Tell you in a minute. >> Time-out, Pittsburgh. A season has been reduced to 2:14. And the upstart Chargers lead by 4. Neil O'Donnell, meanwhile, an unlikely quarterback to set AFC Championship records -- more completions, 30, more passes, 50 -- than anyone who's ever played this game. Joe Namath had throw 49 back before Super Bowl III. First down. He's 6-for-6 on this drive. He's going for it here. Green. It'll be first and goal at the 9! [ Crowd cheers ] Seven straight passes completed by O'Donnell on this drive. And there's the 2:00 time-out. >> Out and up. Again Gibson drops coverage. That's not on Stanley Richard or the defensive backs. The linebacker has got to help with underneath coverage. Great call by Erhardt. Beautifully thrown by Neil O'Donnell. >> Ball at the 9-yard line. Pittsburgh threatens to take the lead in the final 2:00. San Diego was third in the league in sacks this year with 43, yet O'Donnell has thrown the ball 51 times today -- no sacks. That's a great job by those men in front of him. Foster. And it didn't fool Leslie O'Neal. He slowed him up, and John Parrella made the stop. And the clock runs, 1:50. So, part of that strategy is to take a little time off the clock. Just in case the Steelers score, you don't want San Diego to have too much time to rally. Two time-outs left for each side. >> Or maybe San Diego ought to start trying to come up with some time here, stopping the clock. Giving them a few snaps. >> Williams in motion. Almost intercepted, as diving in front was Dennis Gibson. Eric Green, the tight end, the target. That was close. >> Yes, very close. You're gonna see the whole thing. Green bounces off Gibson, 57. And Gibson does a great job of staying right there, absorbing the hit, staying with the receiver, and then getting his hands up. >> It's the old basketball play, into the post. >> Pick-and-roll. Arnsparger -- you can tell how many years he's been on the sideline. Hendrickson a little more emotional. >> Third and goal. >> John L. >> And Seau gets plenty of company. Davis along with Griggs and others to stop. And it's fourth and goal, and time-out number two taken by Bill Cowher. Fourth down and goal at the 3-yard line. Three precious yards of turf from a possible Super Bowl visit. >> Dick, I don't know what the outcome of the rest of this game is gonna be, but I want more. >> [ Chuckles ] >> Let's let them rest for 15 minutes, regardless of the final score. Play one more quarter. >> You're not satisfied. >> No. >> Well, it's been typical of the AFC drive throughout the year. We've seen this week in, week out. Look at Cowher trying to relax his team, a big smile. And the Chargers trying to feel some frustrated unity on the sidelines. Nothing you can do but offer your deepest hopes and prayers. Look at Cowher, saying to O'Donnell, "Hey, isn't this fun?" >> "Isn't this fun? Yeah. Don't you love this?" >> And Neil O'Donnell said his mother turned 71 yesterday. This would be her birthday present, and he said the trip to the Super Bowl would be my dad's because he would have the best seat in the house. >> There's Stan Humphries standing next to Sid Brooks. That's his lucky spot. Let's see if works. >> This is it. Incomplete. And it was Dennis Gibson on the coverage, and the San Diego Chargers flood the field. We have 1:04 left. [ Whistle blows ] It's not over. 1:04 left, and the ball is at the 3-yard line. But San Diego has the luxury of even giving up a safety in this situation. >> The ball is intended for Barry Foster. And Gibson does a great job. He reads it all the way. Knocks the ball away. Beautifully done by Gibson. You can see the sideline of the San Diego Chargers explode. Even Barry Foster is falling down, sliding. >> And Dennis Gibson -- one of those complementary players who does his job. Now, he was burned for the opening touchdown but comes back to make the big save. Pittsburgh has only 1 time-out left, and that will be it for them. So, with 1:01 left, the Chargers need only a couple of kneeldowns, and it will be a long flight to Miami. >> As I said before, Stan Humphries has a lucky spot. That's Sid Brooks, the equipment manager of the San Diego Chargers. Whenever they need luck, Humphries runs to Sid Brooks. Well, it was a lucky spot this afternoon. >> And Neil O'Donnell had taken his team 80 yards. And a Terrible Towel that had been captured apparently by Chris Mims. And even Bill Arnsparger able to celebrate. Well, of all the unlikely stories of this football season, we are witnessing one with a star above it. The San Diego Chargers -- so few thought they even had a chance in their own division, much less be the representative of the AFC in the Super Bowl. And Bill Cowher's team heavily favored today. Humphries staying in the field of play and Pittsburgh now can only watch the seconds tick away until Bobby Ross' team snaps it again. >> I don't know how much credit or where you spread the credit around in this franchise -- to Bobby Beathard, to Bobby Ross, to Mr. Spanos. What they lost in the off-season, what they had to rebuild was absolutely remarkable. And Bobby Ross has stayed with these players. >> Gary Plummer went to San Francisco. That's why Dennis Gibson is here, and Gibson makes the play. The wide receivers generally around the league, they say that not one of these wide receivers could start on another NFL team. And some of the emotions coming out now, as Humphries kneels for what should be the final seconds of this game. Bill Cowher and Bobby Ross. Stan Humphries waited four years in Washington. Stood on the sidelines and watched the Redskins win a Super Bowl. And now he'll get his own chance. So, led by Humphries and Means on offense and Seau and O'Neal on defense, the Chargers will go to the Super Bowl for the first time.
before the AFC Championship, I was at the Miami game at the Murph with my aunt sitting in plaza level on the chargers side, after they won I picked up my aunt off the ground jumping up and down with her I was 14 at the time, and I will never ever forget that game.
Been going to chargers game since they couldn't give the tickets away.
The title makes it sound like they played the Steelers in the Super Bowl.
And then I was born.
And then the Chargers got rocked in the super bowl.
And we've never been back.
I made myself sad again.
dennis gibson you absolute legend
One of the funnest times of my life...
My roommate and I had a "voodoo hex" shrine where we made tinfoil effigies of the Charger opponents and had a candle burning under them for the entire week for that playoff run.
Many a beer was drank that day...
Good times...
oh man I just cried.