Darren Perry remembers the scare. Jim Harbaugh recalls silence.
Only one play stood between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Super Bowl. Only one play separated the Indianapolis Colts and the end to their month of playoff magic.With five seconds left in the AFC championship game in January, Harbaugh took the snap from center at Pittsburgh's 29 and lofted a high, spiraling pass toward the end zone. Then he prayed.
The ball, delivered with unusual precision and seemingly driven by some mystical presence, eluded five Steelers to be cradled for just an instant by receiver Aaron Bailey in the end zone. But, saving a season with one swipe of his hand, reserve defensive back Randy Fuller slapped it away.
Steelers 20, Colts 16.
A miracle nearly answered, but one ultimately denied.
"It was the longest play I've ever been a part of," Steelers safety Darren Perry. "That ball must have taken forever to get there."
Now, the Colts (9-7) and Steelers (10-6) meet again today in a playoff rematch that will struggle to match the drama and tension of a season ago.
Now, the Colts are back in the playoffs - and, once again, the Steelers block their path to the Super Bowl.
Last season, the Steelers were on a roll, winners of nine of their previous 10 games. Now, they have lost three of four, a badly slumping passing attack has coach Bill Cowher contemplating using both Mike Tomczak and Kordell Stewart at quarterback.
The Colts have won three of four, but once again face the same difficult, seldom-traveled road to the Super Bowl as a wild-card team. They must win three road games in three different cities, a feat accomplished only three times since 1978.
"But it's been done before," Steelers coach Bill Cowher said. "There is no road (to the Super Bowl) that has never been traveled before."