It’s crazy to think that something seemingly so menial as a long snapper can be the difference in a football game, but that was the case for the Steelers and Giants on Sunday. Pittsburgh long snapper Greg Warren blew out his knee in the third quarter leaving the Steelers with few options for their punts. It was pretty much go for it on 4th down, or take your chances with the backup long snapper. And when I say backup long snapper, I’m not talking about a backup the way there’s a backup quarterback — with only 53 players on a game day roster, no team carries two long snappers. Linebacker James Harrison — who had never snapped before in a game — volunteered for the duties after fooling around with it during the past few training camps. The result was pretty brutal.
Harrison snapped the ball way over punter Mitch Berger’s head and out the back of the end zone, resulting in a safety. That tied the game at 14 in the 4th quarter and it also gave the ball back to the Giants with good field position. A few positive plays later, the Giants had the ball at the 2 and completed a touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Kevin Boss to take the lead. At 14-12, the Steelers were in control of the game until that long snap doomed them. I still liked Mike Tomlin’s response to the question about the situation: Tomlin brushed aside the injury saying that they play with whatever they have and don’t make excuses. He also praised Harrison for stepping up and volunteering to assume the duties. Too bad something so small as an injury to their long snapper had to hinder their chances to win such a crucial game, but that is the life in the NFL.
