Jim Harbaugh returned to Pittsburgh early in his NFL coaching career but this week with the Chargers marks his most significant appearance in the Steel City since gravity cost him a berth in the Super Bowl.
It was the 1995 AFC Championship Game. With five seconds left, his Indianapolis Colts trailing 20-16 at Three Rivers Stadium, Harbaugh sent trips right and rainbowed a Hail Mary 46 yards into a sea of white, blue, black and gold. Indy’s Aaron Bailey, an undrafted 5-foot-10 receiver who caught just 21 passes in the regular season, cradled the ball in his stomach.
Then, as Bailey hit the ground, the ball calmly rolled over his left wrist and onto the Astroturf.
“For a moment, it appeared that the miracle had been answered,” said play-by-play man Dick Enberg on the NBC broadcast.
“All he had to do was cross his arms,” Paul Maguire responded as television cameras isolated the inscribable expression on Harbaugh’s face.
Harbaugh hopes to avenge that loss on Sunday, 28 years and eight months later, when his Chargers (2-0) meet the Steelers (2-0) at Acrisure Stadium (1 p.m. ET, CBS). To help his team acclimate to the Eastern Time Zone, he kept the Chargers in Charlotte this week after L.A.’s 26-3 win at Carolina. The Chargers’ equipment managers aren’t the only ones working overtime for Harbaugh.
With a win, the Chargers would have their first 3-0 start since 2002. It won’t be easy, however. While Harbaugh’s club leads the NFL in scoring defense (6.5 points allowed per game), the Steelers (8.0) rank second. Per the NFL and Elias Sports Bureau, the last time two teams allowing 10-or-fewer points per game met in Week 3 or later was Baltimore’s 16-13 win over the San Diego Chargers on Oct. 1, 2006. Both Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips had sacks that day but Steve McNair connected with Todd Heap for a game-winning, 10-yard touchdown in the final minute.
Sunday might end in similar fashion. Pittsburgh edge rusher T.J. Watt has dominated over his first two weeks, posting a sack in each game. In fact, in 106 career games, Watt has 98½ sacks and can surpass Hall of Famer DeMarcus Ware (113 games) as the second-fastest player to reach 100 sacks since 1982, according to the NFL. Only Hall of Famer Reggie White (96) reached the century mark in fewer NFL games.
If Sunday comes down to another Hail Mary from Harbaugh’s team, he expects Justin Herbert to throw it. The Chargers’ quarterback missed practice Wednesday to rest a sore ankle.
“He’s getting better every day,” Harbaugh said in Charlotte. “Last night, we had a meeting with him and he said he was feeling much better and good today.”