The Pittsburgh Steelers came to Acrisure Stadium with a determination to honor the team's former legend Franco Harris, who died earlier this week. The great running back was scheduled to be honored in front of the Pittsburgh fans for his role in completing the famous Immaculate Reception play, which brought the Steelers a playoff victory over the Oakland Raiders in 1972.
The team's current players honored Harris by wearing his jersey No. 32 as they entered the stadium prior to the team's Saturday night game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Harris died rather suddenly of causes that have not been publicly disclosed. He appeared to be in good health and said he was looking forward to the celebration while doing radio interviews in the area hours before his death.
Harris famously caught the rebound of a deflected pass and raced down the sidelines at Three Rivers Stadium on a 4th-down play to give the Steelers a 13-7 triumph over the Raiders. The victory was the franchise's first playoff win and the pivotal moment in the team's history. The Steelers and Harris would go on to win 4 Super Bowls in the 1970s.
Multiple players were wearing the No. 32 uniform of the Hall of Famer, and the Steelers video featured players Minkah Fitzpatrick and T.J. Watt.
Both the Steelers and the Raiders entered the Saturday night game with 6-8 records, and the loser will see its playoff chances diminished significantly.
The Steelers have won 3 of their last 4 games, and they are coming off a 24-16 road victory over the Carolina Panthers. The Raiders have won 4 of their last 5 games, beating the Patriots in Week 15 on a shocking last-second interception that was returned for a game-winning touchdown by Chandler Jones