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"Immaculate Reception"
![Dr. Oz](https://static.clubs.nfl.com/image/private/t_thumb_squared/f_auto/nfl100/fhojlf0lkunwtx9yxxc3.jpg)
![Bret Michaels](https://static.clubs.nfl.com/image/private/t_thumb_squared/f_auto/nfl100/tjj7ujvqe2m3nyblbget.jpg)
It was two days before Christmas in 1972, and the Steelers needed a miracle. Down a point at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium in the Divisional playoffs against Oakland with 22 seconds and no timeouts left, it was fourth-and-10 from their own 40. In their four decades of existence, the Steelers had never won a playoff game. QB Terry Bradshaw dropped back, looked for receivers, and – niftily avoiding two would-be sacks – fired a long pass down the middle towards running back John Fuqua. But arriving along with the ball was hard-hitting Raiders safety Jack Tatum, who ricocheted the ball back toward Steeler territory, destined for the turf. Incredibly, Pittsburgh’s Franco Harris, a 230-pound rookie running back, nabbed the ball within millimeters of the ground and scampered down the left sideline for a 60-yard touchdown and a 13-7 victory. Although Pittsburgh would fall, 21-17, in the AFC Championship to the eventual (and undefeated) Super Bowl-winning Dolphins, the “Immaculate Reception” represented a sort of beginning to the magical stretch of four Super Bowl titles in six years that would cement the 1970s Steelers as one of the NFL’s great dynasties.
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