Welcome to Episode 5 of the The Season: 2008 Steelers podcast, featuring Steelers' 2005 second-round pick and two-time Super Bowl champion Bryant McFadden, who will be your weekly guide on the 10-year anniversary of the Steelers' improbable run to their sixth Lombardi Trophy.
Each week, McFadden will talk to different players and coaches from that Super Bowl-winning squad. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you'll never miss an episode.
The Steelers entered the '08 season with the league's toughest schedule and the preseason prognosticators didn't expect this team to make it back to the playoffs. In the first episode, McFadden and former teammate Ike Taylor revisit training camp, preseason and the first half of the 2008 season. In Episode 2, Hines Ward joined the show, and LaMarr Woodley was the guest for Episode 3 when he talked about the greatness of defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau. In Episode 4, LeBeau spoke about the greatness of this squad and James Harrison in particular.
This week, McFadden and CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco welcome former cornerback Deshea Townsend, who spent 12 years in Pittsburgh and won two Super Bowls with the team, to revisit the Steelers' come-from-behind Week 14 win over the Cowboys in a game that was decided by a Townsend pick-six.
(Stream Steelers-Raiders and all of Sunday's games on fuboTV, try it for free, and stream the CBS games on CBS All Access.)
Some of the highlights from Episode 5:
- Now a coach with the Giants, Townsend talks about how he transitioned from player to coaching; (3:30)
- Why there were no trap games for the '08 Steelers; (7:00)
- Was cold weather really an advantage for the Steelers? (8:40)
- That Cowboys offense included Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Terrell Owens, Tashard Choice, Martellus Bennett and Roy Williams; (10:00)
- Townsend weighs in on just how special Troy Polamalu was during the '08 season; (12:45)
- What was the defense's mindset when the Cowboys went ahead on a T.O. touchdown catch? (17:20)
- Remembering the Big Ben-to-Heath Miller touchdown that tied the game with two minutes to go; (23:45)
- Renegade gets a name-check ahead of the final Cowboys' drive; (24:50)
"When they played that, that intro, we knew for a fact that we had to go out there and do your part ... go out there and make plays," Townsend remembered. "For us, the game was tied. Romo just happened to be the next victim. We don't care at that point -- he's the next guy on the table for us to go out there and win the game."
- Townsend recounts how the Steelers' defense decided on what play to run -- and how they confused Romo -- on the game-deciding pick-six; (26:10)
- Why Jason Witten was at fault on the interception; (30:45)
You can listen to the entire podcast below: