Berry flashes his speed and saves the day
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
INDIANAPOLIS — Steelers punter Jordan Berry grew up playing Australian Rules Football in his native Melbourne and never had an occasion to be timed in the 40-yard dash. He played American football for Eastern Kentucky University and is in his third season with the Steelers and was never asked to run one either. Football coaches and scouts don’t really worry if a punter can run well. All they care about is his ability to kick the ball.
Early in the third quarter Sunday, Berry had to sprint two 40-yard dashes to thwart a Colts 2-point try after Chris Boswell’s extra-point attempt was blocked. Berry ran fast enough to catch Marthias Farley and forced him to cut back toward the middle of the field where tight end Jesse James tackled him 3 yards shy of the end zone.
It was game-changing hustle on the part of Berry and James. Instead of the Colts taking a 19-9 lead the score remained 17-9. The Steelers scored the final 11 points of the game to steal a 20-17 victory at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“Hell of a play by Jordan Berry and Jesse James,” said defensive end Cam Heyward. “If we don’t get that, things might go differently.”
Of course, that didn’t stop Heyward from having some fun with Berry. When asked what he thinks Berry runs in the 40, Heyward said: “I don’t know, but he made him cut back. I was running, but I wasn’t going to make it. Berry did a hell of a job running. I remember in the offseason he ran pretty well. I’ll give him 4-ever on that.”
All joking aside, the effort from Berry and James might have saved the game.
“Hats off to Jordan Berry and Jesse James,” Ben Roethlisberger said. “I mean, that’s awesome. Vance [McDonald] made it in Chicago. To me, that speaks to the people we have at tight end, the coaching they get from James Daniel, guys that will do anything, put the team above individual, above themselves. It’s the selflessness to do whatever it takes to make a play. Everyone on the team recognized what that play meant.”
Berry might not have grown up on American football, but he showed a knack for knowing what to do in that situation.
“Obviously, you don’t want to be put in a situation like that,” Berry said. “Once you are, you do the best you can. I put in the best effort I could. I made him cut back. Jesse was right behind me to finish him off.”
Unfortunately for the Steelers, they know the drill all too well. The Colts were the second team to block a Steelers place-kicking attempt this season. In the third game of the season at Chicago, the Bears blocked a Boswell field-goal attempt just before halftime, but McDonald’s hustle prevented a touchdown when he stripped Marcus Cooper of the football just before he reached the end zone.
James knew it was up to him to make the play because most of the extra-point team is composed of offensive linemen that don’t run very well.
“It comes down to the punter and the two tight ends,” James said. “There is a lot of pressure on us to make a play there. Thank God, we did and got out of there with a win.”
James said the pressure came from the middle of the line, but he knew to begin the chase when he heard a thud.
“I heard it,” James said. “I just sprinted as fast as I could. Thank God, Jordan was hustling with me. He was able to take on that lead blocker. He made him cut back. That was a hell of a job by Jordan. That’s a play you kind of dream about making. It ends up being a big part of a close game, especially with the momentum they had at that point.”
McDonald’s hustle didn’t help the Steelers win in Chicago. The Bears won, 20-17, in overtime. The Steelers won this game by the same score.
“You can’t take any plays for granted, especially a momentum changing play like that,” James said. “You don’t know what will happen.”