Harris celebrates new baby girl and a game-sealing interception

Shelby Harris somehow found balance Sunday between becoming a dominating force and being an emotional wreck.

“There were multiple moments during the game,” he said, “where I could have just burst out in tears.”

The Broncos’ reserve nose tackle was happy to share that sentiment — just not from the source you might expect. Harris sealed an upset victory at Mile High when he intercepted Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s pass in the end zone with a minute left. When Harris spoke from the podium after a 24-17 victory, he laid out his atypical postgame plans.

“I’m going to go in the locker room after this, drink a water or a Gatorade, get in the car, drive to the hospital and sit there the rest of the night,” Harris said. “There’s no celebration, man. I’m just happy I’ve got a healthy baby, a healthy wife and healthy family.”

About 48 hours before Denver took the field Sunday, Harris announced on Twitter that his wife had given birth to a daughter, Evelyn, the family’s third child. Harris missed practice on Friday for his daughter’s arrival and his wife missed Sunday’s game while still recovering at the hospital.

“It kind of made me almost cry to look in the stands and my wife wasn’t there,” Harris said. “But I know she’s in the hospital with our daughter. I just can’t wait to go see them.”

And, Harris has quite the story to tell Evelyn one day about Sunday’s game.

The Steelers marched 54 yards on nine plays to reach Denver’s 2-yard line, trailing by a touchdown, when Roethlisberger handled a third-down shotgun snap. He faked the handoff to running back James Conner, bobbled the ball and threw immediately toward wide receiver Antonio Brown crossing in the back of the end zone.

He didn’t see Harris, who admitted to freezing for a moment to track Roethlisberger.

“I actually didn’t do what I was supposed to do,” Harris said, but the gaffe put him in perfect position.

“I saw him try to float it up there and just caught it,” said Harris, who had stepped back.

A quick thought: Should I try to

“Nah, I’m a little too tired for that,” Harris said. “I just dropped to the ground and just laid there. … I knew how much time was on the clock, but in the moment, you don’t really think about it. It’s just like, ‘Wow, that’s the game.’ ”

Teammates respected the range of emotions Harris faced this past weekend. Defensive end Adam Gotsis said: “There was probably so much going through his mind.” But Harris’ heroics didn’t come without some ribbing from fellow Broncos, too.

“He just stepped back and the ball dropped right into his arms,” defensive end Derek Wolfe said.

Harris, who also recorded a half-sack and three quarterback hurries, later joked with reporters that his hands are the best on the roster, something he’s often reminded teammates.

“Man, too much,” safety Darian Stewart laughed. “But he might have some bragging rights. Especially with some of the DBs who don’t have any interceptions. He can hang that over their head a little bit.”

But friendly trash talk can wait until the Broncos reconvene Monday in preparation for next week’s road test at Cincinnati. Harris headed to the hospital Sunday night with a full heart and a gift. The football he intercepted to give Denver it’s twogame win streak officially has a new owner.

Evelyn.

“I’ll put it right next to the crib,” Harris said. “Just so she knows it’s for her.”