Pittsburgh – Nick Saban had the red challenge flag in his hand, hitched it forward and back, and couldn’t seem to let it go in time. Maybe the Miami Dolphins should flag their coach for a costly delay.
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Heath Miller chugged his way down the sideline on an 87-yard touchdown pass play midway through the fourth quarter, fill-in quarterback Charlie Batch’s third scoring pass of the game, and the Super Bowl champions beat the Dolphins 28-17 on Thursday night in the NFL’s season opener.
“It seemed like it took me forever to get there,” Miller said.
For good reason.
Miller’s score shouldn’t have stood – TV replays showed his foot splayed out of bounds between the 1- and 2-yard lines. However, Saban hesitated to throw his flag, which fell to the turf sight unseen as referee Walt Coleman watched the extra point kick.
Asked if he got in, Miller said, laughing, “Touchdown. Yeah.”
Saban apparently thought he could throw the challenge flag at any time before Jeff Reed kicked the extra point, but no official saw him – and thus, no replay. And no Dolphins upset, either, even though the Steelers didn’t look particularly sharp – despite Willie Parker’s 115 yards rushing, Miller’s 101 yards receiving and Batch’s first three-TD game since Nov. 18, 2001, with Detroit.
“They said they didn’t see it,” Saban said. “Whose fault is that?”
Saban explained that assistant coaches in the press box first had to watch the replay before notifying him whether to challenge.
“We can’t challenge something until we see it,” he said. “When we saw it, I threw the flag. It was well before the kicker kicked it. The official said he didn’t see it, and when he said he didn’t see it, there was nothing he could do. That shouldn’t happen.”
Coleman said the officials had no choice because Saban waited so long. He said they delayed the extra-point attempt, waiting for the possibility of a challenge, then lined up for the try. Under NFL rules, there can be no challenge once the next play begins.
Miami, down 21-17 at the time, had a chance to come back. But new quarterback Daunte Culpepper was intercepted on consecutive series, with linebacker Joey Porter scoring on a 42-yard return with about three minutes left.
“We knew we had put them in a situation where they had to pass the ball. I had my chance to make the play and I made it,” Porter said.
Porter was so excited, he ran to the sideline and kissed coach Bill Cowher on the cheek – the Steelers’ first known sideline smooch since Cowher planted one on Kordell Stewart during a 1997 comeback victory in Baltimore.
