Monday, November 18, 2002
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tommy Maddox was motionless and face-down near his own 20-yard-line. The sold-out crowd fell silent. The Pittsburgh quarterback who had gone from selling insurance to becoming the feel-good story of this NFL season wasn't moving.
Trainers and doctors from both the Steelers and Tennessee Titans rushed to his side as players from both teams dropped to their knees and started praying.
"It was eerie, a feeling of helplessness," Pittsburgh guard Alan Faneca said. "You can't really do anything. The only thing you can do is keep your thoughts with him."
The Titans won 31-23 Sunday, but the game paled next to the alarming injury that left the AFC's second-rated passer temporarily unable to move his arms or legs. He spent Sunday night in a Nashville hospital with a concussion and bruised spinal cord.
Steelers spokesman Ron Wahl reported that Maddox was alert and awake and had talked with his family.
"It puts things in perspective," Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher said.
At least 15 minutes passed at The Coliseum while Maddox was turned onto his back, then strapped to a backboard. A flatbed cart first was brought out for him, then sent back to the sideline as officials waved at the other end for an ambulance. He was gently lifted to a stretcher, then placed into the ambulance and driven away.
Near comeback
The game resumed with the start of the fourth quarter. Then Kordell Stewart, the man whom Maddox replaced back on Sept. 29, nearly pulled off a stirring comeback.
Stewart threw for 124 yards in the final eight minutes and tossed two 4-yard touchdown passes and a two-point conversion. Antwaan Randle El added another two-point conversion pass to pull the Steelers to 31-23, but they failed to recover the onside kick. The Titans ran out the final 1:26, and the Steelers headed to the locker room to get an update on Maddox.
Early reports were encouraging, as Maddox regained feeling and movement in his arms and legs, and the Steelers (5-4-1) planned to release more information on the quarterback's condition today.
"He's going to be fine," Pittsburgh receiver Terance Mathis said. "Tommy, he's been blessed. I don't think God brought him this far to leave him right now, so he's going to be just fine."
"It's difficult when you know him personally and you know what kind of person he is, and he doesn't deserve anything like that," Steelers running back Jerome Bettis said. "It's tough."
Surprising injury
The severity of his injury was so surprising because of how it happened.
On the final play of the third quarter, Maddox was scrambling to find an open receiver on third-and-10 from the Pittsburgh 26 when Lance Schulters grabbed his foot.
Maddox tossed the ball to Randle El for a 2-yard gain as he fell forward, and Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck put his forearm into Maddox's shoulder just as he hit the ground. Maddox's head rolled underneath him slightly as he hit the ground, and he did not move.
"I didn't hit him. I more or less landed on him, but I didn't hit him," Bulluck said.
The Titans sympathized with Maddox and the Steelers. Titans cornerback Samari Rolle has bruised his own spinal cord twice during his short career, including last season in Baltimore. He missed two games after that hit.
"There's nothing good about it," Rolle said. "Football's a physical game, and I just hope he's OK."
Now the Steelers, who had a five-game unbeaten streak snapped, have several problems. Todd Peterson missed field goals of 31 and 37 yards wide right, and Cowher said he will be exhausting his options to fix the kicking game.
The Titans held Pittsburgh to 209 total yards with Maddox in the game; he was 14-of-28 for 194 yards. Stewart tried to rally the team from a 31-7 deficit, and the Steelers managed just 45 yards rushing overall and only eight in the third quarter, when Tennessee took control.
"We're a tired football team right now," Cowher said. "We need to regroup. We've got six games left, four of which are at Heinz Field. We have narrowed the margin and kind of backed ourselves in a corner, and we need to do something about it."