SAN DIEGO – The first time he touched the ball, Michael Pittman ran into the teeth of the Oakland defense and managed to gain one yard. One lousy yard. Given the way he struggled to give the Buccaneers what they wanted and needed this season, there was no hint whatsoever that Pittman was going to emerge as any sort of unsung hero.
“We didn’t think he would be able to do anything,” confessed Raiders CB Charles Woodson.
Well, big games have a way of producing the unexpected, and the improbable and the seemingly impossible was the norm last night in Super Bowl XXXVII.
The second time Pittman touched the ball, the fairly nondescript 27-year old running back scooted to his left, picked up a block from fullback Mike Alstott and ran for 23 yards. It was longer than any run Pittman had this season and the start of a big evening, for Pittman and the Bucs. Pittman, seemingly out of nowhere, emerged as a central figure, rushing 29 times for 124 yards as the Bucs steamrolled the Raiders 48-21.
“For him to go over 100 yards is unheard of,” Woodson said.
The shock expressed by the Raiders was matched by joy from Pittman. “I feel so good about helping us win this game,” said Pittman, who starred in his hometown. “I got the ball 29 times, it’s the best feeling in the world getting the ball 29 times as a running back in the biggest game of your life, of your career. It’s a dream come true.”
By the time the clock had expired in the first half, Pittman had carried the ball 12 times and gained 75 yards.
How rare was this outburst? Well, Pittman in 16 games ran for more than 72 yards only once, in the regular-season finale in Chicago. Yet last night, his first-half total was the fourth-highest in Super Bowl history.
Could anyone have anticipated this? In his first year with the Bucs after being rescued from the desert and the Cardinals, Pittman led the team in rushing, but with a paltry 718 yards (3.5 per carry).
“This is the reason I left Arizona, because I didn’t think we’d ever have the chance to win and get to the Super Bowl,” Pittman said. “That’s why I came here. And we won the Super Bowl.”