DETROIT – All Fast Willie Parker needed was a crack.
And he was gone. Parker’s 75-yard TD romp on the second play from scrimmage in the second half turned a 7-3 lead into 14-3 and the Steelers, 21-10 Super Bowl XL winners, never looked back, even if the Seahawks made them sweat.
They call him Fast Willie because he has run a 4.23 40, because he used to race pit bulls in the streets of his Clinton, N.C., hometown. Ask Etric Pruitt, who dove for him at midfield and came up empty.
“I just knew it was gonna be a great play,” Parker said. “It was a great play when it was called. They called it at the right time and [Alan] Faneca just paved the way.”
Until thet dramatic touchdown run, Parker was The Other Running Back in this game, even on his own team, in the giant shadow of Jerome Bettis. Parker finished 10-93 rushing, to Shaun Alexander’s 20-95.
Parker joked during the week that if Bettis is The Bus, he would prefer to be The Ferrari. Or The Lamberghini. He is a 5-10, 209-pounder who emerged as a 1,202-yard rusher in his second season who has learned, with tutelage from The Bus, to run inside as well as outside.
Steelers offensive tackle Max Starks said of the crucial run: “We had to contain the Mike [middle linebacker]. Lofa Tatupu is a really fast guy. We knew we had to get a hat on him. And once he got to the second level, we knew Willie could outrun everybody else. And he did.
“It was just a regular counter play, counter right. And Willie ran through the linebackers, the defensive end, and took off. When I saw him running, I knew I couldn’t catch that man. I knew I’d see him in the end zone.”
Fast is enough sometimes.