Former Steelers OG Ramon Foster Shares The Belief He Should Have Had A Fine For Hitting His Own Teammate In 2016

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens are no strangers to close games, close divisions, and close calls in their supercharged rivalry. Both teams have experienced the highs and lows of victories in their many seasons playing against each other. 

A rivalry like this creates intense emotions from fans and players regarding certain plays. One of the plays that live in infamy between these two hard-nosed AFC North rivals is the "Immaculate Extension." 

Steelers' Antonio Brown Drums Up A Christmas Miracle 

This is a familiar tale for AFC North fans, it was a cold Christmas Day in 2016 when the Ravens traveled to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers in a 4:30 PM game. This wasn't any old Week 16 game, the division was on the line. As they often do, the two teams traded the lead back in forth in front of a nearly packed house, 68,400 fans came to Heinz Field hoping for a Christmas miracle.  

The Ravens had been chewing up time on the clock, including a long six-minute drive that put them ahead by three points. The Steelers got the ball back with 1:18 remaining and 75 yards to cover. 

Ben Roethlisberger was on fire that drive, he completed eight consecutive passes before spiking the ball to stop the clock with only :14 seconds left. Then the Steelers were lined up on the Baltimore four-yard line when Antonio Brown did what Brown does best, made something happen. 

Brown shakes off his man-to-man coverage and Roethlisberger sees him open and drops a dime on him, an absolutely perfect pass. Brown caught the ball and somehow contorted his body over the goal line to score and give the Steelers the win. 

This description simply does not do justice to Brown's presence of mind. By all appearance, back bent at a 90-degree angle, knee dropping towards the turf, it seems likely Brown will get tackled near the goal line. Somehow, Brown slips free and gets the ball to cross the plane.   

Now one of Brown's former teammates, Ramon Foster, recounts the tale of Brown crossing the goal line, including his part in the play. 

Foster, who hosts a podcast on DK Pittsburgh Sports, called The Ramon Foster Show, told the story to his co-host Dejan Kovacevic. Foster, who was an offensive guard for the Steelers, recounts how he maybe should have been fined for his part in the play. 

"I ducked my head and ran to the end zone to try to push AB (Antonio Brown) in, so I missed the fact that he reached the ball out."

Foster said he hit Brown pretty hard, trying to help push him over the goal line. The Steelers had pinned their hopes on Brown making this play and the whole line felt the pressure.  

"I felt bad hitting AB because I laid into him, like 'we gotta win this [dang] game man.' So I'm gonna be real, on Monday he was just like, 'Hey big 'Mon, man you hit the [heck] out of me man.' I was like, 'AB, I was trying to win.'"

Kovacevic points out that while Brown gets and deserves a lot of credit for that play, there was a lot of effort given by everyone on offense that day. 

"You have to understand that there was a lot of effort going on besides 84, including the guy on this show," says Kovacevic. "He was stuck, AB wasn't going to move another inch with where Baltimore was, so the rest of you guys got him about as close as he could get and he still had the presence of mind, which blows me away, to say you know what, I don't have to get across, this thing (meaning the ball) does. To grip the ball the way he did and to get his arm out (shakes his head in amazement)."

Foster points out that this wasn't an accident or just luck that Brown worked tirelessly on these scenarios knowing they are sometimes what wins a close game. 

"He worked on it (gripping the ball). He's walking around with the old-school gripper, just like the dude's a specimen. And I'm like don't ruin Christmas, we can't have this, I love the holidays man."    

Another fan points out that Brown did all of this while some Baltimore players had their fingers in his face mask. Foster isn't surprised the game was a violent one, all Ravens games are. 

"Then as violent as that game gets, I thought they would have blown it dead just to try to stop us from being involved with one another. That's why I was like that probably should have been a fine on my end, just being completely honest, because that was reckless abandonment. But in the spirit of competition, that's what you're supposed to do man."  

Did you watch the "Immaculate Extension" game? What did you think of Brown's touchdown? Should Foster have earned a penalty for the hit he put on his own teammate? Click to comment below!

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