Three years, 41 regular-season NFL games and a couple million dollars later, Roosevelt Nix says he still thinks about one play "all the time."
That play, of course, came Sept. 3, 2015 at Heinz Field.
The Steelers were trailing the Panthers, 17-0, with 11:53 remaining in the third quarter when Nix bulldozed his way straight up the gut, laying out to get a meaty paw on Brad Nortman's punt after it barely left his right foot. Poor Nortman never had a chance:
No, Nix's play didn't spark a comeback victory. The Steelers, who lost 23-6, didn't even recover the loose ball.
But the effort and hustle that Nix displayed on that blocked punt in a meaningless fourth preseason game was enough to put him over the top and solidify a spot on the 53-man roster.
The former Kent State defensive tackle turned fullback was — and is — a remarkable story after he was cut loose in the Atlanta Falcons' training camp a year earlier. He even tried his hand in the Arena League with the Cleveland Gladiators.
If Nix doesn't make that play against the Panthers, who knows what happens to him? But there's probably little chance he receives the four-year, $6.975 million contract extension he got from the Steelers last February. That play turned out to be a life-altering moment for himself and his family.
"Think about it all the time," Nix told me Wednesday in the Steelers locker room. "I had a chance to make a play, and I made it."
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Derek Moye, who also went undrafted, can tell a similar story. Remember him?
Two years earlier, Aug. 29, 2013, the hometown boy and former Penn State star receiver enjoyed a solid training camp, but, like a boxer needing a knockout in the 12th round, Moye likely needed a splash play to earn a roster spot. He got one.
"I wanted to leave a good final impression," Moye was telling me. "I knew I would have a lot more opportunities with the starters not playing at all. Some guys who were locked into roster spots weren't going to play very much. It was definitely a great opportunity for me. Before the game, it was something I knew I could really go out there prove myself."
No, Moye didn't score a touchdown or pull in a one-handed grab.
He had a decent game with two receptions for 55 yards, but the Steelers were trailing 17-10 late in the third quarter in Charlotte, when Josh Norman — then a relatively unknown second-year cornerback — jumped a route on a pass intended for Moye. Norman picked off rookie quarterback Landry Jones' pass in the flat at the 8-yard line and raced down the left sideline with what appeared to be a sure pick-six.
But Moye, a former high school track star in Rochester, Pa., gave chase to Norman, who he had worked out with in the past. Seventy yards later, he tackled Norman at the Pittsburgh 22-yard line:
Moye's all-out effort in what turned out to be a 25-10 loss was rewarded with a spot on the 53-man roster. It was a play that he had made a handful of times in college, but not on a stage that big.
"That play was just kind of the icing on the cake for my overall case for the preseason," said Moye, who lasted just a season in the NFL (he was placed on the practice squad in 2014 before eventually being released). These days, he does individual receiving instruction and is a first-year receivers coach at Aliquippa High School.
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While fourth preseason games generally draw half-empty — at best — stadiums, and many of the players who will take the field tonight will be getting on with their life's work the following week, the games are not "meaningless."
Ask Nix.
"It's a big game," he said. "There's a lot of opportunity in the fourth game for a lot of younger guys. Get some film out there for some other guys. It's a great opportunity."
Or Moye.
"It's funny, because now I sit back and I'll see football is on — I'm a fan now — and it's, like, unless I know somebody, I don't want to watch the preseason like a lot of other fans," he said. "But, definitely, I am very thankful for all the preseason games, especially that fourth one and having the opportunity to compete and kind of show what I had the ability to do."
Or, heck, even ask Antonio Brown.
During a team meeting Wednesday morning, Mike Tomlin went back through video to point out Nix's play and even one of Brown as a rookie in 2010. Long before business was boomin', it was more of a start-up. The sixth-round pick out of Central Michigan turned heads by covering a punt, not returning one.
"I understand the range of emotion in terms of guys working for positions and roles within the team," Tomlin said. "I want them to know that it's still very much in their control. I want them to be singularly focused on this performance. I also want them to know they are not alone. This is something that is not mystical. Many of their teammates have gone through this same process and utilized performances in this game as a springboard for their careers."
And, as Nix says, it's not just an audition for a roster spot on the Steelers, it's a chance to show 31 other teams what you can do. One team's trash can be another team's treasure. After failing with the Falcons, Nix proved himself in the Arena League to earn a futures contract with the Steelers, and the rest, as they say, is history.
On Sunday at 4 p.m., all 32 teams will pare down their rosters from 90 to the final 53. While most coaches have formulated a rock-solid idea as to who they will keep, there are usually one or two spots that are up for grabs.
With most, if not all, starters in sweats on the sidelines, and almost all draft picks assured of roster spots or at least a place on the practice squad, Week 4 of the NFL preseason presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a handful of players on the bubble.
Is that pressure? Is there a temptation to try and do too much?
"Yeah, but you just got to play," Nix said. "There's a pressure in this business. This business is a beast, that's really what it is. When you have an opportunity, you have to take advantage of it."