Groz’s Week 15 Seahawks Memory: Steve Largent’s greatest hit
Dec 16, 2020, 1:12 PM
Steve Largent is one of the greatest WRs ever, but he had a hard hit worth remembering. (getty)
(getty)
Steve Largent is in the NFL Hall of Fame as a wide receiver, but in Week 15 of the 1988 season the legendary Seahawks superstar showed he was more than just that.
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The Hawks were playing the Denver Broncos with first place on the line in the AFC West. Back in the first week of the season the Seahawks had gone into Mile High Stadium and beaten the Broncos, but the story of the game was the vicious forearm smash by Denver safety Mike Harden, who taped his forearm up to use as a weapon, that knocked Largent (and some of his teeth) out.
The hit got Harden fined $5,000 by the league office, though today it would have garnered a much larger fine as wekk as a suspension – likely a season-long one.
In the Week 15 rematch, Largent got his own shot at Harden.
Early in the first half as the Seahawks were driving, quarterback Dave Kreig was picked off by Harden in the end zone. As he was making the return, suddenly out of nowhere came the 187-pound Largent, who delivered a crushing blindside hit that separated Harden from his senses as well as the ball.
The hit electrified the Kingdome crowd as well as Largent’s teammates.
Watch: NFL Films’ look at the feud between Largent and Harden
The game was no contest from that point forward as the Seahawks rolled to a 42-14 win. Seattle ran for over 230 yards with Curt Warner scoring four touchdowns to clinch the AFC West title. But afterwards, all anyone was talking about was Largent’s revenge as he showed emphatically that he could dish it out as well as take it.
Although he caught more than 800 passes for 74 touchdowns in his career, Largent has always called the play the favorite of his NFL career – although he too would have been fined and suspended in today’s game.
More Seahawks memories from Groz
• A new franchise QB emerges in Week 14 win in 1984
• An emotional OT win in Week 13 1992 — for Pete’s sake
• Bo bulldozes The Boz in Week 12, 1987
• Thomas Rawls picks up where Beast Mode left off in Week 11, 2015
• Goal-line retribution in Week 10 of 2016 against New England
• The franchise changed direction in Week 9 of Pete Carroll’s third year
• Holmgren’s blowout Green Bay return in Week 8, 1999
• Slaying the 1986 Super Bowl champion Giants in Week 7
• Unlikely hero gets 2005 Super Bowl run going in Week 5, 2005
• Super Bowl championship team shows it’s for real in Week 4, 2013
• Curt Warner establishes ‘Ground Chuck’ in Week 3, 1983
