Injury to Bengals long snapper Clark Harris proves pivotal in Steelers’ win

CINCINNATI – An NFL long snapper, Christian Kuntz recognizes some fans might overlook the duties he and 31 other men are employed to handle for pro football teams at the highest level.

“People that are in (the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room), they know how important it is,” Kuntz said in a jubilant postgame locker room Sunday. “People on the outside probably take it for granted, but nobody ever takes our jobs for granted in here.”

It’s safe to say that after Sunday’s game, no one in the Cincinnati Bengals locker room — or even the entire city of Cincinnati — will take the long snapper for granted again.

An injury to Bengals long snapper Clark Harris proved critical to the result of Sunday’s 23-20 Steelers overtime victory that opened each team’s season. Harris suffered a bicep injury during the first half, and the Bengals missed a placekick with 2 seconds left in regulation (blocked) and again in overtime.

The latter, with certainty, was affected by a high snap from fill-in Mitchell Wilcox, a tight end by trade. Evan McPherson booted a 59-yard field goal during the first quarter when Harris was snapping (and punter Kevin Huber holding). His misses came from the standard extra-point distance of 33 yards (it was blocked by Minkah Fitzpatrick) on the penultimate play of regulation and from 29 yards in overtime.

“We had a chance on the first one — it just got blocked,” Wilcox said. “On the second one, it’s on me. I’ve got to give Kevin a better snap there. That’s on me.”

Chris Boswell’s 53-yard field goal as time expired in overtime lifted the #Steelers to a 23-20 victory against the #Bengals in their season opener. https://t.co/7a2QSyOwgZ

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) September 11, 2022

McPherson, for his part, refused to put the blame on Wilcox, who was the snapper for his high school team in Tarpon Springs, Fla., and said he was the backup long snapper in college at USF. Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Wilcox “practices (long snaps) all the time.” But it was clear Wilcox’s lack of experience affected the operation of McPherson’s kicks — and, in turn, the game.

The Steelers won on a Chris Boswell 53-yard field goal as time expired in overtime. A try from Boswell earlier in overtime from 55 yards clanked the left upright.

“(Boswell) hit that one dead straight, but the wind caught it,” Kuntz said. “And the next one, he buried it.”

Boswell did so, in part, assisted by the snap from Kuntz and hold by punter Pressley Harvin III, two players who beat multi-year incumbents for their roles during the 2021 training camp. The year-plus of constant repetition between the three leads to a smooth, confident operation the Bengals were lacking by the end of Sunday’s game.

No matter if it was an otherwise forgettable rep on the Saint Vincent back field or a long kick with the season opener against a division rival on the line, as was the case Sunday, the specialists execute each snap/hold/kick the same.

“Same stuff, we just treat it like it’s just another rep for us,” Kuntz said. “We want that rep. Chris wants that rep, I want that rep, ‘Press’ wants that rep. We all like that (pressure).”

Though Kuntz, Harvin and coach Mike Tomlin were aware of Harris’ injury, it seemed few of the other Steelers were. Like what happened with the Steelers when Greg Warren was injured during a 2008 game and fill-in James Harrison snapped the ball out of the end zone for a safety, the Bengals likely never will take a long snapper for granted again.

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