There are two Pittsburgh Steelers playing and active in the Super Bowl. Both of them are on the San Francisco 49ers in Ray-Ray McCloud and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave. Hargrave has cashed in and received a massive contract, but he made a big play, recovering an Isiah Pacheco fumble in the red zone.
Deommodore Lenoir punches the ball out, Javon Hargrave recovers. Both teams have now turned it over once pic.twitter.com/vsIuSo2I1O
— Chase Senior (@Chase_Senior) February 12, 2024
Hargrave has become a stalwart of the 49ers front. And the former Steelers nose tackle has worked out to the three-technique and become a fearsome pass rusher.
The last time that Hargrave made it this far, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs knocked them off and prevented guys like Hargrave from getting their first career ring.
But Hargrave hopes to peel off that band-aid and get some sweet revenge on his way to his first Super Bowl ring, and a play like this will help that.
“Never wanting to feel that feeling anymore — of making it all the way to this game and losing,” Hargrave said during the week. “I just want to feel that other side of how it feels to win instead of being all sad. It definitely hurt. You think about it all the time, how that was one of the worst days. I’ve not really gotten over it.”
Hargrave signed a massive four-year, $84 million contract that included $40 million guaranteed at signing last March. He’ll play in his second consecutive Super Bowl. He came up short against Kansas City last year when he was with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The 6-foot-2, 305-pound Hargrave was the Steelers’ third-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. He played his first four seasons in Pittsburgh, all as a starter, and amassed 168 tackles, 22 tackles for a loss, 14.5 sacks and forced two fumbles. Hargrave recorded 44 total tackles (25 solos), seven sacks, eight tackles for losses, and 14 quarterback hits in 2023. Hargrave is a key member on the 49ers’ vaunted front.