Steelers 36 Browns 33: Comeback Kids

Three weeks later, after Stewart had filled in impressively, Maddox threw 57 passes in an ugly 24-6 home loss to the Houston Texans. The expansion team's three touchdowns came on a pair of interception run-backs and a return of a Maddox fumble. Maddox knew he was pushing himself, but he says, "After all the ups and downs I'd gone through, when you finally get your shot, you're holding on with both hands."

Midway through the third quarter on Sunday, with the season slipping away, Cowher called for the no-huddle offense, and Maddox responded like a steely veteran with far more than 15 career NFL starts. "He's kind of unflappable for a guy who hasn't played a lot of football," Cowher says.

First Maddox threaded a pair of touchdown tosses to the back of the end zone—a six-yarder to wideout Plaxico Burress and a three-yarder to tight end Jerame Tuman—cutting Cleveland's lead to 27-21 with 12:28 left. Then, after Holcomb (26 of 43 for 429 yards) seemed to secure victory for the Browns with his third scoring toss, Maddox fired a five-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward, who was surrounded by four defenders, to make it 33-28 with 3:06 left.

Even as Cleveland began a potentially clock-killing possession, Maddox was all smiles. "Look," he says, "anybody who says this isn't fun is lying. Earlier in my career I lost sight of that. I'd make a mistake in practice and stress out about it all night. I wanted to prove my detractors wrong, and that's playing for the wrong reason."

With 2:39 remaining and the ball on the Pittsburgh 39, Maddox started to make it all right. He found Burress, his third read, for a 24-yard gain, then followed an in-completion with three consecutive strikes that moved the ball to the Cleveland three. After Fuamatu-Ma'afala scored on the next play, Maddox scanned the stands for Jennifer and his parents, Wayne and Glynda. Styx's Renegade blared over the stadium sound system, but Blue Collar Man might have been a more appropriate choice.

Ninety minutes later Maddox had reverted to his low-key Everyman persona, albeit in maroon leather cowboy boots. After meeting his wife and parents in a stadium lobby, he pulled an old dollar bill out of his wallet. He straightened the crinkled currency and finessed it through the slot of a vending machine. One hand clutching a Sprite, the other draped around Jennifer's shoulder, Maddox began the slow walk to the parking lot, savoring every step.