PITTSBURGH -- Alan Faneca didn't remember doing anything spectacular, just his job.
But as he walked off the field after the Pittsburgh Steelers' come-from-behind playoff win over the Cleveland Browns in January 2003, Browns linebacker Dwayne Rudd got his attention.
"Man, you're the best," Faneca recalled Rudd saying.
Faneca shrugged off the comment and said, "Thanks, buddy." That's when Rudd made sure his words resonated.
"He said, 'No, really, you're the best,'" said Faneca, a back-to-back finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. "I said, 'Wow, man, I appreciate that.