GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) – Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor were enjoying the Green Bay-Seattle drama on TV when former teammate Al Harris picked off a pass and scored the first overtime defensive touchdown in NFL playoff history.

Jumping up off his couch at his home in Yardley, Pa., Vincent felt like a proud big brother last Sunday.

“The kids started hollering because they didn’t know what I was hollering about,” Vincent said.

He was crowing about how Harris had learned his lessons well during their five seasons together in Philadelphia.

But Harris quickly showed he hadn’t been paying full attention.

“He catches an interception in Lambeau Field, in OT, he scores, and he runs to the stands,” Vincent said.

“And … he … gives … the … ball … away!”

Vincent never taught him that.

“How do you give the ball away after that play?” Vincent marveled.

And when Harris’ name showed up on Vincent’s buzzing cell phone minutes later, that’s the first thing he asked his old friend.

“Yeah, he was like, ‘I told you about giving those balls away,”‘ Harris recalled. “‘I can’t believe you gave that ball away.”‘

Neither could Harris’ mother, who was sitting in the stands behind Green Bay’s bench at Lambeau Field when her son sent the Packers into this weekend’s second-round game at Philadelphia with a 33-27 victory over Seattle.

“My mom was mad,” Harris said. “She always wants the ball.”

Vincent and Taylor would have kept it tucked under their right arms and found a nice place for it on their mantles.

Instead, the historic memento of one of the franchise’s greatest games ever went to some lucky fan who just happened to catch Harris’ eye.

Harris may not recognize a collector’s item when he’s got it in his hands, but he’s still a hero in Titletown.

“He’s going to have the key to that city for a long time,” Vincent said.

And that’s better than being a third cornerback in Philadelphia, where he was saddled behind Vincent and Taylor, both Pro Bowlers.

With second-year backups Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard in place, Eagles coach Andy Reid agreed to Harris’ trade request and sent him to Green Bay for a second-round pick.

Vincent hated to see Harris leave Philadelphia, but he was also excited for him.

“He was asking for that, and rightfully so,” Vincent said. “He was very easily the last four years the best nickel corner in the National Football League. He was better than most teams’ starters.”

Harris was solid but not spectacular at right cornerback this season for Green Bay, where he was an upgrade over Tyrone Williams, who voided the last year of his contract with the Packers and signed with Atlanta.

Not the fastest cornerback in coverage but excellent in bump-and-run, Harris had 46 tackles, 14 pass breakups and three interceptions.

“I said this when Al was here: Our coaches looked at Al as if he was one of our starters,” Reid agreed. “I wouldn’t have expected anything less.”

Packers coach Mike Sherman said he liked Harris’ game long before his game-winning play against Seattle.

“Al is a great guy to have in the locker room,” Sherman said. “He’s a consummate professional, a tremendous worker on the field, takes tremendous pride in what he does. I thought he bought a physical (dimension) to our defense with his aggressive nature.”

Harris hasn’t always attracted such praise.

“I remember when Al came in with a mouth full of gold,” Vincent said. “He just wouldn’t listen to anybody.”

But soon he started listening to Vincent, Taylor and free safety Brian Dawkins, who taught him a few things.

“When I went there, I was just raw, really wasn’t too big on watching film,” Harris said.

By the time he left, he was a student of the game. He dropped six potential interceptions last year but just two this year.

“Just being around them helped me a lot,” Harris said. “Watching Troy, Bobby, Brian, the way they prepare for a game as far as film study, taking notes.”

So, the Eagles actually have something to do with last week’s win.

“Right,” Harris said. “You can call it what you want, but it’s knowing what’s going to go on.”

Vincent agreed: “I just felt like I was a part of that,” he said.

Harris is still so close with so many Eagles that he has no desire to shove it to his former team. And he owes Reid a debt of gratitude for trading him with two years left on a contract that pays him about $1 million per year.

He’s proving to be quite a bargain.

“It was great money for a nickel, but I’m the lowest paid starter on our defense,” Harris said. “That’s the way the ball bounces sometimes.”

And sometimes it nestles into the arms of a cornerback making an educated guess, jumping a route and sending a city into bedlam and two friends to the phone.

“He just said, ‘Troy, what did it look like?”‘ Vincent recalled. “What do you think it looked like? It was great, man.”

AP-ES-01-09-04 1555EST