Joe Bendel: Steelers took the scenic route

Joe Bendel
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, February 13, 2006

Casey Hampton wrapped himself in a luxurious bathrobe and puffed on a pricey Cuban cigar in the Super Steelers' locker room. The image of the hulking nose tackle was one for the ages.

So, too, were the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers.

Led by a never-say-die coach and a keep-the-faith owner, these Steelers took the road less traveled en route to capturing that "One for the Thumb" Super Bowl title with a 21-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Feb. 5 at Ford Field in Detroit.

The ever-smiling Hines Ward was their MVP.

The ever-engaging Jerome Bettis was their heart and soul.

The ever-confident Bill Cowher was their bedrock.

And the ever-patient Dan Rooney was their motivation.

Loudly and proudly, they finally got to proclaim, after a 26-year wait, "We are the champions!"
Again.

"It is ... the greatest feeling ... IN THE WORLD," boisterous linebacker Joey Porter announced.

These Steelers took the scenic route to NFL immortality, doing the near impossible by winning three road playoff games as the sixth-seeded team out of the AFC. They toppled No. 3 Cincinnati, No. 1 Indianapolis and No. 2 Denver before knocking off top-seed Seattle from the NFC at Ford Field in Detroit.

Not only was it an unprecedented run, but it was a run that might never be duplicated. Indeed, these Steelers were history makers. Super-sized history makers.

"Nobody believed, except us," Ward said.

Even the Steelers might have been questioning themselves after a Week 12 home loss to the Cincinnati Bengals extended their losing streak to three games and dropped their record to 7-5. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was still recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery and the defense was giving up uncharacteristic point totals, notably the 38 piled on them by the Bengals at Heinz Field.

This is where Cowher could have hit the panic button. But he did no such thing.

He simply put his team back in full pads at practice -- "We're going back to the basics," safety Chris Hope said. -- and wiped the slate clean. All he asked was that his players play one game at a time.

The response was overwhelming. The Steelers won their final four regular-season games, knocking off the streaking Chicago Bears at snowy Heinz Field, the streaking Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis and the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions.

The running game averaged 185 yards in those victories. Roethlisberger was nearly flawless. And the defense was back to playing Steelers defense.

The rest of the league didn't stand a chance.

Eight wins later, the Steelers were celebrating the fifth Super Bowl in franchise history, with Cowher proving he could win the big game, Bettis proving dreams can come true (he got to announce his retirement in his hometown of Detroit), Roethlisberger proving he's a franchise quarterback and Hampton proving how Super sweet a championship-game victory can be.

Joe Bendel can be reached at joecbendel@aol.com or (412) 320-7811.