The Pittsburgh Steelers in 2005 were coming off a 15-1 season with rookie Ben Roethlisberger establishing Pittsburgh as a contender in the AFC. The season did not go as planned and they limped into the last four games of the season at 7-5 needing to win out just to make the playoffs. The Steelers would not lose again for the rest of the season, drawing confidence with each successive win as they marched to Super Bowl XL.
Bryant McFadden was one of that team’s cornerbacks and has gone on to work for CBS Sports as an analyst. McFadden also hosts a successful podcast with Patrick Peterson called All Things Covered. Earlier this week, McFadden appeared on 1010 XL in Jacksonville on the Hacker After Dark program and noted some similarities to the 2005 Steelers in the upstart Jacksonville Jaguars:
“If you don’t believe you can win, you are doing the wrong thing,” McFadden said. “My rookie year, we were a six seed. People felt like we were an easy out because we were a little inconsistent. But when we got into the playoffs, no one believed in us. We recognized that and we utilized that as fuel to add to the motivational chip on our shoulder.”
In 2005, Pittsburgh started strong. They rolled to a 7-2 start and seemed like they were on course for another deep run in the playoffs. But then the wheels came off. They dropped three straight games to the Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, and Cincinnati Bengals. After the Bengals loss, sitting at 7-5, belief outside the building in Pittsburgh was in short supply:
“We walked into the first-round playoff game, and we had no pressure,” McFadden continued. “Everybody was expecting us to lose, we traveled to Cincinnati [and] we beat them up. In the second round, we go to the number one seed the Indianapolis Colts with Peyton Manning and a list of Hall of Famers, we beat them up. Then we go to Denver, and we beat them up. We were like, ‘This is who we are.’”
The Pittsburgh Steelers had not won a Super Bowl in 25 years when they started the improbable run to one for the thumb. After getting destroyed in Indianapolis a little less than two months prior at 26-7, the Steelers pulled off one of the most improbable upsets in playoff history by beating the Colts. The belief in themselves carried them through to a Super Bowl victory, despite subpar play from Roethlisberger with some trickery and Willie Parker’s huge run. The Steelers were the first six-seed to ever win the Super Bowl:
“For Jacksonville, you gotta believe in yourself.,” McFadden concluded. “I experienced it firsthand. We believed in our ability with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2005-2006 playoffs and it showed. The confidence was there from start to finish. For Jacksonville, it’s not about second-guessing yourself, you’re here with the big dogs right now. It’s your job to show up and play and perform like a big dog.”
The Jacksonville Jaguars have haunted the Steelers since they came into existence and have dealt the Steelers some painful losses in their history. They had to win out at 4-8 to make the playoffs and they did. The chasm between them and the Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs seems even wider than what the Steelers faced when they played the Colts during that playoff run, but like McFadden said, it’s about believing in yourself.
The 2005-06 Steelers were unflappable. They were one year removed from being the number one seed in the AFC playoffs and were capable of overcoming adversity, but they had to find consistency. Whether it was a dominating defensive performance, or a quarterback making a game-saving tackle, they simply found a way week after week. It ended when they raised the fifth Lombardi Trophy.
The Jaguars are a perfect illustration of just how far a second-year quarterback can advance in the NFL. Trevor Lawrence had an atrocious rookie season, but has turned a corner and churned out huge comebacks like they are routine. He found a kindred spirit with an offensive guru in Doug Pederson and now they are now just an upset away from an AFC Championship game.
The Steelers, unlike Jacksonville, are not going to bring in a new voice on offense to help Kenny Pickett make a similar leap. They will depend on his talent and his desire to be great. Matt Canada isn’t in the same zip code as Pederson as an offensive mind, so let’s hope Pickett’s second-year leap is at least in the same ballpark.
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