The Pittsburgh Steelers have had some beloved players in their colorful history. Joe Greene, Ernie Stautner and Franco Harris jump out as the only Steelers players the organization chose to honor by retiring their numbers. Jack Lambert is still the face of the Steelers defense, and Troy Polamalu’s flowing locks are still blowing in the wind in the minds of the Steelers faithful. Perhaps no player is more beloved in Pittsburgh history than a bowling ball-shaped halfback who arrived in 1996 the year after Super Bowl XXX.
Jerome Bettis didn’t arrive in the NFL as a Steelers running back but after three seasons of declining production for the Los Angeles and St. Louis Rams. Rams coach Rich Brooks informed Bettis he would be moved back to fullback if he remained with the team, or the Rams could try to trade him. Bettis opted to be traded, and he was sent to Pittsburgh. It was virtually love at first sight.
Bettis spent a decade with Pittsburgh and rolled off six consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. He made four Pro Bowls, and despite being significantly slowed later in his career, Bettis was present in Detroit in his final NFL game when the Steelers finally added one for the thumb. The iconic Steelers running back had a storybook ending to a fantastic career.
It turns out that the ending might have been a little too Hollywood. Everyone likes a happy ending, but Bettis revealed on the "In Depth" podcast with Graham Bensinger that he might have employed his acting talent to remain in the black and gold in the year 2000 to cover up an injury.
“It wasn’t a longtime injury,” Bettis began. “I was training the season before, and it was sore. When I started heavy training for the season, it got worse. I get to training camp, and the question is, do I tell them my knee is banged up? I made a decision. I have got to find a way to have this issue take place on the field, so it becomes a football-related injury.”
Bettis was coming off of his fourth straight 1,000-yard season for the Steelers in a very different NFL at the turn of the century. Running backs were highly valued, and Bettis and the Steelers were in the midst of a three-season slump that saw them miss the playoffs. The Steelers had taken Amos Zereoue in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft, and the promising second-year player was a real concern in the mind of Pittsburgh’s leading rusher.
“We started practicing; the first day or two I just didn’t see a good opportunity,” Bettis continued. “It was the second day of pads, and we had a live goal line. It’s now or never, it’s live they going to be hitting me. So, I go in there, boom, boom, boom. I yell, I felt something pop, and I get my Oscar-worthy performance.”
At 28 years old, Bettis was still a relatively young man, but in running back years he was entering the twilight of his prime. It is ludicrous looking back that the Steelers would have cut Bettis over an injury he sustained while training, but this was well before player safety initiatives. All the Pittsburgh star knew for sure was that if he couldn’t play, someone else would.
“It is exactly as the doctor in the offseason told me,” Bettis explained. “He told me what it was, so I knew it was the meniscus, so they gave me the option. You can play through it, or you can have surgery. I knew if I had surgery, I would be giving the other player the opportunity to play. Which is the last thing you want to do if you want to stay on the football field and show them why to keep you around. I made the decision to gut it out; that season I ended up having a good season and had surgery in the offseason and had an even bigger year.”
Bettis rushed for 1,341 yards on essentially one leg in 2000, and while the Steelers did not make the playoffs, they did post a winning season at 9-7 after back-to-back losing seasons to close out the 20th century.
After returning from surgery in 2001, Bettis only played 11 games but posted his final 1,000-yard season for the Steelers and raised his yards per carry from 3.8 yards per carry in 2000 to 4.8 yards per carry in 2001. It was his best average as a Pittsburgh Steelers ball carrier and second only to his rookie year with the Rams. The Steelers finished 13-3 and won the AFC Central in the division's final year of existence.
Bettis would play for the Steelers until 2005, but the 2000 season was the last year he would start 16 games for the Steelers. The second Steelers running back to reach 10,000 yards for a career saw his role slowly change in the offense over his last four seasons.
In 2004, his final Pro Bowl season, Bettis only started six games but nearly made it to 1,000 yards rushing. Bill Cowher used him late in games to perfection to inspire the team and to help his rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger go 13-0 to close out the 2004 season before losing in the AFC Championship Game.
He would not start any games in 2005 but still managed to score nine touchdowns as the goal-line and short-yardage back in Pittsburgh. Bettis ended his career with a Super Bowl XL victory and the love of Steelers fans everywhere for giving his all during the decade they watched him. Steelers fans still have a special place in their hearts for No. 36, even if he used a little Hollywood magic to earn it.
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