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The 2005 Steelers (Part 1): Road to One for the Thumb · Pittsburgh Sports Memories

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: And welcome to another episode of Pittsburgh Sports Memories.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um, this episode is gonna be an introduction to we're gonna do a three-part uh trilogy on the Steelers 2005 season, which will end with a spoiler alert, Super Bowl.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: And uh this is probably well, I'm just gonna say it is my favorite Steelers season of all time.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_02: So that's why I felt the need to do three different podcasts on it.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_02: I wanted to really cover this in depth.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_02: So uh I really like this season.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_02: It was uh really like the reward for being a Steelers fan for a long time and not having a lot of success.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, not uh not having the ultimate success, let me say that.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_02: Because they did it wasn't like being like the Pirates or Pitt or even like a Cleveland Browns or Arizona Cardinals experience, but so um it had been uh been a while since the Steelers had won a Super Bowl.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um they had had a pretty good run with Bill Cower, and um as usual, I forgot to answer Tim.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_02: Tim is still with us.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_02: Tim is here, he hasn't been hanging out.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, everybody.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and and yeah, Steve, I'll just add that you know it I totally agree.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's such a special season and um one that like people people our age, people that were born in the 70s, but were like babies when the 70s teams were going.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: We waited our whole lives for this season.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and yeah, the Steelers have been perennial playoff contenders for most of the 90s and 2000s.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: There was a couple seasons in the late 90s and like what 2002, 2003, they had taken a couple playoffs off.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um, they had not won a Super Bowl since Super Bowl 14 over the Rams at the end of the 1979 season.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_02: Technically, that Super Bowl was won in like what January of 1980.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_02: So, I mean, I was four years old when that happened.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_02: I don't remember, I don't remember that at all.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I was I was about the same age, and you're right.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: I I honestly the first steeler season I remember would have been like 83-ish, 82, 83, and um, and I was still pretty young, but I don't have any memories of the 70s teams.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, my my dad was not a Steelers fan, and my mom really wasn't like she's gotten more into sports since she retired, but back then she really wasn't that big of a sports person, you know.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, we really weren't into like the Steelers at all.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_02: The Pirates for sure, but not the Steelers.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um, Bill Cower had been hired in '92.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_02: He'd been with them since then, but he had not won a Super Bowl.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_02: He had a lot of success in the regular seasons and then made the playoffs a lot, but um just not a lot of success in the playoffs.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, a lot of losses at home in the playoffs.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_02: So then uh in 2004, the Steelers drafted quarterback Ben Rothesberger with the 11th pick in the draft, and that uh kind of starts the uh run of uh things really uh going their way.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_02: Well it's amazing once you have that quarterback position figured out, how everything else starts to fall into place.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the Steelers had completely rebuilt the defensive secondary, which had been the other biggest problem on their defense.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_02: Like they had a good front seven, but their secondary really stunk from like 2002 to 2003.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_02: So uh they had drafted Chris Hope and then uh Palomalo in 2003.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_02: And uh uh was Palomalo they traded up to get him with the 16th pick.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um they had drafted Ike Taylor in the fourth round, which actually was funny was uh Mark Mend at the time called that one of the worst draft picks in team history.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_02: So I guess Ike got the last laugh on that one.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_02: Uh 2003, they still have veteran Deshea Townsend.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_02: He had been drafted in like '98, so he'd been around.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_02: But then that season in 2005, uh, they drafted uh another defensive back, Brian McFadden, and he would end up playing a very critical role that season.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_02: But the big the big pickup in the offseason coming into 2005 was uh tight end Heath Miller.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_02: And he would uh had a great career, had a lot of catches, and uh years of Heath chance being yelled at Hansfield.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_02: It still happened.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_02: Remember, it still happened after they got rid of like other guys that catch the ball and that just looked like a tight end, and people would yell Heath.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, big white tight end.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, they don't say Ebron for Eric Ebron, though nobody's been at the games this year.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_02: So um Mark Whipple actually, ironically enough, is the quarterback coach, and uh Bruce Arians was the wide receiver coach.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_02: Uh both those guys would go on to be head coaches.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Whipple would be in college, he's actually now the offensive coordinator at Pitt.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_02: Bruce Arians uh ended up being a pretty good uh you know head coach with Indianapolis and Arizona, and now he's with uh Tampa Bay.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um the Steelers the year before had gone 15-1.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_02: We covered that in another podcast, and uh, which was a great season, but they had lost in the AFC championship game to the Patriots, which was um I like I think we went over this one of our other podcasts, is that was such a devastating loss.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_02: Like top five, like outside of the some of the pit losses and penguins loss.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_02: That's probably the worst Steelers loss I can remember because I just seemed like you're 15 and one and you just can't get over the hump.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: They had beaten New England at home that year, too.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_02: And Philadelphia, the team that was in the Super Bowl, ended up being in the Super Bowl.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: So they had beaten them already, but then New England blew them out in the championship game.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: It just it hurt.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and uh all Pennsylvania Super Bowl.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_02: That would have been weird.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_02: But um in the offseason, um, Jerome Bettis, who had been with the team since ninety seven?
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, 96.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um the alma almost retired.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_02: So and he was a very beloved just in the city and with the team, his teammates especially.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_02: Everybody really liked everything.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we've talked about before how everybody hated Barry Bonds.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_02: Well, everybody seems to love uh Jerome Bettis, so he's the he's the anti-Barry Bonds.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um Heinz Ward had a very emotional interview about Jerome Bettis retiring.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_02: He actually cried on like camera during an interview, which like it's funny to think about it now.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_02: Like you see, men do that like more easily, but I think back then it wasn't as positively viewed, you know.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: That's a good point.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_02: It's weird how that, you know, because we in the Cordell Stewart podcast, we had talked about how that really changed the perception of Cordell Stewart, but it was a different that was more of like a woe is me.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, this was like he was really upset for his teammate and that they wouldn't get the have a Super Bowl trophy for his teammate.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_02: It was a different kind of emotion.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think it was more like you said, acceptable.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: Not that, you know, people showing emotion shouldn't always be acceptable, but um, yeah, Cordell, it was kind of like he was crying because he got benched.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: And Hines was just, yeah, wanted to see his his friend and his teammate win a Super Bowl.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so uh Bettis thinks about retiring, but then he uh changes his mind.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_02: If you ever watch the like you know, Super Bowl DVD, like they have a shot of like Han.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_02: I I think I remember that game, like Jerome Bettis had to turn around and come back on the field.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_02: Like they ended up getting the ball back real quick, and it was like funny how that just played into their little montage.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_02: But um mainly he said because uh the team was still really good, they were still 15-1 the year before and really hadn't lost anybody.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_02: And uh they were playing in his hometown of Detroit, and uh he wanted to take one more shot at winning that Super Bowl.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, not only had Bettis not won a Super Bowl, he'd never even played at a Super Bowl.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_02: So and he'd been in what?
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_02: One, two, two championship games.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_02: He'd been in two championship games.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: So three, because the Broncos, two against the Patriots and one against the Broncos.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it was three then, yeah.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_02: I was thinking it was three, and then yeah, it was because yeah, I'm forgetting about the other Patriots, yeah, in 2001.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, let's not forget that one.
• 8:59
  unknown: Yeah, yeah.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_02: So uh like I said, uh, you know, it just seems like after 2004, you know, it just seemed like uh man, maybe the uh Steelers just aren't ever gonna be able to win and get over the hump.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um before the season, not a lot of experts, even though like like I said, maybe they thought that that 2004 season was a fluke.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: So the the Steelers are kind of like an afterthought.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_02: Like people are thinking the Colts, the Patriots, you know, that's your Super Bowl favorite.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_02: Not the Steelers, not so much.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_02: So to start the season, um, the Steelers start 2005 off by playing the Tennessee Titans, who were coached by Jeff Fisher at the time.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Deuce Staley and Joe Bettis are both out hurt, which is not surprising knowing Deuce Staley, uh, but Bettis is a little bit of surprise.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's no problem because uh the Steelers just have this guy sitting on the bench named Willie Parker.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, what a nice luxury to have.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_02: You just have like your third string running back, and he goes absolutely off for 161 yards and a touchdown, and the Steelers go to an easy win 34-7.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_02: I think too, like Jeff Fisher says to Bill Cower, boy, this guy's really gonna be something.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_02: So they're really like you know, Willie Parker and obviously the defense, because that I think McNair still played for Tennessee at that time, so they really they really shut down them.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: And they they they they had um a terrible history against the Titans and especially against McNair.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like they had been beaten by them so many times in previous years.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: So that was a that was a great way to start the season.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I I I was at that game and I remember the guy sitting who sits next to me, who normally sat next to me at the games, uh, about the third quarter, he ran down to the like the Heinz Feld gift shop and he bought a Willie Parker jersey to put on for the rest of the game.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_02: I'm surprised they had one in the gift shop.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_02: A third string running back, they're selling his I was surprised too.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: And he comes back with his Willie Parker jersey and he's all proud of himself.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember we're all giving him a hard time.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like, dude, that's the third string running back.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: He's when when Bettison's still very healthy, you're never gonna see him again.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: And you just wasted, you know, 60 bucks or whatever it costs.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_02: Especially at the gift shop, you know, everything's like twenty to thirty dollars more expensive.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, they and they probably put like a sticker on it because he was already having a good game.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_02: That's like he's up to 100 yards.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, Frank's went up another 10 bucks.
• 11:33
  unknown: Yeah.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: And and yeah, but sure enough, that guy had the last laugh because Willie Parker ends up being the third leading rusher.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, if you look at the all-time leading rushers in Steel World history, it's Franco Bettis, Willie Parker.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, well, uh boy, what a fun.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_02: And and you people say, oh, well, how'd they find him?
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_02: How did they not find him?
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_02: He played in three rivers stadium against the infamous Pitgate, like him and Jeff Reed.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I'm convinced like sometimes the Steelers like scout like when college teams come to come to play pit, it's like, hey, let's check this game out.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_02: And it's like, hey, wait a minute.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_02: Like he had a the out of like Willie Parker didn't have very many good games in college.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_02: That was one of them.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_02: I think he had 200 yards rushing, or at least 180 that game.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you and I went to that, you and I went to that game together.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: It was in the it was the 2000 season.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: It was the year that Pitt had to play at three or stadium because they had torn down Pitt Stadium, but they hadn't built Hindsfield yet.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: And it was like a weird time.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: It was like a Saturday like evening game.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: It was uh it was just an odd like time.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_02: Ronald Curry was the uh quarterback for North Carolina, yeah.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and and and then there's this guy, this small running back, is just tearing pit up, and he wasn't even like really their starter.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: He he was kind of like in and out of the lineup for them, and he gotten benched, and and then that's the last you ever hear of that guy until he ends up on the Steelers five years later.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: And and I remember even thinking, you know, okay, he had a good game, and like he was a fast Willie Parker.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: He was so fast and he could break these long runs.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: But like if you think about the prototype running back at the time, I mean that year Sean Alexander's the league MVP.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, who else was good?
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: Ricky Williams, Jamal Lewis.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like Yeah, the bigger, yeah.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: Little tiny running backs were not he wasn't tiny, but he was, you know, that's more of like your third down back, right?
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's a guy maybe you throw to on third down.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's not your your first and second down workhorse, and he ends up being really, really good.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_02: So uh on the back of that, the Steelers come back and they go to Houston.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_02: And I think still in my mind, I still had a little bit of that.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_02: I wanted to see like what Ben was, if Ben was for real or if he was just a one-season fluke.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_02: And I remember this is the game where I made up my mind.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_02: I said, Ben's for real.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_02: Ben's a real and you wonder, well, why in a blowout 27 to 7?
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_02: He I remember like, well, to summarize it, the Steelers defense played well.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_02: They had eight sacks on David Carr, not to be clues, with Derek Carr, and uh Willie Parker had another 100-yard rushing game and a touchdown.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_02: The Steelers win 27-7.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um, according to something uh fact I found on uh the internet, uh, the game took place on a hot and humid day.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_02: So the Texans left the roof of Reliance Stadium open in hopes that the Steelers would be hampered because they made them wear their black jersey.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_02: However, it it was uh backfire because uh the Steelers won big and all that made to do was Houston fans had to sit and sweat in the hot sun.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, since they couldn't run the air conditioning with the roof open.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and another great thing was uh Ben I remember threw a pass, I think it was the Cedric Wilson, like on his own 20, and he threw it to the Houston 20, but it was on the other side of the field.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_02: It was like a 70, 80 yard pass, if you think that's like an insane pass to let like throw it that long and like across the field, too.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_02: It was uh and he didn't even set his feet.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_02: It was an unbelievable throw.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_02: I just remember thinking that guy has like one of the best arms I've ever seen.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_02: So anywho, that's the basically their preseason right there.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_02: They go 2-0 because neither of those teams ended up being very good.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't look up what Houston or Tennessee's record was.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_02: I think Houston had like three or four wins, they weren't very good.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_02: But now a real team comes to town, and that would be the nemesis of all nemesis, the New England Patriots.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_02: And I don't yeah, it's kind of weird they played them in Pittsburgh two years in a row early in the season, but that's why that they beat them the year before on that infamous Halloween game.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_02: But um they give up the Steelers, but they played well in this game, and they take a lead in the half, but they give up 16 points in the second half.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_02: And uh Ben does rally the team and they tie the game with uh 20 with one minute and 27 left.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_02: But unfortunately, that's more than enough time for Tom Brady, and he drives the Patriots into fuel goal range where um Adam Vinateri kicks a 43-yard goal, 43-yard fuel goal with one second left to win the game for New England.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I remember Bill Cower like not icing Adam Vinateri.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_02: Like, he tried to kind of mess with his head, like, oh, I'm gonna ice you, I'm gonna ice you, oh, I'm not gonna ice you.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_02: And like it like, you know, it's Adam Venteri, probably like a regular season game, even in Heinz Field really isn't gonna like mess with his head that much, since he kicked like you know, field goals and like Super Bowls and such by that point of his career.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you're not gonna ice Adam Vinateri.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: I what I remember most about that game is that when the Steelers were were winning 10-7, uh, you know, and and again, this is New England, like you can't you can't make mistakes, right?
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: You have to like you can't do anything dumb against the Patriots team.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: And uh Antoine Randall caught a pass like inside the 20-yard line.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: It was gonna be a first down inside the 20, and they already had the lead.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: And he like inexplicably tries to lateral the ball back to Heinz Ward, who was behind him.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: So like he's he's getting tackled and he tries to lateral it.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: And Heinz Ward is not even looking for the ball because when do you lateral the ball?
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, unless unless it's like the last, you know, one of those like you know, no seconds on the clock, and you're just trying to pick it backwards.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that's what he did at the 15-yard line when they were in the lead, and it's a fumble, and New England recovers.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I just remember that was the turning point of the game.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and New England was really good still.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, they weren't as good maybe as the year before, but they were still pretty good.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, you just can't like you can't give like Tom Brady, you can't let them off the hook.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_02: You have to at least kick a field goal there at bare minimum.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: And and yeah, I mean they had won three of the last four Super Bowls.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, they're they're just and do you remember what else happened in that game, Steve?
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: That was the game where one of their players got hurt and delicate.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, that was the infamous get away from my player game.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because like that was always like you'll see it even in games today.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_02: Like, if like a guy, like, not if a guy's just kind of gimpy, but if like he's down on the field like out for the count, like just for pure safety's reason, you know, you know, what if somebody's not breathing or something?
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you have to give that person medical attention.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_02: And Belichick obviously, like now, knowing what I know about Belichick, it's pretty obvious that like if his trainers did that, he's obviously spying on your players to know the to know the injury.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, the way could Belichick said, get away from my player because he thought the Steelers were gonna spy on him.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_02: No, Bill, that's what you do.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_02: So and he would get away with it, because like was that the same year, like no, because they had traded Portis, but there was a couple seasons before that, like Mike Shanahan, like Portis got hurt in the first half, and he was like, Oh yeah, he'll be back, which was a total lie.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_02: And the league fined him a million dollars.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_02: And then Belichick would do stuff like that, and like, oh, nothing was done about it, he'd get away with it.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: The the the if you if you really want to get into conspiracy theories, there's people that have have said that like the guy that got hurt was wearing some kind of device or something, and that's why Belichick wanted everybody to get away from him because they didn't want to didn't want to get found out.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: This is before they they got caught with Spygate.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's uh probably a bit of a stretch, but I mean I think he just didn't want him, he he likes to hide injuries.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_02: He didn't want like he thought somehow like the well that's great, Bill.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_02: Are you gonna accept the liability when somebody dies?
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_02: That's great.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_02: You know, okay.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_02: Well now you're now you're liable, and I hope you get sued for like what if that guy can't walk or something or die, god forbid, like you know, as a serious injury, and you delayed medical help.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_02: I'm pretty sure you can get in trouble for that in the civil court somewhere.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_02: I mean I only got to convince like eight out of ten people.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_02: I don't gotta get a unanimous vote on that one.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, Bill.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_02: And you could be held personally liable, not just you wouldn't sue the New England Patriots, you could sue Bill Belichick personally.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: You get to see Belichick answering your question by or answering that statement being being like, casualties happen, Steve.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: More important that we win the game and they don't find out about our trainers or injury procedures.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, yeah, that was just classic Belichick.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so yeah, that was that game.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_02: Because I remember thinking, I forgot about that too.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_02: You mentioned it, but I remember thinking that when he said it, it's like, well, now you're gonna be personally liable for that person if you're gonna, you know, withhold medical care.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_02: So okay.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_02: And good luck with that, Bill.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_02: So be that as it may, the Steelers lose their first game.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_02: So they're what, two and one at this point, and they have to go to visit the San Diego.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_02: It's so weird, the San Diego Chargers, not the LA Chargers, the San Diego Chargers.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_02: Then the good old days kids, you know, before Spanos went crazy and decided that he really wanted to somehow share a stadium with the Rams, he used to have a team in San Diego, and they had pretty decent fans and a nice little following, but that wasn't enough for you know who owns that.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, Dean Spanos or whoever owns that team now.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_02: Or anywho, they go to they go to San Diego and they have a tough game because the Chargers are rebuilding and they're actually getting better.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um James uh James Harrison had a big interception.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_02: He jumped over a Charger player during the return, and it set up a classic Jerome Bettis like one yard touchdown, drum.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: Bettis was still kind of in that mode where, like, you know, they'd run the ball all the way down the field, and Bettis would get like his one-yard touchdown.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, San Diego had Drew Brees and Ladanian Tomlinson on offense.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_02: So uh yeah, that's pretty good.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_02: Uh uh he had 218 yards passing and a touchdown, but he did throw an interception.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_02: And they held Tomlinson to 62 yards on 18 carries.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_02: That's really tough to do because Tomlinson was really, really good, especially Drew Brees.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_02: I mean uh so the big thing that comes out of this game is Ben Rothelsberger hurt his knee, and it's kind of one of those plays that definitely it ended up becoming it becoming a penalty later on, but back then, because it was like wasn't Tom Brady, you know, it wasn't a penalty.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_02: So he he like kind of like glues Castillo, gets blocked, and he falls down, and he hits Ben's knee, and it's just kind of a fluke thing, it happens all the time.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_02: But Ben's able to kind of pull his knee out, and he doesn't totally destroy his knee.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_02: Like this would definitely come into play later in the season, and we'll probably end up coming this in this part three of our podcast series on this.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_02: But the Ben injury, it happens at the end of the game.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it leads like these type of injuries were never a problem because you know didn't it didn't happen to Tom Brady, so no one cares.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the game came down to a last minute drive, and uh you know, I guess Charlie Batch comes in and just hands off the ball three times and they kick a field goal and they end up pulling out a win where Ben got kind of nicked up.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_02: But um it was a good win against a pretty good Chargers team.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_02: I don't think the Chargers made the playoffs that year, but I think they had like seven or eight wins.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_02: So I think Breeze ended up getting hurt.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was a it was a Mon was that a Monday night football game?
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_02: Sunday or a Monday night.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, I can't remember which.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_02: But it was definitely one of those.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: But I remember it was like bittersweet because it like you weren't sure like I might it's been out for the season, like what happened.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: And unfortunately he wasn't, like you said.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_02: Well, he just kind of he he was he was I think he was able to move his leg just enough to where if it would have got caught in the turf, it could have been a lot more serious, and it would have been well, that would have been the end of the season.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_02: I don't see the backup quarterbacks leading us to, you know, a Super Bowl this year.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_02: No.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_02: So uh this is another curious game.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_02: Like the Jack they they play Jacksonville, and this is at home in Ninesville.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_02: The San Diego game was on the road, so you kind of understand, you know, it's a tough even though it's probably a lot of Steeler fans, it was, you know, you're still on the road.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_02: So the Jacksonville Jaguars come to town and Ben is hurt.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_02: So for some reason, Tommy Maddox fills in and he has a really bad game.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_02: Now, Jacksonville did go 12 and 4 this year and made the playoffs.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_02: So maybe like at this time, you still kind of thought Jacksonville wasn't that good, but maybe the loss in hindsight isn't as bad as it seems.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_02: Byron Leftwich was the quarterback for Jacksonville that year.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um, he actually Brian threw an interception like right before the half that kind of kept the game close.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_02: I can't remember who kept the Steelers in the lead, but Brian McFadden, who now is kind of moved into a starting role, like as a halfway through the season, they've kind of moved Townsend to more of a nickelback, like an extra corner, that third corner.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_02: He is a nice interception.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um and uh another thing is like why why doesn't why doesn't Charlie Batch play in this game?
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_02: Like I know I asked you about those, and we neither of us can figure out why Charlie Batch didn't play this game.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean Maddox Matt the only thing I can think of is Maddox was the start.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: I don't remember what the depth chart looks like.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: Maddox was the starter in 2004 and got hurt, and then Ben came in and usurped the job.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: So you would think that Maddox would still be the second stringer, but then why did Charlie Batch come in at the end of the Chargers game?
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: I I I don't know.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, they were both veterans, they were both capable of starting a game.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't know if Howard went with Maddox and figured that he was the best choice, and it came back to haunt him.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because uh Max has a really bad game.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_02: He throws three interceptions, and probably the most costly one is the one in overtime where the uh the defensive player for Jacksonville returns it for uh touchdown, and that was the end of the game in overtime.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_02: That was back in the good old days of overtime when you know sudden death for a score wins, you know.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, although that that would have ended the game even today, that would have ended the end of the game today.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no matter what.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and and do you remember they they had two chances in overtime?
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: They they they got the kickoff, they won the coin toss, they got the kickoff, and Quincy Morgan, who like never really did anything as a kick returner, um ran the kick all the way back to like the Jacksonville 25.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_02: I think he just is that where he just dropped the ball for no in a no reason.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, that was even worse, yeah.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Maddox drops back to pass and he fumbles, like nobody hit him, he just fumbled, and then like he he tried to pick it up instead of falling out, he tried to pick it up, and Jacksonville recovered.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: So they blew their chance, like they were gonna kick a game-winning field goal, and he fumbles that away, but then the defense holds Jacksonville, and now they're gonna have another chance.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I think when he threw that interception, I mean it was close to midfield, like they were not that far away from another field goal attempt.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, that was bad.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: And that was well, I he'll talk more about what happened to Tommy Maddox after that.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, uh, so that's the third interception.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_02: I forgot about that fumble.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's good call by you, but yeah, it was just it was a really bad performance, and I guess you know, people were really mad because they saw the season like you know, that's our what, our second loss.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_02: So they're people are against the team that I think people really thought we should have just mauled.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_02: But Jacksonville, like I said, I think the perception Jacksonville was thought that they weren't gonna be that good that year, but they ended up surprising some people and being good.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_02: So uh they turn on Tommy Maddox after this game.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_02: We talked about this in the Maddox podcast too, his season.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_02: Um but I think somebody threw garbage on his lawn and like like you know, a lot of just bad stuff, you know, is said about him by the fans and stuff.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, he had a bad game and it happens, and it was a really bad game, though.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_02: He did really cost them the game.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_02: And but he he seems like a really nice person and yeah, it was just kind of ashamed to see his like career kind of go down that route.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: So he he yeah, and he he was he was he could be really great when he was great, but then when like when he got into like interception mode, I mean and that's what happened.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_00: He just he was like a turnover machine, and then yeah, to throw a pick six, I mean, uh it was bad.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: That was that was one of the most like sickening ways to lose a football game.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: And they were they they were they were chasing Cincinnati.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: I mean you're gonna talk about that next, but they were they needed to win games.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: And like you said, that's a game they should have won and they they didn't.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so it it like it's and it's an AFC.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_02: See, this is what kind of comes out to bite the game, bite them too, is this game's in the AFC.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_02: Like if you don't lose games in the AFC, it hurts.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_02: Like if you lose the NFC games, it really doesn't hurt you.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, you don't ever want to lose, but if you're gonna lose, you want to lose to an NFC team because it doesn't hurt as much as the this game does.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so they they move on from that and they come back and they play in Cincinnati.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_02: So this is in Cincinnati early in the season.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um Willie Parker has a great game.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_02: He rushes for 131 yards and a TD.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_02: Ben only has 93 yards passing, but he has two touchdowns, and the defense really plays well.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um, they intercept Carson Palmer twice, but even with the win, the uh Bengals still have the lead in the division at 5-2, and the Steelers are at 4-2, because the Steelers, I guess, have had their bye week already.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_02: And you hold the Bengals to 13 points with I mean, the Bengals ended up having a really good offense that year.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: So it was it was so bizarre to be casing Cincinnati because they had stunk for so many years, and for them to be five and one going into that game was just unheard of.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: And then when we beat them and beat them soundly, I remember kind of thinking, huh, okay, they're frauds, this is a fluke, you know, now they're just gonna turn into the same old Bengals.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, you know, that's not what happened.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so uh that's a big win, actually, because it's in the division, it's in the conference, and you can't lose those games.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um so next up is the Ravens, and you know, Ravens are always a tough game, and the Steelers win 20 to 19.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's kind of like I don't know, like people want to say playing down, but it's the Ravens, and the Ravens games always seem like you rarely blow out the Ravens, like fight, you know, the Ravens rarely blow out the Steelers, and the Steelers, you know, it's like those games are very rarely blowouts, but the Ravens did not have Ed Reed or Ray Lewis playing that game.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the Ravens quarterback was uh Anthony Wright, who has an absolutely horrible game with one touchdown and two interceptions.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Ben did have two touchdowns and an interception with 177 yards.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it's probably the classic a win and is a win.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_02: The Steelers are now five and two.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_02: But like you said, the Bengals keep winning, so you know that kind of kind of puts them up at odds.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_02: Another big moment is I don't know if Ben's knee was still hurt from the Charger game or got hurt worse over the next two games, but his knee's in really bad shape, so they have him sit out the next two games.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_02: So the next game they go to Green Bay, where they don't win a terrible lot against Green Bay in particular and and Lambeau in general.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, but they win this one, uh, they beat the Steelers 20 to 10.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I guess uh Bill Cower by that point had seen enough of Connie Maddox, so he puts in Charlie Batch.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_02: And Charlie Batch starts this game, and the highlight really of the game is a fumble return by Troy Paulamalo.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_02: He hits like Brett Favre, and Brett Favre fumbles, and then he picks it up.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_02: And uh I forget there was a Chris Hope or one of the other defensive backs helps block down the field.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um, Charlie Batch has a whopping 65 yards passing.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the team is bailed out by a strong defensive performance.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it's a rare Deuce Staley sighting.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_02: It's much like Haley's comment, you know.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_02: It's every once in a lifetime you see Deuce you know go crazy.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_02: He rushes for 76 yards and a touchdown.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, another great thing about the offense that that day is they don't convert a third round, third down the entire game.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_02: They go 0 for 8.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_02: But somehow the Steelers win and they win by like two possessions, a much larger, you know, win margin than the Baltimore game.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm not quite sure.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_02: Like that's kind of one of those weird games where they just kind of just win, but it wasn't a convincing win.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_02: But I guess when you got your third string quarterback in, yeah, you'll take them any way you can get them.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and the pack I mean, the Packers still had by far if they were still a contending team.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_00: So that was that was a good win.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I think the Packers had a pretty bad year that year, but still, I mean, it's in Lambeau, and like I said, they don't for some reason the Steelers just don't seem to do well against like those traditional NFC teams.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know if it's like they all of a sudden like you know, they'll nobody's around from those years when the Steelers stunk.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_02: It's like flashbacks to like, you know, the 60s, like, oh my gosh, we gotta lose to the Giants and the Packers and the Eagles.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_02: You know.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_02: Anywho, uh the Browns come to Pittsburgh, and uh Charlie Batch starts this game, and uh, but he breaks his hand in the first half.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_02: But before breaking his hand, uh Batch does rush for a touchdown in the third quarter.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Varon Haynes and Jerome Bettis have rushing touchdowns.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_02: The Browns quarterback and Steeler, I Steeler hater Trent Dilfer uh has a really bad Trent Dilfer has a really bad game.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_02: He goes 17 for 34 for 253 yards with a touchdown and interception.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_02: So he's under 50% passing and only threw one touchdown.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_02: Uh really the play of this game, and uh it'll be one they they show later in the season, is uh there's it they run this really cool play where they hand the ball off to Antoine Rinduel and he throws a pass to Heinz Ward for a touchdown.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_02: What a great trick play.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_02: I don't do you think we'll see that one again, too, maybe sometime.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: I I I I yeah, I mean, right, spoilers that we all know, right?
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_00: But when I saw that play later, I I I'm not kidding.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_00: My first thought was that's the play from the Browns game.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_00: Because it was so like it was such a cool play, totally caught Cleveland off guard.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_00: And uh it's amazing that they not only ran it again later in the season, but ran it again and became one of the greatest plays in Steelers history.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and I think too, because like you gotta remember the Steelers' offense was very much a run first offense.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_02: This whole season it was you know, run and run and run, and then you throw in some Ben Rothelsberger, and he's either gonna go play action or like do the classic Ben.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna run around and throw pass for a big play.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_02: So that was kind of their offense that year.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_02: And the defense was still really good.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_02: They could stop, I mean, there was just still no running the ball against them.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_02: And then but passing, they gotten at least to like where they were respectable.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_02: You know, they weren't maybe the greatest pass defense in the league, but if you have that good of a run defense with like a solid pass defense, they can you know you can really do some damage.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_00: Hines Ward also becomes the Steelers all-time reception leader in this game.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_00: Nice.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's a that's a footnote there for that one.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_02: Good old Heinz.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_02: So um the next three games are kind of the low point of the season.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_02: And um I I would call it like the second act of a play.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_02: Like if you write a three-act play, normally the first one you introduce the characters, you get to know everybody.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_02: And then the second act is you put those characters in the worst possible situation that they could be in.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_02: So now you care about these people, now they're really bad.
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_02: And the third act is the conclusion, you know, the conclusion to that, you know, conflict that you've created.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, George Lucas described The Empire Strikes Back as his second act of his trilogy, and that explains the direction he took with this movie.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_02: That's kind of where I got that from was an interview with George Lucas.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_02: And that uh maybe the last time George Lucas has got much of anything right.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_02: You knew what he was doing with that story, I guess.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, and then and then, like you said, these three games are definitely comparable to the Empire Strikes Back, yes.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_00: Luke getting his hand cut off and everything else that happens in that movie, yeah.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_02: So so Ben's now frozen in Carbonite on his way to Job of the Hut.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_02: Ben was out for a couple games.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_02: He didn't come back for the for the goal.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_02: Well, he was out for the Green Bay game already, so I guess he's already been frozen in Carbonite.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_02: Charlie Patch broke his hand, so his he, you know, somebody cut off poor Charlie Patch's hand.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_02: I guess that's enough with the Star Wars uh analogies.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it gets weird.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_02: Like, this is just such a weird loss.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not even it's just like I just talk it up to like you're playing the Ravens and it's a rivalry game, and it's never gonna be easy.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_02: So this is Steelers 13, Ravens 16.
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Tommy Maddox has a rough day.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_02: He he goes 19 for 36 for 230 yards, but he throws a touchdown and interception.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and the interception is a weird one.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_02: Like the Ravens defense really sacks him six times.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_02: They can't pass protect, and the Ravens now are good enough to shut down the Steelers running game.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_02: So I think like that's what kind of happened to the Steelers offense in this game.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_02: It's like they're a running team, and then when they don't have like Ben to like kind of like make that X factor where okay, you stop the run and you kind of stop the traditional passing game.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_02: Now we've got this guy that runs around and is gonna break it down, it really becomes easier to stop the Steelers.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_02: And it really the game really is decided late in the overtime.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_02: Like they throw this pass and it's not a bad pass.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_02: It's like I think it was supposed to be like one of those like back shoulder, like where the like Heinz Ward's just supposed to stop and the ball's there.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_02: Well, the ball isn't thrown that badly, just Heinz Ward gets like falls to the ground or something, and like the ball hits his foot and he kicks the ball up into the air, and when he does that, the Ravens defensive back catches it.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's just kind of the totally flukiest thing.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Matt Stover kicks the game-winning field goal in overtime.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_02: It was definitely just a fluky loss, really wasn't Maddox's fault, but um unfortunately for them, it's uh it's what uh their third loss of the season, I think.
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_02: So they're they're kind of and it's a it's an like I said, it's a division loss, it's a conference loss.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_02: The Steelers are like starting to kind of get into dangerous territory here because you know everybody else is winning.
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_02: Like the and the Bengals keep winning, so they're they're definitely in trouble.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_02: I think Kyle Bowler was the was the was the quarterback for the Ravens.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, the Ravens weren't very good um at that time.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_00: They were kind of in between eras, so to speak, for that.
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_02: I think Billock was still the coach.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_00: Billock was still the coach, yeah.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_00: And and they had a really good year of the year after that.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_00: They went out and assigned Steve McNair, and they I think that was the year they might have went like 14-2.
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_00: But in 2005 they stunk, and like you said, that was such a fluky like Heinz were kicking the ball straight up into the air.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um such a fluky way to lose that game.
• 41:06
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, so so they go to uh to the Colts, and I think they uh they kind of like the Steelers kind of got into panic mode.
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_02: Like they're seeing the losses pile up, and they got two pretty tough games in a row coming up.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_02: So they I think they rushed Ben back.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_02: They're like, okay, we need Ben.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I don't know if Charlie Batch's hand was still broken, and maybe he wouldn't play, and they're like, we can't survive with Tommy Maddox at this point.
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_02: So this is that blowout game that uh we'll talk about later a little more.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, we'll talk about it now too.
• 41:40
  SPEAKER_02: The the Colts blow out the Steelers, but it's not as big of a blowout as I think everybody thought.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_02: At least that's what I thought at the time.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_02: Uh uh, what's the Ike Taylor gets caught looking in the blackfield, but it's not like it's not like one of those ones where you like he just like this guy just runs right past him and he can't keep up.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_02: He like bit on a play action fake.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_02: Edrin James had 124 24 yards rushing.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_02: Marvel Smith hurts his ankle, which is a big thing because they couldn't block Dwight Freeney, who was a really good pass rusher.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and Ben has a shaky game.
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, combined with him coming back from an injury, he throws one touchdown and two interceptions.
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_02: He only has 133 yards passing.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_02: But I just never thought that like the Steelers like couldn't play with the Colts.
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_02: I thought, oh my goodness, this team is so much engine.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, I don't think the Colts are that much better than the Steelers.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_02: I think they just jumped on them early.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_02: And if the Steelers can, you know, kind of hang with them that they got a chance to play their game, you know, they'd have a real chance of beating them.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_02: And I think I was in the minority on that one.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_02: I don't think a lot of people thought that after this game.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_00: You were in the minority.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and we'll talk more about that in the next episode.
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_00: The the Colts were so good that year.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_02: Well, they still I think they were what, like 10-0 or nine, I don't know.
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_00: They were 13-0 at one point.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_00: And they were just they were one of the they were gonna go down as one of the greatest teams in NFL history.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's how how dominant they were.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_00: And and you're right, it wasn't the score was not indicative of the score was 26-7, and it sounds like a blowout, but you know, the i the they were they, you know, they kind of could hang with them a little bit, but I I just thought, man, if they have to play them in the playoffs, like let's just hope there's an upset and they wouldn't have to play them in the playoffs.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_00: Although at this point, with losses stacking up, you're worried about making the playoffs.
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so now what are they seven and four?
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_02: And they're they're really falling behind.
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_02: It's another conference like loss, which is really hurts.
• 43:51
  SPEAKER_02: You know, and they've already lost what, one one game in the division.
• 43:56
  SPEAKER_02: So they're they're in trouble.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_02: They're going into a game against the Bengals.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_02: In Heinz Field, and it's like what what or like what do you gotta do?
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_02: You gotta beat the Bengals, and like you said, you thought the Bengals were kind of frauds, but in this game, the Bengals have found themselves.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_02: Now, the Bengals midway have kind of their own little weird year.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_02: It's like their defense really starts to fade halfway through the season, and that's what kind of happens to the Bengals.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_02: So this game becomes a shootout.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_02: And Carson Palmer has a great game.
• 44:31
  SPEAKER_02: He has 227 yards passing, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_02: Now, Ben has a pretty good game too, passing yardage-wise, and he does throw three touchdowns, but he also throws three interceptions.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_02: And this is a shootout game, and that's not really like like I said, that's not really the Steelers style.
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_02: They're a run-it, pound the ball, play defense kind of team.
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_02: And this was like, you know, pass the ball over the field, you know, 30, give up 38 points.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_02: That's not the most.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_02: I think was that the most they've given up all season?
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_02: If that wasn't the most, that had to be one of the highest totals they'd given up the whole year.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_02: So since he wins, and uh it's a devastating loss.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_02: And now they've lost, what, three games in a row?
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_02: Uh they're two games back of the Bengals.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_02: They have basically no chance of winning the division.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the Bengals celebrate like they won the Super Bowl.
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_02: If you watch like the highlights, like they're jumping around screaming who day, who day.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_02: And like you can even see like Marvin Lewis is like trying to calm them down.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_02: Like, like, dude, this is just it's a big win, but it's only the regular season.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_02: We might have, you know.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_02: But the Bengals are just, you know, their emotions are too out of control.
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_02: So much so that TJ Hushman's auto wipes his shoe off with the terrible towel, which apparently is a terrible idea because apparently anytime you do that, your quarterback gets his knee hurt.
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_02: They just showed a clip of that before the Steeler game when they lost, and the Joe Burrow got hurt the next week with a devastating knee injury.
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_02: So don't don't don't even show that clip.
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you're you're taking your chances, Cincinnati.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I mean they I get they were excited because they had beaten, yeah.
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_00: They'd never done anything, they had been losers for so long, but they were so and and again, we'll get more into this when we talk about the playoffs, but I just they they like thought they were like anointed.
• 46:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like you you okay, great, you won the division.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_00: Congrats.
• 46:35
  SPEAKER_00: You still have to go through a playoff field, you you haven't won anything yet.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I always felt like they were so arrogant to think that they had won something.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think they looked at it as they had arrived to where it was more of just this is a stepping stone along the way, you know.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_02: This is you know, it's a nice, you know, accomplishment, but it doesn't really that's not your ultimate goal.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_02: Is your ultimate goal to win one game at Heinz Field and you know, ooh, you know, I you know, big deal.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's emblematic of their franchise.
• 47:09
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it just is.
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_00: And you'd see you'd see more of garbage from them in years after this.
• 47:16
  SPEAKER_02: Well, even like I was watching interviews with some of like Carson Palmer and stuff, and like after he left, obviously years later, and he just said they just like they get too content with mediocrity sometimes.
• 47:27
  SPEAKER_02: Like they want to sit around and wait for uh wait for a draft pick to fall to them or you know, just not sign a free agent.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, they had a pretty good team this year and they just couldn't sustain it.
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, even later years with Dalton, they they have good seasons and good teens, but it's just like they never can quite like get the last couple pieces to get over the top, you know.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's bad ownership.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's they're they're really the closest equivalent to the pirates in in the NFL.
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_00: And and you really can't, it's not quite the pirates because you have a salary cap and you like have to compete.
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_00: You can't just like not even try like the pirates do.
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_00: But it's it's it's equivalent, it's it's just terrible ownership.
• 48:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's Paul Brown's son running the team, and it's it's just bad.
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_02: So, yeah, that's enough with this part of the Cincinnati Bengals podcast.
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_02: But uh uh it's a devastating loss because, like I said, they're two games back of the Bengals, they have no chance of winning division.
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um, in the conference, the tiebreakers are adding up because it's another conference loss.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_02: So um the loss basically puts the Steelers in the must-win now territory.
• 48:41
  SPEAKER_02: And they basically had to win out to guarantee a playoff start, which is what it's 7-5.
• 48:46
  SPEAKER_02: This is week 12, which is kind of early for that.
• 48:50
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, maybe you can get there week 15, week 14, but like even week 16, you know.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_02: But to be at week 12 with you gotta win now is kind of an odd position to be in.
• 49:02
  SPEAKER_02: But that's where they were, and that's how good the other team's record were.
• 49:06
  SPEAKER_02: Like I said, Jacksonville ended up with 12 wins.
• 49:09
  SPEAKER_02: I think Cincinnati ends up with 11 wins.
• 49:11
  SPEAKER_02: Like we said, you know, the Colts had 13 wins, Denver ends up with 13 wins.
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_02: Like it was a tough AFC field that year.
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_02: So I think Kansas City had 10 wins and missed the playoffs.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they did.
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Kansas City was the was right on the outside looking in.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_02: And I mean, 10 to win 10 games and not the playoffs is not usual.
• 49:32
  SPEAKER_02: It's not a yeah.
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it it it was it was that tight of a con.
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's some years where you could be nine and seven, even some years where you eight and eight and you make the playoffs, but that year you had to win at least ten games.
• 49:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, even have a chance.
• 49:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, even have a chance, yes.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 49:50
  SPEAKER_02: Well, kind of the recipient of that was the the Patriots, because they won ten games because their their division wasn't that good, and they were able to kind of sneak in.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_02: But so Cower, like I guess before that, and I don't know why you just wouldn't do this from the beginning, but I guess they still do this because I I hear the players talk about it.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_02: I guess they they kind of break the games down into four-game season, like sets or sections.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_02: And I've heard Tonji Oaken talk about this, like the NFL season really does kind of change every four weeks.
• 50:22
  SPEAKER_02: And if you think about that, it is true between the injuries and teams getting better or worse.
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_02: There really is something to that.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_02: So I guess they would do four games at a time.
• 50:31
  SPEAKER_02: Here's our next four opponents, here's our last four, you know, here's how we did, here's where we're going, you know.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_02: Kind of like set the direction of the season.
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_02: Well, Cower throws all that out the window because you know, they gotta there's no point in looking past anybody or ahead.
• 50:47
  SPEAKER_02: You know, every week is basically a playoff game from here to the Super Bowl, which what was that?
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_02: December?
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, they're in December and they're basically you know, you're in the playoffs in December already.
• 51:01
  SPEAKER_02: And I just remember like people like like even on the radio, like um Bubba.
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_02: He he was like, I think he was he has his own morning show now, but I think he was on B-94.
• 51:12
  SPEAKER_02: Like I think B-94 was still a regular music station.
• 51:17
  SPEAKER_02: And like I remember him even like giving like a pump up thing, like, no, no, everybody quit on this team, you know, we can still win it.
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_02: And yeah, and I was like, I was believing him, but I don't think a lot of people like at that point before that Bears game really thought like and the Bears were a good team at the NFC.
• 51:33
  SPEAKER_02: They were I think that they made the playoffs at like 11 or 12 wins.
• 51:38
  SPEAKER_02: So the Bears were a good team and they were coming into Heinz Field, and so they're now the Steelers are win now, one game at a time.
• 51:46
  SPEAKER_02: That's what they're gonna do.
• 51:48
  SPEAKER_02: They're just gonna focus on the Bears to heck with everybody else.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_02: So the Bears would make the playoffs, and uh this game really like kind of starts it sets the tone for the rest of the season.
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_02: The Steelers, and you credit Jerome Bettis, and you know, you know what a team leader was.
• 52:05
  SPEAKER_02: He you know, not only does he say, hey, we gotta win now, he kind of backed, he does, he backs it up.
• 52:11
  SPEAKER_02: He backs it up.
• 52:12
  SPEAKER_02: And the Bears had a good defense, but Bettis had 101 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and Willie Parker added in 68 yards rushing too.
• 52:21
  SPEAKER_02: And uh you got to kind of describe the scene.
• 52:23
  SPEAKER_02: It was a December game, and it was one of those snow games, like where this as the game went on, it just kept snowing more and more and more.
• 52:30
  SPEAKER_02: And I think by the end of the game, there was like two inches down on the field.
• 52:34
  SPEAKER_02: And that was that now it's like iconic now that you think of it, but like I remember when it happened getting pumped, like Bettis is like what they're like first and goal with like the five or something, and Bettis gets a run and he hits Brian Erlacher and like another safety or something, and he just literally runs over three Chicago Bears to score a touchdown, and it's such like a quintessential Jerome Bettis run.
• 52:57
  SPEAKER_02: And he's just he just really and Brian Erlacher was an all-pro, it was pretty good.
• 53:03
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, he was he was the defensive player of the year in the NFL that year.
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, wow.
• 53:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so yeah, it wasn't top liver exactly.
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, he was he was the best offensive player in football, and and Bettis was certainly not in his prime anymore.
• 53:17
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, Bettis ran him over.
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_00: That was that was iconic.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, like I said, I think it's like a veteran like talking the talk and walking the walk there.
• 53:28
  SPEAKER_02: And I mean, they just pounded the heck out of the Bears.
• 53:31
  SPEAKER_02: I think the Bears were done, and which is weird.
• 53:33
  SPEAKER_02: You would think like being in Chicago, you'd be used to playing in the snow, physical, but they just weren't ready for it.
• 53:39
  SPEAKER_02: Well, well, that was those were the days when the Steelers would like run the ball and play physical offense.
• 53:44
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, what a what a great thing.
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so next up is uh more NFC games is the Steelers play the Vikings.
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_02: And uh the Vikings were very mediocre that year.
• 53:58
  SPEAKER_02: Uh what had happened, they had the love boat scandal.
• 54:01
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
• 54:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah about that.
• 54:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, Dante Calpepper and a bunch of other guys like rented a boat, and I guess they went out and did some um well.
• 54:10
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, they're all consenting adults, so you can do whatever you want, I guess, but you're not supposed to do that in public.
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_02: Although it is a boat, but I mean that's still public.
• 54:19
  SPEAKER_02: It was a bad look for for the Vikings.
• 54:23
  SPEAKER_02: And Mike Tice, the coach.
• 54:24
  SPEAKER_02: It just looked like he had no control over his team.
• 54:27
  SPEAKER_02: And it happened during the season.
• 54:28
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know if that was that the I can't remember it was the off season.
• 54:31
  SPEAKER_02: I think it happened during the season.
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 54:33
  SPEAKER_02: But anyway, so Gallpepper was hurt, so they had to start Brad Johnson, who had actually won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay, like what, three or four years before that.
• 54:44
  SPEAKER_02: But he had been with the Vikings before Tampa Bay, so this was like his second or third.
• 54:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like in 1978, because he I mean he was so old at that point.
• 54:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 54:54
  SPEAKER_02: When uh yeah, when Fran Tarkington retired.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_00: Right, he was the backup.
• 54:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_02: We're exaggerating, obviously.
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_02: But and uh the Steelers dominate the Vikings, especially on defense.
• 55:08
  SPEAKER_02: And uh it was weird because it was like a home game for the Steelers.
• 55:11
  SPEAKER_02: Like there were a lot of Steelers fans that traveled to Minnesota, and uh it was weird.
• 55:17
  SPEAKER_02: The Methrodome was full of them.
• 55:19
  SPEAKER_02: Uh uh, you know, 18 points isn't a lot, but uh when your defense holds a team to three, that's pretty good.
• 55:25
  SPEAKER_02: And this was kind of like another one game at a time, you know, just play defense and run the ball mentality.
• 55:32
  SPEAKER_02: Which leads us to uh an AFC divisional opponent.
• 55:36
  SPEAKER_00: So so hang on, if I can just interject, because one other thing that happened that weekend when they played Minnesota, um, you said they had to win out, they also had to get help because you said had to lose to somebody, I think.
• 55:51
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right, because Kansas City finished with 10 wins.
• 55:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like you said, if they finished with 11 wins, they owned the tiebreaker because of what you've been saying about losing all these.
• 56:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 56:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so Kansas City's playing the Giants that weekend, and uh Tiki Barber just absolutely shreds their defense.
• 56:09
  SPEAKER_00: He has like 200, I don't know how many yards, 230 yards or something ridiculous.
• 56:13
  SPEAKER_00: There's there's one play where um like he runs towards the sidelines and they like think they have him tackled and they just kind of like let up and he just keeps running.
• 56:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I was watching this game because I had um I was in my fantasy playoffs, I had probably my best fantasy season ever, and the guy I was playing against had Tiki Barber, and I'm just getting so and so infuriated because they can't stop Tiki Barber, but it ends up being a huge game for the Steelers.
• 56:44
  SPEAKER_00: It cost me my fantasy season.
• 56:45
  SPEAKER_00: But it it if the if Kansas City doesn't lose a game, even with the Steelers winning four in a row at the season, they're still out.
• 56:54
  SPEAKER_00: So that was actually a big game.
• 56:56
  SPEAKER_02: I think that would have been the first time an 11-5 team missed the playoffs.
• 57:00
  SPEAKER_02: I don't think I'd have to look, I don't think an 11-5 team has ever lost the playoffs.
• 57:08
  SPEAKER_02: It's happened once if it's ever happened.
• 57:10
  SPEAKER_00: It it may have happened back when there was only two wildcards.
• 57:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think it was 88 or 89 when they added the third, or 90, I think, when they added the the third wild card.
• 57:20
  SPEAKER_02: I'm googling as we speak.
• 57:22
  SPEAKER_02: 11 and 5 team ever missed the hey, it comes up right on Google.
• 57:26
  SPEAKER_00: The Patriots missed.
• 57:27
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, there it is.
• 57:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 57:29
  SPEAKER_00: That was after that was after this.
• 57:31
  SPEAKER_02: And the 85 then the other was the 85 Denver Broncos, according to March 31st, 2020 article ESPN.
• 57:40
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, and that was and again, that was but there was only two wild cards.
• 57:44
  SPEAKER_00: So that made a little more sense.
• 57:45
  SPEAKER_00: But with three wild cards, usually 10 or 11 wins, usually 11 wins is automatic with three wild cards.
• 57:52
  SPEAKER_00: But here, if the Giants, if Tiki Barber doesn't run wild on the Keefs defense, the Steelers actually would have been locked out of the playoffs with 11 wins.
• 58:01
  SPEAKER_02: That's that's crazy.
• 58:02
  SPEAKER_02: Like, because I've never like I said 10 wins is pretty like even 10 wins, like I think Cleveland had a season where they had 10 wins too and missed the playoffs.
• 58:10
  SPEAKER_01: They did.
• 58:11
  SPEAKER_02: And I know I New England did, but it depend that was the Matt Castle.
• 58:14
  SPEAKER_02: I think it was the Matt Castle year.
• 58:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 58:17
  SPEAKER_02: But like you lose conference.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_02: If you it depends on who you lose, like if the Steelers reverse like the losses, like they win against Cincinnati and the other in Baltimore and lose to like the Vikings and the Bears, it's probably not as bad.
• 58:34
  SPEAKER_00: It would have been a whole different story at that point.
• 58:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 58:38
  SPEAKER_02: It really is who you lose to, especially division games are almost worth two games.
• 58:43
  SPEAKER_02: They really are.
• 58:46
  SPEAKER_02: Never mind like losing two division games, especially the team that's in the well, losing to anything, but especially the team that's on the top of the division.
• 58:55
  SPEAKER_02: But be that as it may, I guess the Browns might find that out this year.
• 58:59
  SPEAKER_02: But um the Steelers play the Browns.
• 59:03
  SPEAKER_02: Speaking of the Browns, they played them the next week.
• 59:06
  SPEAKER_02: And the Browns were the Browns, and they stunk, and they were starting Charlie Frye, which I don't even know where Charlie Frye is or what fast food restaurant he's managing these days.
• 59:17
  SPEAKER_00: Was he even a real person?
• 59:18
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, like, do we know that for sure?
• 59:20
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 59:22
  SPEAKER_02: So the Steelers win this one in a squeaker 41 to nothing.
• 59:27
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, there really isn't a highlight.
• 59:29
  SPEAKER_02: I remember Willie Parker, like, I stopped watching after Willie Parker had like an 80-yard run.
• 59:33
  SPEAKER_02: I remember really like it was just like they handed off, and like it was a good run by Willie Parker, but it was like, okay, Cleveland's a complete joke.
• 59:41
  SPEAKER_02: And the highlight of the game, of course, is James Harrison body slamming a Cleveland fan who had ran onto the field.
• 59:48
  SPEAKER_02: So I guess in blow-off time, like Coward took out Porter and put in Harrison, which there's a this team was so good, Tim.
• 59:56
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my goodness.
• 59:58
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, oh, I'm sorry, we'll put in our backup, James Harrison, who's playing special teams because we can't get him on the field.
• 1:00:07
  SPEAKER_02: And like, we'll play our third string running back, Willie Parker, because we have Jerome Bess.
• 1:00:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 1:00:14
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, and Varon Haynes is a really like well for see Varon Haynes was so different because he could catch the ball, and Bettison Parker really weren't good at that.
• 1:00:23
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 1:00:24
  SPEAKER_02: So he really did play a different role in that offense.
• 1:00:28
  SPEAKER_02: And I it's just funny because like the Cleveland guy had the like, didn't he get banned for did he only did he get banned for life or I can't remember if he got banned for life or just one year.
• 1:00:39
  SPEAKER_02: And he he Yeah, that that guy uh he had to apologize and like do some community service and still be a Cleveland Browns fan after all that.
• 1:00:50
  SPEAKER_02: So my condolences to you.
• 1:00:52
  SPEAKER_02: And he got body body slammed by James Harrison.
• 1:00:55
  SPEAKER_00: So he should have apologized for even being of the game.
• 1:01:01
  SPEAKER_02: He's the sucker, he paid money to get in the door.
• 1:01:05
  SPEAKER_00: That game was on Christmas Eve, too.
• 1:01:07
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, man, why would you go watch that Cleveland team was so bad.
• 1:01:12
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, no wonder he had a lot of.
• 1:01:14
  unknown: things.
• 1:01:17
  SPEAKER_02: No, he didn't have a shirt on, I don't think.
• 1:01:20
  SPEAKER_02: Like Christmas Eve in Cleveland.
• 1:01:22
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh, give me how cold it is.
• 1:01:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 1:01:26
  SPEAKER_02: Uh but anywho, the Steelers win a game and they're what now 10 and 5.
• 1:01:33
  SPEAKER_02: So the Lions come to town, and this was a game, like everybody was like, I think at this point everybody's kind of believing that the Steelers are gonna make the playoffs.
• 1:01:41
  SPEAKER_02: All they have to do is beat the Lions.
• 1:01:43
  SPEAKER_02: So now, being me being the contrarian, I start to kind of get worried about the Lions.
• 1:01:48
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe it's just because I've been a pit fan for too long.
• 1:01:51
  SPEAKER_02: This is the game that you lose because the Lions kind of stuck that year.
• 1:01:55
  SPEAKER_02: I think they end up winning like four or five games, but they really weren't that good.
• 1:02:00
  SPEAKER_02: So and if the Steelers would have lost this game, they would have not made the playoffs because once again they would have had the same record as Kansas City.
• 1:02:09
  SPEAKER_02: And Kansas City would have made the playoffs.
• 1:02:12
  SPEAKER_02: And I just the biggest thing I remember about this game was the first half made me so nervous.
• 1:02:18
  SPEAKER_02: Like the Steelers came off flat and they let Detroit take an early lead.
• 1:02:24
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and Bett overall had a bad game.
• 1:02:26
  SPEAKER_02: He only threw for 135 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions.
• 1:02:31
  SPEAKER_02: But once again, like Bettis and Parker kind of carried the offense.
• 1:02:34
  SPEAKER_02: Parker had 135 rushing, Bettis had 150 had 41 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
• 1:02:42
  SPEAKER_02: It was a nice send-off for Bettis.
• 1:02:44
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, actually, the quarterback was uh for Detroit was uh what's his name?
• 1:02:48
  SPEAKER_00: Joey Joey Harrington.
• 1:02:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 1:02:50
  SPEAKER_02: And he had a pretty good game that first.
• 1:02:52
  SPEAKER_00: He did.
• 1:02:53
  SPEAKER_00: He did.
• 1:02:54
  SPEAKER_00: He he at one point he converted like a third and twenty.
• 1:02:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um and like you said, it was like, come on, like if this is gonna be such a great story, they were gonna come back from seven and five and squeak out a playoff berth, and like the lines were up fourteen to seven.
• 1:03:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't think anyone would ever remember that part of this.
• 1:03:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like everybody just remembers, oh, we won our last four games and it was great.
• 1:03:15
  SPEAKER_00: But they were down fourteen to seven.
• 1:03:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:03:19
  SPEAKER_02: I remember being nervous in this game.
• 1:03:20
  SPEAKER_02: Like, how can you lose?
• 1:03:22
  SPEAKER_02: And like to even give up like 21 points to the freaking lions.
• 1:03:26
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, come on, they weren't that good.
• 1:03:28
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, like 21 points, that's the most they gave up since the Cleveland game, isn't it?
• 1:03:33
  SPEAKER_02: Well, think about since the Cincinnati game, since the Bengals game, that that's the most points they've given up.
• 1:03:38
  SPEAKER_00: I mean and and you talked about the the the previous two games were Minnesota and Cleveland.
• 1:03:43
  SPEAKER_00: The defense gave up three points combined in both of those games, and now you're giving them 14 points in the first half to to Joey Harrington.
• 1:03:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, the first quarter.
• 1:03:53
  SPEAKER_00: That was the first quarter, they gave up 14 points right off the bat.
• 1:03:57
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that was that was frightening.
• 1:03:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and I I it's obviously they were overlooking the Lions, and right then, you know, they just kind of remembered they were the Steelers, and the Lions remembered that they were run by Matt Millen.
• 1:04:10
  SPEAKER_02: Funny story.
• 1:04:11
  SPEAKER_02: I read a quote by uh Charlie Batch just not too long ago, and he he he thanked Matt Millen for cutting him in like 2002 or three or whenever he Matt Millen cut him because like he got to come to Pittsburgh and obviously, you know, wouldn't have a have a have a much different career ending than than he would have in Detroit.
• 1:04:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 1:04:33
  SPEAKER_00: I would be happy about that too.
• 1:04:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 1:04:36
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the fans chant one more year late in the game.
• 1:04:39
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's a really drome pettis mentioned in his postgame.
• 1:04:42
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it's a really nice send-off for Jerome.
• 1:04:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's a great, great win.
• 1:04:48
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, even though it made you know you and me, but you and me are like we're more probably more nervous than most other fans.
• 1:04:55
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I think just suffered so much at the hands of pit football that we're you know, we know that no lead is ever safe.
• 1:05:03
  SPEAKER_00: And it really wasn't.
• 1:05:04
  SPEAKER_00: It was only again, it was only the beginning of the game.
• 1:05:06
  SPEAKER_00: The Steelers did get it under control.
• 1:05:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I like I want to say by like the third quarter it was like over.
• 1:05:11
  SPEAKER_00: I think Randwell had like a big kickoff, like punt return for when it was when it was 14 to 7, he returned a punt, and that kind of snapped the Steelers out of it, and then they they rolled after that.
• 1:05:21
  SPEAKER_00: So it was only like a momentary nervousness.
• 1:05:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um glitch in the matrix, yeah.
• 1:05:26
  SPEAKER_02: Glitch in the matrix.
• 1:05:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:05:30
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so uh the uh the the the regular season is now ended, it is over, and the Steelers have somehow miraculously with an 11 5 record, which other years would get you like a second and third seed, and maybe even a you know a first round by they have clinched a sixth seed in the playoffs.
• 1:05:52
  SPEAKER_02: Uh they've had an up and down year, uh, but they've ended the season on the up note.
• 1:05:57
  SPEAKER_02: They won four games.
• 1:06:00
  SPEAKER_02: To end the season.
• 1:06:01
  SPEAKER_02: William Parker had a pretty great season.
• 1:06:03
  SPEAKER_02: He had 1,200 yards rushing.
• 1:06:07
  SPEAKER_02: I don't think he had a four touchdown.
• 1:06:08
  SPEAKER_02: I think he had more than four touchdowns.
• 1:06:10
  SPEAKER_02: I don't have that written down.
• 1:06:11
  SPEAKER_02: His yards per attempt were 4.7, which is pretty mediocre to decent.
• 1:06:17
  SPEAKER_02: Like I I have Sean Alexander, who was, like you said, he like had way more, he had like 1,800 yards and way better stats than Willie Parker had, but he had a little better year.
• 1:06:28
  SPEAKER_02: But Barry Sanders averaged 6.1 and Jim Brown 6.4 games.
• 1:06:34
  SPEAKER_02: So like you know, that's like the top end, you know, if you're looking at running back stat.
• 1:06:41
  SPEAKER_02: But those are two guys are gonna be Hall of Fame and Willie Parker.
• 1:06:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, Willie Parker will never make the Hall of Fame, but he'll make the Steelers probably won, like their little Hall of Honor, right?
• 1:06:52
  SPEAKER_02: I mean I can't imagine you know Willie Parker wouldn't make their Hall of Honor.
• 1:06:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, again, he's top three all-time in yardage, so yeah, I I mean I mean if they have John Henry Johnson and you know, some of those other guy, you know, other guys.
• 1:07:09
  SPEAKER_02: But um Bettis for the Bettis for the year had a 368 yards and he had nine touchdowns.
• 1:07:17
  SPEAKER_02: Uh he his yards per attempt were only 3.3, but I mean he's coming in a lot of short yardage and like scoring like those one-yard touchdowns, so that's really not gonna help your yards per attempt.
• 1:07:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um Ben has a pretty decent year for I think his there is no sophomore slump, I would say.
• 1:07:35
  SPEAKER_02: He has 2,385 yards passing, he has 17 touchdowns, but he throws nine interceptions.
• 1:07:41
  SPEAKER_02: I think that three interception game against Cincinnati was kind of you know not his worst game.
• 1:07:47
  SPEAKER_02: You know, and he had another game where he had two interceptions, no touchdowns.
• 1:07:51
  SPEAKER_02: So not not that great of a year for Ben, but pretty solid, I think.
• 1:07:56
  SPEAKER_02: I wouldn't call it a sophomore slump by and and it's hard to compare these stats to the days because even back then, I mean it back then, I mean it's only it's 2005, but like you said, teams were different the way they they scored offense, you know.
• 1:08:12
  SPEAKER_02: There was a much more plotting running game.
• 1:08:15
  SPEAKER_02: It wasn't like the game breakers, like you know, it seems to be more common.
• 1:08:20
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Heath Miller, our top draft pick, ends up having a great rookie season.
• 1:08:25
  SPEAKER_02: He has 39 catches, 459 yards, he has six touchdowns receiving, and he really becomes the go-to guy.
• 1:08:33
  SPEAKER_02: Well, Ben looks for when he's in trouble.
• 1:08:35
  SPEAKER_02: And uh that really would continue on for the rest of Heath Miller's career.
• 1:08:39
  SPEAKER_02: Like whenever Ben's in trouble, he looked he looked for a number 83.
• 1:08:43
  SPEAKER_02: And uh probably one of the things like uh Ben misses most about that.
• 1:08:49
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Brian McFadden, another draft pick, has a big interception in the Jacksonville game, and he becomes a really solid player.
• 1:08:56
  SPEAKER_02: He becomes a starter corner halfway through the season.
• 1:09:00
  SPEAKER_02: And it like I said, that McFadden thing really has a nice trickle-down effect because now Deshay Townsend, who is still a decent corner, can now play like your third slot receiver, and that really gave, I think gave the Steelers an advantage.
• 1:09:17
  SPEAKER_02: And I that's just and then you put Paul Malo in the mix and you got hope, and you know, Ike Taylor is playing, you know, it really good.
• 1:09:25
  SPEAKER_02: You can really it really helps the Steelers match up against the offenses of, I would say, like the Bengals and the Colts.
• 1:09:32
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it really really gives them a nice option.
• 1:09:36
  SPEAKER_02: So the first two draft picks contributing in a big way in the rookie season, that's you know, a little bit unusual, but it's you know a welcome thing.
• 1:09:45
  SPEAKER_02: Uh nationally, nobody's really paying attention to the Steelers.
• 1:09:49
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, well, they they snuck in, you know, a sick.
• 1:09:51
  SPEAKER_02: I guess in general, a sixth seed in the playoffs really doesn't get any hype, you know, unless they're from like New York or LA or something, or Dallas, maybe.
• 1:10:01
  SPEAKER_02: But um, like I said before, I think the Steelers, like I mean, I thought where the Steelers were on a roll, and I thought they had a good chance of uh making some noise in the playoffs.
• 1:10:11
  SPEAKER_02: So um that's where we're gonna break it off with the regular season.
• 1:10:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um the next uh podcast in this series will be on only the Colts game.
• 1:10:21
  SPEAKER_02: It's such a pivotal game in Steeler history, and we'll focus in on the Colts, and then uh we'll come back and we'll finish up the uh rest of the playoff wins uh in a separate podcast.
• 1:10:34
  SPEAKER_02: But um I hope you enjoyed that.
• 1:10:36
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I know I did.
• 1:10:37
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, this is what I like I said, one of my favorite Steeler seasons of all times.
• 1:10:40
  SPEAKER_02: I can't wait to talk about the Colts and the playoffs games.
• 1:10:44
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, this is like some iconic moments in Steeler history, at least for me, coming up.
• 1:10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Steve, I agree.
• 1:10:51
  SPEAKER_00: This is this is a fun one to reminisce about.
• 1:10:54
  SPEAKER_00: And and like I think I was feeling the same thing at you as you at the end of the regular season.
• 1:10:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I it was so like it was so cool that we came back and made the playoffs when it was like after you lose three games in a row, you usually don't come back from that.
• 1:11:09
  SPEAKER_00: Three games in a row, like in November.
• 1:11:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that's pretty, pretty like nail on the coffin typically.
• 1:11:16
  SPEAKER_00: And they came back and made the playoffs, and then I was kind of like, yeah, it's like, well, on a roll, who knows, anything could happen.
• 1:11:23
  SPEAKER_00: But but like you said, that's sixth seed.
• 1:11:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, no team had ever made it to the Super Bowl as a sixth seed because you had to go, you had to play three road games, and if the seedings, if the seedings held, you had to play three division winners.
• 1:11:38
  SPEAKER_00: And and so that was just gonna be a tough road.
• 1:11:40
  SPEAKER_00: But then I I also remember thinking, well, look how many times we had home field advantage and we lost AFC Championship.
• 1:11:48
  SPEAKER_02: And that was another thing I felt too.
• 1:11:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's like oh, I'd love to do that to somebody else, you know, once here.
• 1:11:53
  unknown: Yeah.
• 1:11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Well, because Calvary lost four AFC championship games at home at that point.
• 1:11:59
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's like, well, maybe maybe we need to be on the road.
• 1:12:02
  SPEAKER_00: Who knows?
• 1:12:03
  SPEAKER_00: I I just I was optimistic.
• 1:12:05
  SPEAKER_00: I still don't know that I was gonna like I still don't know that I thought they could match up with the Colts.
• 1:12:11
  SPEAKER_00: But uh definitely I was I I was feeling optimistic and it was it was turning into a a a pretty good season.
• 1:12:17
  SPEAKER_00: And and one last thought I had, you know, you mentioned the 11-5 record.
• 1:12:21
  SPEAKER_00: Isn't it funny that 10 years earlier when they made the Super Bowl, that's the same record they had that year.
• 1:12:28
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I didn't yeah, I didn't.
• 1:12:29
  SPEAKER_02: When they were and and weren't they were they the they were the number two seed that year.
• 1:12:34
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 1:12:35
  SPEAKER_00: They had a bye week and they and then because Kansas City got upset, they ended up hosting the AFC championship game against the Colts.
• 1:12:41
  SPEAKER_02: And and of course, you know, the It's amazing one year, like I said, you're a second seed with a bye week, and you end up hosting a championship game, and then this year you barely make the playoffs.
• 1:12:52
  SPEAKER_02: Like you literally had to have Kansas City lose to make the playoffs.
• 1:12:56
  SPEAKER_00: You'd have yeah, again, Tiki Barber's like the unsung hero that season.
• 1:13:00
  SPEAKER_02: I uh the Steelers MVP should have been Tiki Barber.
• 1:13:04
  SPEAKER_00: I and again, I probably remember that game.
• 1:13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I probably remember that game more than most people because it was just a crushing upset in my fantasy league.
• 1:13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but but yeah, I mean that's where they were.
• 1:13:15
  SPEAKER_00: Like they isn't yeah, it's just funny, right?
• 1:13:18
  SPEAKER_00: 11 and 5, one that 10 years earlier gets you a home AFC championship game.
• 1:13:22
  SPEAKER_00: 11 and 5, 10 years later, you're you're barely in, you're on the road the whole time.
• 1:13:27
  SPEAKER_00: So funny how that shakes out.
• 1:13:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 1:13:30
  SPEAKER_02: So definitely uh stay ho stay tuned for the rest of the trilogy.
• 1:13:34
  SPEAKER_02: I think we're all gonna enjoy the uh next two podcasts, probably a little more than well, no, why not?
• 1:13:40
  SPEAKER_02: It's our win.
• 1:13:40
  SPEAKER_02: Let's enjoy it.
• 1:13:42
  SPEAKER_02: So all right, Tim.
• 1:13:45
  SPEAKER_02: Uh thanks for tuning in on uh stay tuned for the uh other two parts of our series.
• 1:13:50
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks a lot.
• 1:13:51
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks, everybody.