2005 Pittsburgh Steelers season
| 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers season | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Head coach | Bill Cowher |
| General manager | Kevin Colbert |
| Owner | The Rooney Family |
| Home field | Heinz Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–5 |
| Division place | 2nd in AFC North |
| Playoff finish |
Won Wild Card Playoffs (Bengals) 31–17 Won Divisional Playoffs (Colts) 21–18 Won AFC Championship (Broncos) 34–17 Won Super Bowl XL (Seahawks) 21–10 |
| Pro Bowlers |
5
|
| AP All-Pros |
3
|
| Team MVP | Casey Hampton Hines Ward |
| Team ROY | Heath Miller |
The 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers season began with the team trying to improve on their 15–1 record from 2004 in which they lost to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game at Heinz Field. They were looking to become the first team in NFL history to complete a 16-game season undefeated. The Steelers, with the sixth and final seed to the playoffs, became just the second team ever (and the first in 20 years) to win three road games on their way to the Super Bowl. They defeated the NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL to secure their league-tying fifth Super Bowl title. In doing so, they also became the first team since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to win a Super Bowl without playing a single home playoff game.
The Steelers finished the 2005 season tied for first place in the AFC North with the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals would win the division over them by having a better division record than them. The Steelers would clinch a playoff spot following a 41-0 drubbing of the Browns in Cleveland. The Steelers would then beat the Detroit Lions 35-21 to end the season and force a tiebreaker with the Bengals in the AFC North. But by then, the Steelers hopes for a division title came too late, as the Bengals had already clinched the division earlier in the season in week 15. The Steelers entered the playoffs as the number 6 seed in the AFC playoffs, and went to Cincinnati for the first playoff game against the Bengals. The Bengals were heavily favored, as star quarterback Carson Palmer had seemingly the best season of his career, leading the league in touchdown passes (32), while also throwing the least interceptions during the season (12). The Bengals would lose him for the game after he tore his ACL on the first play from scrimmage for the Bengals on their first possession. Jon Kitna would replace him, but Palmer's absence would ultimately doom the Bengals as Kitna threw 2 interceptions that were proven costly. The Steelers would trail for most of the game. However, they would come back to stun the Bengals and advance to Indianapolis for the Divisional Game against the 1 seeded Colts. Like the Bengals, the Colts were heavily favored to win. But the Steelers went into the dome and stunned them 21-18. The game is most notable for a tackle made on Colts defender Nick Harper by Ben Roethlisberger after Roethlisberger lost a fumble on a bad snap. Had the tackle not been made, Harper would've most likely taken it the distance and would've most likely sealed the win for the Colts with a touchdown. The play was dubbed "The Tackle". The Colts would miss a field goal with 19 seconds remaining and the Steelers took over and ran the clock out. They advanced to the AFC Championship game against the Broncos, and once again the Steelers were considered huge underdogs. The Steelers would win the game in command 34-17 to advance to Super Bowl XL against the heavily favored Seahawks in a game in which many controversial penalties were called by referee Bill Leavy that resulted in most of them wiping out Seattle scoring plays. The penalties made Super Bowl XL what many call the most controversial Super Bowl ever to be played. The Steelers wound up winning the game 21-10 to clinch their 5th Super Bowl championship, tying the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys for most in NFL history at the time. They would later break this record 3 years later when they won Super Bowl XLIII to win their 6th Super Bowl. Skeptics call the 2005 Steelers a "miracle team" or the luckiest team in NFL history by pulling out 4 straight upsets in games in which they were not favored to win. The 2005 Steelers would be the last team to win the Super Bowl without playing a home playoff game until the Giants did it in 2007.
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