COLIN COWHERD DELIVERS INTRIGUING TAKE ON STEELERS' SUPER BOWL XL VICTORY
The Pittsburgh Steelers come up a lot when discussing Super Bowls. After all, they are tied for the most Super Bowl victories in the NFL and are also responsible for many crucial Super Bowl moments. Pittsburgh's last win in the big game was 15 years ago when they beat the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, while their last appearance was 13 years ago in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Pittsburgh has won six Super Bowls, and appeared in eight. They won their first Super Bowl since the 1970s during the 2005 season when they took down the number one seed in the NFC, the Seattle Seahawks. This came in Super Bowl XL, which would end up being Jerome Bettis' last game. In a recent episode of the podcast Games With Names, Colin Cowherd spoke about the game, and questioned the officiating heavily.
"You know, [Mike] Holmgren got to a Super Bowl. [Matt] Hasselbeck. Yep, they couldn't win the Super Bowl. Actually, it's the only Super Bowl where I thought officiating was really poor. I thought Pittsburgh got a couple of really fortunate calls. Pittsburgh was good, though."
Mike Holmgren was the head coach of the Seahawks during the 2005 season, and Matt Hasselbeck led them at quarterback. The topic of this game came up because of Cowherd's Seahawks fandom. He grew up and went to college in Washington, so he is obviously a little biased when it comes to discussing anything involving the Seahawks.
Cowherd isn't the first person to speak out against the officiating in Super Bowl XL, Hasselbeck himself did so within the last year as well. Seattle's star running back at the time, Shaun Alexander, also spoke out about the game - saying Pittsburgh would lose it 99 out of 100 times.
It's hard to rewatch Super Bowl XL and not admit that some questionable calls went the Steelers' way. However, that's part of the game and it always has been. The main questionable call in the game is Ben Roethlisberger's one-yard touchdown run in the first half. This gave the Steelers a 7-3 lead, and it came on a third down. Had he been ruled down, like he probably should have, Pittsburgh may have gone for it and gotten stuffed. It was a critical turning point in the game.
Cowherd at least gave the Steelers some credit, calling them a good team. They obviously were, as they ended the 2005 season with a ring on their finger. The Steelers won their last four games of the regular season, which secured them as the sixth seed in the playoffs. They then went through a gauntlet in the postseason to even get to the Super Bowl. They may not have been the better team all season long, but they got hot at the right time.
Steelers' 2000s Teams Are Often Overshadowed
Pittsburgh proved any doubter after Super Bowl XL wrong by returning to the Super Bowl two more times within the next five seasons. They won the Super Bowl in both the 2005 and 2008 seasons, and won the AFC during the 2010 season. The Steelers' run during the late 2000s is often overshadowed by the dynasty of the New England Patriots, who won six Super Bowls from 2001 through 2018.
The Steelers were a mainstay when it came to the playoffs. It was a different time, it wasn't like the team currently who gets bounced in the first round whenever they see the postseason. Winning was the expectation, and Pittsburgh was always a threat to make it to the Super Bowl and win. Pittsburgh managed to appear in more and win more Super Bowls than the Peyton Manning led Indianapolis Colts, which is extremely impressive considering they are in the same conference. The Colts, Steelers, and Patriots ran the AFC throughout the 2000s.
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