The 2005 Steelers are one of NFL history’s greatest stories, being the first No. 6 seed to run the gauntlet and win a Super Bowl, capturing a championship for Jerome Bettis in his hometown of Detroit. The most memorable game from that playoff run is probably the nail-biter against the Colts where Bettis almost ruined the ending to his own story by fumbling on the goal line, but it wasn’t the Steelers’ final test before the Super Bowl. That honor would go to the Denver Broncos, led by quarterback Jake Plummer, who recently spoke about his feelings on their loss to the Steelers.
Plummer may not be a name fans are as familiar with as someone like Peyton Manning, but he still was a successful quarterback, playing from 1997 to 2006 for the Broncos and Cardinals, earning one Pro Bowl nod in 2005. He and the Broncos were a force that year, actually knocking off the Patriots in the playoffs so the Steelers wouldn’t have to. Even though it was Plummer’s best chance at a Super Bowl, he doesn’t seem too beat up about it when discussing the loss on the podcast, All The Smoke.
“We had a team. There’s already a few Hall of Famers off that team that I was playing with. It was tough, it was really tough to lose, at home, to the Steelers when I was right there. AFC Championship week, when it happens, there’s always this little feeling, there’s that little teeny bit of like, ‘Did I leave too soon? Should I have tried to go one more, two more, to try to get it?’ Then I’m like, no, I’m good. I got to there, and that’s pretty sweet for a kid from Boise, Idaho that was 170 pounds when I got to ASU.”
Most players are crushed when they come so close to potentially winning a Super Bowl, with Shaun Alexander still pretty upset about that particular championship. However, Plummer seems to be at peace with his loss, appreciating the fact that he even made it that close in the first place. Given his description of himself going into college, it makes sense. It’s not very often that a quarterback weighing that little becomes a Pro Bowl player.
The Steelers lived out a fairy tale in 2005, and Plummer will remain etched in history as a part of that story. Unfortunately, it’s going to be as the final losing team at the end of the Steelers’ long playoff road trip. Where he could be bitter though, he’s instead decided to look at the entire experience as a positive one, getting to live out his dream. Not winning a Super Bowl sucks, but getting to play in the NFL for 10 years is still a great accomplishment.
