Santonio Holmes will forever be remembered in Pittsburgh Steelers history for what he did in Super Bowl 43. It is unfortunate that Holmes couldn’t finish his career with the Steelers, though. In 2010, Holmes was traded to the New York Jets, not even two full years after his Super Bowl heroics. That season, he got an opportunity to play his former team and show them why they were wrong to trade him. As Holmes explains, he wanted to light the Steelers up every time he played them.
“Playing against guys I played with every day in practice, I went to lunch with, dinner with, slept in the hotel room with these guys, in the same training room, locker room with these guys,” Holmes said recently on The Christian Kuntz Podcast. “I wanted to kick their ass. I wanted to score on them 20 times.
“I literally wanted to score every play we got the football. I was in [Mark] Sanchez’s head all game like, ‘Throw me the football. You gotta let me score against these guys.'”
It doesn’t sound like Holmes was mad at the Steelers, but of course he wanted to give his old team his best. He competed against that defense every day in practice. That competitive spirt emerged every time he lined up against the Steelers.
Holmes did have ample opportunities to get his revenge during his first season with the Jets. They played the Steelers in both the regular season and the playoffs. In the regular season game, Holmes put up 6 catches for 40 yards. That’s not an insane day, but the Jets did win that game, which had to help Holmes feel good.
However, it was the Steelers who eventually got the last laugh. In the AFC Championship game that year, the Steelers beat the Jets to go to Super Bowl 45. Holmes did once again play well, though. He only had 2 catches for 61 yards, but did score a long touchdown.
Holmes never saw the same success with the Jets that he had with the Steelers, but he always brought his best against the Steelers. He played against them again in 2012, where he recorded 3 catches for 28 yards and a touchdown. The Jets lost again, but Holmes made sure he got to score against his former team.
Seeing Holmes play in a different jersey felt odd, but it doesn’t sound like he holds any hard feelings. He even retired as a member of the Steelers. A person’s journey can often take turns that no one expects, but it’s important to still look back fondly on the good times. Holmes’ time in Pittsburgh didn’t end how anyone wanted it to, but that Super Bowl will make him a legend forever.
