Winning Super Bowl XL is one of the greatest achievements in Pittsburgh Steelers history. One of the most unlikely ones too.
It marked their fifth Super Bowl win, and they became first No. 6 seed to win a world championship. They faced an uphill battle to winning it all that year, but they rallied after falling to 7-5 in early December. According to former Steelers offensive lineman Barrett Brooks, Joey Porter inspired everyone to keep fighting after a lopsided loss to the Colts in late November.
“We get our tails whacked by Indianapolis,” Barrett said recently on The Coach JB Show with Big Smitty. “Indy is like, they’re just tossing it around. They’re supposed to be eventual Super Bowl champions. We played them on a Monday night. They sent us home with our tail between our legs. We’re on the flight back, and Joey Porter said, ‘You know what? Everybody get up.’
“This is like two in the morning on the plane. He said, ‘Go straight to the stadium. We gotta have a meeting. Go straight to the stadium.’ All of us got off the plane and went to the practice facility. And he said, ‘Look, I don’t care who says what. We’re winning the Super Bowl for my boy [Jerome Bettis]. This is his last year, he’s retiring. If you don’t believe so, get out.’ From that point on, we had the game plan.”
That wasn’t the only passionate speech that Porter gave that year, but it came at the right time. The 2005 season was Bettis’ final one in the NFL, and the Steelers almost didn’t get him that elusive Super Bowl ring. Their loss to the Colts in Week 12 was rough. Facing the cream of the crop in the AFC, the Steelers got crushed, 26-7. The playoffs appeared to be slipping from their grasp.
Porter’s speech might have inspired the team, but it took some time for the effects of it to kick in. Following their loss to the Colts, the Steelers faced the visiting Cincinnati Bengals. Unfortunately, they lost that game as well, 38-31. While Porter rallied the team, they still had some wrinkles to iron out.
Sitting at 7-5, it was do or die time, but the Steelers didn’t blink. They won their final four games, solidifying their spot in the postseason.
While they were forced to go on the road for every game in the playoffs, the Steelers were committed to winning a championship. They even got their revenge on the Colts, upsetting them in the second round of the playoffs. Porter’s speech seemed to do the trick.
Along with Bettis, Porter was the heart and soul of that Steelers team. While he was fantastic on the field, his attitude and swagger were just as important. Without his fiery disposition, the Steelers might not have won the Super Bowl that year.
