The Pittsburgh Steelers have continued to uphold its reputation as one of the most successful franchises in league history since the dawn of the 21st century. Pittsburgh holds the second-best record of 235-132-3, just behind the New England Patriots, and has Super Bowl victories from 2005 and 2008 to go with an appearance in the title game in 2010. The team also made the conference finals in 2001, 2004, and 2016, while only having a losing season in 2003 that led to being in a position to draft Ben Roethlisberger.
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Pittsburgh Steelers' Hines Ward (#86) runs past Cincinnati Bengals' Nate Clements (#22) in Cincinnati, OH.
It's impossible to tell the story of Pittsburgh's success over the last 23 years without Roethlisberger, especially since he's been the starting quarterback for 247 of the 370 games the team has played since 2000. Still, former NFL quarterback and NBC analyst Chris Simms tried to narrow down the most influential non-quarterbacks to the team's run of success.
Simms and co-host Ahmed Fareed started the debate of which players should make it by immediately penning the names of Troy Polamalu and Antonio Brown. These are slam dunk selections, with both having spent a period as debatably the best player at their respective positions in the league. Polamalu won the AP Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) Award in 2010, posting seven interceptions. He'd finished fifth in voting for the same award two years earlier and delivered an all-time play in the 2008 AFC Championship that sealed the victory for Pittsburgh.
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Former Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown had a stretch as one of the most dominant playmakers in the game.
Brown held a legitimate claim to the title as the game's best receiver from 2014 until his final year in Pittsburgh in 2018. During that span, he led the league in receptions twice, receiving yards twice, and receiving scores once. He finished second in AP Offensive Player of the Year voting twice and third another time. He was a First Team All-Pro in each of these years except 2018. The sixth-round pick from Central Michigan was also electric as a punt returner scoring four touchdowns and making his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2011 at the specialist position.
The pair decided Hines Ward was another no-brainer on the all-time 21st-century team. Simms highlighted his key role in the 2005 Super Bowl victory over the Seattle Seahawks, where he took home MVP honors. His 43-yard game-winning catch from Antwaan Randle El immortalized him in Steelers lore, but his hard-nosed, physical style, which Simms called an embodiment of the Steelers, made him a necessary pick.
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Steelers' Alan Faneca was a dominant force on the line for a long time.
Turning to the offensive line, Simms and Fareed agreed that Alan Faneca belongs firmly on the list. Simms said for his money, Faneca should've been a first-ballot Hall of Famer and has tons of respect for the six-time First Team All-Pro.
While debating other names to put on the list, Fareed pointed out that Maurkice Pouncey was worthy of a selection. He had five seasons with an All-Pro selection and made the Pro Bowl in every season he played 15 games or more. Simms agreed that as a guy, who in the first seven years of his career, was firmly in the discussion as the best center in football, he deserved a spot.
The two agreed that James Harrison deserved to be on the list as well as one of the three team members to capture the DPOY since 2000. His ability as the number one sack artist in football during two separate stints in Pittsburgh, combined with his 99-yard interception in the Super Bowl, made him impossible to leave off the list.
The pair debated whether there's a case to include the Steelers' most recent DPOY TJ Watt over Harrison. Watt is almost certain to pass Harrison on the franchise's all-time sack list even though he's only played in 87 games compared to Harrison's 193. The two, who will go down in history as some of the best at the position, have identical accolades each being named to five Pro Bowls, and four All-Pro teams. Initially, Simms seemed comfortable with having Harrison over Watt and said if someone was doing this exercise again in a few years that Watt would be a guarantee. After some pushing by Fareed, Simms relented into putting both on.
The two had been trying to narrow down the lists to five names per team, but already at seven, they decided there was one more name that you can't tell the story of the Steelers in the 21st century without. Cameron Heyward may have taken some time before he became the dominant force who is also on track to pass Harrison's sack record.
Other Steelers In The Discussion For The 21st Century Non-Quarterback Team
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Jerome Bettis put up two Pro Bowl seasons in the early 2000s.
Jerome Bettis had a pair of 1000-yard seasons for Pittsburgh to open up the 2000s, but his case for the all-time 21st-century team is hurt by having his two best seasons in 1996 and 1997. Fareed and Simms also knocked him for having played for another team, but he only spent three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams franchise (one on St. Louis Rams) in the mid-1990s.
The other running back for consideration was Le'Veon Bell. There's an argument that like Brown, Bell was firmly in the conversation for best in football at his position for a period of time in the mid-2010s and deserves a spot. What hurts his case though is his time missed with injury and suspension, along with the way his exit from Pittsburgh unfolded. Fareed and Simms also dinged Bell for playing for other teams.
On defense, the two that missed the cut were Casey Hampton and Joey Porter Sr. Hampton, who Simms called one of the most dominant nose tackles of the era, certainly deserves a mention for his high caliber of play that might not always show up on the stat sheet. He was never named to an All-Pro team, but had five Pro Bowl nods in his 12-year career that included two Super Bowl victories and a third appearance, before his retirement at the end of 2012.
Porter made three All-Pro team appearances during his time in Pittsburgh. Due to his overlap with Harrison and the presence of another dominant outside linebacker in Watt on the list, Porter's fate as an honorable mention was sealed.
It's always tough to narrow done a list like this when a team has had the kind of success that Pittsburgh has had this century. Minkah Fitzpatrick could push his way for a spot on this list in another couple of years' time. Good on Simms and Fareed for giving the Steelers eight players when it certainly warranted it.
What did you think of these selections? Did they get it right? Are there players they forgot who you think deserve more consideration? Comment below!
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