The Pittsburgh Steelers have been going through a ton of changes since their season ended back in early January. Following the recently completed 2026 NFL Draft, former legendary quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hosted an episode of his Fooftbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast. A former teammate of Roethlisberger's, Max Starks, joined the show as well on Tuesday night. Starks, a former NFL offensive tackle, recalled a game in their 2005 Super Bowl season while on the show. He spoke of a game during that 2005 season in which he went against Detroit Lions Pro Bowl defensive tackle Shaun Rogers and their interaction during it.
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Former Steelers offensive tackle Max Starks lines up against the Oakland Raiders.
Starks played 10 seasons in the NFL, nine of which came with the Black and Gold, before playing his final year with the St. Louis Rams. Starks went up against Rogers in the final game of the NFL regular season in 2005, which was only Starks' second year in the NFL. Starks discussed how he seemingly was upsetting Rogers and how he was ready to get out of the game healthy and head to Texas for the offseason.
"So Shaun [Rogers] was still playing for Detroit then, right," Starks discussed. "Shaun just looks at me and he's like, 'Listen, bro. If you hit me one more time in my head,' he's like, 'I'm going to lose my religion out here.' He's like, 'I'm not playing for anything, Max. You're going to win this game. Stop hitting my hip. I just want to go fishing and get back to Texas.'"
Rogers went on to earn a Pro Bowl selection in that 2005 season, while Pittsburgh won Super Bowl XL in what was also Roethlisberger's second season in the NFL with Starks. In Rogers' 12 NFL seasons, he earned a Pro Bowl selection three different years. He was also a Second Team All-Pro. Starks telling this story revealed how critical that game was for his development in the NFL. While it may have been a meaningless game to Rogers, Starks was in just his second year going against a stud defensive lineman and did not want to give in.
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Former Steelers lineman Max Starks celebrating in the rain at Heinz Field.
Pittsburgh went on to win that game on January 1st, 2006 by a final score of 35-21. The win secured an 11-5 record for the team in the 2005 season, with a 5-3 home record. The Black and Gold then went on the road for all three of their playoff games ahead of the Super Bowl, taking care of business and earning a trip to Detroit to play in the game.
Steelers' Newest Draft Picks Can Learn From Starks' Story
The franchise just recently completed their 2026 NFL Draft class, as the event wrapped up in the Steel City. Among those picks were first-round selection Max Iheanachor and third-round pick Gennings Dunker to help solidify the offensive line for the 2026 season. While this game in 2005 that Starks mentioned may have been seemingly meaningless given Rogers' comments to him, Starks was in just his second year and appeared to enjoy the challenge in Week 17 that year.
The Steelers entered those playoffs that year as the sixth seed, making an incredible run by rattling off those three road wins to get to Ford Field in Detroit. Some of that can be credited to the mindset Starks displayed by this interaction with Rogers in that game. The Lions finished just 5-11 that year, but Starks did not take that matchup for granted, and rather a chance to face a challenge head on.
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Steelers offensive lineman Gennings Dunker during his time in Iowa.
Dunker and Iheanachor can take some notes from this story, as they enter the NFL for their rookie seasons in 2026. The Black and Gold are sitting in a long playoff drought, and new head coach Mike McCarthy looks to end that for them as soon as possible. Should that happen, some of their newest offensive linemen could learn from this storytelling Starks provided, as he was a staple of their offensive line for years.
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