When the Steelers lost Super Bowl XLV to the Packers, it just seemed like a missed opportunity for Pittsburgh. However, in hindsight, it might have been much more.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said on Ryan Clark’s The Pivot podcast that the loss could have cost many Steelers players a chance at the Hall of Fame.
“It’s more than a game, man. We’re talking about lifetime scholarships for people. We’re talking about gold jackets, we’re talking about a lot.”
Specifically, Tomlin believes Hines Ward was the player most impacted by the game.
“No question, it did. We win that game, Hines is in the Hall of Fame right now,” he said.
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Ward spent fourteen seasons in the NFL, all with the Steelers, winning two Super Bowls in that span. He currently sits 27th all-time in receiving yards with 12,083, which is more than a handful of Hall of Famers.
According to Tomlin, what made that loss so devastating was that the team was on the verge of being a dynasty. The Steelers had a chance to win their third title in six seasons, with many of the same players being on the team throughout.
“That was the third one this collective had been to in about five years,” he said. “So we was on that type of tip, that legacy, that football immortality.”
