It can be a rocky road for a Super Bowl champion when it comes time to defend that title. The Pittsburgh Steelers have been through it before, missing the playoffs the year after winning Super Bowl XL in Detroit in 2006.
Thursday night they get to apply any lessons learned from that hangover season when they host the Tennessee Titans at home in the NFL opener.
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The Super Bowl champ has faced a mixed bag this decade. Three teams — including the Steelers — have missed the playoffs the year after winning a title. Five others have made the postseason. Four of those teams lost in the conference semifinals and the other one — the 2004 Patriots — made a return Super Bowl appearance after winning the year before.
“You’re the red-letter game for everybody,” said NBC analyst Tony Dungy, who ran the gauntlet with the Colts after his 2006 team won the Super Bowl. “You’re going to play that schedule where you’re in a lot of prime time games. Pittsburgh will be ready for it. But it definitely takes its toll on you.”
Dungy’s Indianapolis team handled that pressure fine during the regular season, posting a 13-3 record. But the Colts faltered in the playoffs, losing a home game to the Chargers in the AFC semifinals. That, of course, is the toughest part of being a Super Bowl champion — anything less than a return trip is a failure.
The Steelers return 19 of their 22 starters from a year ago and every member of the coaching staff. The schedule doesn’t seem that rough, either. There are the two AFC North games against Baltimore. Pittsburgh also plays NFC contenders Chicago, Minnesota and Green Bay and AFC West favorite San Diego. Tennessee should be good again and the season finale at Miami is intriguing.
But the Steelers return from a bye in Week 8 to play the Broncos, Bengals, Chiefs, Raiders and Browns in five of their next six games. Early on, they have a four-week stretch that includes games against the Bengals, Browns and Lions. That seems like a road back to the Super Bowl paved with wins — at least during the regular season.
