Following the Pittsburgh Steelers' 15-1 season of 2004, many around the NFL expected Bill Cowher's team to slip just a little bit in 2005. No team had ever posted back-to-back one-loss seasons, after all.

And the Steelers did have major struggles in matching their '04 regular season exploits, nearly falling from postseason grace altogether before finding their footing and ultimately surpassing the work of last year's unit en route to the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance in a decade.

The campaign began easily enough, with back-to-back blowout wins over the Titans (34-7) at Heinz Field and the Texans (27-7) on the road. The Steelers were looking every bit like their former dominant selves at that point, with new running back starter Willie Parker rolling up back-to-back 100-yard outings in his first significant work as a pro.

But much concern crept into Pittsburgh camp in Week 3. In a much-anticipated rematch of the 2004 AFC Championship against the New England Patriots, the Steelers disappointed a fan base desperate for revenge by falling, 23-20, at home. The defeat was the first regular season loss as a starter by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who had won each of his first 15 such outings. Roethlisberger was sacked four times in the game, was thoroughly outplayed by his counterpart, Tom Brady (372 passing yards), and got little help from a running game that was held to just 79 yards on the afternoon.

The 2-1 Steelers bounced back in Week 5, going to San Diego for a difficult Monday night matchup and emerging as 24-22 winners. Kicker Jeff Reed won the game with a 40-yard field goal with six seconds to play, but the big story deriving from that contest was a hyperextended left knee to Roethlisberger sustained late in the game on a hit from Chargers end Luis Castillo.

The injury would keep Roethlisberger on the shelf for the following Sunday's home tilt with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and boy, did the Steel City miss him. Backup Tommy Maddox played poorly in "Big Ben's" place, completing just 11- of-28 passes for 154 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. Maddox's overtime pick went for the game-winning 41-yard touchdown for Jaguar cornerback Rashean Mathis.

Steeler nation breathed a major sigh of relief when Roethlisberger returned the following week, leading Pittsburgh to a 27-13 win in Cincinnati and narrowing the Bengals' advantage in the AFC North to a half-game. But the concerns were raised yet again the following Monday, as the Steelers needed more late heroics from Reed to beat struggling Baltimore (20-19) and Roethlisberger took a shot to his right knee that would force him to undergo arthrosocopic surgery later that week.

With Roethlisberger out of the lineup and Maddox already having proven his inability to move the offense, the Steelers turned to third-string QB Charlie Batch, who managed the attack sufficiently in a 20-10 win at Green Bay in Week 9. Batch broke his right hand in the first half of following Sunday's victory over the Browns (34-21), however, forcing Maddox to protect the Steelers' sizeable lead. Maddox was the starter again when the Steelers lost in overtime (16-13) at Baltimore in Week 11, dropping Cowher and company to 7-3 with a difficult four-game stretch against the Colts, Bears, Bengals, and Vikings on the horizon.

Roethlisberger returned for the Monday night showdown against the Colts, but after looking rusty in that 26-7 loss and failing to out-duel the Bengals' Carson Palmer in a subsequent 38-31 home defeat, Pittsburgh's playoff hopes were officially on life support. The Steelers' margin for error was basically nil down the stretch, and Pittsburgh played its final month like a team well aware of that fact.

First, the Steelers dominated the Bears (21-9) at Heinz Field, snapping Chicago's eight-game winning streak and placing Pittsburgh firmly into the Wild Card discussion. The Black and Gold halted another winning streak one week later, going to Minnesota and ending the Vikings' run at six games in a 18-3 pounding. After humiliating arch rival Cleveland (41-0) in Week 16, the Steelers needed only to take down lowly Detroit to establish a place in the postseason bracket. After some initial hiccups that led to a 14-7 Detroit lead, the Steelers ultimately flexed their muscles to prevail, 35-21, and earn the AFC's sixth and final seed.

Pittsburgh's playoff challenge would be to become just the second team in NFL history to win three consecutive road games to reach the Super Bowl, joining the 1985 New England Patriots.

The third installment of the Pittsburgh/Cincinnati series was on tap first, with the Steelers trying to ruin Cincinnati's first playoff appearance since 1990. And ruin it they did, with defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen ending Palmer's season with a hit to the knee on the Bengals' first play from scrimmage. After that, it was just a matter of time. Cincinnati built a 10-0 lead behind backup Jon Kitna, but Pittsburgh basically dominated the contest thereafter in a 31-17 victory.

The oddsmakers gave the Steelers little chance to win another road playoff contest, as Pittsburgh was a double-digit underdog to Super Bowl favorite Indianapolis in an AFC Divisional Playoff at the RCA Dome the following Sunday. But Cowher's crew shocked the world, building a 21-3 lead and holding Colts QB Peyton Manning firmly in check en route to a 21-18 victory. With the game seemingly in hand for the Steelers in the closing minutes, veteran running back Jerome Bettis lost a fumble to hand the football back to Indianapolis, but Mike Vanderjagt's errant 46-yard field goal try let Bettis off the hook and allowed Pittsburgh to escape with a surprise win.

The team of destiny completed their road mission in Denver, building a big lead on the Broncos early and keeping them at arm's length the rest of the way in a 34-17 victory. The AFC Championship win was just the second in six tries for Cowher, who placed Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1995 season.

The Steelers, who won four Super Bowl titles in the 1970s, are attempting to become the third NFL franchise to win five crowns, joining the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers in that category.