Jerome Bettis, Ben Roethlisberger discuss state of Steelers in reunion of 2005 Super Bowl team

Staring at a crossroad of their season, the Pittsburgh Steelers are in a situation similar to what transpired 20 years ago when the team faced a string of must-win games late in the year.

The 2005 Steelers were 7-5 before reeling off four consecutive wins to finish the season and four more in the playoffs to bring the franchise its fifth Lombardi Trophy.

Jerome Bettis, the heart and soul of that Super Bowl XL team, said the players on the 2005 team possessed a selfless quality that brought together a winning formula. He sees that intangible trait evident in championship teams and said it’s not too late for these Steelers to prove they belong among the NFL’s elite.

“It’s about a belief in themselves,” Bettis said Sunday before the Steelers’ game against the Indianapolis Colts. “This team has a belief that it can beat anybody. Right now, they are questioning themselves. Are we good enough? Can we do it? Can we get it done? First, you have to answer that question, and each man individually has to do that. It’s not a collective. Each guy has to say, ‘I’m good enough.’

“Once you do that, it doesn’t matter who gets the credit. It’s ‘Hey, let’s go out and win this football game.’ Where they are in the process, they haven’t gotten there yet. I think it will take a big win for them to realize they are good enough to compete with anybody in the NFL.”

The Steelers brought a two-game losing streak and 4-3 record into their game Sunday against the 7-1 Colts, the highest-scoring team in the NFL. Despite their recent misfortunes, the Steelers still occupied first place in the AFC North.

About three dozen players from the 2005 team attended the reunion and were introduced to the Acrisure Stadium crowd at halftime. It culminated a weekend that included a dinner Saturday and a photo opportunity Sunday morning. Former coaches, including legendary defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, attended the game. Former coach Bill Cowher was in town for the dinner before returning to New York for his CBS broadcasting responsibilities.

“It was a special team,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “There were a lot of big-name guys that were stars. There are gold jackets walking around this room. Nobody was bigger than the team. We all believed in each other. That’s what made us who we were.”

That Super Bowl win in Detroit marked the end of Bettis’ historic career. Roethlisberger earned a second Super Bowl ring three years later, but, despite a wealth of offensive talent surrounding him, he didn’t win a playoff game after the 2016 season. The Steelers still are searching for that elusive playoff win nearly a decade later.

Roethlisberger sees a different mindset in the NFL than the one that existed two decades ago when he was a young quarterback trying to help the Steelers return to Super Bowl glory.

“You get superstars and free agency and people leaving. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out where guys are playing nowadays,” he said. “Not that there wasn’t free agency back then, but there was loyalty to your team, wanting to be here and be with your brothers. I get people want to make money and make it while you can. I’m not opposed to that. …

“There is something special about this (2005) team that they believed in each other and wanted it to be about the guy to your right and left and not necessarily about yourself.”

The low point 20 years ago came when the Steelers lost 38-31 at home to the Cincinnati Bengals to open December. It was the third loss in a row for a franchise that a year earlier played in the AFC championship game. The Steelers regrouped with a 21-9 home win against the Chicago Bears, with Bettis famously running over star linebacker Brian Urlacher in the snow in the second half.

“That set (the tone) for the rest of that run in terms of what type of team we were going to be,” Bettis said. “Up until that point, we had been underachieving. That was the game where it all clicked, and we knew we had a really good football team.”

The Steelers beat Minnesota and Cleveland by a combined 59-3 and then defeated Detroit, 35-21, to reach the postseason as the No. 6 seed. Three consecutive playoff wins on the road set up the Super Bowl win against Seattle.

“It’s a matter of how you go out there every day and approach the game,” Bettis said. “If you approach the game like, ‘Hey, we’re going to win a way,’ you’re going to give yourself a chance every time you step out onto the field. That should be the attitude these guys are taking.”

Roethlisberger hopes the current Steelers were paying attention to the reunion celebration that took place over the weekend.

“You’ve got big-name guys here who want to be here and wear the logo and be a part of it, but loyalty is different these days,” he said. “It’s fine. It’s something special to gather groups like this together. We got to see some of the guys at walkthrough (Saturday). Hopefully, for them to look over and see this group and how close we are and see how special it is to win a Lombardi and bring it to this town and this team, it’s a pretty cool thing, and they’ll want to strive for it.”