In 2005, the Pittsburgh Steelers made a miraculous run to the Super Bowl. Sitting at 7-5, they managed to win their final four games of the regular season, securing a playoff berth. They continued their winning streak in the postseason, capturing the championship. However, things could’ve easily been over for them in the Wild Card Round against the Cincinnati Bengals if Carson Palmer, their star quarterback, hadn’t gone down with an injury. At least, that’s what former Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh believes.
“We were at home. We should have won that game,” Houshmandzadeh said recently on Nightcap. “We were winning that game. That was my Super Bowl because, had that not happened to Carson [Palmer], when they introduced me, they would be saying Super Bowl champ T.J. Houshmandzadeh, because nobody was beating us that year.”
The 2005 Bengals were a good team, but they weren’t as unbeatable as Houshmandzadeh makes it seem. They went 11-5 that year, having the same record as the Steelers. Their five losses came against the Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills, and Kansas City Chiefs.
Therefore, it might be a little presumptuous of Houshmandzadeh to say that the Bengals would’ve won the Super Bowl had Palmer not gotten hurt. Their losses to the Bills and Chiefs came in the final two weeks of the season, showing that the Bengals were already on the decline entering the postseason.
Despite Palmer’s injury, which occurred after he only completed one pass, the Bengals were still in control of that game against the Steelers. Going into halftime, they were up 17-14. Then, they proceeded to get shut out in the second half.
Perhaps part of the reason why the Bengals blew that game in heartbreaking fashion is because of Houshmandzadeh. Earlier that season, he disrespected the Terrible Towel, which some superstitious fans believe could have cursed the Bengals.
During that same podcast, James Harrison confirmed that Bill Cowher made sure to show the video of Houshmandzadeh disrespecting the Terrible Towel to the Steelers before that game.
“I really couldn’t recall exactly what [Cowher] said in the meeting, but it was pointed out and the video was shown for sure,” Harrison said. “It was shown.”
That likely gave the Steelers a little extra motivation to defeat the Bengals. They split the series that year, so it wasn’t like Cincinnati was on an entirely different level compared to them.
Even if the Bengals had managed to win that game, there’s no guarantee that they would’ve won the Super Bowl. They would’ve faced the Colts in the next round of the playoffs, and they were a juggernaut that year. The Bengals had already lost to the Colts that season, too.
It’s fun to look back and wonder if history would’ve been different if Palmer hadn’t been hurt. However, nothing can change the past. The Steelers won that game, and the Bengals are still searching for a Super Bowl. With Joe Burrow under center, maybe they’ll have finally accomplish that goal in the near future.
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