Jerome Bettis used Alan Faneca's blocking to run into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Faneca is now following Bettis' lead for once.
Faneca is one of 15 finalists for the Hall, joining Brett Favre and Terrell Owens as players making the cut in their initial year of eligibility. The class of 2016 will be unveiled Feb. 6, before the Super Bowl.
Faneca, a nine-time Pro Bowl guard, was in attendance for the 2015 Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which featured his former teammate and tailback Bettis.
Not many players embody the Pittsburgh Steelers' culture like Faneca, who validated his first-round billing by making the Steelers' All-Time Team in 2007 and the NFL's All-Decade team for the 2000s.