Jerome Bettis was one of the lucky ones. He got to go out on his terms, and the way he wanted, too – winning a Super Bowl in his hometown of Detroit.
But the Hall of Fame running back knew some disappointment along the way, too; losses he never forgets. Both of them to the New England Patriots, both of them in the AFC championship game, both of them at home at Heinz Field.
No matter what he and the Steelers accomplished in 2005 — winning their final eight games, becoming the first No. 6 seed in history to go on the road and win the Super Bowl — it doesn’t erase the memory of those losses to the Patriots.