The 2006 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 74th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League (NFL). It was the 7th season under the leadership of general manager Kevin Colbert and the 15th and last under head coach Bill Cowher, as he retired on January 5, 2007. The team failed to improve on their 11–5 record from 2005 and also failed to defend their Super Bowl XL championship, Instead, they finished the season with an 8–8 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003. In the first half of the season, the Steelers record was 2–6. However, the team dramatically improved during the second half of the season, flipping their record from the first eight games and going 6–2 in their last eight.
This was the first season since 1995 that Jerome Bettis was not on the opening day roster, as he retired after Super Bowl 40.
Personnel
Staff
Notable additions include Santonio Holmes, Ryan Clark and Willie Colon
Offseason
On March 3, 2006, backup quarterback Tommy Maddox and cornerback Willie Williams (a member of the Super Bowl XL Steelers team) were released for salary cap reasons. Later on, the team lost wide receiver Antwaan Randle El, defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen, and free safety Chris Hope to free agency, but picked up safety Ryan Clark from the Washington Redskins.
The team used the 2006 NFL draft to fill in the remaining holes on the depth chart. In the first round, Pittsburgh traded up to select Ohio St. wide receiver Santonio Holmes. Then, they used their next pick (acquired from the Vikings) on Syracuse Safety Anthony Smith. The rest of their picks included Florida St. wide receiver Willie Reid, Hofstra guard Willie Colon, Miami University (Fl.) defensive end Orien Harris, Bowling Green quarterback Omar Jacobs, Purdue tight end Charles Davis, California center Marvin Philip, and Virginia Tech running back Cedric Humes.
On June 2, members of the Super Bowl Champion Steelers were invited to the White House to meet President George W. Bush in a celebration to honor the Steelers' successful 2005 season.
Ben Roethlisberger's motorcycle accident
On June 12, Ben Roethlisberger suffered a near-death accident while riding his motorcycle in downtown Pittsburgh. He was not at fault, and an out-of-state vehicle failed to yield and hit him. Ben reportedly was moments away from dying due to a cut artery, however medics stopped the bleeding in time.
This accident set Ben back for training camp and the preseason. However, he managed to play in part of the preseason games.
Shortly after the preseason, however, Ben required an emergency appendectomy, causing him to miss the season opener against the Miami Dolphins. Between both of these events, Ben reportedly lost 15 pounds and was not up to form with the team due to lack of practice time and time spent in camp. His health early in the year is pointed to as the cause for a rough season. He experienced continued problems against Atlanta in week 7. After throwing the ball, he was hit by multiple defenders, one of whom caused a helmet-to-helmet collision. Roethlisberger was diagnosed with a concussion, had to sit out the rest of the game, and appeared to have difficulties in the next two games against Oakland and Denver.
2006 NFL draft
Preseason
Schedule Week Date Kickoff Opponent Result TV Game Site Record NFL Recap 1 August 12 4:00 p.m. at Arizona Cardinals L 13–21KDKA University of Phoenix Stadium 0–1 2 August 19 8:00 p.m. Minnesota Vikings L 10–17 KDKA Heinz Field 0–2 3 August 25 8:00 p.m. at Philadelphia Eagles L 7–16 ESPN Lincoln Financial Field 0–3 4 August 31 7:30 p.m. Carolina Panthers L 13–15 KDKA Heinz Field 0–4
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 7 Miami Dolphins W 28–17 1–0 Heinz Field Summary 2 September 18 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 0–9 1–1 Alltel Stadium Summary 3 September 24 Cincinnati Bengals L 20–28 1–2 Heinz Field Summary 4 October 1 Bye week 5 October 8 at San Diego Chargers L 13–23 1–3 Qualcomm Stadium Summary 6 October 15 Kansas City Chiefs W 45–7 2–3 Heinz Field Summary 7 October 22 at Atlanta Falcons L 38–41 (OT) 2–4 Georgia Dome Summary 8 October 29 at Oakland Raiders L 13–20 2–5 McAfee Coliseum Summary 9 November 5 Denver Broncos L 20–31 2–6 Heinz Field Summary 10 November 12 New Orleans Saints W 38–31 3–6 Heinz Field Summary 11 November 19 at Cleveland Browns W 24–20 4–6 Cleveland Browns Stadium Summary 12 November 26 at Baltimore Ravens L 0–27 4–7 M&T Bank Stadium Summary 13 December 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 20–3 5–7 Heinz Field Summary 14 December 7 Cleveland Browns W 27–7 6–7 Heinz Field Summary 15 December 17 at Carolina Panthers W 37–3 7–7 Bank of America Stadium Summary 16 December 24 Baltimore Ravens L 7–31 7–8 Heinz Field Summary 17 December 31 at Cincinnati Bengals W 23–17 (OT) 8–8 Paul Brown Stadium Summary
Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.
Week 1 roster
Pittsburgh Steelers 2006 Week 1 roster Quarterbacks Charlie Batch Ben Roethlisberger Brian St. Pierre
Running backs Patrick Cobbs Verron Haynes Dan Kreider FB Willie Parker Duce Staley
Wide receivers Santonio Holmes Sean Morey Willie Reid Hines Ward Nate Washington Cedrick Wilson
Tight ends Tim Euhus Heath Miller Jerame Tuman Offensive linemen Willie Colon T Trai Essex T Alan Faneca G Jeff Hartings C Chris Kemoeatu G Chukky Okobi C Marvin Philip G Kendall Simmons G Marvel Smith G Max Starks T
Defensive linemen Rodney Bailey DE Casey Hampton NT Chris Hoke NT Brett Keisel DE Travis Kirschke DE Aaron Smith DELinebackers James Farrior ILB Larry Foote ILB Arnold Harrison OLB James Harrison OLB Clark Haggans OLB Clint Kriewaldt ILB Joey Porter OLB Rian Wallace ILB
Defensive backs Tyrone Carter FS Ryan Clark FS Ricardo Colclough CB Mike Logan FS Bryant McFadden CB Troy Polamalu SS Anthony Smith FS Ike Taylor CB Deshea Townsend CB
Special teams Jeff Reed K Chris Gardocki P Greg Warren LSReserve lists Ulish Booker T (IR) Barrett Brooks T (IR) Cedric Humes HB (IR)
Practice squad Jonathan Dekker TE Orien Harris DE John Kuhn FB Omar Jacobs QB Anthony Madison CB Shaun Nua NT Scott Paxson DE Kuan Sanchez RB Ronald Stanley OLB Brandon Torrey T Rookies in italics 53 Active, 3 Inactive, 9 Practice Squad
Game summaries
Week 1 (Thursday September 7, 2006): vs. Miami Dolphins
The Steelers opened the regular season in the annual Thursday NFL Kickoff game at home against the Miami Dolphins on September 7. The Steelers drew first blood in the second quarter with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Nate Washington. After the Dolphins tied the game up on a 1-yard touchdown run by Ronnie Brown, Super Bowl XL MVP Hines Ward caught a 7-yard TD pass in the back of the end zone. After a Miami field goal, the Steelers led 14–10 at halftime. In the second half, Miami running back Ronnie Brown scored on a four-yard touchdown run for the Dolphins' second touchdown in the third quarter. The Steelers rebounded as tight end Heath Miller caught an 87-yard pass for a touchdown and linebacker Joey Porter returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown to give the Steelers a 28–17 victory. Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch completed 15 of 25 passes for 209 yards, and threw 3 touchdowns and no interceptions in the absence of Ben Roethlisberger for Pittsburgh, while the Dolphins' Daunte Culpepper completed 18 of 37 passes for 262 yards, with two interceptions (the first interception by Troy Polamalu, and the second to Joey Porter, who returned it for a touchdown) late in the fourth quarter. Batch dedicated the win to late Pittsburgh mayor Bob O'Connor, who was laid to rest earlier in the day. With the win, the Steelers improved to 1–0 and won their regular season opener for the 4th straight season.Cook: Batch meets the challenge. Retrieved 11–11–06. Stats
Week 2 (Monday September 18, 2006): at Jacksonville Jaguars
The Steelers traveled to play the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night on September 18. Despite not allowing a touchdown, the Steelers gave up three field goals to the Jaguars, with Kicker Josh Scobee making a 31, a 32, and a 41-yard field goal. The Steelers were defeated 9–0. They became the first defending Super Bowl champion team to be shut out since the 1981 Oakland Raiders, and it was the lowest-scoring game in Monday Night Football history. With the shutout loss, the Steelers fell to 1–1. Stats
Week 3 (Sunday September 24, 2006): vs. Cincinnati Bengals
The Steelers went back home for an AFC North fight against the Cincinnati Bengals. In the first quarter, running back Willie Parker scored on a 3-yard touchdown run. However, on the very first play of the second quarter, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw an interception and Cincinnati was able to score shortly after with quarterback Carson Palmer completing a 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Chris Henry. On Cincinnati's next drive, the Bengals scored on a three-yard touchdown pass to Henry.
In the third quarter, the Steelers rallied a comeback, as kicker Jeff Reed kicked a 37-yard field goal. Shortly after, Parker scored on a one-yard touchdown run to give the Steelers a 17–14 lead. Pittsburgh's lead deteriorated as Ricardo Colclough muffed a punt, allowing the Bengals to recover. Carson Palmer then helped put Cincinnati ahead on 9-yard touchdown pass to T. J. Houshmandzadeh. Cincinnati was able to increase their lead when Pittsburgh's running back, Verron Haynes lost a fumble, allowing Palmer to complete a 30-yard touchdown pass to Houshmandzadeh on the next drive. Reed helped out Pittsburgh with a 36-yard field goal.
On the very last drive, the Steelers tried to fight back and tie the game, but the game ended as Roethlisberger was intercepted by DB Kevin Kaesviharn, eliminating any hope of a comeback. The Steelers headed into their bye week at 1–2. Stats
Week 4 (Sunday October 1, 2006): Bye Week
Week 5 (Sunday October 8, 2006): at San Diego Chargers
Hoping to end their two-game skid, the Steelers traveled to Qualcomm Stadium for a Sunday night match-up with the throwback-clad San Diego Chargers. Pittsburgh was able to capitalize early, as running back Willie Parker scored on a nine-yard touchdown run for the only score of the first quarter. In the second quarter, kicker Jeff Reed kicked a 39-yard field goal to give the Steelers a 10–0 lead. The Chargers cut the lead to a field goal when quarterback Philip Rivers completed a 9-yard TD pass to WR Malcom Floyd. Reed gave Pittsburgh a 13–7 halftime lead with a 44-yard field goal. The Steelers continued their recent struggles in the third quarter, as Charger kicker Nate Kaeding kicked a 28-yard field goal, while Rivers completed a 22-yard touchdown pass to tight end Antonio Gates. In the fourth quarter, Kaeding sealed a Charger victory as he kicked a 33-yard and a 22-yard field. With their third-straight loss, the Steelers became the first team since the 1999 Denver Broncos to start a season 1–3 or 0–4 after winning a Super Bowl in the previous year. Stats
Week 6 (Sunday October 15, 2006): vs. Kansas City Chiefs