One of my favorite parts of the Steelers Super Bowl Champions DVD is where they show the Bengals celebrating after beating the Steelers in Pittsburgh. They're talking copious amounts of trash to the fans, T.J. Houshmfaidhrfad;lfheh is polishing his cleats with a terrible towel, they are doing that ridiculous Who Dey crap, you get the idea. Then we get to the playoff game highlights, and you know the rest. I think Cincy is still a year or two away, though they have a chance to put the Steelers in an early 1-2 hole. I'll be watching this game in Las Vegas, as I am heading there tomorrow. Of course, the Steelers only won that game because Palmer got hurt. If that doesn't happen, I'm pretty sure the outcome of that game would have been very different. I can't stand how some people (I'm not saying you) use the playoffs to legitimize teams that happen to win in a one-and-done situation. They also got lucky in the Colts game. The Colts played about as poorly as they could've, and it still took a miracle tackle by Big Ben for them to win. Sure, the Steelers were good last year and took advantage of their opportunities, but there were better teams in the NFL. The Bengals were one of them. I won't disagree that there were better teams, I will not agree that the Bengals were one of them. I think its ludicrous to definitively say who would have won the game when Palmer went out on the second play of the game. You have no idea how that game would have turned out and neither do I. Did it guarantee a Steeler victory? Sure. But you can't say that if it hadn't happened a Bengal victory was assured. As for the Indy game, the Steelers punched them in the mouth all day. Its easy to say that a team you think was better played poorly instead of giving the Steelers credit for forcing the issue. The great Peyton Manning had no idea where the blitz was coming from and the defenses were disguised perfectly. You cite "the tackle" as the reason they won, but what about the HORRENDOUS call on the Polamalu interception? The only reason the Colts were in that game at all because of one costly Pittsburgh mistake and a brutal call by the officials. Also, in the history of sports, the playoffs have decided who is legitimate and who isn't. They are the whole reason that you play the games. The Steelers would not have been a sixth seed if they hadn't had to start Tommy Maddox in two games. He single-handedly gave away the game against Jacksonville last year. Fair enough, you make some good points in defense of the Steelers. To be totally honest, I don't remember the Steelers/Colts game terribly well (I was more just watching to kill time until I could watch the Bears game). My point really has to do less with them and more with playoffs in general. To me, they're a lot of fun for the fans and the players, but they mean very little (again, to me) in terms of determining who the best teams really are.