Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers have "one for the thumb," they could be a handful for years to come.
The Steelers have 18 of 22 starters under contract for next season, including their best rusher, leading receiver, entire offensive line and all but one of their top seven tacklers.
They have ever-improving Ben Roethlisberger, who has a 27-4 record in two years as a starting quarterback (including 5-1 in postseason).
And they have removed a long-standing, emotional roadblock with a 21-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Sunday's Super Bowl.
After finally getting over that championship hump, could the Steelers be primed to follow the New England Patriots as the league's next dynasty?
"This will make Coach [Bill] Cowher even hungrier," defensive end Aaron Smith said. "He will enjoy this, but come next season he'll be even hungrier to get back here."
This season's AFC powers could be hard-pressed to match Pittsburgh.
The Patriots might be wearing down with an aging roster. The Indianapolis Colts could lose free-agent running back Edgerrin James. And the Cincinnati Bengals might be without injured quarterback Carson Palmer for the start of the season.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has only gained - confidence above everything else - in its record postseason run. The Steelers became the first sixth seed to win the Super Bowl, knocking off the top three seeds in the AFC and the top seed in the NFC.
Although the Steelers beat the odds with this improbable finish, they are no one-year wonders. Pittsburgh has advanced to the AFC championship game six times in the past 12 years, but never reached its goal until this season.
Cowher said there is a reason this team succeeded.
"In my 14 years being in Pittsburgh, we've had good teams and we've had confident teams, but this is the closest team we've ever had," Cowher said. "Jerome Bettis intertwines a lot of the fiber in this team."
Bettis announced his retirement after the Super Bowl victory, which leaves a void in leadership but not in the starting lineup.
The core of the Steelers remains intact with the likes of receiver Hines Ward, the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player; running back Willie Parker, who set a Super Bowl record with a 75-yard touchdown run; Pro Bowl offensive linemen Alan Faneca and Jeff Hartings; safety Troy Polamalu, a dynamic playmaker on defense; linebackers James Farrior and Larry Foote, the top two tacklers; and linebacker Joey Porter, the team's sack leader.
Plus, Roethlisberger, 23, is still growing into his role after becoming the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl. If he can get past his youthful mistakes, he has the composure, arm strength and athleticism to become one of the game's top quarterbacks.
"I think he'll get better," Cow- her said. "He'll get more comfortable in the offense and we'll start to give him more leeway. The best is way ahead of him."
Looking ahead in free agency, Pittsburgh will undergo some change next season with 11 players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents.
But there are only four starters who could hit the market: receiver Antwaan Randle El, defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen, cornerback Deshea Townsend and safety Chris Hope.
Randle El, the Steelers' No. 2 receiver, likely will go elsewhere. The Chicago Bears are rumored to be interested in him, and Randle El's versatile playmaking ability (he became the first receiver to throw a touchdown pass in Super Bowl history on Sunday) probably priced him out of the range of the usually thrifty Steelers.
Von Oelhoffen, Townsend and Hope are considered role players.
The biggest loss could come in Pittsburgh's coaching staff. Creative offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt reportedly is the top candidate for the Oakland Raiders' head coaching job, although he said he has not heard from them.
"If they did [call], I'd listen. I can't say I wouldn't," Whisenhunt said.
The Super Bowl runners-up have a larger problem looming in free agency.
Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander, the NFL's MVP this season, will be the top free agent in March after leading the league with 1,880 rushing yards and setting an NFL record with 28 touchdowns.
Alexander said he "definitely" would like to come back to the Seahawks, but it's unclear how likely his return is.
"I believe that Seattle is really, really close to being a dominant team, and we could have a great position for a long time," Alexander said. "I want to be a part of that. But at the same time, fair is fair."
Notes -- The Super Bowl was watched in an average of 45.85 million homes, the second-highest total in television history behind the final episode of M*A*S*H in 1983. The game got a 41.6 preliminary national rating, Nielsen Media Service said yesterday, up slightly from the 41.1 rating last year. The share remained the same at 62. ... The Steelers will celebrate their Super Bowl victory with a parade through downtown Pittsburgh today. The parade will begin at 11 a.m. at Mellon Arena, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins. It will end at Point State Park, across the river from Heinz Field. ... Thirty-four people were arrested during post-Super Bowl celebrations in Pittsburgh, mostly for failing to disperse, police said.
jamison.hensley@baltsun.com
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
