The NFL announced its 15 finalists for the Hall of Fame Class of 2015, and for the fifth straight year, Jerome Bettis is one of them. Bettis had a storied career for the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1993-2005 although he was much better as a Steeler.

Bettis played for the Rams from 1993-1995 and then played the rest of his career for the Steelers. Bettis was a six-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro. He is currently in sixth place on the NFL's All-Time rushing yards list with 13,662 yards. He trails only Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, and Curtis Martin and future Hall of Famer (when he becomes eligible in 2017) LaDainian Tomlinson. That is a pretty good group of running backs to trail.

Even with all of those accolades already under his belt, one still eludeded him until his final season: a Super Bowl ring. Bettis wanted that ring more than anyone else in the world. He was supposed to retire after the 2004 season when the Steelers went 15-1 behind rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, but they lost in the AFC Championship to the New England Patriots. After the game, Roethlisberger begged Bettis to come back for one more year and promised him that he would win him a Super Bowl the next year. Bettis thought it over, and when he found out that Super Bowl XL would be played in his hometown of Detroit, he decided he had to come back. As he said with a laugh, "If those guys make it to the Super Bowl in my hometown without me, I'd probably kill myself."

Bettis returned for one more year. The Steelers made the playoffs with an 11-5 record, which barely got them in with the #6 seed. No #6 seed had never reached the Super Bowl before. The Steelers beat the #3 Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card round.

In the Divisional Round against the #1 seed Indianapolis Colts (led by quarterback Peyton Manning) there was a scare. The Steelers were on the 1-yard line, and a touchdown would put the game away. They handed off to Bettis, who did something he almost never did: fumble. The Colts picked it up and were about to run it back for a touchdown before Roethlisberger made a shoe-string tackle. Then, Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, who almost never misses, pulled a kick wide right, and the Steelers advanced.

The Steelers then beat the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship and moved on to Super Bowl XL. There, they would beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-10 to give Bettis his ring. After every playoff game, Roethlisberger would give Bettis the game ball and tell him that he promised he would get him here.

Bettis certainly deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. However, it will be tough since three new players are eligible for the first time this year: quarterback Kurt Warner, wide receiver Marvin Harrison, and the late linebacker Junior Seau. Bettis has been snubbed for 5 years now, and it would be a crime to suggest he gets snubbed again.

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About the author
Max Chadwick
Junior at St. Josephs high school in Metuchen, New Jersey. Aspiring sports writer who looks to deliver well-written articles concerning the NFL and College Football.