Game Summary
Pittsburgh's Super Bowl victory was the end of a long, improbable road through the playoffs.
After 12 regular-season games, the Steelers were 7-5 and seemed unlikely to get into the playoffs at all. They would have to win their last four games to have any chance at all. They did win four in a row to squeeze in, but only as the AFC's sixth seed. That meant that all of their playoff games would be on the road.
No problem. The Steelers knocked of the conference's top three seeds, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Denver. That got them into the Super Bowl against the top seed from the NFC, the Seattle Seahawks.
For the first time in the post-season, it looked as if the Steelers might be overmatched. Seattle moved the ball well and stopped Pittsburgh's offense.
The Seahawks controlled the ball for 10 1/2 minutes in the first quarter but led only 3-0. Pittsburgh finally got a first down nearly 20 minutes into the game.
The play that turned the tide in Pittsburgh's favor came with about 4 minutes left in the first half. Facing a third-and-28 situation at Seattle's 40-yard line, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was forced to scramble to his left. He stopped just before reaching the line of scrimmage and threw back toward the middle of the field and the goal line. The ball settled into the arms of wide receiver Hines Ward, giving Pittsburgh a first down at Seattle's 3.
After two runs by Jerome Bettis, the ball was still a yard away from the goal line. Roethlisberger then faked to Bettis, rolled out to the left, and dove for the end zone. He just barely made it and the Steelers led 7-3 at the half despite having been outgained, 154-113.
Pittsburgh had capitalized on their only scoring opportunity, while the Seahawks had blown two chances to score: An apparent touchdown pass was nullified by an offensive interference penalty on Darrell Jackson and a missed 54-yard field goal attempt by Josh Brown that had enough distance but went wide.
On the second play of the second half, Pittsburgh's "Fast Willie" Parker ran 75 yards for a touchdown, a Super Bowl record, to make it 14-3.
After Brown missed a 50-yard attempt that was also long enough but wide, the Steelers seemed ready to take command of the game. They had a third-and-6 at the Seattle 7-yard line when Roethlisberger was intercepted by Kelly Herndon at the 4. His 76-yard return, another Super Bowl record, set up Seattle's only touchdown, a 16-yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck to Jackson.
With 2:41 left in the third quarter, the Seahawks began an impressive drive that took them 79 yards, from their own 2-yard line to Pittsburgh's 19. Hasselbeck then hit tight end Jerramy Stevens with an 18-yard pass that seeme likely to set up a go-ahead touchdown. But the play was nullified by a holding penalty.
On third down from the Pittsburgh 27, Hasselbeck's pass was intercepted by Isaac Taylor, ending that threat. Four plays later, Parker took a pitchout from Roethlisberger and gave the ball to wide receiver Antwaan Randle El on a reverse. Randle El, who had been a quarterback in college, threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward.
With 8:56 left and the Steelers holding a 21-10 lead, Seattle's chances didn't look good. And they weren't.
It was the Steelers' fifth Super Bowl victory. The other four wins all came in the 1970s. For Seattle, it was the first appearance ever in the big game.