The Steelers were 7-5, then
won their final four regular-season games to secure the AFC's
last playoff spot. They went to Cincinnati and won a wild-card
game. They won at Indianapolis, which had the league's best
record. And then they handed Denver its first home loss in the
AFC Championship Game. And now they have their "One for
the Thumb" -- the first four came in their Steel Curtain days,
won by the likes of Mean Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw and Franco
Harris.
Early on, the noise seemed to unnerve the Steelers, who had
two motion penalties on their first offensive series. Of course,
none of their active players ever played in a Super Bowl.
Seattle forced another three-and-out on Pittsburgh's next
possession, keeping Bettis on the sideline, then took the lead.
Josh Brown made a 47-yard field goal with 22 seconds left in the
first quarter after the Seahawks lost a touchdown on Darrell
Jackson's pass interference in the end zone. Jackson still
had 50 yards on five receptions in the quarter. Bettis
made his Super Bowl debut 2:47 into the second quarter with the
Pittsburgh offense in dire need of a boost. The Steelers got it,
but from an 8-yard completion to Randle El for their initial
first down -- 19 minutes into the game. Ward followed with
an 18-yard run on an end-around, but Roethlisberger's
ill-advised lob on the next play was picked off by safety
Michael Boulware at the Seattle 25. With Seattle's other
safety, Marquand Manuel, sidelined in the second quarter with a
right ankle injury, Roethlisberger began finding open receivers.
Ward gained 12 yards, Cedrick Wilson got 20 and, moments after
Ward dropped a pass in the corner of the end zone, he
outwrestled Boulware for a 37-yard completion. The Bus
couldn't roll in on two tries, then the 6-foot-5 Roethlisberger
dived left and barely squeezed the ball over the goal line. A
replay review upheld the touchdown with 1:55 remaining in the
half.
Perhaps unnerved themselves by the ruling, the Seahawks
squandered much of that time before Brown missed a 54-yard field
goal wide right. Holmgren argued as he walked off the field that
the ball never crossed the goal line, but referee Bill Leavy
told him it did. Seattle also could bemoan a holding call
on Peter Warrick's 32-yard punt return to open the second
quarter, and a goal-line completion to Jackson on which he
barely was out of bounds. It didn't get a lot better in
the second half for Seattle, and Holmgren failed to become the
first coach to win Super Bowls with two franchises. In 1997, his
Green Bay Packers beat New England.
