SUPER BOWL XL - Steelers 21-Seahawks 10

Seattle couldn't have won the Lombardi Trophy. Jeremey Stevens would probably have dropped it.

If I had to rate this Super Bowl....I'd rate it a C-. As far as a game goes....it wasn't that great. I did have great twists at times....but it wasn't well played by any means.

Seattle looked like the 2004 team.....not being able to finish what they started. For the first time in my memory [maybe since Cowboys-Bills II]...the team that played better didn't win the game. Seattle did great moving the ball down the field. But, all they got out of it was 3 points. The only "play" they made was the interception in the 3rd quarter that put them into the Steelers redzone...in which they got their TD. Aside from that, they kept shooting themselves in the foot with penalties, very poor clock management, dropped passes and catching passes out of bounds.

As for Pittsburgh....this game [on offense] comes down to four main plays. The coolness of Ben Roethlisberger sliding to his left on 3rd-and-long and completing a pass to Hines Ward on the 3. Then, the controversial TD run by Big Ben a few plays later. The next big play was the Willie Parker record 75 yd TD run early in the second half which put the Steelers up 14-3. And the final one was the Randle-El pass to Ward for the final score of the game. Aside from those plays....the Steelers did nothing special.

And there you have it. The Steelers didn't play that well....but made big plays. For Seattle...they couldn't make THE play they needed.

I called the game Steelers 30-20....the Steelers instead won 21-10. Not bad. Here was my assessment of the game as it was going on.....

FIRST QUARTER: Seattle dominated the first quarter....but came away with just 3 pts. They had a "ticky-tack" offensive pass interference call go against them [if the refs call that....they gotta call EVERYTHING then]. They also had a huge holding call negate a big play into the Steelers 25. Defensively, Seattle is looking sharp. Pittsburgh has done next to nothing....and has ZERO first downs coming into the quarter break. Big Ben looks a little "scared" out there right now....and for some reason Pittsburgh isn't using the same sorts of play calling that they did in the last two games. Seattle 3-0

HALFTIME. Pittsburgh finally got their offense going....moving the ball and getting a TD. What a smart play buying time and getting the ball to Ward at the 3 yd line!! Now, I really don't think that Roethlisberger got into the endzone....but maybe a sliver of the ball broke the plane. I've slo-mo'd this on my TIVO and it really is hard to say. I will say that 99% of the ball never saw the endzone. Not sure about the other 1%. As for Seattle....again, they are killing themselves. Bad penalties and some untimely 3rd down letdowns. Also, what was that at the end of the half?? I mean, unlike Madden...I do understand the running play [it kind of got them inside FG range]....but why the delay??? If this was a heavyweight fight....Seattle would be ahead on rounds. Scoreboards are different. Steelers 7-3

THIRD QUARTER: Then, two of the biggest plays in Super Bowl history happened. UNC Tar Heel Willie Parker soared to a Super Bowl record 75-yd TD run. Pittsburgh gets the ball back and then methodically go back down the field. Except, Big Ben makes a mistake...tossing a duck into the flat that gets intercepted and returned for a Super Bowl record 76 yards. Seattle scores....gets the momentum....and is back in this thing heading into the final stanza. Steelers 14-10

FOURTH QUARTER: Let me just start this by saying the officials have been very pro-Steelers with their calls. A bogus holding call negates a Seattle 1st and goal on the 3 yard line [I saw a worse holding on nearly the same play when Pitt had the ball and it went uncalled]. Then you have a bogus fumble call [no harm no foul, since the Seattle challenge reversed it]. Then the Steelers were allowed a timeout even though it was clear that Roethlisberger called it with 0 on the play clock. As for the game, another first.....a WR tosses a TD pass when Antwan Randle-El tossed a TD pass to Hines Ward. From there on out.....it is Steelers football. Grinding out the clock. Playing good enough defense. Making big plays. Steelers 21-10

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• ladydi5888 said February 08, 2006

  OK, I'm a dyed in the wool, 12th woMAN (bite me Texas) SEAHAWKS fan. This is the 1st Superbowl I've actually watched and will be my last.  Even I could see the officiating was one sided!  When everyone has reviewed the tapes I'm sure you will see many missed steelers penalties.  I saw at least 2 face-masks by steelers that were missed.  Yes, Seattle didn't play their best but neither did the steelers but having the refs call penalties each time the HAWKS got on a roll, what did you expect.  7 penalties to 3-makes you want to say hummm. The NFL should be hanging their heads in shame to have let this happen.  The refs should be fired and the NFL should apologize to Seattle and the SEAHAWKS.  Let the steelers have their trophy-it doesn't mean anything anyway because they didn't earn it but obviously their egos need it.  Last time I will spend $$ for NFL gear and party stuff (By the way, Seattle ran out a week before the game), I'll buy knockoffs from now on-the NFL doesn't deserve my loyalty now.  You other teams be put on notice-this could happen to you too if something isn't done...Fair Warning.  LadyDi

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• mellica said February 08, 2006

  Only Tony Soprano could straighten out the striped guys in Super Bowl

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• zoso309 said February 08, 2006

  Really could care less who had won this Super Bowl, but even Steeler fans must admit that the horrendous officiating of this game affected the outcome. This was so poor and so blatantly biased twoard Pittsburgh that you almost have to question the integrity of these NFL refs. From phantom touchdowns to finger touch offensive pass interference to non-existent holding calls. It seems that this crew was determined to beat the Seahawks by themselves. This debacle does nothing but disgrace the game, humiliate the league and raise suspicionsof a gambling fix. As fans and for the sake of the game, we should all hope the NFL acts quickly to investigate the actions of these refs and insure that this never happens again.

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• skinikken said February 07, 2006

  Absolutely outstanding!!!!!! But, to preserve the meaning and value of this Super Bowl win to an outstanding franchise, and an outstanding fandom, we've got to ignore the "ESPN-bred naysayers". Boy, are they all over this one because they missed out on their sweethearts: Both Brady and P. Manning eliminated, then the next echelon of Cincinnati and Denver eliminated. They just weren't ready to accept the beauty of the STEELERS in the Super Bowl!!! Keep the faith!! B&N

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• oldwcolumbia said February 07, 2006

  Im no fan of either team. But only reason we have "instant re-play" today is the Stealers and they're payed off refs.No1 should be surprised its nothing new.

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• ltuckster said February 07, 2006

  NO..the Seahawks did not play good football, and NO..the Steelers did not either.  Did the Seahawks deserve to win?  sadly No.  I am a Seahawk fan and although I would have loved to see them win, they did not come through when it counted.  Too many dropped passes, bad clock management, etc.  Did the Steelers deserve to win?  Probably not, they did not play good football either, although they did execute some good plays.  Did the refs screw up some calls? Yes and some pretty badly.  In almost every game I see refs screwing up calls, and yes sometimes it determines the outcome of the game, sad but true.  I, and many other Seahawks fans have seen our team on the short side of calls often.  More often than other teams?  I think yes, but I am biased and other fans probably would say the same about their teams.  I think we should let go of it, let the NFL decide wether or not they want to persue it, and start preparing for next year.

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• fltempia said February 06, 2006

  The game waas a good game but the steelers got a td they didn't deserve and the seahawks didn't get one they did deserve, otherwise the game was o.k.

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• kelticbleu said February 06, 2006

  I couldn't have said it better myself,,The Stevens drops are indicative of the way the Seahawks played all day. I fault Holmgren for some bad coaching decisions more than anyone else. I grew up in Seattle and was pulling for the birds,,but To The Bus, Big Ben, and my favorite Steeler, MVP Hines Ward, Congratulations,,,and P.S.,,,Porter was right,,,,Stevens IS soft!

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• cwbrobst said February 06, 2006

  From a Steeler fan- I concur with the bad officiating. I don't feel too bad though- the Steelers have been losing "this" game for the last twenty years. This year they played awesome football to get there and then got some breaks to finish it off. Seattle did not play better- they could not convert opportunity or overcome adversity, like the Steelers did in Indy. Dont read me stat lines or total yardage or first downs or tell me Ben had the worst superbowl for any quarterback in history. He got the ring. By the way what was Elway's stat lines in back to back Superbowl wins? If you know, nobody else cares- stats don't mean nothing. Ben made one play- 3rd and 28- and got a ring. He is one of 33 to do it.Pittsburgh was the better team this year, and if you take out what I consider the two bad calls (holding on the 1st goal and push-off on the TD) and give Seattle 14 more points I bet the Steelers top it.

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• cluckaduck said February 06, 2006

  Steelers did not shoot themselves in the foot on their 4 big plays.The seagulls did. Thats football folks.You pathetic seagull sempathizers just dont get it! What were the refs to do,not call the penalty just because it was a big play in a big game.The tv announcers are what stared all this crying about the calls.If those guys keep their opinions to themselves,nothing else is said about it.The steelers did not play that well,the seagulls played worse.

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• tgs45 said February 06, 2006

  The better team did not win.  The Pittsburg quarterback was the worst in Super Bowl history. Seattle did make some bad plays and did not play like they did all year, but when you have a referee throwing a flag, AFTER, the ball is caught in the end zone, (not when the TWO men pushed off), you knew what kind of game it was going to be. It was one sided as far as penalities went. I think Pittsburg only got one HOLDING call.  Seattle was the better team, and it did take 16 men to beat them. When you take away a first down and then give Pittsburg a touchdown that was not even close, the momentum is taken away.  Jeremy Stevens missed some good passes, but one man doesn't win or lose a game.  Due to the "BUS" last game, makes many wonder, did the referees have a favorite going into the game. I just hope they can look at themselves in the mirror in the morning and say they called an HONEST game.  

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• eharlow85 said February 06, 2006

  THIS WAS AN AWESOME GAME!!! THE STEELERS PLAYED A GOOD GAME AND FINISHED WHAT THAY STARTED... SEATTLE KILLED THEMSELVES WITH MAKING ALL THOSE STUPID MISTAKES!!! I WILL SAY THAT TWO OF THOSE CALLS WHERE YES A LIL IFFY IF THAT'S EVEN A WORD.. I REALLY AM NOT SURE IF BENS TOUCH DOWN SHOULD OF BEEN CALLED A TOUCH DOWN. AND THE CALL ON SEATTLE AT THE END ZONE WAS CRAZY THAT WAS ALSO A TOUCH DOWN BUT OH WELL  MY STEELERS WOULD OF WON EVEN THOSE CALLS WOULD OF GONE THRU!!!!!!!CONGRATS GUYS!!!! U PLAYED A HECK OF A GAME!!!

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• bleueyedmayun said February 06, 2006

  You cannot have watched the same game. Seattle made the plays they needed to have won this game.The incompentant calls (pushing off in the end zone, phantom holding calls, hitting below the waist) took Seattle out of the game more effectively than Pittsburgh ever could.If I was Pittsburgh, I'd be hanging my head in shame. It took 16 men on the field to beat Seattle's 11.

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• biguy4nsa said February 06, 2006

  Bias officiating in the first half, wonder if the game would of been called differently if Bettis wasn't retiring?

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• rldjet said February 06, 2006

  Since Texan A&M ( Aggies ) is bitching about the use of their so call 12th man, I do not hear them complaining about the 12th MAN ON THE PLAYING FIELD, about 5 of them.

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