The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 21-10 on Feb. 5, 2006 in Detroit to become Super Bowl XL champions. The Steelers’ win marks the fifth time they’ve won the Super Bowl in franchise history, which ties them with the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys for first all-time in Super Bowl history.
The win for Pittsburgh gave Coach Bill Cowher his first Super Bowl ring after coaching the team for 14 years. He was with the team ten years ago when they lost Super Bowl XXX to the Cowboys.
The team was led by wide receiver Hines Ward, who had five receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown. Ward was named the games Most Valuable Player.
There was much hype about Pittsburgh running back Jerome “The Bus” Bettis returning to his hometown of Detroit to play in the Super Bowl. Many speculated during the weeks before the game that it would be Bettis’ last, and following the win he announced his retirement. Bettis is fifth all-time for career rushing yards with 13,662 yards.
The Steelers started out slow in the game, including QB Ben Roethlisberger. He completed only two of his first eight passing attempts, one of which was intercepted by Michael Boulware. He finished the game with a quarterback rating of 22.6, which is the lowest ever by a winning Super Bowl quarterback.
The Steelers trailed early in the game. A touchdown by Seattle wide reciever Darrell Jackson was called back after a controversial pass interference penalty. This led to a 47 yard Josh Brown field goal.
The controversial calls didn’t end there. In the second quarter on 3rd and 28, Roethlisberger, after a long scramble, connected with Ward on a 38 yard pass.
Following two attempts by Bettis to get into the end zone from the 2 yard line, Roethlisberger ran it himself for the touchdown. The play was challenged but the officials didn’t have enough evidence to overturn the close call.
Even Ward himself admitted to that he “could’ve had an even better day,” after he dropped a touchdown in the first half.
It was two second half touchdowns by the Steelers that were their only big plays for the rest of game.
Willie Parker started the second half for Pittsburgh with a 75 yard TD run on their second play of the half. The run was the longest in Super Bowl history.