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Super Bowl XL

Super Bowl XL was the 40th Super Bowl, the championship game of the National Football League (NFL). The game was played on February 5, 2006 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, following the regular football season of 2005.

The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks, 21–10. Although the Seahawks won the turnover battle, 2-1, and outgained the Steelers by 57 yards, Pittsburgh won on the strength of three big plays converted for touchdowns. Seattle, on the other hand, was plagued by controversial penalties, dropped balls, poor clock management, and a game-ending interception on a drive deep into Pittsburgh territory.  With the victory, the Steelers tied the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers for the most Super Bowl wins by a team (five).

Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, who had five receptions for 123 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 18 yards, was named the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player. Running back Jerome "The Bus" Bettis, playing in his hometown of Detroit, announced his retirement after the game, saying "I think the Bus's last stop is here in Detroit."

According to Nielsen Ratings, the telecast of Super Bowl XL drew an estimated average 90.7 million viewers in the USA, making it the most-watched Super Bowl since 1996 - the last time the Steelers appeared in the Super Bowl.  The game was watched in 45.85 million homes - the second highest in television history, trailing only the series finale of M*A*S*H in 1983.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers entered Super Bowl XL, the sixth Super Bowl in team history, after finishing the regular season with an 11-5 record and becoming the first team ever to defeat the first-, second-, and third- seeded teams on the road in the playoffs. In addition, the team became the first sixth-seeded team to reach both a conference championship game and the Super Bowl since the NFL expanded to a 12-team playoff format in 1990.

Under Bill Cowher's reign as head coach since 1992, the Steelers had been one of the top teams in the NFL, making the playoffs in 10 out of his 14 seasons, advancing to the AFC Championship Game six times, and making an appearance in Super Bowl XXX. After having finished the 2003 season with a 6-10 record and after splitting its first two games to open 2004, Pittsburgh lost starting quarterback Tommy Maddox to injury. Maddox was replaced by rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was drafted with the 11th pick in the 2004 NFL Draft but was not expected to play during his rookie season. Nevertheless, Roethlisberger led the Steelers to victory in all of the team's 14 remaining regular season games, giving Pittsburgh a 15-1 record and making the Steelers the first AFC team ever to win 15 games. However, the Steelers lost to eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.

Pittsburgh began the 2005 season by winning seven of its first nine games, but suffered a major setback when both Roethlisberger and his backup, Charlie Batch, went down with injuries. With Maddox back as the starter, the team was upset by Baltimore and dropped two more games after Roethlisberger's return, falling to division rival Cincinnati and then-undefeated Indianapolis. The postseason hopes of the Steelers were in peril, but the team recovered to win its final four regular season games and to claim the sixth—and final—seed in the AFC playoffs.

Roethlisberger was efficient in his 12 regular season games, throwing for 2,385 yards and 17 touchdowns with only 9 interceptions, while adding 3 rushing touchdowns. The Steelers' main receiving threat was wide receiver Hines Ward, who led the team with 69 receptions for 975 yards and 11 touchdowns. His 69 catches gave him a career total of 574, surpassing a franchise record for receptions previously held by Hall of Famer John Stallworth. On the other side of the field, speedy wide receiver Antwaan Randle El was a constant breakaway threat, catching 35 passes for 558 yards, while gaining 448 yards and 2 touchdowns on punt returns. Rookie tight end Heath Miller also recorded 39 receptions for 459 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Pittsburgh's main strength on offense, however, was its running game. Running back Willie Parker was the team's leading rusher with 1,202 yards, while also recording 18 catches for 218 yards and scoring 5 touchdowns. In short-yardage situations, the team relied most prominently on 255-pound running back Jerome Bettis, who rushed for 368 yards and scored 9 touchdowns. The 33-year old Bettis finished his 13th NFL season as the league's fifth all-time leading rusher (13,662 yards and 91 touchdowns) but never having appeared in a Super Bowl; Super Bowl XL was especially enticing to Bettis in view of his having grown up in Detroit. The Steelers rushing attack was powered by an offensive line led by Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca and Pro Bowl reserve center Jeff Hartings.

The Steelers defense ranked fourth in the NFL, giving up only 284.0 total yards per game. The Pittsburgh defense was led by its linebacking corps: Joey Porter, James Farrior, Clark Haggans, and Larry Foote. Pro Bowler Porter led all NFL linebackers with 10.5 quarterback sacks and also recorded 2 interceptions and a fumble recovery. Haggans tallied 9 sacks and 40 tackles, while Farrior added a team-high 119 tackles to go with his 2 sacks and one fumble recovery. In the secondary, free safety Chris Hope led the team with 3 interceptions, while Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu, the team's top threat in the defensive backfield, notched 91 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, and 2 interceptions.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks entered Super Bowl XL after finishing the regular season with an NFC-best 13-3 record. After a rocky 2-2 start, they won 11 consecutive games before losing a meaningless game to the Green Bay Packers to finish the season. The 13-3 record and 11-game winning streak set new team records.

This was Seattle's first Super Bowl appearance in the team's 30-year history. The Seahawks had been mediocre for much of the 1990s, recording eight consecutive non-winning seasons from 1991 through 1998. The team hit a low point in 1996, when then-owner Ken Behring announced his intention to move the team to the Los Angeles area. The team's fortunes began to turn in 1997, when Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen bought the team and brokered a deal to build a new football stadium, Qwest Field, to replace the aging Kingdome. Mike Holmgren, who had led the Green Bay Packers to Super Bowls XXXI and XXXII, became head coach in 1999.

In 2001, the Seahawks acquired quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who had seen only limited playing time in his first two NFL seasons as the backup to Packers quarterback Brett Favre. The offense was also improved by the development of running back Shaun Alexander, who rushed for 1,318 yards and 13 touchdowns in just his second NFL season.

Behind Hasselbeck, Seattle finished the 2005 season as the league's top offense, scoring 452 points. The quarterback completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 3,455 yards and 24 touchdowns (against just 9 interceptions) and added 124 yards and one touchdown on the ground. Alexander, who had scored at least 16 touchdowns in each of the previous four seasons, had the best campaign of his career, leading the league with 1,880 rushing yards and scoring an NFL-record 28 touchdowns, for which he was rewarded with the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. Although the Seahawks suffered injuries to starting wide receivers Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram throughout the season, the passing game nevertheless proved potent, as Engram managed 67 receptions for 778 yards and as Joe Jurevicius, a backup when the season began, started 11 games and made 55 catches for 694 yards and 10 touchdowns; tight end Jerramy Stevens also emerged as a Hasselbeck target, catching 45 passes for 554 yards and scoring 5 touchdowns. Hasselbeck was protected and Alexander was given time to run by a stout offensive line, led by Pro Bowl offensive tackle Walter Jones, guard Steve Hutchinson, and center Robbie Tobeck, and by bruising Pro Bowl fullback Mack Strong, the longest-tenured Seahawk, having played 12 seasons with the team.

Though unheralded—the unit had no players elected to the Pro Bowl—the Seahawks defense recorded 50 quarterback sacks, leading the NFL in that category; defensive end Bryce Fisher, in his first year with the team, led the Seahawks with 9 sacks, while defensive tackle Rocky Bernard added 8.5 and veteran defensive end Grant Wistrom recorded 4. Despite starting two rookies at linebacker for most of the year, the Seattle linebacking core played well, led by rookie middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu, who topped the team with 104 tackles and added 4 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 1 fumble recovery. Tatupu would later be rewarded with a selection to the Pro Bowl as an injury replacement. From his strong safety position, Michael Boulware paced the team in interceptions with 4 and also tallied 2 sacks and 1 fumble recovery. The Seattle secondary suffered sundry injuries throughout the year, notably to free safety Ken Hamlin; second-year cornerback Jordan Babineaux played well as he appeared in all 16 games for Seattle, intercepting 3 passes and making 61 tackles. For the year, the defense surrendered just 271 points, 181 fewer than the Seahawks offense scored.

Playoffs

The Steelers became the second Super Bowl team to have won three road playoff games (joining the 1985 Patriots). Pittsburgh defeated the third-seeded Bengals, 31-17; the top-seeded Colts, 21-18; and the second-seeded Denver Broncos, 34-17, in the AFC Championship Game. The Steelers also became the ninth wild-card team to go to the Super Bowl and the fourth in nine seasons.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks became the first team to advance to the Super Bowl without having played against any single division champion in the playoffs. Off a first-round bye, Seattle defeated the sixth-seeded Washington Redskins, 20-10, before eliminating the fifth-seeded Carolina Panthers, 34-14, in the NFC Championship Game. These were Seattle's first playoff victories since the 1984 season.

Pre-game ceremonies

During the pre-game ceremonies, Stevie Wonder, along with Joss Stone, India.Arie, and John Legend, performed a medley of Wonder's hits. The Four Tops also performed during the pregame ceremonies, though the performance was not televised. In honor of the fortieth anniversary of the Super Bowl, the pre-game ceremony featured the on-field introduction of all former Super Bowl Most Valuable Players (with the exception of Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Jake Scott, and the late Harvey Martin). The absences of Montana and Bradshaw were originally reported to have been due to disagreements over appearance funds to be paid by the NFL, but each later rebutted such reports, suggesting that he had prior family commitments; Scott was reported to have been traveling through Australia.

A moment of silence was observed in memory of the two civil rights activists who had died during the months prior to the game: Coretta Scott King and Rosa Parks, the latter a long-time Detroit resident.

Singers Aretha Franklin and Aaron Neville, along with pianist Dr. John and a 150-member choir, performed the national anthem as part of a pre-game tribute to New Orleans, a nine-time Super Bowl host city then in the midst of efforts to rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The national anthem was performed in American Sign Language by Angela LaGuardia, a teacher at Michigan School for the Deaf.

Tom Brady, MVP of Super Bowls XXXVI and XXXVIII, became the first active player to participate in a Super Bowl coin toss, the result of which toss was tails, as selected by Seattle.

Halftime show

The Rolling Stones performed during the halftime show, which was sponsored by the American telecommunications company Sprint. The group performed three songs: "Start Me Up", "Rough Justice", and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". In the wake of the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy with Janet Jackson, ABC and the NFL imposed a five-second delay and censored lyrics considered too sexually explicit in the first two songs by briefly turning off Mick Jagger's microphone, to which censoring the group had previously agreed.

However, the choice of The Rolling Stones sparked controversy in the Detroit community because the band did not represent Motown Sound no other artist from the area was included.

Post-game ceremonies

The post-game presentation saw Bart Starr, the MVP of Super Bowls I and II, take the Vince Lombardi Trophy to the podium, whence it was presented to Steelers owner Dan Rooney.

Game summary

After the first four possessions of the game ended with punts, Seahawks punt returner Peter Warrick gave his team good field position by returning Chris Gardocki's 37-yard punt 12 yards to Seattle's 49-yard line. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck then started off the drive with a pair of completions to receivers Darrell Jackson and Joe Jurevicius for gains of 20 and 11 yards, respectively. On the third play of the drive, Jacksons touchdown was called back for pushing off on his defender in the end zone.  Running back Shaun Alexander ran the ball the next two plays, but gained only three yards. Hasselbeck's third-down pass attempt fell incomplete, and the Seahawks were forced to settle for a 47-yard field goal by kicker Josh Brown.

On their first second-quarter possession, Pittsburgh was forced to punt after three plays, but benefited from another Seahawks penalty, a holding call that nullified Warrick's 34-yard punt return. The Steelers forced a Seattle punt, but Seattle safety Michael Boulware intercepted a Roethlisberger pass at the Seattle 17-yard line on the ensuing drive. The Seahawks, though, were once more forced to punt after three plays, and Pittsburgh drove into Seattle territory on the following drive.

An offensive pass interference call against tight end Heath Miller and a sack for an eight-yard loss by Seahawks defensive end Grant Wistrom, though, backed the Steelers to the 40-yard line, and left the team facing a third-down-and-28. However, Roethlisberger hit receiver Hines Ward for a 37-yard gain to keep the drive going. Bettis carried the ball on the next two plays, taking his team to the one-yard line but not into the end-zone. On the third-down play, after the two-minute warning, Roethlisberger faked a handoff and dove toward the end-zone himself; the play was ruled a touchdown, which call was upheld after an official review.

On a 19-yard Jurevicius reception, Seattle advanced the ball to the Pittsburgh 36-yard line, but, after the drive stalled, Brown missed a 54-yard field goal attempt to the right and the Steelers ran out the clock to end the first half.

The Steelers took the ball to begin the second half, and just two plays in, running back Willie Parker broke through for a 75-yard touchdown run, giving his team a 14-3 lead and setting a record for the longest run in Super Bowl history, besting Marcus Allen's Super Bowl XVIII mark by one yard.

The Seahawks drove into Pittsburgh territory on the next drive, sparked by a 21-yard run by Alexander, but Brown again missed a field-goal attempt, this one from 50 yards, as Seattle was unable to close the 11-point deficit.

Pittsburgh drove 54 yards to the Seattle six-yard line to put themselves in position to take a large lead, but Seahawks defensive back Kelly Herndon intercepted a pass from Roethlisberger and returned it a Super Bowl record 76 yards to the Steelers 20-yard line. From there, the Seahawks required just two plays to score on Hasselbeck's 16-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jerramy Stevens, cutting their deficit to 14-10.

The teams exchanged punts (two from Pittsburgh, one from Seattle) to fill out most of the third quarter, but the Seahawks ended the quarter having driven from their own two-yard line to near midfield. The drive continued in the fourth quarter, as the Seahawks reached the Pittsburgh 19-yard line.  An 18-yard pass to Stevens was negated on a holding call against Seattle guard Sean Locklear for holding around the neck during the pass rush by Steelers LB Clark Haggans. Three plays later, Pittsburgh defensive back Ike Taylor intercepted a Hasselbeck pass at the 5-yard line and returned it 24 yards. While making the tackle on Taylor, Hassleback ran into another Steelers player and was penalized for blocking-below-the-waist, adding 15 yards to the return giving the Steelers the ball on their own 44-yard line.

Four plays later, Pittsburgh ran a wide receiver reverse, but the play turned out to be a pass play by wide receiver Antwaan Randle El, who played quarterback while in college: Parker took a pitch from Roethlisberger and handed off to Randle El, who was running in the opposite direction. Randle El then pulled up and threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Ward, giving the Steelers a 21-10 lead and also marking the first time a wide receiver threw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl.

On the ensuing possession, Hasselbeck ran the ball for 18 yards and was briefly touched by Steelers linebacker Larry Foote as the former fell to the ground. Though the play was initially ruled a fumble, with the ball recovered by the Steelers, a Seahawks challenge was upheld overturning the call, as officials ruled Hasselbeck to have been down prior to his having lost the ball; Seattle, aided by a 13-yard Jurevicius reception, drove to the Pittsburgh 48-yard line but could go no further; a Tom Rouen punt entered the end zone, giving the Steelers possession on their own 20-yard line.

Pittsburgh possessed the ball on for nearly four-and-one-half minutes on the ensuing drive, as Bettis carried seven times; Seattle was forced to use all of its three timeouts to stop the clock, but nevertheless had only 1:51 left when it took the ball from its own 20-yard line following a Gardocki punt. A 35-yard reception by Jurevicius took the Seahawks into Pittsburgh territory, and a 13-yard Bobby Engram reception took the team to within field-goal range, but dubious clock-management and play-calling left the team with just 35 seconds remaining; an incompletion and a three-yard pass to Stevens over the middle over the field consumed 26 seconds, and Hasselbeck threw incomplete near Stevens on fourth down, giving the Steelers the ball on downs with just three seconds left, after which a Roethlisberger kneel-down ended the game for the Steelers.

Roethlisberger finished the game having completed 9 of 21 passes for 123 yards and 2 interceptions.  The Pittsburgh rushing game was paced by Willie Parker, who gained 93 yards and one touchdown and Jerome Bettis rushed 14 times for 43 yards, converting a key first down and allowing his team to run time off the clock late in the fourth quarter. Ward caught five passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. In addition to his 43-yard touchdown pass, Randle El caught three passes for 22 yards. In defeat for the Seahawks, Hasselbeck completed 26 of 49 pass attempts for 273 yards and a touchdown, with 1 interception. Jurevicius caught 5 passes for 93 yards. Engram and Jackson also played roles, combining to gain 120 yards on 11 receptions. Alexander accumulating 95 yards on 20 carries while also catching 2 passes for 2 yards.

Defensively, Taylor led the Steelers, making seven tackles, defensing two passes, and intercepting Hasselbeck; for the Seahawks, linebacker Lofa Tatupu recorded nine tackles.

Scoring summary

1st Quarter

SEA — FG Brown 47, Sea 3-0 :27 remaining Drive: Seven Plays, 22 yds, 3:31

2nd Quarter

PIT — Roethlisberger 1 run (Reed kick), Pit 7-3 1:55 remaining Drive: 11 Plays, 59 yds, 6:20

3rd Quarter

PIT — Parker 75 run (Reed kick), Pit 14-3 14:38 remaining Drive: Two plays, 75 yds, 22 seconds

SEA — Stevens 16 pass from Hasselbeck (Brown kick), Pit 14-10 6:45 remaining Drive: Three plays, 20 yds, 53 seconds

4th Quarter

PIT — Ward 43 pass from Randle El (Reed kick), Pit 21-10 8:56 remaining Drive: Four plays, 56 yards, 1:50

Trivia

Instead of via the traditional player introductions, Pittsburgh was led onto the field by Jerome Bettis, a Detroit native playing in what would be his last NFL game ever; Bettis sprinted out of the Steelers' tunnel by himself and was then followed by his teammates a few moments later.

This marked the eighth time in the ten Super Bowls when the team which won the coin toss lost the game and also the fourth time in five when the team scoring first lost the game.

The Seahawks were the 13th different consecutive Super Bowl loser; previous to the streak, the Buffalo Bills had lost four straight.

The Steelers became just the third team to win the Super Bowl despite not playing a single home game in the playoffs. The Green Bay Packers, who won Super Bowl I, and the Kansas City Chiefs, who won Super Bowl IV, also accomplished the feat. The Steelers, however, had to win four games to accomplish the feat, while the Chiefs and Packers each won two games.

The Steelers became just the third team to lose the turnover battle and win the game, after the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V and the Steelers in Super Bowl XIV.

Antwaan Randle El became the first wide receiver to throw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl, and the third non-quarterback to do so.

Roethlisberger became the second youngest quarterback to start in a Super Bowl, behind only Dan Marino, who led the Dolphins to Super Bowl XIX at age 23. He also became the youngest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl (23 years, 11 months).  His 22.6 quarterback rating for the game was the lowest ever of any by a Super Bowl-winning quarterback

Hines Ward became only the second game MVP to have been born outside of the United States. Born in South Korea, he joins Canadian born Mark Rypien, MVP of Super Bowl XXVI.

Darrell Jackson tied Andre Reed's record for most receptions in the first quarter of a Super Bowl (five), though he did not catch any more passes in the rest of the game.

Mike Holmgren became the fifth coach to have taken two different teams to the Super Bowl, joining Don Shula, Bill Parcells, Dan Reeves, and Dick Vermeil; none won the Super Bowl with each team.

The Steelers joined the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos as the only franchises to have qualified for six Super Bowls; the Broncos also have six appearances, while the Cowboys have eight. The Steelers also joined the Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers as the only franchises to have won five Super Bowls.

The Steelers became only the third franchise to wear white jerseys despite being the "home" team; the Cowboys (Super Bowls XIII and XXVII) and the Redskins (Super Bowl XVII), who traditionally wear white at home, are the other two.

The game was frequently referred to as "Extra Large" in view of its Roman numeral designation, XL.

The Steelers' catchphrase for the playoffs was "One for the Thumb," a reference to Pittsburgh's having four previous rings for their metaphorical fingers, and needing only one to fill out the hand (ironically, it was also season in which quarterback Ben Roethlisberger seriously hurt his thumb).

Homeland Security agents monitoring the Super Bowl did so in 3D. Using streams from two cameras, the LifeVision 3D system projected images that appeared to rise up to 30 inches off the screen and sink up to 30 inches into the screen, allowing real world volumes and distances to be displayed accurately.

After having held constant at $600 for three years, the face value of the costliest Super Bowl ticket rose to $700 for the game. On eBay, the least-desirable seats—those behind each end zone in the upper level—fetched more than $2000 each, while top seats around the 50-yard line sold for more than $6000.

Members of the winning team each received a payment of $73,000 for playing in the game, while players on the losing team were paid $38,000. The Green Bay Packers received $15,000 each for winning Super Bowl I in 1967; adjusted for inflation in 2006 dollars, that sum is roughly $86,000.

Jerome Bettis was given a Gatorade shower by some teammates after the game. While the head coach is always dunked, this may be the first time in NFL history that a player was given the splash.

This was the first victory for an AFC team when the Super Bowl was on ABC. Previously, the NFC was 6-0 in such games, dating back to Super Bowl XIX in 1985.

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