Super Bowl XL was an American football game played on February 5, 2006 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion following the 2005 regular season.
The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers (15-5) defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks (15-4), 21–10. Although the Seahawks won the turnover battle 2-1, Pittsburgh won on the strength of three big plays converted into touchdowns. Seattle, on the other hand, was plagued by penalties, missed scoring opportunites, and dropped balls. The Pittsburgh Steelers became the fourth wild card team, and third in nine years, to win the Super Bowl and also became the first #6 seed in the NFL playoffs to win a Super Bowl (after becoming the first #6 seed to win a conference title as well as a divisional playoff game) and joined the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers as the only franchises to win five Super Bowls.
However, this game did not finish without contrversy. As the First half neared a end, Ben Roethlisberger ran a quarterback sneak that was called for a touchdown. There was not enough conclusive evidence to support either call so the call remained the same, touchdown. Also, on a Darrel Jackson touchdown, there was an offensive pass interference call that took seven points away from the Seahawks. Next, on a play that gave the Seahawks a fist-and-goal on the Pittsburgh one-yard line, there was a holding call against Seahawks right tackle Sean Locklear, on an illegal move that was often ignored during the regular season. Finally, a low block call on Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck cost the Seahawks fifteen yards on a drive that eventually ended up with an interception by Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor.
Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, who had five receptions for 123 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 18 yards, was the fifth wide receiver to be named the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player joining Lynn Swann, Fred Biletnikoff, Jerry Rice, and Deion Branch as the only wide receivers to win the super bowl MVP award. Antwan Randle EL capped off the game with a 43 yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward to give the Steelers a 21-10 edge. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was 9 of 21 passing for 123 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. Matt Hasselbeck finished with 26 of 49 passing for 273 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Running back Jerome Bettis, nicknamed "The Bus" and playing in his hometown of Detroit, announced his retirement after the game, saying "I think the Bus' last stop is here in Detroit." The Steelers finished the season on an eight game winning streak counting down each game to the championship for Bettis.
The event drew a 41.6 rating with a 62 share in the audience. According to Nielsen Media Research, it was the highest-rated Super Bowl since Super Bowl XXX, the last time the Steelers appeared in the Super Bowl prior to Super Bowl XL.
