DETROIT -- Antwaan Randle El threw 43 yards for a touchdown on a trick play and Willie Parker set a record with a 75-yard scoring run to highlight Pittsburgh's fifth championship, a 21-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL at Ford Field.
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Ben Roethlisberger's controversial one-yard touchdown scramble with 1:55 left in the second quarter gave Pittsburgh the lead for good. The 23-year-old Roethlisberger became the youngest starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl, as the Steelers made it five titles in six trips to the big game. That equals the championship load carried by the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers.
Ike Taylor came up with a key interception to deny the Seahawks of a potential go-ahead TD early in the fourth quarter. The Steelers then worked the gadget play as Randle El, a former quarterback, took the ball from Parker on a reverse and threw to Hines Ward to give Pittsburgh a 21-10 lead with 8:56 remaining.
Seattle punted on its next possession and the Steelers chewed up most of the remaining time with Roethlisberger passing and scrambling for first downs to finally give head coach Bill Cowher a Super Bowl title in his 14th season as head coach of the team.
The Steelers raised the Lombardi Trophy as Super Bowl champions for the first time since January 20, 1980 against the Rams. Pittsburgh lost in its return to the big game to Dallas following the 1995 season.
Roethlisberger completed just 9-of-21 passes for 123 yards and was picked off twice, while Ward caught five balls for 123 yards and was named the game's MVP.
Matt Hasselbeck connected on 26-of-49 passes for 273 yards with a TD and an interception, but was picked off by Taylor at the Pittsburgh five early in the last quarter. Shaun Alexander, the season's NFL rushing champion, gained 95 yards on 20 carries.
The Seahawks, in the Super Bowl for the first time in their 30-year history, were hurt by the kicking of Josh Brown, who missed two of his three field goal attempts.
Bettis Announces RetirementThe Bus is finally in the garage for good, and the last ride was special for everyone involved with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
After 13 NFL seasons, running back Jerome Bettis announced his retirement following the Steelers' 21-10 win over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL at Ford Field.
The 33-year-old Bettis, a Detroit native, secured his first championship ring and only after a long road that ended with him being the NFL's fifth all-time leading rusher.
"It is an ending," Bettis said. "It's been an incredible ride. I decided to come back and win a championship. Mission accomplished. With that I have to bid a farewell."
It was a special ending for Bettis, who played linebacker and running back for Mackenzie High School and graduated in 1990. In the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, the school retired his No. 36.
"I don't think you could have scripted it any better," Bettis said. "I think the script right now, if somebody sent it to Hollywood they would turn it down because they would say it couldn't happen. It's been an incredible ride. The football gods have really shined the light on me."
Bettis ends his career with 3,479 rushes for 13,662 yards with 91 TDs on the ground. He also caught 200 passes for 1,449 yards and three scores, was selected to six Pro Bowls and was honored as the 1993 NFL Co-Rookie of the Year. However, Bettis, who rushed 14 times for 43 yards in the Super Bowl, was never concerned about stats or individual accolades.
"That's the greatest feeling in the world, to actually have an opportunity to hold that Lombardi Trophy, and not hold it because somebody gave it to you. You hold that trophy because you earned it and you won it," Bettis said. "That's the most amazing feeling in the world. It's a feeling I've been waiting for 13 years and I'm just glad I was able to come back and hoist that trophy and take it back to Pittsburgh."
Even if the Steelers lost, Bettis said this would have been his final game. He said he spoke during the two-week period before the Super Bowl with Steelers chairman Dan Rooney and president Art Rooney about his situation, and also addressed head coach Bill Cowher.
"It's been a situation where my body's been breaking down," Bettis said. "The last thing I wanted to do going into a game like this and going into a season was going to tell my teammates this was going to be the last game. I never wanted to put that kind of pressure on my teammates for them to even think that."
Bettis, who started his career with the Los Angeles Rams in 1993 before being traded to the Steelers prior to the 1996 season, was never about himself. Two years ago he stepped back into the spotlight for the Steelers when he started six of the 15 games he played in, replacing an injured Duce Staley and rushed for 940 yards. This year, the Bus didn't start at all and played in 12 games, rushing for only 368 yards, but was the bruising back everyone's come to savor, pounding the ball in the end zone nine times.
"It's the reason why I started 13 years ago on this quest, to win a championship," Bettis said. "Along the way, I amassed a lot of yards, a lot of Pro Bowls, but none of that was significant because it wasn't the team goal."
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