Steelers Throwback Thursdays: Steelers beat Seahawks in Super Bowl XL

Before the NFL officially gears up for the 2021-22 season, Steel City Underground will be taking fans back in time to feature events, special moments, and historical times in the world of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Steelers Nation. Join us as we revisit these moments in our “Throwback Thursdays”.

On February 5th, 2006, the Pittsburgh Steelers became the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl as a sixth seed in the playoffs. In a hard-fought game, the Steelers edged out the Seattle Seahawks, 21-10, to win their 5th Super Bowl.

The more impressive feat that season was how the Pittsburgh Steelers got into the playoffs. The team started out with an impressive 7-2 record before falling to two division opponents and the Peyton Manning-led Indianapolis Colts. Posting a 7-5 record, the Steelers had to win the rest of their regular season games to have a hope of making it to the playoffs.

They broke their three-game losing streak by beating the Chicago Bears, 21-9, and went on to finish the regular season with a four-game win streak. A few games had to go their way to sneak into the playoffs due to the Steelers losing a tie-breaker to the Cincinnati Bengals. Those games went in favor of the Steelers and they squeaked into the playoffs as the final sixth seed.

The first matchup for the Pittsburgh Steelers was their division rival, the Cincinnati Bengals, where the game was in Ohio. The Steelers had to win every game on the road in order to make it to the Super Bowl, a feat that no team had done to that date. The story of their first playoff victory was the injury to Carson Palmer. The Steelers had been dominating most of the game and when Carson Palmer went down, the Steelers knew this was a game they were going to win.

The next challenge for Pittsburgh, a feat that had never been done as a sixth seed in the NFL, was beating the No. 1 seed. The Indianapolis Colts, led by Peyton Manning in his prime, were up next in the old RCA Dome. This was the closest game for the Steelers during the 2006 playoffs. They were up, 21-18, and driving the length of the field. They were within 5 yards of putting the game away by going up two scores; Jerome Bettis was given the nod to put the game out of reach for the Colts.

On a dive up the middle, Bettis cited that he thought he could “get skinny” between a couple of defenders to score a touchdown. The ball popped right out of his grip and had the perfect Colts bounce; the ball rolled towards the opposite end of the field. Bettis, who had not fumbled the entire 2005 season, noticed their goal-line team was on the field and would not be able to catch up with Colts cornerback, Nick Harper, as he scooped the ball up and ran the opposite direction.

Ben Roethlisberger, the only player not battling on the line of scrimmage, turned the opposite way and hoped to tackle the cornerback in the open field. Ben made the tackle, saved a go-ahead touchdown and the Steelers defense held out to defeat the No. 1 seed Indianapolis Colts.

The Pittsburgh Steelers became the first sixth seed to make it to the AFC Championship game, where they faced the No. 2 seeded Denver Broncos. Joey Porter cites that the mindset of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the game was confident, and there was “no way they would lose this game.” They defeated the Broncos, 34-17, and there was no doubt the Steelers would be the fourth ever Wild Card team to make it to the Super Bowl.

Bettis was back in his home city of Detroit (MI) where he could possibly retire while winning his first and only Super Bowl. A low-scoring first half found the Steelers barely in front of the Seattle Seahawks, 7-3.

In just two plays after the start of the second half, Steelers fans remember the infamous 75-yard touchdown run by “Fast” Willie Parker that put Pittsburgh up, 14-3. This was a record-setting run; the longest touchdown run in any Super Bowl, beating Marcus Allen’s 74-yard touchdown run in Super bowl XVIII.

The Seahawks scored a touchdown before Hines Ward caught a touchdown pass from Steelers wide receiver Antwaan Randel El in the final quarter. This was the final score of the game by either team, and the Steelers defense closed the game out. Ward was named the Most Valuable Player and Bettis would retire in his hometown with the Vince Lombardi Trophy.