Super Bowl XL

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 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 (now Lumen 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. He became the fifth coach to take two franchises to the Super Bowl.[8] Joe Jurevicius became the sixth player to play in a Super Bowl with three teams.

Behind running back Shaun Alexander, Seattle finished the 2005 season as the league's top offense, scoring 452 points. Meanwhile, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 3,455 yards and 24 touchdowns (against just nine 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 proved potent, as Engram managed 67 receptions for 778 yards. Joe Jurevicius, a backup when the season began, started eleven games and caught 55 passes for 694 yards and 10 touchdowns; tight end Jerramy Stevens also emerged as a Hasselbeck target, catching 45 passes for 554 yards and scoring five 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.

Though unheralded rookie middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu was the Seahawks' only defensive Pro Bowl selection, the Seahawks' defense recorded 50 quarterback sacks, leading the NFL in that category; defensive end Bryce Fisher led the Seahawks with nine sacks, while defensive tackle Rocky Bernard added 8.5 and veteran defensive end Grant Wistrom recorded four. Despite starting two rookies at linebacker for most of the year, the Seattle linebacking corps played well, led by Tatupu, who topped the team with 104 tackles and added four sacks, three interceptions, and one fumble recovery. From his strong safety position, Michael Boulware led the team with four interceptions and also tallied two sacks and one fumble recovery. The Seattle secondary suffered injuries throughout the year, notably to free safety Ken Hamlin; second-year cornerback Jordan Babineaux played well as he appeared in all sixteen games for Seattle, intercepting three passes and making 61 tackles. For the year, the defense surrendered just 271 points, 181 fewer than the Seahawks offense scored.

After stumbling to a 7–5 start, the Steelers rebounded and entered Super Bowl XL finishing the regular season with an 11–5 record. (Although the team finished tied with the Cincinnati Bengals for the division lead, the Bengals won the tiebreaker for the AFC North championship based on better divisional record.) They also became the first team ever to defeat the top three seeded teams on the road in the playoffs (#3 Cincinnati, #1 Indianapolis and #2 Denver). 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, losing to the Dallas Cowboys 27–17. 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 then-undefeated Indianapolis, and division rival Cincinnati. 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 seventeen touchdowns with nine interceptions, while adding three rushing touchdowns. The Steelers' main receiving threat was wide receiver Hines Ward, who led the team with 69 receptions for 975 yards and eleven 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 two touchdowns on punt returns. Rookie tight end Heath Miller also recorded 39 receptions for 459 yards and six 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 five touchdowns. In short-yardage situations, the team relied on 255-pound running back Jerome Bettis, who rushed for 368 yards and scored nine 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 until this point he had never played in a Super Bowl. 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 284.0 total yards per game. The Pittsburgh defense was led by its linebacking corps: Joey Porter, James Farrior, Clark Haggans, and Larry Foote. Porter led all NFL linebackers with 10.5 quarterback sacks and also recorded two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Haggans tallied nine sacks and 40 tackles, while Farrior added a team-high 119 tackles to go with his two sacks and one fumble recovery. In the secondary, free safety Chris Hope led the team with three interceptions, while Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu, the team's top threat in the defensive backfield, notched 91 tackles, three sacks, two fumble recoveries, and two interceptions.

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 (against the Kansas City Chiefs), and the Kansas City Chiefs, who won Super Bowl IV (against the Minnesota Vikings), also accomplished the feat. The Steelers, however, had to win four games to accomplish the feat, while the Chiefs won three and Packers won only two games.

Of a "bridging the eras" moment, Steelers cornerback Willie Williams was the last remaining player to have been on the Steelers last Super Bowl team, their Super Bowl XXX loss to the Dallas Cowboys following the 1995 season. (Defensive backs coach Darren Perry was also a player on the Super Bowl XXX team. Both were starters in that game.) Ironically, Williams, who was in his second stint with the Steelers at the time, played with Seattle from 1997–2003. He was inactive for Super Bowl XL, which, like Bettis, turned out to be his final NFL game before retiring that offseason.

The chart below provides a comparison of regular season statistics in key categories (overall rank amongst 32 teams in parentheses).

The Seahawks became the first team to advance to the Super Bowl without playing a division champion in the playoffs (later matched by the Colts in 2009, Steelers in 2010, and the Seahawks again in 2013, with the 2013 Seahawks being the only one of the four to win the Super Bowl). 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 when they defeated the Los Angeles Raiders 13–7, when the team was still in the AFC (the Seahawks were in that conference from 1977-2001).

The Steelers became the second team after the 1985 New England Patriots to win three road playoff games to reach the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh defeated the third-seeded Cincinnati Bengals, 31–17; the top-seeded Indianapolis Colts, 21–18 in the Immaculate Redemption/Tackle II game; and the second-seeded Denver Broncos, 34–17, in the AFC Championship Game. The Steelers also became the eighth wild-card team to go to the Super Bowl and the fourth in nine seasons. The Steelers' catchphrase for the playoffs was "One for the Thumb", a phrase originally made popular by Joe Greene as an allusion to a fifth Super Bowl ring.[9]

The Seahawks practiced at the Detroit Lions' practice facility in Allen Park.[10]

The Steelers practiced at the Silverdome in Pontiac (site of Super Bowl XVI). Since the Silverdome featured Astroturf, a FieldTurf surface was temporarily installed at the venue specifically for these practices.[10] After the Super Bowl the playing surface used for these practices was donated by the manufacturers of FieldTurf for use at Wisner Stadium, a public sports stadium in Pontiac.

The Renaissance Center decorated for Super Bowl XL.

Ford Field on Super Bowl XL Sunday, countdown to kickoff on Comerica Park's score board.

With the expiration of the television contracts among ABC, CBS, ESPN, and Fox following the 2005 season, Super Bowl XL ended up being ABC's final NFL broadcast as a regular NFL broadcaster, with Monday Night Football moving to corporate sibling ESPN the following season under the new deal, which also saw ESPN/ABC removed from the Super Bowl rotation. However, ABC would simulcast all future ESPN-produced playoff games starting in January 2016, although ESPN/ABC has yet to be reinstated to the Super Bowl rotation.[11]

Although the Super Bowl had largely been presented in high definition since Super Bowl XXXIV, Super Bowl XL was the first Super Bowl where all aspects of the game itself were aired in HD.[5]

The telecast featured play-by-play announcer Al Michaels, color commentator John Madden, who was named the day before to the Class of 2006 by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and sideline reporters Michele Tafoya (Steelers sideline) and Suzy Kolber (Seahawks sideline). This was the sixth Super Bowl telecast for Michaels, and the tenth for Madden (whose first was Super Bowl XVI, also played in Michigan). The opening theme was sung by Hank Williams Jr., who was later spotted in the stands wearing Steelers regalia.

This game was the second Super Bowl broadcast for the Michaels-Madden pairing after they had called Super Bowl XXXVII for ABC three years earlier. Madden had already signed with NBC to broadcast games for them beginning in the 2006 season; several days later Michaels, who was still under contract to ABC and ESPN, joined him in exchange for ESPN gaining partial coverage of the Ryder Cup golf tournament and The Walt Disney Company, ABC's parent, gaining all intellectual property rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a cartoon character that Walt Disney had created for Universal Pictures (NBC's corporate sibling) in the 1920s.[12] Michaels and Madden would go on to call one more Super Bowl together, Super Bowl XLIII, after which Madden retired from broadcasting altogether.

With the Steelers win, they became the fourth team to win Super Bowls on three networks (NBC-IX and XIII, CBS–X and XIV, and ABC) joining the Green Bay Packers (NBC- I, CBS-II, Fox- XXXI and XLV), San Francisco 49ers (NBC- XXIII, CBS- XVI, and XXIV, ABC- XIX and XXIX), and Washington Redskins (NBC- XVII, ABC- XXII, CBS- XXVI). (These teams have since been joined by the New York Giants, who also surpassed them by winning a Super Bowl on each of the networks that carried the game; their win in Super Bowl XXI was carried by CBS, their win in Super Bowl XXV was carried by ABC, their win in Super Bowl XLII was carried by Fox, and their win in Super Bowl XLVI was carried by NBC, and later by the New England Patriots, who had two Super Bowl wins on Fox (XXXVI and XXXIX), one Super Bowl win on CBS (XXXVIII, and a Super Bowl win on NBC (XLIX).)

Before this game, the NFC was 6–0 in Super Bowls broadcast on ABC.

Renaissance Center Wintergarden turned into an ESPN studio for Super Bowl XL.

Chris Berman, from Disney-owned corporate sibling ESPN, returned to host ABC's pregame show, as he had done for the network's coverage of Super Bowls XXXIV and XXXVII. Berman was joined by his fellow analysts from ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown pregame show: Michael Irvin, Tom Jackson, and Steve Young, along with co-host Mike Tirico and New England Patriots head coach (and three-time Super Bowl winner) Bill Belichick. Also contributing to the pre-game show were Tafoya, Kolber, Sam Ryan, Andrea Kremer, Kenny Mayne and Chris Mortensen.

Since the game was being played close to the U.S.-Canada border, Canadian television rights holders Global broadcast portions of an NFL-sponsored "Passport To The Super Bowl" event in nearby Windsor, Ontario, featuring a performance by the newly revived 1980s rock group INXS with Canadian native lead singer J.D. Fortune, though the network limited coverage of the Windsor event to short segments immediately prior to commercial breaks.

The game was also televised in Australia (SBS), Austria (ORF and TW1), Brazil (ESPN International), Denmark (TV 2), Finland (MTV3), France (France 2), Germany (ARD), Hungary (Sport 1), Iceland (SÝN), Ireland (Sky Sports), Italy (Sky Sports 3 and Italia 1), Japan (NHK BS-1, NTV), Mexico (TV Azteca), Netherlands (SBS6), New Zealand (ESPN International/SKY TV), Portugal (SportTV), Slovenia (Prva TV), Spain (Canal +), Sweden (ZTV), and UK and Ireland (ITV/Sky Sports). According to the NFL, the game was available worldwide in 32 languages.

The main NFL international feed of the game featured FOX broadcasters Dick Stockton and Daryl Johnston providing commentary tailored to those largely unfamiliar with the rules of American football.

Westwood One/CBS Radio provided radio coverage in the United States, with the broadcasting team of Marv Albert and Boomer Esiason.

Sirius Satellite Radio and NFL.com carried international local-language broadcasts from the United Kingdom (BBC Radio Five Live), Spain (Canal Plus Spain), Russia (NTV), Belgium (BeTV, in French), China (SMG), and Japan (NTV), in addition to the press box intercom and the public address announcer feeds.

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 Super Bowl, the pre-game ceremony featured the on-field introduction of 30 of the previous 34 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 they had prior family commitments;[13] Scott was reported to have been traveling through Australia. This ceremony continued a ten-year tradition (starting with Super Bowl XX and then repeated in Super Bowl XXX) in which past Super Bowl MVPs were honored before the game.

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 (six days earlier) and Rosa Parks (on October 24, 2005), the latter a long-time Detroit resident.

The Steelers became the first AFC club, and only the third franchise overall, to wear white jerseys despite being the "home" team. The first two clubs, the Cowboys (Super Bowls XIII and XXVII) and the Redskins (Super Bowl XVII), traditionally wore white at home. The Denver Broncos later became the second AFC team and fourth club overall to wear white jerseys in a Super Bowl despite being the home team in Super Bowl 50. Bill Cowher stated that the Steelers were playing in Detroit, not Pittsburgh, and therefore it was not a "home" game[14][15] (although 10 years earlier Cowher's Steelers did wear their black home jerseys as the designated "home" team in Super Bowl XXX at Tempe, Arizona away from Pittsburgh, where they had won both their playoff games to reach that Super Bowl). Having been the Cowboys' opponent in Super Bowl XIII, Pittsburgh also became the first team to have worn white jerseys for a "home" Super Bowl and colored jerseys for an "away" one.

The teams took the field while flanked on either side by flags bearing the names of all previous Super Bowl MVPs. Although the participating teams each entered as a team for their introduction, the Steelers insisted on sending Jerome Bettis out ahead of the rest of the team in front of his hometown crowd.

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.

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" (where Mick Jagger wryly quipped at the song introduction, "Here's one we could have done at Super Bowl I").[16]

In the wake of the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy with Janet Jackson two years earlier, ABC and the NFL were keen to avoid controversy.[17][18] However, the choice of the Rolling Stones sparked controversy in the Detroit community because the band did not represent the music of Detroit and no other artist from the area was included.[19] The NFL took issue with some of the language used in the lyrics of the songs that were in the Rolling Stones setlist, Particularly, with specific lyrics in "Start Me Up" and "Rough Justice".[18][20] In addition to the lyrics the NFL took issue with, there was worry that Jagger might ad-lib explicitly as well.[18] Conflict between the NFL and the band over these lyrics continued into the days just before the performance, with NFL Chief Operating Officer Roger Goodell even threatening to cancel the Rolling Stones performance and find a last-minute replacement.[18] Ultimately, 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 Jagger's microphone, with the group having agreed to the censoring.[17]

During the development of the show, there had been another disagreement between the Rolling Stones and the NFL.[18] The Rolling Stones wanted to perform material from their new album, while the NFL wanted them to play well-known hits from their back catalog.[18] Ultimately, the only new song included was "Rough Justice".[18]

The halftime show was viewed by 89.9 million people.[21]

The 28-piece stage was shaped as the group's iconic tongue logo, and was assembled by a 600-member volunteer stage crew.[21]

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.

After the first four possessions of the Super Bowl XL 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, Jackson caught a pass in the end-zone, apparently for a touchdown, but the play was nullified as Jackson was called for pass interference. 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, which was successful. By the end of the first quarter, the Steelers had failed to gain a first down, and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had completed one of five pass attempts for one yard.

On their first second-quarter possession, Pittsburgh once more 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 out of a scramble and extremely unorthodox, against the grain pass for a 37-yard gain to give the team the longest third down conversion in Super Bowl history. Jerome 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 hand-off and dove into the end-zone himself. There was some confusion as to whether or not he had scored, since the referee hesitated for a bit after the play ended, but he eventually signaled a touchdown, and it was upheld after a replay challenge.

On the strength of 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, beating 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, though, was negated on a penalty call against Seattle tackle Sean Locklear for holding, denying the Seahawks an opportunity for a first-down-and-goal from the 1-yard-line. Three plays later, Pittsburgh defensive back Ike Taylor intercepted a Hasselbeck pass at the 5-yard line and returned it 24 yards. While tackling Taylor, Hasselbeck dove low and was flagged for blocking below the waist. The penalty added 15 yards to the return and gave 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 a wide-open 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 eighteen 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 proved successful, 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 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 of 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 remaining, after which a Roethlisberger kneel-down ended the game.

The Steelers became just the third team to win the Super Bowl despite not playing a 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 won three and Packers won only two games.

Roethlisberger finished the game having completed just 9 of 21 passes for 123 yards and having also thrown two interceptions; his 22.6 quarterback rating[23] was the lowest ever by a Super Bowl winning quarterback. He also rushed for 25 yards and a touchdown. He became the second youngest quarterback to start in a Super Bowl and the youngest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl at 23 years, 11 months.

The Steelers rushing game was paced by Willie Parker, who gained 93 yards and one touchdown on ten carries, Bettis rushed 14 times for 43 yards, converted a key first down, and allowed 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 and returned two punts for 32 yards.

In defeat for the Seahawks, Hasselbeck completed 26 of 49 pass attempts for 273 yards and a touchdown, with one interception. Jurevicius caught 5 passes for 93 yards. Engram and Jackson also played roles, combining to gain 120 yards on eleven receptions. Alexander led all rushers in the game, accumulating 95 yards on 20 carries while also catching two passes for two yards. The Steelers were 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.

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

¹Completions/attempts ²Carries ³Long gain ⁴Receptions ⁵Times targeted

The officiating in Super Bowl XL was met with criticism from members of the media soon after the game. One call that was complained about was an offensive pass interference on Seahawks wide receiver Darrell Jackson for a push-off against Steelers safety Chris Hope that nullified his 16-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter.[25] However, according to the NFL's Director of Officiating at the time, Mike Pereira, the call was indeed correct as Jackson had pushed off.[26]

Another complaint had to do with a penalty in the fourth quarter against Seattle right tackle Sean Locklear for holding Steelers linebacker Clark Haggans that nullified a deep pass. Pereira later stated that Locklear was definitively holding and the call was correct.[27][28] Also disputed was the penalty on Hasselbeck for an illegal block while making a tackle during Ike Taylor's interception return.[29]

In addition, many Seahawks fans were outraged by an incomplete pass call early in the game from Hasselbeck to Jerramy Stevens. Stevens appeared to have possession and then fumble, only for the officials to rule he never had complete possession.[30] The Steelers also were upset about a call on play that appeared to give them possession of the football when Matt Hasselbeck fumbled while scrambling. It was ruled however that Hasselbeck had been touched before losing control of the football, thus negating the fumble.[28]

Kansas City Star writer Jason Whitlock encapsulated some views when he wrote the day after the game, "Bill Leavy and his crew ruined Super Bowl XL. Am I the only one who would like to hear them defend their incompetence?"[31] Initially, some fans reacted negatively as well. A February 7 online ESPN poll found that, with 103,167 votes cast, 61.7% of those votes were cast for the choice of "officiating mistakes affected the outcome of Super Bowl XL."[32] Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren himself took issue with the officiating at a rally for his team on February 6 at Qwest Field, saying, "We knew it was going to be tough going against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I didn't know we were going to have to play the guys in the striped shirts as well."[33] He was not fined for the remark.[34]

In response to the criticisms leveled at the officials, the NFL, just two days after the game, released a statement defending the officials' performance. "The game was properly officiated, including, as in most NFL games, some tight plays that produced disagreement about the calls made by the officials", NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement.[35]

High-profile referee Ed Hochuli said "The Super Bowl was one of those games where it seemed the big calls went against Seattle. And that was just fortuitous—bad fortuitous for Seattle." Hochuli went on to say that "The league felt, actually, that the Super Bowl was well officiated. Now, that doesn't mean there were no mistakes. There are always mistakes, but it was a well-officiated game."[36]

On August 6, 2010, while visiting the Seahawks' preseason training camp for an annual rules interpretation session with the Seattle media, Leavy brought up Super Bowl XL without being asked, and said:[36]

It was a tough thing for me. I kicked two calls in the fourth quarter and I impacted the game, and as an official you never want to do that. It left me with a lot of sleepless nights, and I think about it constantly. I'll go to my grave wishing that I'd been better ... I know that I did my best at that time, but it wasn't good enough ... When we make mistakes, you got to step up and own them. It's something that all officials have to deal with, but unfortunately when you have to deal with it in the Super Bowl it's difficult.[37]

The Super Bowl XL officiating controversy was later listed as #8 on the NFL's list of the top ten controversial calls of all time.[27] Commentators Boomer Esiason, Steve Raible, and Tom Curran were critical of the officiating, while former Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward and commentator Ed Bouchette defended the calls, and commentators Howard Balzer and Bill Hillgrove and former Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau felt that the officiating did not impact the outcome of the game.