Pittsburgh, who finished the regular season with an 11–5 record, also became the fourth wild card team, the third in nine years, and the first ever number 6 seed in the NFL playoffs, to win a Super Bowl.

Seahawks defensive back Kelly Herndon's then-Super Bowl record 76-yard interception return set up a Seattle touchdown to cut the lead 14–10.

The officiating in Super Bowl XL was met with criticism from members of the media soon after the game, leading NFL Films to rank it as one of the top ten controversial calls of all time.

[9][10] NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue helped lobby support for the project, announcing that the city of Detroit was positioned to host a Super Bowl if the stadium plans were to go forward.

That more than satisfied the NFL's rule that required new stadiums to wait until at least their second year of operation before hosting a Super Bowl, in order to iron out any logistical issues or construction delays.

In addition, the Detroit area's previous Super Bowl (XVI), while praised for its hospitality, suffered from extreme frigid temperatures and traffic jams.

[23][24] Auto racing legend and business magnate Roger Penske was hired to serve as chairman of the host committee,[20] and he made an aggressive push over the summer of 2000 to firm up Detroit's bid.

With Maddox back as the starter, the team was defeated 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 6-seed in the AFC playoffs.

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 NFL was then reluctant to add ESPN to the Super Bowl rotation because of the potential decrease in viewership due to the relatively limited access to cable television compared to that of an over-the-air network.

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.

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.

As usual, the American television broadcast of the Super Bowl showcased top commercials and commanded high prices, estimated at $2.6 million (US) for a 30-second spot.

The magazine reported that other companies having purchased multiple commercial segments included Ameriquest (two), CareerBuilder.com (two), Pepsi-Cola (four), Pizza Hut (ten, though most ran prior to kickoff), Sprint (three), Procter & Gamble (four, three for Gillette's new Fusion razor), Warner Bros. (three), Disney (two) and GoDaddy.com (two).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

[67] 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.

[69] 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.

"[73] 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.

"[76] 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:[76] It was a tough thing for me.

Rooney would have preferred the ring to focus exclusively on this team's win, but Bettis and Roethlisberger, cognizant of a tradition of which they couldn't help but be reminded, insisted that it acknowledge the legacy of all those teams (indeed, during the pre-game MVP introductions, Franco Harris, winner of the award in the Steelers' first Super Bowl IX victory 31 years earlier on January 12, 1975, had waved a Terrible Towel as he walked onto the field).