Hawks flagged down in Super Bowl

DETROIT — Shoulders slumped. Eyes drooped, some red with the hint of earlier tears. Heads sagged.

The Seahawks' locker room was a sad and somber place.

In many of their minds, the Seahawks were the better team in Super Bowl XL. The scoreboard at Ford Field said differently, however, and that was all that mattered.

The greatest Seahawks season ended in bitter disappointment Sunday, a 21-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The way the Seahawks lost — with mistake after mistake — left them disconsolate. Some were frustrated by the officiating.

One point of contention was a first-quarter touchdown pass from Matt Hasselbeck to Darrell Jackson that was nullified by an offensive pass-interference penalty against Jackson for pushing off.

Replays seemed inconclusive, as Jackson and safety Chris Hope appeared to push each other, and only after Hope complained did the official produce the yellow flag.

"I didn't even touch him, I don't think," Jackson said. "But that's how it is when you're going against the world. It just seems all our big plays like that somehow, some way, got overturned or called back."

Asked what he meant by "going against the world," Jackson clarified.

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"We're a relatively young team," he said. "Nobody really knows about the West Coast. We don't get on TV too much. Things like that. That's when you're going against the world. Nobody really gave us a chance to win this game, even though we were the first [NFC] seed in the playoffs.

"We earned our respect. We feel we won on both sides of the game. You can ask them [the Steelers]. But they made enough plays to win the game, and we didn't."

On the grandest of stages in the nation's biggest single-day sporting event, the Seahawks were their worst enemies in a game they controlled, at least for a half.

There were holding calls on good punt returns by Peter Warrick, against Etric Pruitt and Kevin Bentley. A dropped pass on third-and-two by tight end Jerramy Stevens that would have been a drive-sustaining first down, one of three drops he had. An error in judgment by safety Michael Boulware that allowed the Steelers to complete a 37-yard pass to Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward that set up a touchdown.

"In a championship game, you can't afford any mistakes," Boulware said. "I thought I was going to be able to swat the ball down. I just completely missed it and he caught it, and he just beat me on that play."

There was also a disputed touchdown run by Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger with 1:55 left in the first half. Linebacker D.D. Lewis appeared to stop Roethlisberger short before the ball crossed the goal line, but officials ruled a score and the replay booth reviewed the call. It was not overturned, and Holmgren had some choice words for referee Bill Leavy as the teams walked off at halftime.

"We played against a good team, and you can't overcome those things," Holmgren said.

The Steelers made a few of their own good breaks in the second half. Running back Willie Parker broke free for a 75-yard touchdown run only two plays into the third quarter, running out of Boulware's grasp and down the right side for the longest run in Super Bowl history.

Soon after, the Steelers were on the doorstep of perhaps the game-clinching touchdown if not for cornerback Kelly Herndon's interception and 76-yard return.

It set up Hasselbeck's touchdown pass to Stevens that cut the Steelers' lead to 14-10 with 6:45 left in the third quarter.

The Seahawks then drove all the way to the Pittsburgh 18-yard line before another mistake cost them dearly, this one early in the fourth quarter.

Right tackle Sean Locklear was whistled for holding on a completion to Stevens to the Steelers' 1, and the Seahawks were pushed back. Then Hasselbeck was sacked and threw an interception to kill the drive.

"Garbage. Bad call," Locklear said. "I don't know if it was two weeks off or whatever. This week we were clicking, too. It just didn't go our way."

But the Seahawks also weren't good enough to stop some Steelers trickery.

In a play similar to the one that worked for them earlier in the postseason, Parker took a pitch and handed it off to Antwaan Randle El coming the other direction. Randle El spotted Ward behind Herndon and lofted a perfect pass to him.

Ward caught it and ran into the end zone for a 43-yard TD play. That effectively signaled the end of the Seahawks' championship dreams.

"It wasn't us at times," Hasselbeck said. "It's unfortunate in the biggest game of the season, we didn't play our best football."

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com