Former Seattle Seahawks RB Shaun Alexander isn’t blaming the refs for costing his team Super Bowl XL against the Pittsburgh Steelers. But he’s confident if they rolled the football out again, Seattle would’ve won. Every other time.
Reflecting on Super Bowl 40 during an appearance on the Big Al & JoJo show on KOA Sports Radio, Alexander believes the Steelers were fortunate enough to catch the Seahawks on their worst day.
“If we had played the Steelers 100 times, we probably would’ve lost one,” Alexander told the show. “And that night, it was the one. We knew they wouldn’t be able to play with us if we did three things. Don’t turn the ball over, don’t have any offensive penalties, and don’t let them have any big plays. And if you go in reverse order, 50-yard reverse pass for a touchdown, 80-yard run in the beginning of the third quarter. We knew they wouldn’t be able to drive.
“And then we threw an interception down there in the fourth quarter right before we were going to drive in and take the lead. And we had more penalties in that game than we had all other games that year.”
Often forgotten about that season is the great year the Seahawks had. They cruised to a 13-3 regular season record, at one point winning 11 straight games until the regular season finale, resting their starters mid-way through the game. Seattle finished the year with the league’s No. 1 offense and a top ten defense with few holes on their roster. Pittsburgh barley made the playoffs, the AFC’s sixth-seed and got hot at the right time to go on their historic playoff run.
But the Seahawks fell apart in the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh used big plays to score in chunks. Alexander referenced Hines Ward’s touchdown off WR Antwaan Randle El’s pass and RB Willie Parker’s record-setting run, a 75-yard gallop up the middle to begin the second half.
While Seattle won the turnover battle 2-1, QB Matt Hasselbeck was picked by CB Ike Taylor as the Seahawks drove towards the red zone trailing 14-10. That play turned the tide with Randle El hitting Ward just a couple plays later to make the score 21-10, reflective of the final. Seattle also committed seven costly penalties compared to Pittsburgh’s three. One penalty negated a third down gain while another wiped out a touchdown to WR Darrell Jackson, forcing the Seahawks to settle for a field goal.
Seattle fans have questioned calls made by the officials that day but Alexander isn’t using the refs as the primary excused. He’s pointing the finger at his own team.
“On one hand, you want to be like, ‘aw, come on refs.’ But on the other hand, we played through the refs and we still had a shot and we didn’t bring it home. That was the pain of that game. Here it is 15 years later, you still remember it.”
While Alexander is taking accountability, he’s not giving Pittsburgh much credit. The Seahawks entered the game confident they’d dispatch the low-seeded Steelers. Instead, Pittsburgh’s proved it’s not just about having a great season but getting hot at the right time. The Steelers found their running game, their defense tightened up, and they found big plays, a recipe to winning one for the thumb.
Maybe Alexander is right. Maybe Seattle would’ve won the other 99. But the only game that matters is the one actually played and Pittsburgh hoisted the trophy when the clock hit zero.
