DETROIT -- Ben Roethlisberger's pass floated right toward
his hands. Hines Ward made sure he got both feet down in the end
zone, then started closing his fingers around the ball.
Remarkably, he dropped it.
No excuses. The Pittsburgh Steelers' top receiver flat-out
dropped it.
"The great ones don't miss balls in the Super Bowl," Ward
said. "And I want to be considered one of the great ones."
Before this Super Bowl ended, Ward would get more chances to
prove he deserves to be counted among the greats. And he wouldn't
bumble those chances away.
Ward holds the team mark for career receptions, ahead of Lynn Swann and John Stallworth. He completed an MVP performance Sunday by catching a 43-yard touchdown pass from receiver Antwaan Randle El, the decisive play in the Steelers' 21-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
Swann won the Super Bowl MVP in 1976 for making one big catch after another against Dallas, including a diving grab of a tipped ball that makes all of the Super Bowl highlight reels.
"When you watch the Steelers greats, Swann and Stallworth, those are big shoes to fill," Ward said at a news conference Monday. "I can see those great catches that Swann made so I was
more upset with the touchdown pass I dropped, but I just put
pressure on myself to make all the other catches I did."
Everything was sinking in for Ward after a long night of
celebration and rounds of TV appearances the next day. Ward is
likely to replace the retiring Jerome Bettis as the Steelers' team
leader and its heart and soul.
"It gave me chills," said Ward, who acknowledged he was sick
with nervousness before the game. "People have been comparing me
to Swann and Stallworth. We have the Super Bowl ring now so maybe
it puts me in the same class."
Ward's game wasn't nearly as memorable as Swann's -- that end
zone drop was just his most glaring mistake -- but it was good
enough to win the MVP award in a ragged game that came down to two
big plays.
"To be named MVP is a great honor, but I still left some plays
out on the field," Ward said after the game. "I could have had an
even better day."
Same for Roethlisberger, who at age 23 became the youngest
quarterback to win a Super Bowl even though he finished with the
worst passer rating by any winning quarterback -- 22.6. Play after
play, he played down to his age.
"He got us here," Ward said. "We have to make plays for him.
I didn't do it on a couple of plays and we all could have played
better."
Bettis, Detroit's favorite son, gained only 43 yards in what
turned out to be his final game, a nondescript performance by one
of football's most unforgettable runners.
"Jerome touched every player, trainer, everyone associated with
the team," Ward said Monday. "It was special for us to see Jerome
come out of the tunnel first and call out the rest of the boys who
got him there."
The entire Pittsburgh offense had little to crow about, other
than two plays that were enough to bring coach Bill Cowher his
first championship.
"I think we lost a little from the week off," Cowher said
Monday. "We had won seven straight and those three road playoff
wins had given us momentum. I think we lost a little of our
sharpness."
It came back with some old-fashioned rust-belt offense: Hand the ball off and clear a path. Pulling left guard Alan Faneca opened a huge hole for Willie Parker on the second play of the second half, setting up a 75-yard touchdown run that was the longest in Super Bowl history.
The Steelers would need one more score. And Ward would get it by
teaming with the Steelers' most versatile player.
Randle El was the X-factor in Super Bowl XL, the college
quarterback turned receiver who can catch the ball, run with it or
throw it. He had already thrown a 51-yard touchdown pass this
season in a victory over Cleveland.
The Steelers had gone conservative all game, getting away from
the air-it-out approach that helped them win three playoffs games
on the road. The last thing the Seahawks expected was a trick play
with everything in the balance.
Parker took a pitchout from Roethlisberger, who then turned
himself into a blocker. Randle El got the ball from Parker and ran
to his right, making it look like a reverse. The Seahawks fell for
it.
Ward ran down the field and right past the duped safeties, who
were convinced it was a run. By the time they figured out what was
happening, Ward had run by them.
It was the first Super Bowl touchdown pass thrown by a receiver.
And the guy who caught it took his place among the Super Bowl's
best.
"Swann and [John] Stallworth, those are the guys that made
spectacular catches in the Super Bowl," Ward said. "And I wanted
to be compared to those guys. I think you can put me on the list
now with those guys."