Stop pinching yourself. You're awake, and it's true.
Tom Brady will be on the golf course Sunday, the only kicking Adam Vinatieri will be doing is a backyard soccer game with his toddler, and Bill Belichick's biggest, and only, impact will come alongside Mike Tirico on Sunday's pregame show.
Like it or not, the New England Patriots aren't playing, and Super Bowl XV in Detroit will mark the first non-appearance by New England since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers bested the Oakland Raiders in 2003.
With the world champs out of the picture, football fans will await a matchup between one of the NFL's top all-time losers and one of its greatest underachievers. Sunday marks the Seattle Seahawks' first visit to the Big Dance in the franchise's 30-year history. And in head coach Bill Cowher's 14 years leading the Pittsburgh Steelers, he has taken his club to the playoffs 10 times, reaching six AFC Championship Games. The success ends there, however, as the Steelers' only previous Super Bowl appearance under Cowher in 1998 ended in a 27-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Something has to give. Either the Steelers, one of the NFL's most storied franchises, will end a championship drought dating back to Super Bowl XIV in 1980, or the Seahawks, one of the NFL's historically enigmatic clans, will reach the Promised Land in their first try.
There are other firsts on the line in Sunday's contest. Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren, a Super Bowl winner with the Green Bay Packers (a 35-21 drubbing of Bill Parcells' Patriots in 1997), could become the first coach to win a Super Bowl with multiple teams.
The Steelers are already the first No. 6 seed to emerge from the conference playoffs, and a win on Sunday would make them the first to win the Super Bowl. Additionally, a Steel City triumph on Sunday would make quarterback Ben Roethlisberger the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl, a title currently held by - you guessed it - Tom Brady.
For those of you out there who gamble (Disclaimer: The Tufts Daily neither encourages nor condones wagering on sporting events, but don't let us stop you), you already know that the Steelers, the AFC's sixth seed, are favored by four points over Seattle, the NFC's top seed. So what gives? Where's the love for the Seahawks? Read on...
Yes, Steelers running back and future Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis is from Detroit, the site of Super Bowl XL. Unfortunately for the aging Bettis, in 12 regular season and three playoff games this season, he has only rushed for over 56 yards once. The Bus will be a non-factor on Sunday. A large, bowling ball-shaped non-factor.
That leaves second-year back Willie Parker to carry the load for Pittsburgh's vaunted rushing attack, and nobody can take away the 1,202 rushing yards he racked up in the regular season. But in nine games this season against playoff teams, Parker has been substandard. His two best performances - a 131-yard outburst in Week 7 and a 71-yard showing in Week 13, both came against the Bengals. Every other playoff team kept Parker in check, and the Seahawks will do the same on Sunday.
That leaves Roethlisberger as the x-factor. The Steelers' second-year signal-caller has put last year's playoff woes in the past and performed admirably this postseason. And defensively, Seattle has been weakest in the secondary, so Pittsburgh's aerial attack will pose the biggest threat on Sunday. But Seattle's three interceptions of Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme and stifling of MVP candidate wideout Steve Smith may be an indication of rough terrain ahead for the Pittsburgh offense.
On the other side of the ball, Seahawks quarterback and Boston College alum Matt Hasselbeck has saved his best performances of the season for some of Seattle's toughest opponents. Hasselbeck went for 249 yards and two touchdowns in Week 12 against the then 7-3 New York Giants, completed 17 of 21 passes for two scores in Week 16 against the then 13-1 Indianapolis Colts, and threw for 219 yards and another two scores against Carolina in the NFC Championship Game. Unlike Bettis, Seattle's veteran offensive leader will live up to the hype on Sunday.
And let us not forget the Most Valuable Player of the NFL, Seattle running back Shaun Alexander. Excluding three games where he exited early, Alexander has been held under 100 yards only three times all season, and not since Week 7. Returning from a head injury suffered against Washington in the Divisional Round, Alexander ran for 132 yards and two scores against Carolina last Sunday. With two more weeks of rest, Alexander should be fully recharged and, after embarrassing Carolina, the league's fourth-best rushing defense, he has his sights set on the Steelers, the league's third-best.
While safety Troy Polamalu and linebackers James Farrior and Joey Porter do pose a challenge, Hasselbeck, Alexander and the rest of the Seattle attack should produce enough to outscore the under-tested Roethlisberger and Parker along with the over-hyped Bettis.
Look for a slow start from both teams as they adjust to the big stage and return from the bye week, but the running games will explode in the middle quarters. In the final frame, The Bus will be running on empty, leaving Pittsburgh one-dimensional. A steady diet of Alexander on the ground and Hasselbeck connecting in the air will provide Seattle with the winning margin.
The AFC's sixth seed may be the favorite, but the NFC's best will come out victorious. Cowher, undoubtedly one of the NFL's best coaches, and the Steelers will just have to wait until next year, along with the league's other 30 teams.
Seattle 26, Pittsburgh 16.
