Despite all the back-and-forth bellyaching between Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker Joey Porter and Seattle Seahawk tight end Jerramy Stevens, neither made an impact on Sunday night to match the hype leading up to Sunday's game.
Porter provided the Steelers with a three tackles, but did not step up with the type of game-changing play that makes him one of the game's best outside linebackers. On the other side of the ball, Stevens caught Seattle's only touchdown but had a terrible night overall, with many drops and missed opportunities and a measly three receptions on the night.
If Porter didn't follow his Media Week MVP performance with an equal performance on the field, who did? The voters said Steeler wide receiver Hines Ward deserved the honor, and his five receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown were impressive at first glance.
Upon further examination, however, Ward's outing was only slightly better than ordinary. He dropped a catchable pass in the end zone in the second quarter, and if it hadn't been for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's pocket presence heroics a few plays later, Ward's 37-yard reception setting up Pittsburgh's first score never would have happened. Combine that play with his easy 43-yard game-solidifying touchdown reception coming off Antwaan Randle El's reverse pass in the fourth quarter, and Ward is left with three catches for 43 yards.
Yes, Ward was on the business end of two of Pittsburgh's three memorable plays (Willie Parker's 75-yard touchdown scamper, the longest in Super Bowl history, to open the second half being the other), but it was Roethlisberger and Randle El who actually made the plays.
But could you give MVP honors to Big Ben? His nine-of-21 for 123 yards and two interception passing day says, "no way."
And Randle El? He was noticeably quiet for much of the game, catching only three balls for 22 yards, and, although he did total 32 yards on two punt returns, it was not an MVP outing. And other than Parker's record-setting touchdown run (which was largely set up by Seahawk safety Michael Boulware's missed tackle), he had only nine carries for 18 yards.
On a day where statistical dominance was hard to come by, why not give MVP honors to the Steelers' ultimate grinder, Jerome Bettis? Sure, the Bus only traveled 43 yards on 14 carries, but many of those yards came as Pittsburgh was running out the clock in the final quarter. Combine that with Pittsburgh's "Win it for Jerome" attitude, some expectations that Bettis would not live up to the Detroit homecoming hoopla, and the later-confirmed retirement rumors, and Bettis might have been the most important Steeler on the field Sunday night.
Bettis' performance might not have been pretty, but neither was much of Pittsburgh's performance, so why not send Bettis packing for his five-year wait for the Hall of Fame's inevitable call with a Super Bowl MVP?
