Superbowl 40 Fixed?

The 2006 Seattle/Pittsburg Superbowl had all the appearances of a fixed game. Until there is an investigation, there is no way to know for sure what happened. Whether the NFL needed Pittsburg to win or the refs were somehow on the take, we don’t yet know. One thing is for sure, it is really hard to chalk up the horrendous one-sided officiating to incompetence.

Seattle lost because the referees shifted the momentum to the Steelers at multiple key moments in the game. This is what the game came down to. It is the job of the officials to keep the game fair not the opposite.

The early Offensive Pass Interference (OPI) call that went against the Seahawks was obviously incorrect. To wit: the DB interfered with the WR twice before the touchdown pass (once right in front of the ref just prior to the WR “pushing off"). Either it should have been called as defensive pass interference or ignored altogether. If you’re going to call OPI you better be DANG SURE that the defender didn’t interfere first (which in this case he did).

The call giving the dubious touchdown to Pittsburg was also wrong as a matter of simple geometry and physics. The on-axis camera angle may have been inconclusive given that the QB’s hand was blocking the view of the football when he hit the turf but it clearly showed the position of his forearm which is all we need to know as far as the position of the ball is concerned.

The corner endzone camera showed that the ball was not in the QB’s hands but rather by his forearm (and going even further toward his chest as he fell) when he hit the ground. This shot may not have shown the the location of the ball at the end of the fall but we do see it just before. All the replay reviewer had to do would have been to note where the ball was relative to the QB’s hands (moving back towards the QB’s chest in the area of his forearm) and then look at the on axis goal line camera and note where the forearm was when he hit the ground. The ball was about 4-6_ back from the goal line.

In both of these cases, the refs changed the course of the game in a way that was unfair to the Seahawks. This momentum change, coupled with other dubious calls, dramatically and obviously affected the mood of the underdog Seahawks. They never really played the same after this 14 point swing in the favor of the Steelers.

This is not to excuse them for not pulling it together and trying to overcome the officiating but they just could not get a break from the officials. When that happened, the impression was solidified that the fix was in. Seahawk morale deteriorated while the Steelers, seeing that they could do no wrong in the eyes of the refs, had their confidence buoyed.

The Seahawks should have ignored the momentum altering calls but because they didn’t, they lost.

Numerous press stories here, and
here, and
here, and
here seem to support the contention that something went horribly wrong with Sunday’s officiating.

Seattle did have problems with clock management and dropped balls but they still would have beaten the lackluster Steelers had they not had the cards stacked against them.

I've already outlined two questionable calls that, had they gone the other direction, Pittsburg would have lost. This does not count the other half dozen or so highly questionable calls that either cost Seattle huge amounts of yardage or set Pittsburg up for a couple of TDs. Nor does it include the fact that Pittsburg was only penalized ONCE in the game on the ref's own volition.

Here is a rundown of the moments wherein the officials mistakenly altered the basic momentum of the game:

-SECOND drive of the game. On 3rd down, Hasselback connects with Jackson for a first down on Pittsburgh 20 BUT:

Highly dubious holding penalty is called on the Seahawks -- Seattle is forced to punt - scoring opportunity for the Seahawks taken away.

-THIRD Drive - Hasselback connects with Darrel Jackson -- Seattle touchdown BUT:

OPI penalty is called that should have been called as a DPI or ignored because of mutual contact. Seattle settles for a field goal.

-FOURTH Drive - punt returned by Seattle 39 yards for a first down on the Pittsburgh 40 BUT:

ANOTHER SUSPECT PENALTY (a trend?) Every big play so far a penalty is called against Seattle. Seahawks must instead start on their 22 instead of Pittsburgh 40 - The Seahawks probably would have added at least another 3 points on this drive.

-Right before the half -- Pittsburgh comes up short on a QB rush to the goal line. BUT:

Despite not making it to the goal line, seven points are awarded to Pittsburg instead. Yes, they may have gotten a TD the next down but we'll never know. In any case, this call was a further indication of the bias of the officiating and a huge blow to Seattle morale.

SECOND HALF - Seahawks starts drive from their own 2 with score 14 - 10 - Hasselback connects to Stevens for first down on the Pittsburgh 1 BUT:

ANOTHER BIG PLAY PENALTY called on the Seahawks - What would have been a certain touchdown and 17-14 lead for Seattle instead turned into third and long and forced Hasselback to throw a desperation pass that was intercepted.

-On the Pittsburg run-back, Hasselback makes an amazing tackle after the interception BUT:

ANOTHER PENALTY giving the Steelers a gift first down at the Seahawks 45 and setting them up for their trick pass touchdown.

Here are some additional facts to mull over:

1. Every penalty called on the Seahawks happened on a game changing play. -- Not a single penalty was called on a short yardage gain or on an incomplete pass. Now that is just odd, don't you think?

2. Pittsburgh, arguably the most physical team in the NFL had only THREE penalties called against them in the entire game! 2 were for false starts (and note that the Seahawks' defensive lineman had to point out the penalty by initiating contact with the Pittsburgh player after they moved to get the official to call the penalty). That left only ONE Penalty called on Pittsburgh the ENTIRE GAME!

3. Going into this game the Seahawks were the second least penalized team in the NFL.

4. Pittsburgh on Sunday, was the FIRST team to ever win the Superbowl while having more turnovers than their opponents.

5. Ben Rothslisberger (with his terrible 22.9 QB rating) has the lowest rating in the history of the Superbowl for a team that WON the Superbowl.

6. Seattle outplayed Pittsburg in every stat category and is the first team to ever lose a Superbowl under that circumstance.


I won't go into all the suspicious penalties beyond those I have listed above given that the links to writers above go into that detail for me.

Suffice to say, had just two of the obviously wrong calls made by the refs gone the other way, we would be talking today about how Pittsburg deserved to lose given their terrible offense and inability to overcome the huge rushing and pass advantages of the Seahawks. Instead, the terrible officiating is the discussion.