Super Bowl power rankings: Who’s the best loser?
By John Buhler
25. 2005 Seattle Seahawks, Super Bowl XL
The Seattle Seahawks first joined the NFL as a member of the AFC in 1976. It took 29 years and moving to the NFC in 2002 to help set up Mike Holgrem’s club to make their first Super Bowl appearance ever in Super Bowl XL.
Seattle had quarterback Matt Hasselbeck in his prime and an All-Pro at running back in Shaun Alexander. Holmgren had won a Super Bowl and been to another as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers. Many thought that his system in place in Seattle would help give the Pacific Northwest its first Lombardi Trophy.
The Seahawks went 13-3 in 2005, winning the NFC West in the process. They won by double digits in both the Divisional round over the Washington Redskins and the Carolina Panthers in the 2005 NFC Championship at then Qwest Field.
Despite dominating the NFC, Seattle was a four-point underdog to the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL. In what was Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis’ final NFL game ever in his native Detroit, the Steelers won their fifth Lombardi Trophy, beating the Seahawks by 11 points, 21-10.
The Steelers defense was the difference maker in Super Bowl XL. In other years, maybe the 2005 Seahawks would have won a Super Bowl. The Pacific Northwest would get its first Lombardi Trophy eight years later with an entirely new regime at the helm in head coach Pete Carroll, quarterback Russell Wilson, and the Legion of Boom secondary.
Next: 24. 1991 Buffalo Bills