1) The 1st touchdown: the reply was uncertain so even if the call had gone the other way, it wouldn't have been reversed. IMO Ben made it in when the ball was about 6 to 12 in off the ground. The ball arced into the white paint and then was outside again when it made contact. It's close but that's a touchdown.
2) Holding calls: I don't remember the sequence but I think there were two significant ones. The one that ended up as a takedown was definitely holding; the other was a bad call in my opinion, just a good block.
3) Offensive pass interference in the endzone: both players have an equal right to the ball. If the roles had been reversed and the corner had pushed off the receiver in the exact manner in order to get the pick, everyone would be crying for pass interference and they'd be right. The ref was right too.
4) Some calls went in Seattle's favor: the refs correctly reversed the call that Hasselbeck fumbled the ball during his 4th quarter scramble. Also, I think it was Stevens that "dropped" a pass after getting hit in the first half. He took two steps and turned around - that should have been a fumble...
You are betting that the Steelers would have got to that ball before if went out of bounds around the 10 yard line. Maybe. Maybe not. If not then the call hurt Seattle.
Good recap.
On the offensive holding call, the receiver pushed off. The replay showed that.
On the touchdown call, upheld by replay, it was only third down and Cowhers would have sent the Bus in on the next play from half-an-inch anyway. Cowhers doesn't settle for the field goal that early in the game. Ben scored because the tip of the football broke the plane anyway - - touchdown.
The game started off with an irrelevant holding call against Seattle (which was declined), and then two false starts against the Steelers on their first possession - - gee, it looked like the game was fixed against the Steelers at that point, didn't it?
It wasn't the refs who dropped Hasselbeck passes that should have been caught in the biggest game of the year, and it wasn't the refs who threw that Hasselbeck interception, and it wasn't the refs who threw two great passes downfield - - out of bounds, and it wasn't the refs who missed a FG attempt, and it wasn't the refs who mismanaged the clock. It also wasn't the refs who overcame a devastating Roethlisberger interception and held the Seahawks to only ten points.
Cowhers clearly outcoached Holmgren, and the Steelers deserved the win.
The better team did indeed win.
Congratulations to the Steelers and their fans.