Journey to Super Bowl XL Trivia Quiz

Answer: Willie Parker, 12 games

Parker ended up with 1202 rushing yards on the season to lead his team. Bettis, in his 10th year with the Pittsburgh Steelers, only played in 12 games, recording his fewest number of carries (110) and his fewest number of total rushing yards (368) for a season.

Answer: Maurice Morris with 288 yards

Morris, from the University of Oregon, played in all 16 regular season games, carried the ball 71 times, and had a 4.1 yards per carry average. Warrick, the former standout from Florida State University in his first year with the Seahawks, had only one rush for 5 yards.

Answer: Hines Ward with 69 catches for 975 yards

Miller, the rookie from Virginia had an outstanding year as a tight end but he only recorded 39 catches for 459 yards. Wilson, in his first year as a Steeler, recorded a 17.3 yards per catch average, but didn't lead the team in catches and receiving yards. Rod Smith, while having a great season in 2005, played for the AFC-West Denver Broncos.

Answer: Jim Zorn

Zorn started his playing career with Seattle in their first year of existence in 1976. Zorn joined the Seahawks as the QB coach on February 16, 2001. Zorn's previous coaching career can be described as: 1988-91 - Boise State: Offensive Assistant/Quarterbacks. 1992-94 - Utah State: Offensive Coordinator 1995-96 - University of Minnesota: Quarterbacks 1997-98 - Seattle Seahawks: Offensive Assistant 1998-00 - Detroit Lions: Quarterbacks.

Answer: Matt Hasselbeck, 216 yards/game

Hasselbeck also averaged more TD passes per game with 1.5. Roethlisberger averaged just 1.42 TDs per game. However, when the quarterback ratings were computed, Big Ben had a slightly better rating of 98.6 over Hasselbeck's 98.2.

Answer: Seattle, 4 players

The Seahawks roster included 3 players from Washington State; C, Robbie Tobeck; CB, Marcus Trufant; and G, Joey Hollenbeck. Their roster also carried TE Jerramy Stevens from Washington. The Steelers players who played in Pennsylvania-based colleges included only C, Jeff Hartings from Penn State, and RB John Kuhn from Shippensburg, who prepared for the Super Bowl as a member of the practice squad.

Answer: Matt Hasselbeck, 98.2

Big Ben actually had the better passer rating going head-to-head, but his efforts were only good enough for third in his own conference. The leader in the AFC was Peyton Manning with a rating of 104.1, followed by Carson Palmer at 101.1. For the NFC, Marc Bulger of the Rams finished second (94.4) and Brad Johnson of the Vikings came in third (88.9). For the AFC,

Answer: Jerramy Stevens, 45 catches for 554 yards

Heath Miller was more celebrated as an outstanding rookie, even if he didn't have as many receptions or yards as Stevens. But Miller did score 6 TDs compared to Stevens' 5 on the season.

Answer: Seattle, 12 points

Even though the Pittsburgh Steelers were perhaps better known for their rock-steady defense, in the 3 playoff games they played, they gave up more points (17.3) than the pass-happy Seahawks. Against Pittsburgh, Cincinnati scored 17; Indianapolis scored 18; and Denver scored just 17. Seattle held Washington to 10 points in the divisional round and the 'Hawks held Carolina to just 14.

Answer: Seattle, 10 points down to Tennessee

Surprisingly, the Seahawks had some trouble with the lowly Tennessee Titans on December 18, 2005, in The Colesium. After storming out to a 14-0 lead, the Seahawks gave up 24 unanswered points, and with 6:14 left in the 3rd Quarter, the team in Blue and Green found themselves down by 10. However, the Seahawks shut down the Titans and came back to win the contest 28-24.

Answer: Seattle defeated Philadelphia 42-0

The Steelers embarrassed their rival Browns to be sure, but the Seahawks lopsided win at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field against the defending NFC Champs, had to be considered a passing of the torch. The Seahawks held a 35-0 lead by the end of the first half! It wasn't much of a contest as starter Donovan McNabb was injured and backups Koy Detmer and Mike McMahon combined for 145 passing yards and 4 interceptions.

Answer: 4, Jacksonsville Jaguars

The common teams played included the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Green Bay Packers, and Indianapolis Colts. Pittsburgh lost in Game 5 to the Jaguars, 23-17, and the Seahawks lost their season-opener against the Jaguars, 26-14.

Answer: Chris Gardocki

Clemson standout, Gardocki, was in his 15th NFL season as the team made the Super Bowl, having played in 228 regular season games. Before signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Gardocki played for the Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, and Cleveland Browns. He threw one incomplete pass during the 2005 regular season, giving him a passer rating of 39.6 on the season.

Answer: Seattle Seahawks, 13-3

Seattle lost their first and last games of the season and managed to win 11 in a row from October 9th to December 24th 2005, averaging a 15.8 margin of victory in those 11 wins.

Answer: Pittsburgh Steelers

Ironically, the Steelers defied the odds just to earn the trip to the Super Bowl. Coming into the playoff season as the lowest seed in the AFC, 6 of a possible 6 teams, the Steelers defeated all of their higher-ranked opponents on the long and winding road to Super Bowl XL.