Seahawks, Steelers in Super Bowl

Seattle advances to U.S. football championship for first time

(AP) -- With their MVP back in business, a fierce defense and all the comforts of playing at home, the Seattle Seahawks had everything they needed to get to their first Super Bowl.

And they did, easily.

Shaun Alexander came back from last week's concussion to rush for a team playoff-record 132 yards and two touchdowns Sunday, and Seattle pressured Carolina stars Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith into oblivion in a 34-14 rout for the NFC championship.

The Seahawks picked off three passes in winning their 12th straight home game and shattering the fifth-seeded Panthers' stunning postseason road run.

In Denver, Colorado, meanwhile, the wildest road trip since "Animal House" rocks on.

The next stop for the Pittsburgh Steelers will be the Super Bowl in Detroit on February 5 and a date with the Seahawks, thanks to a 34-17 dismantling of the Denver Broncos on Sunday in the AFC title game.

"We were sitting, looking at an outside shot to be in the Super Bowl," Steelers linebacker Clark Haggans said. "This is an unbelievable feeling to be here right now."

Defense carries the Seahawks
In Seattle, it was the defense that really carried the Seahawks. It yielded only 62 yards, three first downs and no real threats in the first half.

Then, with Carolina desperate, Seattle allowed virtually nothing until it had a 20-point lead.

Mike Holmgren, only the fifth coach to lead two franchises to the Super Bowl -- he won in 1997 and lost in 1998 with Green Bay -- praised his defense this week for the enormous pressure it applied to opponents all season. That defense led the league in sacks and was always in Delhomme's face, helping force two first-half interceptions that were decisive.

The Panthers weren't helped when starting running back Nick Goings was sidelined in the first quarter after a massive hit by linebacker Lofa Tatupu. They already were minus their top two runners, Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster.

The Seahawks had their horse, though, and by the second half, they could turn to Alexander. As he always has this season, he delivered some big runs as the crowd chanted "M-V-P, M-V-P."

Hasselbeck finished off the Panthers with a gorgeous pump fake that had cornerback Chris Gamble on all fours. Darrell Jackson caught the 20-yard pass for a 27-7 lead, and it was time to celebrate in the Pacific Northwest.

Several players did a Qwest Field leap into the stands at the end as the crowd chanted "Super Bowl, Super Bowl." Their 30-year-old team, which tried to leave Seattle for Los Angeles a decade ago, is, indeed, headed for the big game.

Alexander grabbed the George Halas Trophy and carried it down the field as majestically as he totes a football. He only stopped when he reached the end zone, surrounded by photographers and cheerleaders.

Seahawks owner Paul Allen raised the team's 12th man flag, then waved a white towel to whip the crowd of 67,837 into a frenzy.

Steelers open up offense
In Denver, the Steelers were led by 275 yards and two passing touchdowns from Ben Roethlisberger and a touchdown by Jerome Bettis. Pittsburgh became the first team since the 1985 New England Patriots to win three postseason road games en route to the Super Bowl. Counting the regular season, they've played five of their last six away from Pittsburgh.

"It feels great today, I'll tell you that," Steelers owner Dan Rooney said. "The coach already told me we're going to the Super Bowl to win it, not just to be there."

Outschemed, outplayed and pushed around all day, the Denver Broncos shuffled off to their locker room, heads down, after their first home loss in 10 tries this season.

"We did not complete the mission and it's frustrating," linebacker Ian Gold said. "But anytime you make it to the AFC championship game and you lose, you hope to lose to a team like that."

Indeed, it's hard to deny the Steelers are deserving. Their next game will be for their fifth championship -- that elusive "One For The Thumb" -- that the franchise couldn't get in the 1970s heyday of Bradshaw, Swann, Stallworth and Harris.

Against Denver, the Steelers came out passing, not running, much the same way they did when they upset Indianapolis last week. Roethlisberger called pass plays on seven of Pittsburgh's first 11 snaps and threw completions on five of those.

The first drive resulted in a field goal. On Denver's next possession, Pittsburgh's Joey Porter blitzed to force a Jake Plummer fumble. Five plays later, Roethlisberger hit Cedrick Wilson for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead, quieting the Invesco Field crowd much as the Steelers did in Indy last week and Cincinnati the week before.

After a Denver field goal, the Steelers essentially salted this game with a 14-play, 80-yard drive that ate up nearly 71/2 minutes and had the Broncos defense totally off balance and gasping for air.

Bettis capped it by bulling in from the 3 for a 17-3 lead to put him well on his way to the Super Bowl. Cowher smiled widely for that one, remembering Bettis' near disaster on the goal line last week in Indy.

"This is a great group of guys, how we got here, we're a different team," Cowher said. "We're a focused team, no matter what's happened, we've stayed together. We've got a resilient group."