By Ryan Mercer/sports editor

   The 2005 season comes to a conclusion this Sunday in Detroit as Super Bowl XL pits the Seattle Seahawks against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
   A gut feeling says the Pittsburgh Steelers will pull off the victory because of its stellar showing throughout the playoffs.
   When Pittsburgh beat Indianapolis and Carolina beat Chicago, the playoffs turned into a big crapshoot with anyone having a legitimate shot at going to the Super Bowl.
   After the conference championships a week later, the distinction between the contenders and the pretenders became clear. The Pittsburgh Steelers played an impressive game to cap off their unbelievable run to the Super Bowl beating the Denver Broncos 34-17 while Seattle handled Carolina 34-14.
   Seattle was expected to be there; Pittsburgh was not.
   The biggest match-up in this game will be the Seattle offense versus Pittsburgh defense. Strong safety Troy Polamalu is the x-factor for the Pittsburgh defense. If Polamalu can get to the line of scrimmage and make plays, then Pittsburgh’s chances of winning are very good.
   However, Seattle has an excellent running game with Shaun Alexander and very good passer in Matt Hasselbeck. Pittsburgh cannot allow this offense to get on a roll or the game will turn ugly fast.
   The key factor for the Pittsburgh offense is not running back Jerome Bettis or wide-out Hines Ward but quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
   Roethlisberger must play mistake-free football if his team is to have any shot.
   The staple of the Pittsburgh offense is its running game; Willie Parker and Bettis are a perfect one-two punch in the backfield with Parker being the speed and Bettis being the power.
   The offensive line must find a way to create running lanes for Parker and Bettis.
   Pittsburgh needs to get the ball in the red zone; protecting Roethlisberger will be critical for Pittsburgh.
   What it boils down to for either team is coaching. Bill Cowher has been to the Super Bowl, but for Pittsburgh to have the best chance at winning this game, he must pull something out of the playbook on offense and defense that he has not shown this year.
   If Cowher can pull out some plays that haven’t been used all year, Pittsburgh can win this game and quite possibly win it very convincingly.
   The past few Super Bowls have been close, exciting games. Super Bowl XL could be a blow out.
   Pittsburgh is coming into this game having beaten the top teams in the AFC—all on the road.
   Pittsburgh will establish the run with Parker and pound it in the end zone with Bettis. Roethlisberger will make critical throws for first downs and ultimately the big play. Polamalu will fly around the field, and Porter will hassle Hasselbeck to preserve the win as the Pittsburgh wins it, 35-27.