DETROIT — Ben Roethlisberger's pass floated right toward his hands. Hines Ward made sure he got both feet down in the end zone, then started closing his fingers around the ball.

Remarkably, he dropped it.

No excuses. The Pittsburgh Steelers' top receiver flat-out dropped it.

"The great ones don't miss balls in the Super Bowl," Ward said. "And I want to be considered one of the great ones."

Before this Super Bowl ended, Ward would get more chances to prove he deserves to be counted among the greats. And, he wouldn't bumble those chances away.

Ward completed an MVP performance Sunday by catching a 43-yard touchdown pass from receiver Antwaan Randle El, a trick play that became the decisive play in the Steelers' 21-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

Pittsburgh's Lynn Swann won the Super Bowl MVP in 1976 for making one big catch after another against Dallas, including a diving grab of a tipped ball that makes all of the Super Bowl highlight reels.

Ward's game wasn't nearly as memorable — that end zone drop was just his most glaring mistake — but it was good enough to win the MVP award in a ragged game that came down to two big plays.

"To be named MVP is a great honor, but I still left some plays out on the field," Ward said. "I could have had an even better day."

Same for Roethlisberger, who at age 23 became the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl even though he finished with the worst passer rating by any winning quarterback — 22.6. Play after play, he played down to his age.

Jerome Bettis, Detroit's favorite son, gained only 43 yards in what turned out to be his final game, a nondescript performance by one of football's most unforgettable runners.

In fact, the entire Pittsburgh offense had little to crow about, other than two plays that were enough to bring coach Bill Cowher his first championship.

The first was some old-fashioned rust-belt offense: Hand the ball off and clear a path. Pulling left guard Alan Faneca opened a huge hole for Willie Parker on the second play of the second half, setting up a 75-yard touchdown run that was the longest in Super Bowl history.

"It was a great play when it was called," Parker said. "They called it at the right time, and Faneca just paved the way."

That play alone could have been enough — should have been enough. But Roethlisberger wasn't up to it, throwing an interception near the goal line with a chance to put it away.

The Steelers would need one more score. And Ward would get it by teaming with the Steelers' most versatile player.

Randle El was the X-factor in Super Bowl XL, the college quarterback turned receiver who can catch the ball, run with it or throw it. He had already thrown a 51-yard touchdown pass this season in a victory over Cleveland.

Offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt decided to include the same play in his Super Bowl playbook, and Pittsburgh waited for the perfect time to call it.

The Steelers had gone conservative all game, getting away from the air-it-out approach that helped them win three playoffs games on the road. The last thing the Seahawks expected was a trick play with everything in the balance.

"When we called it, my eyes lit up and I had to try to not give it away," Randle El said.

Parker took a pitchout from Roethlisberger, who then turned himself into a blocker. Randle El got the ball from Parker and ran to his right, making it look like a reverse. The Seahawks fell for it.

Ward ran down the field and right past the duped safeties, who were convinced it was a run. By the time they figured out what was happening, Ward had run by them.

This one was easy.

"Certainly this is a team that uses guys like me," Randle El said. "That's what we do, use all the versatility we have on this team to get it done."

It was the first Super Bowl touchdown pass thrown by a receiver, taking its place on the list of title game trickery. Dallas closed out a 27-10 win over Denver in 1978 with Robert Newhouse's 29-yard option pass to Golden Richards.

And the guy who caught it took his place among the Super Bowl's best.

"Swann and (John) Stallworth, those are the guys that made spectacular catches in the Super Bowl," Ward said. "And I wanted to be compared to those guys. I think you can put me on the list now with those guys."

AP-ES-02-06-06 0650EST