First of all, congrats to the Steelers, their fans & $$$$ backers. The writeup below was actually written by someone else but it echos my thoughts. I'm not mentioning anything about a fix because I just don't believe that exists in the NFL, it would be too difficult to pull off. But with only 3 penalities called on Pitt the whole game and some very key ones called on Seattle if this officiating crew ever sees another big game there ought to be an investigation.
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Since all the talk seems to be on the refs, I'll mention that first. I counted 7 questionable calls in the game, and one bad call (questionable calls could go either way, but aren’t necessarily bad calls). It just so happens, 6 of the 7 questionable calls favored the Steelers, and the bad call did as well. With that said, in my opinion, the refs didn’t do that bad of a job, but is just seemed that Pit got all the “iffy calls.

Some of the questionable calls were:

Jackson Pass Interference: According to the rulebook, that is a classic push off. I don’t care what Irvin and Young said, Jackson used his hand to push off to create separation. It wasn’t the biggest push off, but a push off nonetheless.

Ben Touchdown: Hard to say if he got in. Probably missed it by an inch. But not enough to get overturned.

Holding on the Right Tackle: Although Madden said that wasn’t a hold (Madden always shows NFC bias)- it was an easy call. Haggans had him beat, and he grabbed and turned.

There were a 3 more calls that favored the Steelers that could have gone either way, including the Horse Collar not called. The only iffy call that favored the Hawks was the Tofu pass interference on Miller not called.

The only call that I would say the refs completely missed (without a doubt), was the illegal block called on Hassleback. Missed that one, as it clearly should have not been called.

When you see all the questionable calls favor one team, its hard to stomach if you are on the bad end. But when its all said and done, the Seahawks couldn’t capitalize on a Steelers team that brought their D game today. This is as bad as you will see the Steelers play, and the Hawks still couldn’t beat them. They had three drives start inside the 50 in the first half, and walked away with 3 points. Inexcusable. In my opinion, if they were to play another 9 times, this might be the closest the Hawks get. Their offense for the most part was crisp and efficient, and their defense played well aside from 2 plays. The Steelers on the other hand were rusty from the get go. Ben never settled down. False starts and missed blocking assignment and dropped passes on offense. Their defense elected to abandon the press coverage and exotic blitzes, and went to a soft zone bend don’t break. Questionable decision, but you can’t argue with 10 points allowed.

You might say this game was lost on Wednesday. The day Stevens decided to open his mouth. He clearly dropped those passes because due to mental toughness (or a lack there of) not physical ability. All three drops were Huge. Two could have set up touchdowns, and the third made a drive stall. If he catches two of them, the Hawks might be celebrating.

All in all, a so, so game dominated by “what ifs” Neither team played like a champion, but someone had to win.

2 directional win for me with my Steelers bet (could have gone either way), but the under was a solid bet for whomever had it.

Good analysis.

Reporters are starting to cry foul in different newspapers. I just think it's kind of funny that the one game everybody wagers one was officiated in a way that regular bettors are more than familiar with. A warm 'welcome to the club' to all crybabies.

I'll agree about the officiating. It could have been better. Even a staunch Steelers fan with whom I watched the game had to admit that the Seahawks got the short end of the stick on several calls. R.D. touched on all of those, so no need for me to rehash.

And, as Dark Horse said, some in the media are crying foul, and we'll hear more of that in the next few days. I'm sure this subject will take up a good amount of time on "Cold Pizza" and "Pardon the Interruption" on Monday. It's good fodder for debate.

That said, the one thing that struck me is that the Steelers made the big plays. Hines Ward, Antwaan Randle El and Willie Parker really came through and made things happen. I think a couple of breaks here and there might have allowed Seattle to at least earn an ATS push, but it just didn't turn out that way.

From a wagering standpoint, the day was nothing for me to moan about. A couple of small plays (Seattle +4 and +167) were losers. OK, so what? They'll be negated by a couple of hoops winners later this week. Congrats to the Steelers and all their backers.

Not to add anything that has been posted but it seemed like everytime the Seahawks made a push inside the Steelers 20 yard line there was a penalty or worse a dropped pass.

This game should have been an ATS win and an Over if things don't pan out the way that they did.

Congrats to Steeler backers.

well said