NFL playoffs , 2005 - 06 The National Football League playoffs for the 2005 season began on January 7 , 2006 and led up to Super Bowl XL on February 5 , 2006 at Ford Field in Detroit , Michigan . After scrutiny in the Wild Card and Divisional rounds , the league reversed a three - year precedent , and returned to " all star " officiating crews for the Conference Championship games . Since 2003 - 04 , postseason officiating had been done by entire crews from the regular season . Wild Card playoffs . Saturday , January 7 , 2006 . NFC : Washington Redskins 17 , Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10 . Although the Redskins gained only 120 yards on offense , the lowest total in NFL playoff history for a winning team , they converted two turnovers into touchdowns . Midway through the first quarter , Washington linebacker LaVar Arrington ' s 21 - yard interception return set up running back Clinton Portis ' six - yard touchdown run . Then , Redskins linebacker Marcus Washington recovered Tampa Bay running back Carnell Williams ' fumble and returned it seven yards before losing it himself – into the arms of safety Sean Taylor who then ran 51 yards for the Redskins ' second touchdown . Early in the second quarter , Tampa Bay drove 38 yards to the Redskins 24 - yard line where Matt Bryant kicked a 43 - yard field goal to cut their deficit to 14 - 3 . The Redskins responded with an 10 - play , 40 - yard drive and scored with a 40 - yard field goal from John Hall . In the third quarter , Mark Jones gave the Buccaneers the ball at their own 49 - yard line on a 24 - yard punt return . Tampa Bay ' s offense then went on a 7 - play , 51 - yard drive that ended with quarterback Chris Simms ' two - yard touchdown run . In the fourth quarter , Tampa Bay drove to the Redskins 19 - yard line , but linebacker Lemar Marshall tackled fullback Mike Alstott for no gain on third down and 1 , and then Simms threw an incomplete pass on fourth down . Buccaneers defensive back Brian Kelly intercepted a pass from Mark Brunell on the Redskins ' next drive and returned it the Redskins 35 - yard line . With 3 minutes left in the game , Tampa Bay wide receiver Edell Shepherd caught what appeared to be a 35 - yard touchdown reception , but he lost control of the ball as he was coming down in the end zone for an incomplete pass . The Buccaneers got one last chance to tie the game when they received a punt at their own 46 - yard line with 1 : 05 left in regulation , but Simms threw a pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage and went into the arms of the Redskins ' Marcus Washington for a game - ending interception . This game was widely regarded by commentators as an " ugly " performance by both teams ' offenses , rendering it a largely defensive game . AFC : New England Patriots 28 , Jacksonville Jaguars 3 . The three - time Super Bowl champion Patriots , who for the first time in their previous three playoff trips would have to win three games to advance to the Super Bowl , defeated the Jaguars 28 - 3 . Linebacker Willie McGinest set NFL playoff records for sacks in a game ( 4 . 5 , 1 sack ahead of the old record held by Richard Dent and Rich Milot ) and career postseason sacks ( 16 , two ahead of the old record held by Bruce Smith ) , while quarterback Tom Brady threw for 201 yards and three touchdown passes . In the first half , the Jaguars recorded four sacks and held New England to 126 yards , while the Patriots defense recorded two sacks , gave up only 115 yards , and didn ' t allow a first down until 9 : 40 remained in the second period . Neither team could score in the first quarter , but early in the second , New England receiver Tim Dwight returned Chris Hanson ' s 46 - yard punt 27 yards to the Jaguars 37 - yard line . Two 4 - yard runs by Corey Dillon and an 18 - yard burst from Kevin Faulk then moved the ball to the 11 - yard line , and Brady capped off the drive with an 11 - yard touchdown pass to Troy Brown . On Jacksonville ' s ensuing possession , Jimmy Smith ' s 19 - yard reception gave his team a first down for the first time in the game and moved the ball to the Patriots 44 - yard line . But on the next play , a tackle from safety Eugene Wilson caused Alvin Pearman to fumble the ball , and defensive lineman Richard Seymour recovered it . However , the Patriots could not take advantage of the turnover ; Jacksonville managed to force a punt and then drove into scoring range for the first time in the game . Quarterback Byron Leftwich completed five passes for 59 yards on the drive , and Josh Scobee finished it with a 36 - yard field goal , cutting their deficit to 7 - 3 . After the kickoff , Faulk ' s 21 - yard reception moved the ball to midfield and gave the Patriots a chance to increase their lead before halftime , but receiver Deion Branch dropped a pass from Brady at the Jaguars 10 - yard line with 19 seconds left . After forcing Jacksonville to punt on the opening drive of the second half , Brady led the Patriots 81 - yards in 12 plays . On the 11th play , they nearly turned the ball over when tight end Benjamin Watson fumbled the ball on the Jaguars 5 - yard line , but receiver André Davis recovered the ball , and Brady threw a 3 - yard touchdown pass to David Givens on the next play . Then after forcing a punt , Brady threw a short pass to Watson who broke several tackles en route to a 63 - yard score , increasing New England ' s lead to 21 - 3 . After the kickoff , Leftwich led his team to the Patriots 32 - yard line , but on the first play of the fourth quarter , defensive back Asante Samuel intercepted Leftwich ' s pass and took off for a 73 - yard touchdown return , making the score 28 - 3 . After that , Jacksonville mounted two more drives , but could not come away with any points . First they drove to the Patriots 8 - yard line . But on third down and 2 , McGinest sacked Leftwich for a 15 - yard loss and Scobee missed a 41 - yard field goal attempt on the next play . Then after forcing a punt , they drove to the Patriots 6 - yard line , but ended up turning the ball over downs with 5 minutes left in the game . This game also marked three career playoff records : Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick set records for 10 straight postseason victories , eclipsing Vince Lombardi ' s run with the Green Bay Packers in the 1960s . Sunday , January 8 , 2006 . NFC : Carolina Panthers 23 , New York Giants 0 . The Panthers forced five turnovers , limited the Giants to only 109 yards of total offense , and became the first club to shut out a home playoff team since the Los Angeles Rams shut out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1979 NFC Championship Game . Although the Giants entered the game with Pro Bowl er Tiki Barber starting at running back , the Panthers running game , featuring DeShaun Foster and Nick Goings , outgained the Giants 223 yards to 41 on the ground . Carolina wide receiver Steve Smith caught 10 passes for 84 yards and scored two touchdowns , a 22 - yard reception and a 12 - yard run , while kicker John Kasay added three field goals and Foster rushed for 151 yards . Meanwhile , quarterback Eli Manning threw three interception s in his first playoff start . After the first five possessions of the game ended with punts , Carolina drove 77 yards in 12 plays and scored with Jake Delhomme ' s 22 - yard touchdown pass to Smith . On Carolina ' s next possession , they were forced to punt , but New York safety Gibril Wilson muffed the kick and Panthers defensive back Dante Wesley recovered the ball at the Giants 15 - yard line , setting up a 31 - yard Kasay field goal to increase the lead to 10 – 0 . Carolina dominated the second half , intercepting Eli Manning three times . Midway through the third quarter , Ken Lucas intercepted a pass from Manning and returned it 14 yards to the Giants 12 - yard line , setting up Smith ' s 12 - yard touchdown run on the next play . On New York ' s next drive , a 17 - yard pass interference penalty on Lucas nullified his second interception and gave the Giants a first down at the Panthers 43 - yard line . But two plays later , Manning ' s pass was intercepted by Marlon McCree at the 18 . On the Panthers ensuing drive , Foster rushed three times for 44 yards , and Delhomme completed a 25 - yard pass to Keary Colbert , moving the ball to the Giants 27 - yard line where Kasay ' s 45 - yard field goal made the score 20 - 0 . Then five plays after the kickoff , McCree recorded his second interception on the Panthers 44 - yard line . Carolina subsequently closed out the scoring with a 14 - play , 55 yard drive that ended with Kasay ' s third field goal with 2 : 40 left in the game . AFC : Pittsburgh Steelers 31 , Cincinnati Bengals 17 . The Bengals ' first playoff appearance in 15 years began when Pro Bowl quarterback Carson Palmer was knocked out of the game on their opening drive . They still managed to build an early 10 point lead , but gave up 24 unanswered points later in the game while turning the ball over three times . On the Bengals second offensive play of the game , Palmer suffered a season - ending knee injury after being hit by Pittsburgh ' s Kimo von Oelhoffen , but his 66 - yard pass to wide receiver Chris Henry ( who was also injured on the play ) set up kicker Shayne Graham ' s 23 - yard field goal . Then after forcing a punt , backup quarterback Jon Kitna completed 3 consecutive passes for 40 yards and rushed for 11 , while running back Rudi Johnson finished the drive with a 20 - yard touchdown run , increasing their lead to 10 - 0 . Steelers defensive back Ike Taylor returned the ensuing kickoff 36 yards to the 40 - yard line . Aided by a 15 - yard penalty on cornerback Tory James , the Steelers subsequently drove 60 yards in 8 plays and scored with Ben Roethlisberger ' s 19 - yard touchdown pass to Willie Parker . The ensuing kickoff was returned by Tab Perry for 32 yards to his own 43 - yard line , and then the Bengals drove 57 yards in 14 plays . Kitna completed the drive with a 7 - yard touchdown pass to T . J . Houshmandzadeh , retaking their 10 - point lead , 17 - 7 . But on the Steelers ensuing drive , Roethlisberger ' s 54 - yard completion to Cedrick Wilson set up his 5 - yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward , cutting the score to 17 - 14 at halftime . Cincinnati took the second half kickoff and advanced the ball 62 yards to the Steelers 15 - yard line . Graham attempted a 34 - yard field goal but center Brad St . Louis ' high snap sent the ball over holder Kyle Larson ' s head . Graham recovered the fumble , but the Steelers took over on the 34 - yard line . On the seventh play of the drive , defensive back Kevin Kaesviharn committed 40 - yard pass interference penalty on the Bengals 5 - yard line , and Jerome Bettis ran the ball into the end zone on the next play . After Cincinnati was forced to punt , Pittsburgh receiver Antwaan Randle El took a direct snap , ran to his right , and threw the ball back to Roethlisberger — who then connected with Wilson for a 43 - yard touchdown reception that increased their lead , 28 – 17 . Then on the Bengals next drive , linebacker James Farrior intercepted a pass from Kitna and returned it 22 yards to the Bengals 40 - yard line , setting up a 23 - yard field goal by Jeff Reed . Later in the fourth quarter , the Bengals managed to drive to the Steelers 43 - yard line , but safety Troy Polamalu ended the drive with an interception and the Steelers offense ran out the rest of the clock . Divisional playoffs . Saturday , January 14 , 2006 . NFC : Seattle Seahawks 20 , Washington Redskins 10 . The Seahawks overcame an early concussion suffered by NFL MVP and rushing champion Shaun Alexander , and three turnovers , to end their 21 - year playoff victory drought . Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck led the offense , completing 16 out of 26 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown , while also rushing for 21 yards and another score . Despite the loss of Alexander , Seattle outgained the Redskins in rushing yards 119 to 59 and held Clinton Portis , who rushed for over 1 , 500 yards during the season , to just 41 yards on 17 carries . The Seahawks took the opening kickoff and drove to the Redskins 11 - yard line , but then Alexander lost a fumble without being touched , and linebacker Lemar Marshall recovered it . After that , the two teams were forced to punt on all their possessions in first quarter , and with 5 : 28 remaining , Alexander was knocked out of the game . Washington scored first in the second quarter after a muffed punt set up John Hall ' s 26 - yard field goal . Seattle responded by driving 74 yards in 12 plays and scoring with Hasselbeck ' s 29 - yard touchdown pass to Darrell Jackson . After forcing the Redskins to punt on the opening drive of the third quarter , Hasslebeck led the Seahawks on an 81 - yard scoring drive , completing four passes for 54 yards and finishing it with a 9 - yard touchdown run to give his team a 14 - 3 lead . Washington responded with a drive to the Seahawks 33 - yard line , but on a fourth down conversion attempt , quarterback Mark Brunell lost a fumble while being sacked by Bryce Fisher , and defensive lineman Grant Wistrom recovered it . One play later , Hasslebeck ' s 37 - yard completion to Jackson set up a 33 - yard field goal by Josh Brown on the second play of the fourth quarter , making the score 17 - 3 . After the ensuing kickoff , Brunell ' s 52 - yard completion to Chris Cooley moved the ball to Seattle ' s 24 - yard line . Three plays later , he threw a 20 - yard touchdown pass Santana Moss , a throw that bounced off the shoulder of Seattle cornerback Andre Dyson into Moss ' arms . Washington got the ball back when Hall recovered a fumble from Josh Scobey at the Seahawks 40 - yard line on the ensuing kickoff . But the Redskins drive stalled at the 18 - yard line and ended with no points when Hall missed a 36 - yard field goal attempt . Seattle then drove to the game - clinching field goal , led by fullback Mack Strong ' s career - long 32 - yard run . The Seahawks ' win was their first since a 1984 AFC Wild Card playoff win over the then - Los Angeles Raiders . AFC : Denver Broncos 27 , New England Patriots 13 . The Broncos converted four out of five turnovers into 24 points as they eliminated the two - time defending Super Bowl champion Patriots , 27 - 13 , and won their first playoff game since defeating the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII . This game also ended New England ' s league - record ten - game postseason winning streak and gave quarterback Tom Brady his first ever postseason loss . Early in the second quarter , the Broncos drove to the Patriots 3 - yard line , only to turn the ball over on downs after failing to convert a fourth down and 1 on New England ' s 3 - yard line . Then after forcing a punt , Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer threw a pass that was intercepted by Asante Samuel . On the next play , Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw a 51 - yard completion to Andre Davis setting up Adam Vinatieri ' s 40 - yard field goal to give New England a 3 - 0 lead . With New England leading 3 - 0 with less than two minutes left in the first half , Broncos linebacker Ian Gold recovered a fumble from Kevin Faulk on the Patriots 40 - yard line . After that , a pass interference penalty on Samuel moved the ball to the 1 - yard line , and then Mike Anderson scored a 1 - yard touchdown run on the next play . On the ensuing kickoff , Ellis Hobbs fumbled and kicker Todd Sauerbrun recovered the ball on the Patriots 39 - yard line , setting up kicker Jason Elam ' s 50 - yard field goal to give Denver a 10 - 3 halftime lead . Early in the third quarter , the Patriots drove 58 yards in 11 plays and scored with a 32 - yard field goal from Vinatieri , cutting their deficit to 10 - 6 . With less than a minute to go in the third quarter , New England reached the Denver 5 - yard line . However , Brady was intercepted for the first time in the playoffs since Super Bowl XXXVIII . The interception was returned by Champ Bailey for 101 yards before New England tight end Benjamin Watson knocked the ball out of bounds at the New England 1 - yard line . The Patriots challenged whether the ball was actually knocked through and out of the end zone ( which would have been a touchback and given the Patriots the ball at their own 20 - yard line ) , but the original call stood . Mike Anderson then ran for another one - yard touchdown on the next play to increase Denver ' s lead , 17 - 6 . Then on New England ' s next drive , the usually accurate Vinatieri missed a 42 - yard field goal , his first in 21 field goal attempts in the playoffs . Later in the fourth quarter , Troy Brown muffed a Denver punt and the Broncos recovered it on New England ' s 15 - yard line , setting up Rod Smith ' s four - yard touchdown pass from Plummer . With 8 : 33 left in the game , Brady completed a 73 - yard pass to Deion Branch and then followed it up with a 4 - yard touchdown pass to David Givens , cutting the score to 24 - 13 . But on the Broncos ensuing possession , Plummer ' s 42 - yard completion to Smith set up another Elam field goal . Denver then all but clinched the game when safety John Lynch intercepted a Brady pass with less than 3 minutes remaining . Sunday , January 15 , 2006 . AFC : Pittsburgh Steelers 21 , Indianapolis Colts 18 . The Steelers became the first # 6 playoff seed ( since the league expanded to a 12 - team playoff format in 1990 ) to defeat a # 1 seed , and also the first # 6 seed to reach a conference championship game . Colts quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 290 passing yards and a touchdown , but it wasn ' t enough to win . The Steelers stunned the Colts home crowd at the RCA dome by driving 84 yards and scoring on their opening possession . Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed six consecutive passes for 76 yards , including a 36 - yard completion to tight end Heath Miller and a 6 - yard touchdown pass to Antwaan Randle El . Later in the first quarter , Roethlisberger ' s 45 - yard completion to Hines Ward moved the ball to the Colts 8 - yard line , and they scored another touchdown with his 7 - yard pass to Miller , increasing the Steelers lead to 14 - 0 . Five minutes into the second quarter , Indianapolis managed to get a good drive going , advancing the ball 96 yards to the Steelers 2 - yard line and taking 9 : 39 off the clock , but were forced to settle for a field goal from Mike Vanderjagt , cutting their deficit to 14 - 3 . Late in the third quarter , Steelers linebacker James Farrior ( who finished the game with 8 tackles and 2 . 5 sacks ) sacked quarterback Peyton Manning at the Colts 1 - yard line on third down , and Randle El returned Hunter Smith ' s ensuing punt 20 yards to the Indianapolis 30 . Five plays later , Jerome Bettis scored a 1 - yard touchdown run , making the score 21 - 3 . But this time , Indianapolis struck back , driving 72 yards in six plays and scoring with Manning ' s 50 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Clark . The Steelers were forced to punt on their ensuing drive , but only after taking over 7 minutes off the clock , leaving just 6 : 03 left in the game by the time Indianapolis got the ball back . One play after the punt , an interception by Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu was overturned by instant replay ( a reversal that the league would later admit was a mistake ) . Taking advantage of his second chance , Manning completed a 9 - yard pass to Clark , a 20 - yard pass to Marvin Harrison , and a 24 - yard pass to Reggie Wayne , moving the ball to the Steelers 3 - yard line . Running back Edgerrin James finished the drive with a 3 - yard touchdown run , and then Manning threw a pass to Wayne for a successful 2 - point conversion , cutting the Colts deficit to 21 - 18 . The Steelers were forced to punt on their ensuing drive . But with 1 : 20 left in the game , Manning was sacked on fourth and 16 at the Colts ' 2 - yard line , and the ball was turned over to the Steelers on downs . At this point , the game appeared to be over . However , the Steelers were forced to advance the ball towards another score instead of taking a quarterback kneel because the Colts still had three timeouts remaining . But on Pittsburgh ' s first play , in which Bettis tried to punch it in for an insurance touchdown , he fumbled for the first time all season when linebacker Gary Brackett popped it from Bettis ' hands with his helmet . Indianapolis defensive back Nick Harper recovered the ball and appeared to be on his way for an Indy touchdown that would have given the Colts the lead when Roethlisberger made a season saving tackle at the Colts ' 42 - yard line , spinning around and grabbing his ankle . Eventually , the Colts then advanced to the Pittsburgh 28 - yard line , but Vanderjagt , who had been perfect at home in the playoffs , missed a 46 - yard game - tying field goal attempt wide right with 17 seconds remaining , and the Steelers ran out the clock . This game would mark the beginning of the end for Vanderjagt , who entered the game as the NFL ' s all time leader in field goal percentage . The following year the Colts decided to let his contract expire . He spent the next season with the Dallas Cowboys , where he made just 72 % of his field goals before leaving the NFL for good . NFC : Carolina Panthers 29 , Chicago Bears 21 . The Panthers recorded 434 yards of total offense , and avenged a 13 - 3 regular season defeat by the Bears , to advance to their third NFC Championship Game in their eleven - year existence . Carolina receiver Steve Smith caught 12 passes for 218 yards and 2 touchdowns , the first coming 55 seconds into the contest , and rushed for 26 yards . Panthers kicker John Kasay contributed three second - quarter field goals , while quarterback Jake Delhomme threw for 319 yards and 3 touchdowns . Although the Panthers lost key running back DeShaun Foster to a broken ankle in the third quarter , the team managed to hold off the Bears . The Panthers got the ball first and scored quickly . Jamal Robertson returned the opening kickoff 34 yards to the 40 - yard line , and one play later , Delhomme threw a 58 - yard touchdown pass to Smith . Later on , Smith ' s 46 - yard reception set up a 20 - yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter , increasing their lead to 10 - 0 . On their next drive , Carolina had a chance to increase their lead even more after Delhomme completed passes to Drew Carter for gains of 14 and 29 yards , moving the ball to the Bears 23 - yard line . But linebacker Brian Urlacher ended the drive by intercepting a pass from Delhomme at the 10 . However , the Pathers forced another punt and scored with a second field goal from Kasay . Bears quarterback Rex Grossman completed 5 passes for 62 yards on a 67 - yard drive that ended with a 1 - yard touchdown run by Adrian Peterson cutting the score to 13 - 7 . But Carolina stormed right back , driving 51 yards and scoring with Kasay ' s third field goal on the last play of the first half . After the second half kickoff , a 24 - yard run by Bears halfback Thomas Jones moved the ball to the Panthers 41 - yard line . Then Grossman went to work , completing two passes to Bernard Berrian for 29 yards before finishing the drive with a 1 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Desmond Clark . But after an exchange of punts , Delhomme threw a 39 - yard touchdown pass to Smith , and the Panthers retook their 9 - point lead . Early in the fourth quarter , Chicago ' s Jason McKie scored a 3 - yard touchdown run to cut their deficit to 23 - 21 . But Delhomme led the Panthers right back , completing five passes for 45 yards and scoring with a 1 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Kris Mangum . After an exchange of punts , the Bears drove into Carolina territory , but defensive back Ken Lucas put the game away by intercepting a pass from Grossman on the Panthers 22 - yard line . Conference championships . This was the first time since the 1989 - 90 playoffs that neither conference championship game took place in the Eastern or Central time zone s . During that season , the Conference Championship Games were changed from the then - traditional starting times of 12 : 30 p . m . and 4 : 00 p . m . to 1 : 30 p . m . and 5 : 00 p . m . EST respectively . This was to accommodate the fact that the Denver Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers hosted the 1989 - 90 AFC and NFC championship games in the Mountain Standard Time Zone and Pacific Standard Time Zone , respectively — thus avoiding a locally played game at 9 : 30 a . m . PST / 10 : 30 a . m . MST , but also forcing the networks to change or move their prime time lineups in a moment ' s notice . When the league changed the traditional starting times for the 2002 - 03 playoffs to 3 p . m . and 6 : 30 p . m . EST , it eliminated the future possibility of having to reschedule . Sunday , January 22 , 2006 . AFC Championship : Pittsburgh Steelers 34 , Denver Broncos 17 . The Steelers forced four turnovers and went into halftime with a 24 – 3 lead en route to advancing to their sixth Super Bowl appearance in team history . In doing so , Pittsburgh became the first # 6 playoff seed ( since the league expanded to a 12 - team playoff format in 1990 ) to advance to the Super Bowl . Second - year quarterback Ben Roethlisberger , already in his fifth career playoff game , completed 21 of 29 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns ( one each to Cedrick Wilson and Hines Ward ) and ran for a third . Steelers running back Jerome Bettis rushed for the other touchdown . Pittsburgh scored on their opening drive , moving the ball 62 yards in 12 plays and ending it with a Jeff Reed field goal . Three plays after the kickoff , Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer lost a fumble while being sacked by Joey Porter and Steelers lineman Casey Hampton recovered it at the Denver 39 - yard line . Four plays later , Roethlisberger ' s 12 - yard touchdown pass to Wilson increased the Steelers lead to 10 - 0 on the first play of the second quarter . The Broncos responded by driving 55 yards and scoring with a field goal from Jason Elam . But Pittsburgh stormed right back , marching 80 yards in 14 plays and scoring with Bettis ' 3 - yard touchdown run to take a 17 - 3 lead . Then on the first play after the ensuing kickoff , defensive back Ike Taylor intercepted a pass from Plummer on the Broncos 39 - yard line . Four plays later , a Bettis touchdown run was called back because a penalty on Ward . But Ward made up for his mistake by catching a touchdown pass on the next play , giving the Steelers a 24 - 3 lead with 7 seconds left in the half . In the third quarter , Plummer finally got the Broncos moving by completing four consecutive passes for 80 yards , the last one a 30 - yard touchdown pass to Ashley Lelie . But Wilson caught 2 passes for 45 yards on Pittsburgh ' s next possession , setting up Reed ' s second field goal to make the score 27 - 10 . In the fourth quarter , a 38 - yard reception by Lelie and a 22 - yard pass interference penalty on Taylor set up a 3 - yard touchdown run by Mike Anderson , cutting Denver ' s deficit to 27 - 17 . But after a Steelers punt , defensive end Brett Keisel forced a fumble on fourth down from Plummer and his teammate Travis Kirschke recovered it at the Broncos 17 - yard line . Four plays later , Roethlisberger ended any chance of a Denver comeback with a 4 - yard touchdown run . NFC Championship : Seattle Seahawks 34 , Carolina Panthers 14 . The Seahawks forced four turnovers , and allowed only 36 rushing yards and 14 points , as they advanced to their first Super Bowl trip in the team ' s 30 - year history . Meanwhile , running back Shaun Alexander , coming off his divisional round injury , rushed for a franchise playoff record 134 yards and 2 touchdowns . Midway through the first quarter , the Seahawks drove 57 yards in five plays , featuring a 28 - yard reception by Seneca Wallace , and scored with quarterback Matt Hasselbeck ' s 17 - yard touchdown pass to Jerramy Stevens . Then three plays after the ensuing kickoff , linebacker Lofa Tatupu intercepted a pass from Jake Delhomme and returned it 22 yards to the Panthers 20 - yard line , setting up a field goal from Josh Brown . The next time Carolina got the ball , Delhomme was intercepted again , this time by Marquand Manuel , who returned it 32 yards to the Panthers 17 - yard line , setting up Alexander ' s 1 - yard touchdown run that increased Seattle ' s lead to 17 - 0 on the first play of the second quarter . The Panthers eventually cut the score to 17 - 7 on Steve Smith ' s 59 - yard punt return for a touchdown with 9 : 56 left in the first half . The Seahawks scored another 17 unanswered points . On their first drive after the punt return touchdown , that moved the ball 57 yards and scored with a 39 - yard field goal from Brown . Brown missed a field goal on the Seahawks next possession , but on the first drive of the second half , they score with Hasslebeck ' s 20 - yard touchdown pass Darrell Jackson . Then in the fourth quarter , they put the game completely out of reach with a 53 - yard drive that ended with Alexander ' s second touchdown . Carolina responded with a 47 - yard touchdown pass from Delhomme to receiver Drew Carter , cutting the score to 34 - 14 , but by then there was only 5 minutes left in the game .