DETROIT – Finally, Bill Cowher won the big one, and in the hardest way possible. Not only did his Pittsburgh Steelers win one for the thumb, they won one for the Jaw.

The Steelers’ jut-jawed and oft-intense coach had made a career of losing championship games – five in all, four in AFC championship games in Pitts burgh since 1995.

But given the hardest road possible to an NFL title after so many losses at home, his Steelers became the first team to win three road playoff games and then the Super Bowl.

Moments after the Rolling Stones rocked a Ford Field filled with Terrible Towels at halftime,Willie Parker broke a record 75-yard touchdown run, sparking Pittsburgh’s 21-10 victory last night over the Seattle Seahawks.

Not only did the Steelers earn that elusive fifth championship ring and their first since 1980, but they completed a magic Bus ride that made Jerome Bettis’s homecoming – and likely farewell – a success.

And they provided sweet validation for Cowher with a title in his 14th season as their coach, the longest tenure in the NFL. As a sixth seed, no less.

It was the franchise’s fifth Super Bowl title,the long elusive”One for The Thumb” they had sought since the days of Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, and Jack Lambert in January 1980.

They certainly got plenty of help from the Seahawks, too. Seattle was plagued by penalties, drops, poor clock management, and a critical fourthquarter interception of Matt Hasselbeck just when the NFC champions seemed ready to take the lead.

Instead, Pittsburgh got the clinching score with the kind of trickery that has carried it through an eight-game winning streak. Versatile wide receiver Antwaan Randle El, a quarterback in college, took a handoff from Parker, sprinted right and threw perfectly to game MVP Hines Ward for a 43-yard score with 9:04 remaining.

Ward finished with five catches for 123 yards, one rush for 18 yards, and one touchdown in game that did not feature gaudy stats on either side of the box score.

League MVP Shaun Alexander had a strong game with 95 yards on 20 carries, but failed to get into the end zone.

Bettis’s role was minimal in what might be the final game for the NFL’s no. 5 career rusher. So was quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s impact – the most noteworthy play for the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl was a horrid pass that Kelly Herndon of the Seahawks returned a record 76 yards.

That set up the Seahawks’ only touchdown, a 16-yard pass to Jerramy Stevens – Joey Porter, his verbal sparring partner all week, was nowhere in sight.

But with Parker’s burst and Seattle’s self-destructive tendencies, the Steelers completed their postseason march through the league’s top four teams.

After the Steelers won it, Cowher began crying on the sideline. Turns out one of the NFL’s toughest coaches can be a softie, too.

“This is a special group of players, these guys are so deserving – I couldn’t be more happy for Mr. Rooney, the players, the coaches, and the city,” Cowher said.