Steelers lick wounds after defeat

The Pittsburgh Steelers fell short of adding another Super Bowl title to their history but the players said they learned some valuable lessons along the way.

Running back Richard Mendenhall was the best offensive spark for the Steelers Sunday in Super Bowl 45, gaining a game-high 63 yards on 14 carries and one touchdown in a 31-25 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

"You want to grow from every experience and just move on from here," Mendenhall said.

The Steelers have a league record six Super Bowl titles and were hoping to make it seven at Cowboys Stadium.

For quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who guided the Steelers to victories in Super Bowl 40 in Detroit and Super Bowl 43 in Tampa, Florida, the defeat was especially bitter.

"For me it is disappointing because you feel like you let a lot of people down that stood up today to fight. I hate to lose. It is really hard," Roethlisberger said.

"They got after us. I turned the ball over and you can't do that.

"If I had played a little bit better I feel like we would have had a better chance to win the game."

Roethlisberger started this season in the league's doghouse. He was slapped with a four-game suspension in April for violating the league's personal-conduct policy after he was accused of sexual assault by a 20-year-old woman at a Georgia nightclub.

No charges were filed in the incident.

Roethlisberger dodged questions about the nightclub incident all week in Dallas and did not address the suspension in his post-game interview Sunday.

Pittsburgh gave it their best shot against the Packers, falling behind in the first quarter then rallying to score 14 straight points to get back in it.

A Mendenhall touchdown late in the third quarter cut the Packers lead to four at 21-17.

They even added some razzle dazzle late in the fourth going for and completing a two-point conversion after a touchdown to make it 28-25 with under eight minutes remaining in the game.

"We had a little momentum going but they just made the plays. They found the holes in the coverage," said Steelers safety Troy Polamalu.