Seahawks wide receiver Darrell Jackson, who has been bothered by soreness to his right knee and lower back, returned to practice Friday to prepare for next week's Super Bowl. Jackson didn't practice last week, but caught six passes for 75 yards and a touchdown in Seattle's 34-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers last Sunday. He missed nine games this season after undergoing surgery on his right knee Oct. 12, returning to play in two of the Seahawks' final three regular-season games. He was inactive for the team's regular-season finale in Green Bay. He was hit in the back after catching a pass in Seattle's 20-10 playoff win over the Washington Redskins on Jan. 14.

The Bears will not be big players in free agency, but that doesn't mean they won't play. "We have 'wants,'" pro personnel director Bobby DePaul said Wednesday. "We don't have super 'needs.' That's a good place to be in." Talk around this year's Senior Bowl practice week is that the Bears' first priority will be Pittsburgh wide receiver and premier returner Antwaan Randle El when free agency begins in March. Randle El, from Thornton High School in Harvey by way of Indiana University, has averaged 40 catches for 12.4 yards and 42 punt returns for 9.5 yards during his four seasons with the Steelers. Randle El also would give the Bears a third-string quarterback on game days without using the active roster spot. His play in the Steelers' playoff run will drive up the price, but the Bears are in excellent salary-cap shape and have not shied from making decisive, big-money moves the last three off-seasons.

To coach Bill Cowher, the Pittsburgh Steelers simply look right in white. The Steelers will buck years of tradition and wear their white away uniforms in the Super Bowl against Seattle, even though they are designated by the NFL as the home team and could wear their more imposing black jersey tops. The black jerseys and gold pants are the Steelers' traditional look, and numerous sports teams have switched to black uniforms in recent years because they believe it creates a more intimidating presence. Cowher made the choice by himself and without consulting with ownership, saying, "We're not playing at Heinz Field so, in my mind, it's an away game." The Steelers' unprecedented success as a road team no doubt factored into Cowher's decision to wear white for the fourth consecutive game. The Steelers are the only sixth-seeded team to reach the Super Bowl and the first to knock off the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 teams in a conference to get there. They have won in successive weeks at Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Denver. Their choice will put the Seahawks in their metallic blue "home" jerseys. Seattle was 10-0 in the regular season and playoffs while wearing blue at home. But they were 0-2 away from Qwest Field with them, losing at Jacksonville in Week 1 and at Washington in Week 4.

The Pittsburgh Steelers' dominating performance in Sunday's AFC Championship Game has focused even more of the Raiders' attention on Ken Whisenhunt. Already, the team had done some homework on Pittsburgh's no-nonsense offensive coordinator, who has been credited with keeping the Steelers' running game fresh and helping mold second-year quarterback Ben Roethlisberger into a playoff-savvy performer. In the wake of the Steelers' 34-17 rout of the Broncos, it now appears the Raiders -- the last of 10 NFL teams to fill a head-coaching vacancy -- might be willing to wait until after Super Bowl XL on Feb. 5 to interview Whisenhunt. "He's at the top of their list,'' said a person familiar with Whisenhunt and the Raiders' search. "They'll be patient on this.'' Whisenhunt, 43, just completed his second season as the Steelers' offensive coordinator, previously having served as the team's tight ends coach. He also was an offensive assistant with the Jets, Browns and Ravens.

The next stop for Big Ben, The Bus and all those Terrible Towels will be the Super Bowl in Detroit, thanks to a 34-17 dismantling of the Denver Broncos on Sunday in the AFC title game. "We were sitting, looking at an outside shot to be in the Super Bowl," Steelers linebacker Clark Haggans said. "This is an unbelievable feeling to be here right now." Unbelievable and almost unprecedented. Led by 275 yards and two passing touchdowns from Ben Roethlisberger and a touchdown by Jerome Bettis, the Steelers became the first team since the 1985 Patriots to win three road games en route to the Super Bowl. Counting the regular season, they've played five of their final six away from Pittsburgh. The Seahawks defeated the Panthers by a final score of 34-14 in the nightcap.

The NFL admitted getting a crucial call wrong in the Steelers' victory over the Colts on Sunday. Now, reportedly, the league is prepared to give the Steelers' Joey Porter a break for his response. An NFL source told ESPN2 Cold Pizza contributor Bob Glauber that Porter will not be fined for his comments about NFL officials following Sunday's game. Also, the Beaver (Pa.) County Times is reporting that Porter was told by coach Bill Cowher that he won't be fined. When Troy Polamalu's fourth-quarter interception was overturned by referee Pete Morelli, Porter felt the Steelers were facing opponents on two fronts: the Colts and the refs. "I know they wanted Indy to win this game," Porter said after the game. "The whole world loves Peyton Manning, but come on man, don't take the game away from us. "I felt they were cheating us. When the interception happened, everybody in the world knew that was an interception. Don't cheat us that bad. When they did that, they really want Peyton Manning and these guys to win the Super Bowl. They are just going to straight take it for them. I felt that they were like 'We don't even care if you know we're cheating. We're cheating for them.' "

The Pittsburgh Steelers gave the Colts every opportunity to steal their playoff game Sunday. In the zany, final moments of a true thriller, Indy couldn't figure out how to take it. So the Steelers survived a goal-line fumble by Jerome Bettis and one of the most mysterious replay reversals in NFL history to shatter the Colts' dream season with a 21-18 win. Pittsburgh (13-5) became the first sixth seed to make a conference championship game and will journey to Denver next Sunday for a shot at the Super Bowl. They will do so breathlessly. This victory should have been so much easier. The Steelers dominated the Colts (14-3) until a fourth quarter with almost unimaginable twists and turns that ended when Mike Vanderjagt missed his first field goal at home, wide right from 46 yards. Vanderjagt then slammed his helmet to the turf, obviously forgetting how fortunate he was to have the chance.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be without Quincy Morgan for the remainder of the postseason. The Steelers placed Morgan on injured reserve Tuesday, two days after the wide receiver-kick returner broke his right fibula in their 31-17 AFC wild-card victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. In a related move, the Steelers re-signed wide receiver Lee Mays to a one-year contract. Mays spent three seasons with the Steelers before being released on September 6.