Their Steel
Curtain shredded, Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh offense ended a Super
Bowl of incredible swings with a final-minute touchdown for a historic victory.
Santonio Holmes made a brilliant 6-yard catch deep in the right corner of the
end zone with 35 seconds remaining Sunday night, lifting the Steelers to a
record-setting sixth Super Bowl win, 27-23 over the Arizona Cardinals.
It was one of the most thrilling finishes to the NFL title game, certainly
equaling last year’s upset by the New York Giants that ended with Plaxico
Burress’ TD catch—with 35 seconds left, too.
But this one was even wilder.
The Steelers (15-4), winning their second Super Bowl in four seasons, led 20-7
in the fourth quarter, only to see Kurt Warner and the Cardinals stage a
remarkable rally to go in front 23-20 with 2:37 remaining...more
Scoring Summary
PIT - ARI
1st Quarter
9:45
PIT
FG
Jeff Reed kicked a 18-yard field goal
3 - 0
2nd Quarter
14:01
PIT
TD
Gary Russell rushed to the right for 1 yard gain (Jeff
Reed made PAT)
10 - 0
8:34
ARI
TD
Kurt Warner passed to Ben Patrick to the left for 1 yard
gain (Neil Rackers made PAT)
10 - 7
0:00
PIT
TD
James Harrison intercepted Kurt Warner for 100 yards
(Jeff Reed made PAT)
17 - 7
3rd Quarter
2:11
PIT
FG
Jeff Reed kicked a 21-yard field goal
20 - 7
4th Quarter
7:33
ARI
TD
Kurt Warner passed to Larry Fitzgerald to the right for
1 yard gain (Neil Rackers made PAT)
20 - 14
2:58
ARI
SY
Safety
20 - 16
2:37
ARI
TD
Kurt Warner passed to Larry Fitzgerald down the middle
for 64 yard gain (Neil Rackers made PAT)
20 - 23
0:35
PIT
TD
Ben Roethlisberger passed to Santonio Holmes to the
right for 6 yard gain (Jeff Reed made PAT)
27 - 23
Team Statistics
PIT
ARI
First Downs
18
22
Passing
12
20
Rushing
4
2
Penalty
2
0
Third Down Efficiency
4-10
3-8
Fourth Down Efficiency
0-0
0-0
TOTAL NET YARDS
292
407
Total Plays
58
57
Average Gain Per Play
5.0
7.1
NET YARDS RUSHING
58
33
Rushes
26
12
Average Per Rush
2.2
2.8
NET YARDS PASSING
234
374
Completions-Attempts
21-30
31-43
Yards Per Pass Play
7.3
8.3
Times Sacked
2
2
Yards Lost to Sacks
22
3
Had Intercepted
1
1
PUNTS
3
5
Average Punt
46.3
36.0
PENALTIES
7
11
Penalty Yards
56
106
FUMBLES
0
2
Fumbles Lost
0
1
TIME OF POSSESSION
33:01
26:59
Video:
Cardinals Come Up Short In Super
Bowl
Previews:
Fox Sports: Heading into Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, both
the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals feature quarterbacks who have
already won championships. It's the Cardinals, however, who may have an edge in
knowing what to expect from the Steelers' signal-caller.
The Cardinals will make their first appearance in the Super Bowl on Sunday with
former two-time league MVP Kurt Warner leading the way against Ben
Roethlisberger and the tradition-laden Steelers, who will see an old friend in
Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt.
Roethlisberger can join New England's Tom Brady as the only other quarterback to
win two Super Bowls by age 26. He helped Pittsburgh beat Seattle in Super Bowl
XL in just his second season in the league...more
Our Prediction:
Last week we predicted both
games correctly and were the only major site to predict the Cardinals outright
victory. How long can Cinderella continue the run though? The national media,
Las Vegas, and even Barack Obama have pretty much already given this game to the
Steelers, but not so fast. When you break it down this game becomes a classic
case of a great offense vs. a great defense. Most of the time the great defense
will win these battles, however although the world thinks of the Cardinals as a
young up and coming team, they are actually the oldest team in the NFL and have
a quarterback and running back who have been there before along with the best
player in the NFL right now in Larry Fitzgerald. Right now, nobody in the league
can cover this man one-on-one and if you try to double up on him, Anquan Boldin
can kill you as well. The Steelers will counter with the best defense the league
has seen in years. Recent history will also show that the underdog performs much
better than expected in the Super Bowl. You only have to go back to last years
Giants for an example. Then there is the Cardinals underrated defense.
In three playoff games, Arizona's defense
has sacked the quarterback seven times and grabbed eight interceptions. They've
given up an average of roughly 77 yards per game and have only allowed two
rushing scores. The Steelers offensive line is not that strong this year and the
Cardinals will look to crush that line and control the line of scrimmage. That
means Ben will have to try to win the game for the Steelers and if that happens
the Cardinals have done exactly what they want in this game.
Score Prediction: Arizona 30 - Pittsburgh 27
The Game Plans:
The
Steelers hope to run the ball, keep the chains moving and keep Arizona's offense
on the bench. They trust Ben Roethlisberger to throw, however, if they need to
amp up the offense. Two things loom over the Steelers offense entering the Super
Bowl -- their running game and WR Hines Ward's right knee. How healthy will each
be? RB Willie Parker appears healthy after two 100-yard efforts in his past
three games. On defense, they will concentrate on stopping RB Edgerrin James and
keeping pressure up the middle on QB Kurt Warner. Look for some more Cover-2
play to prevent the deep passes...
The
Cardinals need to be able to run the ball competently to try and keep the
Steelers honest. It's possible they could spread the field with receivers,
testing the Steelers' secondary depth. Against pressure defense, the Cardinals
have at times gone to a no-huddle to keep the other team out of its sub
packages. QB Kurt Warner is excellent at that, so it's an option. Defensively,
the Cardinals should be able to hold their own against the Steelers offensive
line. The defensive line has played well in the playoffs, and the linebackers
have done a nice job of filling gaps against the run...
Dating to the regular season, the Steelers have won three
straight and eight of their last nine games overall. Including the Ravens in the
AFC Championship Game, Pittsburgh has held 10 of its 18 opponents this season to
14 points or less
If they can score at least 30 points in Super Bowl XLIII vs.
Pittsburgh, the Cardinals will become the first team to have four 30-plus-point
games in a single postseason
The Edge:
A breakdown for Super Bowl XLIII shows a slight edge to the
Cardinals, however that has to be negated a lot based on Pittsburgh's top rated
defense.
Quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger
Kurt Warner
Running Back
Willie Parker
Edgerrin James
Receivers
Hines Ward
Larry Fitzgerald
Santonio Holmes
Anquan Boldin
Tight End
Heath Miller
Leonard Pope
Offensive Line
Steelers
Cardinals
Defensive Line
Steelers
Cardinals
Linebackers
Steelers
Cardinals
Secondary
Steelers
Cardinals
Special Teams
Pittsburgh
Arizona
Coaching
Mike Tomlin
Ken Whisenhunt
Video Preview: Jason
Horowitz, Clark Judge, and Pete Prisco give an early analysis of Super Bowl
XLIII from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida
Pittsburgh Steelers: Media
day is nothing new for guys like Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward. The veteran
quarterback-wide receiver combo talk about the focus of their Steelers teammates
as the Super Bowl approaches
Arizona Cardinals: Media Day
at Super Bowl XLIII has arrived. The relatively inexperienced Arizona Cardinals
hope to rely on a few guys who have been there before in Head Coach Ken
Whisenhunt and Super Bowl XXXIV MVP Kurt Warner
Former high school teammates to meet in Super Bowl
USA Today
The two players have not yet talked since their teams advanced
to the Super Bowl, but Kemoeatu said he planned to get in touch with Francisco
this week. ...
19.6