Steelers defeat Cards to win Superbowl XLIII

What looked like a workmanlike Pittsburgh Steelers’ victory for three quarters became a barn burner in the final frame as the Arizona Cardinals posted the largest comeback in Superbowl history, scoring 16 unanswered points to take the lead late.  In the end, however, Ben Roethlisberger calmly drove the Steelers downfield and found Santonio Holmes in the end zone for an amazing touchdown catch to pull out the victory.  The 27-23 win gave the Steelers their sixth Superbowl title in franchise history—an NFL record.

Pittsburgh’s Jeff Reed kicked an 18 yard FG to put his team on the board first with the only points of the opening quarter.  Early in the second period, Gary Russell ran it in from a yard out to put the Steelers up 10-0.  Kurt Warner would answer a few minutes later to cut the deficit to 10-7 with his short pass to Ben Patrick. In the final seconds of the half, however, Warner would make history of the wrong sort as he was intercepted by the Steelers’ James Harrison who would run the ball back 100 yards for a touchdown—the longest play in Superbowl history.  The defensive TD put the Steelers up 17-7 heading into the locker room for the halftime break.

The third quarter was an uneventful affair much like the first, with Steelers’ PK Reed again providing the only scoring with a 21 yard FG to put his team up 20-7 heading into the final 15 minutes of the game.  What looked to that point like a relatively monotonous Steelers' victory became an emotional rollercoaster ride in the final frame—midway through the fourth Larry Fitzgerald caught a short TD pass from Warner to cut the deficit to 20-14.  A penalty on the Steelers’ end the end zone with 2:58 to play gave the Cards two more points for the safety and possession of the ball back.  The Cards would take advantage of this opportunity and would take the lead for the first time when Warner found Larry Fitzgerald, who outran everyone in the stadium for a 67 yard touchdown strike. 

Not wanting to be on the losing end of the biggest comeback in Superbowl history, Steelers’ QB Roethlisberger efficiently drove his team 78 yards for the victory.  The drive was capped by a highlight reel catch for the ages by Santonio Holmes—Roethlisberger threw a high ball into the corner of the end zone over three Arizona defenders and Holmes leapt high to snare the pass.  He then managed go drag the toes of both feet in bounds in about a square foot of end zone space to score the touchdown.  Pittsburgh sport wags have already dubbed the catch “Immaculate Reception 2.0”, making it the sequel to Franco Harris’ original “Immaculate Reception” catch in the 1972 AFC playoffs.

For the game winning catch and an overall productive day, Holmes was named the Superbowl MVP.   Hines Ward, the better known Steelers’ wide receiver was quick to sing the praises of his teammate:

"We never doubted ourselves, not for a second. We stayed the course. Santonio Holmes really made a name for himself today. It speaks volumes about our team. We never gave up. To come back and win it like that is just unbelievable."

Heading into the game, Pittsburgh was tied with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers with five Superbowl victories.  With #6 now in the books, they can make a compelling case for being the greatest franchise in pro football history.