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Steelers Win 6th Super Bowl In Spectacular Finish

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By ANWAR RICHARDSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 1, 2009

Updated: 02/01/2009 09:58 pm

TAMPA - In-game Super Bowl XLIII analysis by Tampa Tribune NFL writers Anwar Richardson and Roy Cummings:

Was this the greatest Super Bowl ever played? At the very least, it deserves to be in the conversation.

Santonio Holmes dragged his toes in the back left corner of the end zone for a six-yard touchdown catch with 35 seconds left, giving the Steelers a 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals after the Cardinals had scored 16 straight points in the last half of the fourth quarter to take their first lead of the game.

Larry Fitzgerald's second touchdown of the fourth quarter, a 64-yard dagger to the heavily Steelers crowd, capped a run of 16 straight points and gave the Cardinals an incredible, unlikely, 23-20 lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers with less than three minutes to play.

Fitzgerald broke wide open over the middle of the field and caught a second-down pass from Kurt Warner in stride, racing untouched for the go-ahead score with 2:47 remaining in a game that for about 52 minutes it appeared the Cardinals had no chance of winning.

Fitzgerald had one catch for 12 yards through 3 1/2 quarters. He had 5 for 95 and two scores after that.

Fitzgerald outleaped Pittsburgh's tallest defensive back, Ike Taylor, for a one-yard touchdown catch from Kurt Warner as the Cardinals, improbably, fought back to within 20-14 of the Steelers with 7:33 left in the fourth quarter.

Fitzgerald, held in check through three quarters, caught four passes for 31 yards as the Cardinals drove 87 yards in eight plays to close with six points of the Steelers despite being outplayed most of the night.

After Pittsburgh failed to get a first down on its ensuing possession and punted, Arizona took over at their own 25-yard line with 5:28 left to play and, incredibly, a cahnce to take their first lead of the game.

They couldn't do it, but their punt from the Steelers 36 was downed inside the 1-yard line and the Cardinals got to within 20-16 when the Steelers' Justin Hartwig was called for holding in the end zone.

After the Steelers free kick, the Cardinals took over at their own 36 with 2:53.

Then came Fitzgerald's score and apparent history. No team has ever come back from more than a 10-point deficit in the Super Bowl.

Then came Holmes, and history of another sort as the Steelers became the first team in NFL history to win six Super Bowl titles.

Ben Roethlisberger drove the Steelers 78 yards in eight plays on a drive that took just 2 minites, 2 seconds off the clock.

The Cardinals had one more chance, but Warner lost a fumble trying to buy time for a desperation heave from near midfield with just 5 seconds left to play, clinching the Steelers' sixth Super Bowl championship and second in four years.

Holmes finished with nine catches for 131 yards. Roethlisberger was 21-of-30 for 256 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Warner was 31-of-43 for 377 yards, three TDs and one interception. Fitzgerald finished with seven receptions for 127 yards and the two scores.

FOURTH QUARTER:

From Anwar Richardson:

Both teams must have met and decided to save the best for last.

The Cardinals switched to a hurry-up offense midway through this quarter and Warner showed why he was one of the NFL's best quarterbacks this season. Warner engineered an 87-yard scoring drive, consisting of eight plays and lasting only 3:57 minutes, narrowing the deficit to 20-14 with 7:33 remaining.

On 3rd-and-1 on Pittsburgh's 1-yard line, Warner threw a touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald, who had not been a factor throughout the game. It marked Fitzgerald's 28th postseason reception of this season, plus his sixth touchdown, tying Jerry Rice's record set in 1988.

Arizona climbed back into the game when Pittsburgh faced 3rd-and-10 on its own 1-yard line. Pittsburgh center Justin Harwig was called for holding in the end zone, resulting in a safety, and Arizona trailed 20-16.

Two plays later, Warner threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Fitzgerald and Arizona took a 23-20 lead.

Pittsburgh found a way to battle back and its most crucial play was when threw a 40-yard pass to Santonio Holmes, which placed the Steelers on the Cardinals 6-yard line with less than a minute remaining. After an incomplete pass, Roethlisberger threw a 6-yard pass Holmes, who was covered by three defenders, for one of the greatest touchdown catches in Super Bowl history.

THIRD QUARTER:

Jeff Reed kicked a 21-yard field goal with 2:11 left in the quarter, extending the Pittsburgh Steelers' lead to 20-7 over the Arizona Cardinals.

At that point in the game, Arizona's standout wide receiver, Larry Fitzgerald, had just one catch for 12 yards against Dick Lebeau's Pittsburgh defense.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, had eight penalties for 81 yards and had converted just 1-of-4 on third down opportunities.

From Anwar Richardson

Arizona began this quarter with a lot of hope and promise.

Steelers linebacker James Farrior sacked Warner and Harrison recover the fumble on Arizona's 43-yard line. Once again, Arizona challenged the play and the officials ruled Warner was attempting a pass, overturning the turnover. Arizona punted on the next play and Pittsburgh took over on its own 18-yard line

Arizona proceeded to produce three costly penalties which added to its deficit.

On 2nd-and-13 from its own 15-yard line, and after a 6-yard catch by Santonio Holmes, Arizona cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was penalized 15-yards for a facemask penalty. The Cardinals' first major infraction moved Pittsburgh to the 36-yard line.

Pittsburgh later had possession on the 50-yard line with Arizona linebacker Karlos Dansby was penalized for roughing the passer, which advanced the Steelers 15-yards after the foul.

Arizona's lost folly occurred when Pittsburgh had to settle for a 27-yard field goal and safety Adrian Wilson was flagged for roughing the passer, giving Pittsburgh 1st-and-goal on the Cardinals' 3-yard line. Arizona's defense did not allow a touchdown and Pittsburgh made a 21-yard field goal, giving Pittsburgh a 20-7 advantage. The scoring drive was 16 plays, 79-yards and last 8:34 minutes, which seemingly deflated Arizona before the fourth quarter.

From Roy Cummings:

0:00: If the Cardinals wind up losing this game they can look back at that last series as the place where they lost it. They needed a big play on defense there. Instead, they committed three crippling penalties, giving the Steelers 35 yards and one crucial first down. Given the Cards credit for twice holding the Steelers to field goal tries but they needed to get stiff sooner in that drive to keep the game manageable.

2:11: I may be wrong but I think this game is over. Sure, the Cardinals can get back in it in a hurry, but even if they score quickly here they have to stop the Steelers cold and I'm not sure they're capable of doing that. The Steelers can lean on Willie Parker now and target the middle of the Cardinals rush defense. This was part of their game plan all along. The Steelers have always felt that if they can get to a point where they are more than 10 points ahead they can win because they're confident they can run the ball effectively up the middle on the Cardinals. That said, it should be fun to watch the Cardinals try to get back in the game.

10:57: Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt is now 2-for-2 in challenges. Whoever he's got adivising him from the press box is really on today. The Cardinals offense, alas, continues to struggle. Punting the ball away, though, is not the worst thing that could happen here. If the Cardinals can come up with a big play on defense or just keep the Steelers at bay for a while they can still get back into the game. Thye have to have a stop, though. This series coming up is the most crucial of the game so far.

15:00: The Arizona Cardinals can be thankful for that long halftime. It will no doubt serve to kill some of the momentum the Steelers took with that big play that James Harrison pulled off at the end of the first half.

The Cardinals get the ball here, too, but they've got to take advantage of this opportunity. If they fail to score and the Steelers come back with another strike this game could be over. Look for the Cardinals to do more of what they were doing near the end of the first half, which is make more use of WRs Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.

HALFTIME: PITTSBURGH 17, ARIZONA 7

James Harrison turned the tide back in Pittsburgh's favor when he intercepted Kurt Warner at the goal line and returned the ball the length of the field for a touchdown, giving the Steelers a 17-7 lead over the Arizona Cardinals on the final play of the first half.

Harrison, the AFC defensive player of the year, thwarted what looked like a sure shot for the Cardinals to at least tie the game or take the lead when, with 15 second left in the second quarter, he intercepted Warner just outside the end zone.

Warner stared right at intended receiver Anquan Boldin the whole way and Harrison jumped the route, stepping in front of Boldin to make the pick. But that was just the beginning.

Harrison weaved, dodged and bulled his way along the left sideline and all the way down the field, falling over Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald for a touchdown that was upheld after review.

Referee Terry McAuley already had taken away one touchdown from the Steelers after looking at a replay in the first quarter, the first time that's happened in Super Bowl history.

It was a dramatic end to a first half that the Steelers seemed to dominate, then seemed about to end actually trailing Arizona, and finally get back in control thanks to one record-setting play by, what else, the defense.

Harrison's interception, officially 100 yards, was the longest in Super Bowl history. In fact, it was the longest play of any kind in Super Bowl history, eclipsing a 99-yard kickoff return by Green Bay's Desmond Howard in 1997 against New England.

SECOND QUARTER:

From Anwar Richardson:

Pittsburgh picked up where it left off, which was on the verge of scoring, as the second quarterback began. After two plays, Pittsburgh running back Gary Russell scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, giving his team a 10-0 advantage. The Steelers ate up the clock on their 11-play, 69-yard, 7:12 minute drive as Arizona seemingly had no defensive answers.

However, Arizona finally showed signs of offensive life after taking over on its own 17-yard line.

Warner began taking all of the short plays available to him and threw simple passes to running back Edgerrin James. Those passes threw off Arizona's defense, enabling Warner to throw a 45-yard pass to Anquan Boldin, placing their team on Pittsburgh's 1-yard line. Warner then threw a jump ball to tight end Ben Patrick, who hauled in the touchdown pass, narrowing Arizona's deficit to 10-7.

The Cardinals' defense also stepped up when defensive tackle Bryan Robinson tipped Roethlisberger's pass and it was intercepted by linebacker Karlos Dansby on Pittsburgh's 34-yard line.

On 1st-and-goal from Pittsburgh's 1-yard line, Steelers linebacker James Harrison intercepted Warner and returned it 100-yards for a touchdown, giving the Steelers a 17-7 advantage headed into halftime.

Arizona could have taken the lead, but is trailing by two scores headed into halftime after the longest play in Super Bowl history.

From Roy Cummings:

I'll say it again; this is not the kind of offensive attack that got the Arizona Cardinals into the Super Bowl. I don't know of the Cards are trying to make up for ignoring Edgerrin James all year long or not, but they're going to have a hard time winning this game if he remains the focal point. That's not a knock on James. He's still an effective player. But the Cards best weapons are Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. Remember them. It seem Cards coordinator Tom Haley has forgotten about them.

------

We're starting to see the Steelers blitz up the middle more. If you saw our pre-game analysis, that was one of the keys to the game. Solomon Wilcots suggested strongly that the way to get to Warner was to blitz up the middle and get in his face. The Steelers are doing that and it's affecting Warner's ability to make accurate throws. In some cases, it's affecting his ability to make any throw at all.

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Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is having a big game. He's already had two big pass breakups. If the Cardinals take the lead here on this drive it's going to be due in part to the play of Rodgers-Cromartie.

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So I'm wondering if the Arizona Cardinals are ever going to get Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin involved in this game. It seems the game plans is designed around Edgerrin James. It could be that the Steelers are simply taking the Cards big players out of the mix but the Cards won't win this game without big plays from Fitzgerald and Boldin.

(Kurt Warner hits Boldin for a 45-yard pass play, leading to a 1-yard TD catch by TE Ben Patrick to make it 10-7, Steelers with 8:34 left in the first half.)

The Cardinals just answered my question. And proved my point.

------

This may seem like a relatively comfortable lead the Steelers have, but keep in mind the fact that the Cardinals have what is arguably the most explosive offense in the NFL. Remember, they down a good chunk to the Eagles at halftime in the NFC title game and came back. Translation: this game is far from over.

FIRST QUARTER:

From Anwar Richardson

The big talk leading up to this year's Super Bowl was about Arizona's potent offense, but Pittsburgh was showed more firepower than its opponent.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed 7-of-8 passes for 118 yards in the first quarter, while Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner completed 1-of-2 for 10 yards. Pittsburgh's offense was so dominant, it amassed 140 yards while Arizona was limited to 13.

Pittsburgh opened up the game with an impressive nine play, 71-yard scoring drive.

Steelers receiver Hines Ward caught a 38-yard pass on the second play of the game, putting his team on Arizona's 32-yard line. Pittsburgh running back Willie Parker placed his team on its opponent's 1-yard line.

The most critical play occurred on 3rd-and-goal when Ben Roethlisberger ran for what officials viewed to be a touchdown. However, Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt appealed the touchdown and it was overruled after the replay revealed Roethlisberger's knee was down on the 1-yard line. Pittsburgh settled for Jeff Reed's 18-yard field goal and took a 3-0 lead.

Pittsburgh followed that drive by easily moving the ball downfield, including Roethlisberg's scramble and completion to tight end Heather Miller, putting his team on Arizona's 23-yard line. Pittsburgh moved to the 7-yard line before the end of the quarter, and although the Steelers only held a 3-0 lead, it seemed more like 21-0.

From Roy Cummings:

If you're looking for an early MVP candidate, try Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger. He's engineered two long scoring drives and has really been the difference in the game so far. He's completed eight of nine throws for 122 yards, which is impressive enough. Even more important, though, he's helping to keep the Cardinals offense off the field. That's a must in the Steelers overall game plan.

The Cardinals have made some big plays defensively but they're not doing what former Bucs and Colts coach Tony Dungy said they need to do to win this game. Dungy said in our pre-game analysis today that the key to stopping the Steelers was stopping the scramble plays. Roethlisberger has already made a couple of those.

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