Super Bowl XLIII Pittsburgh vs. Arizona February 1, 2009

We’ve all seen a great football game in our lives. They were either an offensive explosion or a defensive stalemate. It’s very rare that you get both in one game. You had the offense in Arizona and the defense in Pittsburgh going head to head. To top it off it was in the Super Bowl. What more could you ask for in a title game than to have it be both entertaining and dramatic. This game was truly one of a kind.

Pittsburgh came in with one of the league’s best defenses. Arizona had one of the league’s most explosive offenses. You figured it was going to be good from start to finish. Well, not so much in the beginning. Arizona couldn’t get anything going to start the game. Kurt Warner was playing in his third Super Bowl, first for Arizona and was on pace for his worst performance. Ben Roethlisberger was after his second ring in four seasons with Pittsburgh. Warner could only get Arizona seven points going into halftime. It could have been more had it not been for the interception to James Harrison that was returned for a TD in favor of Pittsburgh to end the half. With that Pittsburgh had a comfortable 17-7 lead.

The third quarter started with almost no scoring. Pittsburgh added another field goal to go up 20-7 heading into the fourth quarter. The fireworks started up when Arizona got a quick TD from Warner to wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Down 20-14, Arizona’s defense made key stops to keep Pittsburgh’s lead by only a touchdown. With less than 4 minutes in the game, Arizona caused a safety which then gave them the ball down by only four. A slant route by Fitzgerald resulted in a 64 yard TD to give the underdog Cardinals a 23-20 lead with less than 2 minutes left in the Super Bowl.

Now the moment of this game came right after that play if you can believe it. Roethlisberger did not have a great game in his last Super Bowl, but the win is what counts. This was his time to shine. A drive of over 70 yards to win the game. It was that simple. Ben completed pass after pass, most to wide receiver Santonio Holmes. Holmes almost broke it when he was tackled just outside Arizona’s 5 yard line to set up one of the best play/catches in Super Bowl history. Ben threw his first pass to the left side of the endzone, but it went right through Holmes’ hands. No worries, his next pass went to the right side and this time right in Holmes’ hands.

Pictured above is the moment of one of the best Super Bowl’s of all time. Yes it did have it all. A great offense against a great defense. It all came down to each team’s so called weaknesses in the end. One thing you can take out of this game is the fact that you saw great plays (Holmes & Harrison TD’s) and great players (Roethlisberger & Warner). If Arizona won, Fitzgerald no doubt would’ve been the MVP, but Holmes got the game and moment. This game would make the average football fan into a die hard by the time it’s over.