THE CATCH: Santonio Holmes keeps his feet in bounds to make the game-winning reception. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
As a football fan taking in my first Super Bowl, I couldn’t have asked for a better show. The paid attendance of 70,774 and millions of television viewers will probably be talking about this game for some time to come.
I had a sense we might be in for something special when Arizona won the opening coin toss and elected to play defense first. Why not unleash Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, and the second best passing attack in the NFL right off the bat?
Initially, it looked like Arizona had made the wrong decision, as Ben Roethlisberger promptly drove the Steelers down to the Arizona one-yard line.
From here we got a taste for what this game was going to be all about. This was a game where you had to expect the unexpected.
Roethlisberger scrambled in for the touchdown—but wait! Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt challenged the touchdown call and was proven right. Arizona’s defense had held the Steelers to a field goal and had a moral victory.
Arizona struggled on offense in the first quarter as the Steelers dominated, possessing the ball for 11:28 of 15 minutes.
Pittsburgh opened up a 10-point lead early in the second half with a Gary Russell one-yard TD run.
That would be the only rushing touchdown of a Super Bowl in which a record for fewest combined rushing yards and attempts was set (91 and 33 respectively). So if you like watching the offenses air it out, like I do, this was your kind of Super Bowl.
Warner had a terrific game. He completed 72 percent of his passes for 377 yards and a 112.3 rating. Roethlisberger threw for 256 yards and a 93.2 rating.
Fast forward to the end of the second quarter with Pittsburgh up 10–7 and Arizona on the Steelers’ one-yard line. Expect the unexpected.
Steelers linebacker James Harrison intercepted Warner and sprinted 100 yards for a touchdown, setting a Super Bowl record for the longest play. For the 242-pound Harrison to go 100 yards at the end of a half through an obstacle course is a testament to his athleticism.
Just when the whole world was expecting the half-time score to be 10–10 or 14–10 Arizona, it wound up being 17–7 Pittsburgh.
“The turnover right before the half hurt,” Whisenhunt said when talking about things the game came down to.
The crowd then picked their jaws off the floor as Springsteen put on the half-time show.
The Steelers tacked on three more points in the third quarter but what’s noteworthy is how they did it. In a drive lasting 8:39, the Steelers were the beneficiaries of three Arizona penalties, two of which were for personal fouls.
In fact, the Steelers set a Super Bowl record with four first downs by penalties.
“Obviously the penalties were things that we allowed to extend their drives, things that hurt us, so it was unfortunate that there were that many penalties called,” said Whisenhunt. He definitely has a point here.
Wild Finish
Warner went to the no-huddle offense with much success. He took the Cardinals 87 yards in eight plays, capping it all off with a one-yard pass to Larry Fitzgerald.
With the Steelers up 20–14 and three minutes to go, facing third and 10 from their own one-yard line, Roethlisberger completed a 19-yard pass to wide-out Santonio Holmes. With a new set of downs, the Steelers looked to be in excellent shape.But a killer offensive holding penalty negated the first down, gave Arizona two points for the safety, and eventually the ball back in great field position. This game was far from over, I thought.
Two plays after the safety, Kurt Warner connected with Larry Fitzgerald for a 64-yard TD, putting the Cards up 23–20.
Steelers DE Brett Keisel was amazed at how the Cardinals fought back. “All of a sudden, they got a lead,” he said referring to Larry Fitzgerald’s 64-yard TD catch. “How does this happen?”
Mike Tomlin, the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl at 36, talked about his thought process late in the game after Fitzgerald put the Cards ahead for the first time.
“I actually was thinking that if they’re going to score, that’s how you want them to score: extremely quickly as opposed to just milking it.”
On the Steelers’ next drive, Roethlisberger connected with the game’s MVP Santonio Holmes four times for 73 yards ending with a six-yard you-had-to-see-it-to-believe-it TD pass to win the game.
Whisenhunt was also worried that there was too much time left on the clock. “I felt that maybe we could at least hold them to a field goal and we have a chance to go to overtime, but they made the play.”
Santonio Holmes described the game-winning touchdown that will become a legendary highlight: “I knew my toes were on the ground the whole time. Once I extended my arms and my body, everything just flowed right together.
“I knew it was a touchdown 100 percent…All I did was stood up on my toes and extended my hands.”
The MVP receiver led all receivers with nine catches for 131 yards. Coincidentally, the last receiver to be named Super Bowl MVP was Hines Ward after the 2005 season.
Steelers safety Troy Polamalu described the gut-wrenching final five minutes of play, “Oh my God, I don’t know. You can’t explain it. You are seconds away from me crying in the locker room, and them being out here.
“That’s how amazing this game is.”
Polamalu couldn’t have said it any better. The NFL’s premier event once again delivered the goods for the world’s audience.
