January 25, 2011

2011 Super Bowl XLV Facts

The 2011 Super Bowl features the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers. This NFL classic, Super Bowl XLV, will be played in Cowboys Stadium, Arlington Texas on Sunday, February 6, 2011. Kickoff is set for 6:25 pm est. Here are some interesting facts about the 2011 Super Bowl XLV matchup.

Fox Sports will televise the 2011 Super Bowl with a broadcast team that includes Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (color analyst), Mike Pereira (instant replay review), Pam Oliver (sideline reporter) and Chris Myers (sideline reporter).

The Green Bay Packers are 2 ½ point favorite over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Over/Under is currently 45 ½.

This will be the 8th Super Bowl appearance for the AFC Champion Steelers. They hold the NFL record of Super Bowl wins with 6. The game also marks the 5th Super Bowl appearance for the NFC champion Packers. Green Bay holds 12 NFL titles, 3 Super Bowl wins and 9 NFL league titles prior to the Super Bow-era.

The Steelers and Packers did not play each other during the regular season. The last matchup between the two teams was on 12/20/09 in Pittsburgh’s Heinz field. The Steelers won 37-36. The game was decided on a Ben Roethlisberger touchdown pass to receiver Mike Wallace as time expired.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS FACTS
The Steelers finished the regular season with a 12-4 record.
They got to the Super Bowl with a first round bye in the AFC playoffs, defeated the Baltimore Ravens 31-24 in the AFC Division championship and then beat the New York Jets 24-19 in the AFC Championship game.
This is their 3rd Super Bowl appearance with Roethlisberger as the team’s starting QB.

The Steelers offense is lead by QB Ben Roethlisberger (3200 yards, 17 TDs, 5 INTs, 176 yards rushing, 2 rushing TDs, 97 passing rating).

The Steelers top receiver is Mike Wallace (60 receptions, 1257 yards, 10 TDs, 21 yards per reception average). Other receivers include Hines Ward (59 receptions, 755 yards, 5 tds) and Heath Miller (42 receptions, 512 yards).

Rashard Mendenhall is their leading rusher (1273 yards, 13 tds, 23 receptions).

The Steelers defense lead the NFL in sacks (48), fewest points (14.5) and rushing yards (62.8) allowed per game, while ranking second in fewest total yards (276.8).

Defensive standouts include tackle Brett Keisel, safety Troy Polamalu (7 ints, returning one for a TD) and linebackers LaMarr Woodley (10 sacks, 3 forced fumbles), James Harrison (10 sacks, 6 forced fumbles) and James Farrior (6 sacks, 109 tackles).

Coach Mike Tomlin, already the youngest coach to ever win a Super Bowl, became the youngest coach ever to make it to the Super Bowl twice (age 38).

GREEN BAY PACKERS FACTS
The Green Bay Packers finished the season with a 10–6 record. To get the Super Bowl they beat the Philadelphia Eagles 21-16 in the first round of the NFC playoffs, next they beat the Atlanta Falcons 48-21 and then beat the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game 21-14. They are the first 6th seed to reach the Super Bowl and only the second team (2005 Steelers) to defeat the top 3 seeds on the road in the playoffs.

The Packers offense is led by QB Aaron Rodgers (3912 yards, 28 TDs, 10 INTs, 356 yards rushing, 4 rushing TDs, 101.2 passing rating).

Top receivers include Greg Jennings (76 receptions, 1265 yards, 12 TDs, 16.6 yards per catch average). Other targets included receivers James Jones (50 receptions, 676 yards, 5 TDs), Donald Driver (51 receptions, 565 yards, 4 TDs), and Jordy Nelson (45 receptions, 582 yards, 496 kick return yards).

The Packers ground game suffered because of injuries, especially to Ryan Grant, who had rushed for over 1,200 yards in each of the last two years. The team relied on prominently on Brandon Jackson (703 yards rushing, 43 pass receptions for 342 yards), and fan favorite, fullback John Kuhn (281 yards on the ground).

The Packers defensive ranked second in the league in fewest points allowed per game (15). Defensive stalwarts include Cullen Jenkins (7 sacks), tackle B.J. Raji (6.5 sacks), and linebackers Clay Matthews (13.5 sacks) and A.J. Hawk (111 tackles, 3 INTs).

The Packer secondary was led by Tramon Williams (6 INTs and 326 punt return yards), Nick Collins (4 INTs, 70 tackles) and Charles Woodson (2 INTs, 92 tackles, 5 forced fumbles).