The Pittsburgh Steelers came back with less than 2:00 minutes in the fourth quarter to beat the Arizona Cardinals by the score of 27-23 in Super Bowl XLIII. Ben Roethlisberger connected with Santonio Holmes, the Super Bowl MVP, on a 7 yard TD pass to secure the win. 

The Arizona Cardinals owned the fourth quarter, up until the 2:00 minute warning, taking the lead on a touchdown pass from Kurt Warner to Larry Fitzgerald with 2:47 seconds left to play to give the Cardinals a lead of 23-20.

The other big highlight for the Pittsburgh Steelers was a 100 yard interception return by linebacker James Harrison with 18 seconds left in the second quarter with the Arizona Cardinals on the Pittsburgh Steeler 2 yard line.  With no timeouts left, and the score Pittsburgh 10 and Arizona 7, the Cardinal quarterback, Kurt Warner, threw a pass across the middle.  But Harrison, seeing that Warner was going to pass, backed up and stepped in front of the Arizona Cardinal receiver.   That began a 100 yard romp to the End zone that ended the first half scoring with the Steelers ahead 17 to 7. It was the longest play in Superbowl history.

But again, the first 13 minutes of the fourth quarter belonged to the Arizona Cardinals.  QB Kurt Warner hooked up with Wide Receiver Larry Fitzgerald for a one yard TD pass with 7:41 left to play. The Steeler took the next kickoff and turned it right back to the Cardinals.  The Cardinals got the punt and started their drive on their own 25 yard line.  A critical 15 yard penalty by Pittsburgh Steeler defensive back Taylor cost the Steelers 15 yards but the Cardinals could not finish the drive and ended up punting the ball away.

On the punt, the Cardinals downed the ball on the Steelers 3 yard line.  After a holding penalty on the Steelers and a loss on the run, the Steelers were facing a third and 11 from the 1 yard line.  Then a holding penalty on the Steelers in the endzone resulted in a Safety to make the score 20-16.

Then after the punt back to Arizona, Kurt Warner hooked up with Larry Fitzgerald for a touchdown pass to give the Cardinals a 23-20 lead.

Then Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh offense drove down the field and scored on a 7 yard Touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes.
Scoring Recap
1st Quarter
FG Jeff Reed, 18 yd field goal , 09:50. Drive: 9 plays, 71 yards in 5:15  Pittsburgh 3, Arizona 0

2nd Quarter
TD Gary Russell, 1 yd run (Jeff Reed kick is good), 14:09. Drive: 11 plays, 69 yards in 7:12  Pittsburgh 10, Arizona 0
TD Ben Patrick, 1 yd pass from Kurt Warner (Neil Rackers kick is good), 08:43. Drive: 9 plays, 83 yards in 5:27 Pittsburgh 10, Arizona 7
TD James Harrison, 100 yd interception return (Jeff Reed kick is good), 00:18.  Pittsburgh 17, Arizona 7

3rd Quarter
FG Jeff Reed, 21 yd field goal , 02:16. Drive: 16 plays, 79 yards in 8:39 Pittsburgh 20, Arizona 7

4th Quarter
TD Larry Fitzgerald, 1 yd pass from Kurt Warner (Neil Rackers kick is good), 07:41. Drive: 8 plays, 87 yards in 3:57 Pittsburgh 20, Arizona 14
 S Penalty on J.Hartwig enforced in end zone for a Safety, 03:04. Pittsburgh 20, Arizona 16
TD Larry Fitzgerald, 64 yd pass from Kurt Warner (Neil Rackers kick is good), 02:47. Drive: 2 plays, 64 yards in 0:21 Pittsburgh 20, Arizona 23
TD Santonio Holmes, 6 yd pass from Ben Roethlisberger , 00:42. Drive: 8 plays, 78 yards in 2:02 Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 23

It’s here! Superbowl Sunday is here! Now it’s time to get yourself ready with the Superbowl festivities.  Get that 6 foot sub, keg of beer, get your Superbowl pool squares and pull the pool numbers. 

Then it’s time to talk football. Here are some things to look for in today’s Superbowl matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers:

When The Steelers Run The Ball
Watch for running back Willie Parker to have a big game.  Over the last two games he has run for over 100 yards, including a 146 yard performance against the San Diego Chargers in the divisional playoffs.  And for you betting types, the Steelers are 6-0 in postseason play when Willie is a starter.

When The Steelers Throw The Ball
Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers starting quarterback, won a Superbowl ring in Super Bowl XL, but was not a factor in that game. In fact, he threw 2 interceptions and had a passing rating of 22.6.  This time around, expect Ben to be a big factor, even with his favorite receiver, Hines Ward, wearing a brace and playing with a sprained knee.

When The Cardinals Run The Ball
Do you remember Edgerin James?  He was benched in November in favor of Tim Hightower but regained the starting spot in the playoffs.  He ran for 203 yards on 52 carries and added a new dimension to the Cardinals offense.  But the Cardinals will need to spread the running game around with Hightower and J.J. Arlington to keep the Steelers number one rated defense honest.

When the Cardinals Throw The Ball
Kurt Warner, the starting quarterback, lead the Arizona passing game to the second most prolific in the league this year.  Warner has the luxury of a trio of 1,000 yard receivers to throw to, including larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston.

Special Teams
Nobody has ever returned a punt for a touchdown in the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh’s Santonio Holmes has already returned a punt for a touchdown this season.  Arizona’s Steve Breaston has the ability to deliver breakaway returns.  He did it in his first pro game, a 73-yard punt return last Fall.

X-Factor
Steelers: Troy Polamalu is a super strong aggressive strong safety who has the hands to intercept passes and the running ability to bring it back for a touchdown.

Cardinals: The coach, Ken Whisenhunt’s trick plays.  The Cardinals used a trick play against the Philadelpha Eagles in the conference championship game that went for a touchdown. It seemed to deflat the Eagles momentum and make the defense think about that play for the rest of the game.

Super Bowl Prediction
Pittsburgh Steelers 17   Arizona Cardinals 14
The defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers will be too much for the Cardinals.