Superbowl XLIII Analysis

Most of us are still in awe from the clashing of both super teams last night. Alot of experts predicted the Steelers to win in a very deciding fashion, and well, that just wasn't the case. Last year's superbowl put us on the edge of our seats, this year's made us jump out of them. There was around 100 million people in the television audience watching the game yesterday, and every single one of them witnessed a spectacular brawl.

First quarter action occurred like your typical football game. Steelers were the first to receive and on their first possession they marched down the field and ultimately settled for three points from the foot of Jeff Reed. In the first match up between the mighty offense and the tyrannical defense, the Pittsburgh Steelers came away with the win, forcing the Cardinals to punt. Cardinals fans started biting their nails early in the second quarter, when the Steelers amassed a drive that was capped off by Gary Russel's 1 yard touchdown run, which put the Steelers up 10-0.

Kurt Warner made the game interesting when he put the game back in reach for the Cardinals, when he connected with Ben Patrick for a 1 yard touchdown pass. Warner was being rushed, and threw off his backfoot, but placed it in the perfect spot for Patrick to grab. Late in the 2nd quarter, and after a Ben Roethlisberger interception, the Cardinals found themselves once again in the red zone, ready to take the lead. Down 10-7, with 18 seconds left, Warner dropped back and fired for Anquan Boldin. However, he found James Harrison, the NFL Defensive MVP who intercepted it and took it 100 yards to paydirt. Now, if you notice by looking at the video below, while on pursuit of Harrison, Larry Fitzgerald runs out of bounds and into one of his own players, who stalls him for a good 2 seconds, just enough to give Harrison those extra steps to make it into the end zone. The Steelers led at half, 17-7.



3rd quarter action was pretty dull. The Steelers however, continued their postseason ways, in not allowing their opponent to score during this quarter in postseason play this season.

Larry Fitzgerald caught a 1 yard lob from Kurt Warner with 7:33 left in the 4th quarter to make the game 20-14. Now, Steelers' fans were biting their nails. It would get even worse for the terrible towel fanatics when the Steelers would get called for holding in their own end zone, which resulted in a safety and 2 points for Arizona. The momentum was clearly on the Cardinals side, and they took advantage of it. 20-16 was the score, but not for long. Larry Fitzgerald would once again make a big play, connecting with Kurth Warner on a 64 yard touchdown reception that would actually put the cardinals up 23-20. The Cardinals came back from a 13-point deficit, and the football world was brought to the edge of it's seat.

One major factor that led to the Cardinals defeat; they left too much time on the clock for Ben Roethlisberger and the Steeler Offense to take the game. Roethlisberger is known for his 4th quarter comebacks, seeming always to find a way to win. And he did just that. He led his squad down the field to the Cardinal 7 yard line, and on 2nd down, he and Santonio Holmes connected on a pass-and-catch that may give David Tyree a run for his money. Roethlisberger pump-faked three times before throwing it to Santonio Holmes in the right corner of the endzone, as it was just above three Arizona defenders, and it was as if the football gods themselves placed it in the hands of Santonio Holmes. The Steelers went up 27-23, and that would be the final score of the game. MVP of the game was Santonio Holmes, although James Harrison and Ben Roethlisberger were also very deserving.

Superbowl XLIII will go down as one of the best battles for the Lombardi Trophy of all time. In my short lifetime, I cannot remember one with equal excitement, and that includes the Eagles-Patriots and Giants-Patriots superbowls of this decade. Cardinals fans might have felt pretty down about their lost chance at a victory, but they should hold their heads up high. They will be back. Steelers fans; congratulations. Enjoy your quest to fill up the fingers on the other hand. Now, it's time for the offseason. Champions are made in the offseason, or so they say. 2008 was a fantastic season, and we hope 2009 will follow in its steps.