Wow. What can I say? That was one of the most thrilling Super Bowls ever, and though it looked kind of bleak for the Steeler Nation for a couple of minutes, our team pulled through.
And how appropriate. All season long, the Steelers formula has been this: put the World’s Best Defense on the field and keep the game close. When necessary, Big Ben and company will get the job done on offense, even if it ain’t pretty. All season long we’ve heard about how great the Steelers defense has been, and how it just might be the best defense since the 2000 Baltimore Ravens or the 1990 New York Giants. Some in the Steeler Nation even whispered the phrase “Steel Curtain II”, comparing the team to the 1976 Steelers, arguably the best defensive team in NFL history.
That defense played really well for the first three quarters of the game. Madden and Michaels barely mentioned the name “Larry Fitzgerald” after the first quarter. The defense even managed to pull off the defensive play of the year with James Harrison’s 100 yard interception return. But then it all started going downhill. The Steeler offense – so prone to sputtering at just the wrong time all season long – couldn’t get it going in the forth quarter. And the defense, which had been so good for so long, lost its composure and quickly fell apart. LeBeau moved Troy Polamalu off Larry Fitz, and Ike Taylor, despite a valiant effort, just couldn’t compete. In fairness, it seems like no one could stop Fitz during this post season.
So it was up to Big Ben and the offense to get the job done. Tomlin put the entire team on Ben’s shoulders. Ben Roethlisberger – the quarterback that had a passer rating of 22.6 in Super Bowl XL. The same man that gave the Super Bowl XL game ball to Jerome Bettis, not only for sentimental reasons, but also because deep down he felt as though he didn’t deserve it. And, just like another quarterback that once wore the number seven, Big Ben delivered. 1:56 left in the game, 3rd and 6 at their own 26 yard line: a 13 yard catch by Holmes. An 11 yard catch by Washington. An incredible 40 yard catch and run by Holmes. And then… with 42 seconds left… the pass that just might get him in the Hall of Fame. An MVP catch by Santonio Holmes, a guy that’s won us far more games that I would have predicted at the start of the year.