Tagged As: Super Bowl, Steelers, Cardinals, Larry Fitzgerald, Santana Holmes, Kurt Warner, Ben Roethlisberger

Many people will remember Super Bowl XLIII for many different things. Pittsburgh Steelers fans will remember the 27-23 win as their NFL-leading sixth Super Bowl title. Arizona Cardinals fans will remember the loss as the crushing end of its Cinderella season. Football fans will remember the game for its fourth quarter heroics. Girlfriends being force to watch the game for the lack of quality commercials. Office workers will remember the game for the one play that could have given them a win in the work squares pool.

I will remember seven things that I will gladly tell me kids and grandkids about.

1. Penalties

Those little yellow flags hit the ground on 18 different occasions for 162 penalty yards. It seemed like every one of them was a holding call. The Cardinals struggled to get going offensively constantly because they were facing 1st and 20 instead of 1st and 10. The Pittsburgh Steelers handed the Cardinals a chance to get back into the game with a dreading holding call in the end zone. The hold gave Arizona two points, the ball, and the momentum. It was a sloppy game, but I still looked like a great football game after it all came together in the fourth quarter.

2. Kurt Warner in the Fourth Quarter

I could forget about everything he did in the first three quarters. He looked handcuffed by penalties, two deep safeties, and linebackers everywhere in the middle of the field. I grew tired of throws out to the flat and the many punts that followed. But, the fourth began with Comeback Kurt and a four receiver set. He sliced and diced the defense and took the Arizona Cardinals from 13 down to a three point lead. Warner put up a good game with 31 completions in 43 attempts for 377 yards, three touchdowns, and one very unfortunate pick.

3. James Harrison’s 100-Yard Interception Return

The Cardinals had deflected a Ben Roethlisberger pass and made a first half-ending drive for the endzone to tie the game or take the lead. At about the one yard line Warner made a very bad read. Harrison faked the blitz, sat in the zone, and read Warner’s eyes, taking the touchdown pass meant for Anquan Boldin 100 yards the other way for a momentum changing touchdown. The Cardinals and the Steelers looked winded as the clock ran down and Harrison struggled to muster the breath to make into the endzone to give the Steelers a 17-7 lead at half.

4. Larry Fitzgerald’s First Touchdown

NBC took the liberty to show Larry Fitzgerald’s father sitting in the press box without a tinge of emotion. Was he disappointed that his son had no catches? Was he remaining unbiased? Well after Fitzgerald came alive in the fourth and played a little pitch and catch with the aforementioned Warner, Fitzgerald Senior remained calm, but I think he was cheering inside. Fitzgerald was lined up on the right side of the field and Warner lofted a ball up while avoiding the pass rush. Fitzgerald was being played tight by cornerback Ike Talyor, but he jumped in the air snatched the ball and fell to the ground, securing the pigskin for the first comeback touchdown.

5. Larry Fitzgerald’s Second Touchdown

Warner was tearing the Steelers pass defense apart, so suddenly the deep safeties were biting on moves and outside receivers. Arizona called a play that took the safeties to the sidelines and left poor Taylor one on one with Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald ran a post under the Anquan Boldin out route and beat the entire Steelers secondary in a 43-yard foot race to the end zone that gave the Arizona Cardinals the lead.

6. Ben Roethlisberger’s Super Bowl Performance

Roethlisberger finished with 21 completions on 30 attempts for 256 yards, one touchdown, and an interception. Those numbers are solid, but hardly tell the whole story. The Steelers won one of the worst Super Bowls in history in 2006. Roethlisberger became the youngest quarterback to ever win the big game, but it was hardly his performance that affected the outcome. He threw for 123 yards and had two interceptions after completing only 9 of 21 passes. This time Roethlisberger lived up to his billing as Big Ben with a 78-yard game winning drive with 2:37 remaining. He made big throws, managed the clock, and delivered his first Super Bowl touchdown pass.

7. Santana Holmes Game-Winning Touchdown

That touchdown pass went to Santana Holmes. Holmes had already caught three passes for 67 yards on the drive, including a 40-yard pass to get to the six yard line. On the first play in the red zone Holmes snuck behind the Cardinals secondary on the left side of the end zone and let a great pass sail through his hands. The next play he ran the same play to the right side of the end zone and caught a high arching bullet throw to the sidelines over a triple team of Cardinals defenders. He caught the ball with the tips and came down with his toes barely scratching the turf.