Pittsburgh Steelers 25-31 Green Bay Packers
Welcome back to Titletown. That nickname was beginning to ring a little hollow in Green Bay after 15 years without a Super Bowl win but the most successful team in NFL history have their 13th title at last. That it should arrive against a Pittsburgh Steelers team who have become the dominant force of the Super Bowl era will only have rendered it all the sweeter.
Brett Favre was at the helm when Green Bay last graced this stage, but if he would go on to leave an indelible mark on his team and the league then the man under center today has the potential to be even more successful. Favre's personality and durability established him as an icon in his city and indeed the league ? even if many feel he has tarnished his legacy by repeatedly coming out of retirement in the last few years ? but even at his best he never posted passing statistics like those put up by Aaron Rodgers.
The man who has thrown for 86 regular season touchdowns in his first three years as a starter completed an equally remarkable post-season by throwing for 304 yards and three scores at Cowboys Stadium. He might have had more were it not for a series of drops by his receivers. That was enough to earn him an award that Favre never managed: Super Bowl Most Valuable Player.
"Fun night," was Rodgers' verdict at the end, but his head coach, Mike McCarthy, was more effusive. "He played great. We put everything on his shoulders. He did a hell of a job." That is not to say it was all plain sailing. Indeed, in the early going it appeared as though Rodgers might not have the composure to handle such a grand stage. At the midway point of the first quarter he had completed just two of his first six passes.
It took a run from James Starks to get things going. The rookie running back had never even started a game before the Packers' play-off opener against the Atlanta Falcons but he ignited them that day and it was his eight-yard scamper on third-and-one that seemed to spark the Packers to life here. Suddenly the Packers had momentum, Rodgers completing his next three passes and Starks contributing a further first down as they moved to the Steelers' 29-yard line. From there Rodgers lofted a perfect pass to Jordy Nelson for the first touchdown of the game.
The second was not long in coming. On the first play of the Steelers' ensuing drive, Ben Roethlisberger delayed a moment too long as he wound up for a deep pass to Mike Wallace, allowing the Green Bay defensive tackle, Howard Green, to reach him with a bull-rush up the middle. Hit just as he released the throw, Roethlisberger saw his pass flutter up into the air and down into the arms of the Green Bay defensive back, Nick Collins, who weaved his way back 37 yards before diving into the end zone.
Pittsburgh were reeling, their initially boisterous fans silenced. Roethlisberger was struggling too, prompting a sharp intake of breath when he threw several yards behind his intended target Antonio Brown on his second pass of the game. Now another incompletion brought up third-and-nine. But where Green Bay had turned to their running back for inspiration, Roethlisberger let his own legs do the talking, picking up 18 yards on a scramble. A few plays later Pittsburgh were on the scoreboard, Shaun Suisham slotting over a field goal from 33 yards.
The Packers went three-and-out on their next possession, but just as the tide seemed to be turning Roethlisberger was intercepted again, Jarrett Bush snaring another pass that had been intended for Wallace. Starting on their own 47 yard line, Green Bay needed just four plays to extend their lead, Rodgers finding Greg Jennings from 21 yards out.
Roethlisberger had less than two-and-a-half minutes to make amends, but did so with aplomb. A 37-yard strike to Antwaan Randle El on the first play of the next drive took Pittsburgh straight into Green Bay territory. With Sam Shields and Charles Woodson leaving the field injured, the Green Bay secondary suddenly appeared vulnerable. Hines Ward reeled in passes of 14 and 17 yards before a third of eight yards took him into the endzone to cut the deficit to 11 just before half-time.
The change in mood was dramatic. The terrible towels were back out when the teams returned from half-time and when Green Bay's first possession ended at their own 25-yard line the volume inside Cowboys Stadium soared. When Rashard Mendenhall rumbled over the Packers goal-line from eight yards little more than two minutes later the celebrations in the stands were such that you might have believed that Pittsburgh were 40 points ahead, rather than still four behind.
But the Steelers remained four points behind when Mendenhall, sandwiched between Ryan Pickett and Clay Matthews, lost his grip on the football. The fumble was recovered by Desmond Bishop. Rodgers led his team 55 yards in eight plays before picking out Greg Jennings in the endzone to extend the advantage to 11.
Roethlisberger responded, leading Mike Wallace over for another score with a wonderful touch pass from 25 yards. But just as it appeared that this Pittsburgh team might be steeling themselves for what would have been the greatest comeback in NFL history ? having trailed by 18 points in the first quarter, Rodgers returned to the fore. He completed five passes to help his team take more than five minutes off the clock and kick a field goal with just over two remaining.
A touchdown and extra point would still have been enough for Pittsburgh at that stage but Roethlisberger could not summon a repeat of his heroics in 2008, when he led the Steelers down the field for a touchdown at the death to overcome the Arizona Cardinals. Pittsburgh made it no further than their own 33-yard line, where Roethlisberger threw three consecutive incompletions to end the game. "This is why you play football, to do this," said the Packers linebacker, AJ Hawk, at the close. It's certainly what they've always done in Green Bay.
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