Ward took the ball another 18 as the Steelers moved into Arizona territory at the 32. Roethlisberger got things going by involving Hines Ward on the second play from scrimmage, hitting the wide receiver 20 yards downfield. The Steelers took advantage, moving 71 yards in eight plays to set up the shortest Super Bowl field goal in 32 years. That meant his so-so defense, rather than his high-powered offense, would take the field first. Whisenhunt started the game in a curious manner by deferring after winning the pregame coin toss. Instead Jeff Reed's extra point with no time left on the clock gave the Steelers a 17-7 halftime advantage. Had referee Terry McAulay reversed the call, the half would have ended with the Steelers on the Cardinals' 1 and the score 10-7. That gave the replay booth plenty of time to check if he had touched down prior to the goal line. He shook off a couple of Cards along the way before Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston made a last stab to bring him down just short of the end zone.īut the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year fell on the goal line with ball in hand and remained on the ground, totally spent, for a few minutes. With his teammates out in front, the linebacker chugged his way down the right sideline. Warner tried to hit Anquan Boldin on a quick slant, but Harrison, after faking a pass rush, dropped off and stepped in front of the throw at the goal line and headed back the other way. Then he was perfect in engineering an 87-yard, eight-play drive, which culminated in a 1-yard fade pass touchdown to Larry Fitzgerald, who went up over cornerback Ike Taylor to make the reception.įitzgerald, who had just one previous reception, grabbed four for 31 yards on the drive that cut the lead to six with 7:33 to play.ĭespite a sluggish start, the Cardinals were poised to take the lead with just 18 seconds left in the first half when the Raymond James Stadium crowd witnessed the longest play in Super Bowl history. In addition to the Wilson infraction, there was a facemask penalty on cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a roughing the passer call against Karlos Dansby.Įven though the Steelers did not score a touchdown, they appeared in control of the game as Warner could not get his high-powered offense going in the second half - until 11:30 was left in the fourth quarter. The drive ate up 8:39 of the third quarter and covered 79 yards, 35 of them on penalties against the Cardinals. The three points came on Jeff Reed's second field goal of the possession, with coach Mike Tomlin taking the first three points off the scoreboard because a personal foul penalty on safety Adrian Wilson for running over holder Mitch Berger. The Steelers increased the lead by three in the third quarter. "He made a great play and a great run to get them a touchdown." "I didn't see him around my offensive line," Warner said. Harrison's potential game-turning play had given the Steelers a 17-7 halftime lead. Warner (31-for-43, 377 yards, three TDs, three interceptions) overcame a devastating 100-yard interception return by Pittsburgh's James Harrison to find Fitzgerald with 2:37 left in the game, 21 seconds after the Cards got a safety via a Steeler holding penalty in the end zone. Warner and Fitzgerald, silenced for three quarters, awoke with a vengeance in the fourth quarter as the Cards wiped out a 20-7 Pittsburgh advantage with 16 points in a span of 4:56. They played very hard in circumstances where nobody believed in them." "This is a group of men that I'm very proud of. "I'm disappointed for our team," said Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, the offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh when the Steelers won the 2005 title. "I'm really proud of the way they responded." "I told the guys all the film study you put in doesn't matter unless you do it now," Roethlisberger said. In the huddle before the winning drive, Roethlisberger said he told his teammates "It's now or never." Two snaps later, Roethlisberger launched one to the right corner, where Holmes made the catch, got both feet down before falling out of the field of play. The Steelers quarterback found Holmes four times on the drive, including the big play of 39 yards on which the speedy receiver got away from a slipping safety Aaron Francisco and raced to the Cardinals' 6. NFL footage © NFL Productions LLC.Roethlisberger, who was 21-for-30 for 256 yards with one TD and one interception, directed a 78-yard drive after the kickoff, which actually started with a 10-yard holding penalty against Chris Kemoeatu. All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League. NFL and the NFL shield design are registered trademarks of the National Football League.The team names, logos and uniform designs are registered trademarks of the teams indicated.
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