Super Bowl for the Ages

Pittsburgh Steelers defeat Arizona Cardinals in a classic championship game

• PRINT
• EMAIL

If Super Bowl XLIII (43) were a movie, it would be called an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride.

The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 27-23, on Sunday to claim its sixth championship, the most of any team in the National Football League (NFL).

The Steelers and Cardinals made big plays on both offense and defense all night long. One of the biggest came at the end of the first half.

With Arizona driving for a touchdown, Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner threw a ball to the end zone. The pass was intercepted by Steelers linebacker James Harrison, and he ran it back 100 yards for a Steelers touchdown. It was the longest play in the history of the Super Bowl.

A 100-yard play is uncommon for any football player. But it's especially rare for linebackers. They're conditioned for short-yard plays (like fumbles and sacks), so it can be a little difficult for a linebacker to scramble down the length of the entire football field.

"Those last couple of yards were probably tougher than anything I've ever done in my life," Harrison said. "But it was more gratifying than anything that's happened to me so far in football."

Going into halftime, it looked like Harrison's big play would give the Steelers the momentum for the rest of the game. And for three quarters, they were dominant. The Steelers and its top-rated defense held the Arizona Cardinals' high-flying offense to only seven points.

But football games are four quarters and 60 minutes long. And in the last 15 minutes, Arizona fought back.

The Cardinals defense scored a safety, and their star wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald scored two touchdowns to give them the lead, 23-20, with 2:39 left to play.

That might not seem like a lot of time, but it was more than enough for the Steelers.

Pinned deep in his own territory, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger orchestrated a brilliant two-minute drive. He passed four times to wide receiver Santonio Holmes, and Holmes caught the ball each time.

The last catch was an acrobatic, how-did-he-make-that touchdown grab in the corner of the end zone. Holmes caught it over the heads of three Cardinals defenders and was barely able to stay in bounds.

Holmes' catch put the Steelers in the lead, 27-23, with only 30 seconds left in the game.

"I walked up to [Ben] right before we got into the huddle and told him, ‘I want to be the one to make these plays for you today, man,'" Holmes said.

He certainly came through for his quarterback. The catch won the game for the Steelers. And it earned Holmes Super Bowl XLIII MVP honors.

Roethlisberger's last-minute touchdown drive was a thrilling end to a Super Bowl that had everything a sports fan could want. There was drama, big plays, individual heroics, a come-from-behind victory, and teams playing like it was the last game of their lives.

Not every Super Bowl is so exciting. And Super Bowl XLIII is destined to go down as a classic.

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

Read today’s story and answer the following question.

Did you watch the Super Bowl? What was the most exciting part? Tell us what you think on the Scholastic News Online Blog!

MORE NEWS FOR KIDS

Get the latest on national and international events, movies, television, music, sports, and more from Scholastic News Online.

Coach of the Month
Scholastic's Coach of the Month is Head Football Coach Sean Driscoll of Winthrop High School, Winthrop, Massachusetts

The 4-3 as a H.S. Defense
The 4-3 defense has enjoyed a resurgence at every level of football since the late 1980s.