Two Life-Changing Minutes
2:30 left in the game...
Cardinals lead 23-20...
Pittsburgh faces 1st-and-20 on their own 12-yard-line...
...we all know what happened next. The Steelers marched down the field, scored the winning touchdown and the rest is history. Literally.
But more than anytime in my recent Super Bowl memory did this two minutes affect the legacy of so many different players, groups and organizations. You can never single out one specific play or one series that "won" or "lost" a game, but what if the last two minutes of Super Bowl 43 had gone a little differently?
Travel back to the 4th quarter. Pittsburgh had just been penalized for holding, backing them up to their own 12-yard-line. At this time, there were more game storylines than halftime analysts, and that is saying quite a bit:
1. "He can't win the big one!"
Roethlisberger was two minutes away from being labeled a Super Bowl choke-artist. I know that sounds odd, considering the fact that Big Ben has won more games at this point in his career than any other quarterback, but think back to Super Bowl 40: Roethlisberger was 9-21 for 123 yards, 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Luckily for him, his defense and running game sealed the Steelers' victory and made Ben's struggles a back-story.
At the 2:30 mark in the 4th quarter against the Cardinals, Roethlisberger was 16-23 for 172 yards. He had thrown no touchdowns and one interception. Had Pittsburgh not converted the 1st-and-20 from their own 12, Roethlisberger would have faced Tony Romo-esque questioning after the game:
"Ben, why can't you play well in the Super Bowl?"
Sports-talk would have followed with, "Is Roethlisberger truly a 'big-game' quarterback? He has thrown three interceptions and no touchdown during his two Super Bowl appearances. Without a great defense, is he that good?"
Yep, Ben was two minutes away from being labeled as the "guy who can't show up when it matters."
2. By Steel Curtain, do you mean Satin?
The lauded Pittsburgh Steelers defense, the #1-ranked unit in the NFL, failed when it counted most. Outside of James Harrison's amazing interception return for a touchdown, the Cardinals abused the Pittsburgh defense.
At this point in the game, the "Steel Curtain" had allowed Warner to complete 70% of his passes while throwing for 344 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Steelers allowed 407 yards of offense and had tallied just one sack. They blew a 13-point, 4th-quarter lead by giving up 233 yards and 14 points...in the 4th quarter alone! They were two minutes away from dropping the "Steel Curtain" label and adding the "defense-that-allowed-the-largest-comeback-in-Super-Bowl-history" moniker.
3. Riding off into the sunset
Kurt Warner's story remains amazing. Going from grocery sacker to NFL MVP to Super Bowl Champion...that's stuff that legends are made of. Leading the Arizona Cardinals to a Super Bowl victory against the Steelers - that might have made him immortal.
Conversations swirled around the sportsworld this week assessing whether Warner should be considered a Hall of Fame player. As odd as it sounds, many agreed that he was "in-with-a-win" but "out-with-a-loss."
At the 2:00 mark, Warner had completed 29 of 41 passes for 344 yards. He had thrown three touchdowns and only one interception. In other words, Warner had treated the league's best defense like Joe and Doug treated "Squeeks" in Baseketball. He slapped them around. With just under three minutes left, Warner connected on a 64-yard-touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald to complete the comeback.
If the Cardinals had pulled it out, Warner probably wins his second Super Bowl MVP along with his second Championship. He now holds three of the top-five passing yard totals in Super Bowl history. Warner's postseason record would have jumped to 9-2, meaning that his playoff winning percentage (.818) would have superceded that of Aikman, Bradshaw and Montana. Kurt Warner was two minutes away from riding off into the sunset as the most clutch quarterback in NFL history.
4. Can't Take It Away
The Arizona Cardinals franchise has been a punch-line for years. Other than the Detroit Lions, the Cardinals have been the easiest layup on most NFL team schedules. Until this year.
While the Cardinals still earned signficant respect by putting together an impropable playoff run, nothing builds credibility like a Super Bowl Trophy. The Cardinals overcame a 100-yard-interception for a touchdown. They overcame facing the #1 NFL defense. They battled for most of the game without getting any production from their star wide-receiver, Larry Fitzgerald. Arizona has been a franchise that folds before the game starts, but on this evening, they refused to quit.
The Cardinals were two minutes away from earning a label that cannot be taken away: 2008 NFL Champions.
Finale
There are limitless angles and infinate storylines describing this game. It may be months, years or even decades before we fully understand the rammifications of the last two minutes in Super Bowl 43.
