Super Bowl 2011: 10 Biggest Surprises From The Green Bay Packers' Win

The Green Bay Packers were the favorites to win Super Bowl XLV.

That being said, I still think that many people were surprised that they actually pulled off the unthinkable ending to their unlikely Super Bowl season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers came into the game with Super Bowl experience and a Super Bowl-winning formula.

At the end of the day though, it was the Packers who came out on top and they will now be escorting the Lombardi Trophy back home to Title Town.

Let's take a look at the 10 biggest surprises from the Green Bay Packers' win.

10. Who Says You Need to Pound The Rock?

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ARLINGTON, TX - FEBRUARY 06: James Starks #44 of the Green Bay Packers runs the ball against Ryan Clark #25 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first quarter of Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium on February 6, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Mike E

Everybody thought that in order for the Green Bay Packers to win this game they would have to have a very strong presence from the running game.

Theoretically, it makes plenty of sense.  

In reality though, the Packers got just what they needed from RB James Starks.

The rookie, Starks, only got the ball 11 times and rushed for 52 yards in the Super Bowl.

Not really impressive numbers, but considering that Pittsburgh had the best run defense in the league and the fact that Green Bay’s running game has been sketchy all year, it was plenty enough to buy QB Aaron Rodgers some time.

Somehow, the Packers were able to win the Super Bowl only running the ball 11 times and that’s definitely a shocking stat.

9. Man Down!

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ARLINGTON, TX - FEBRUARY 06: Nick Collins #36 of the Green Bay Packers talks with injured teammate Charles Woodson during Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium on February 6, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

I really thought that CB Charles Woodson was going to come back and play in the second half, so I was incredibly surprised and very saddened by the fact that he didn’t.

To be fair, he did happen to break his collarbone, so he’s got plenty of reason to hold his head high.

Woodson now has an NFL championship to go along with a college title and a Heisman Trophy. These accomplishments are going to solidify him as a Hall of Famer and easily one of the best corners to play this game.

I think football fans all over the world wanted to see Woodson on the field at the end of that game—he deserves it more than anybody.

Nonetheless, he’s a Super Bowl champion now and a legendary warrior in the game of football.

8. The Belt

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ARLINGTON, TX - FEBRUARY 06: Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy as Clay Matthews #52 looks on after winning Super Bowl XLV 31-25 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cowboys Stadium on February 6, 2

Aaron Rodgers finally won the right to wear that championship belt he has been pantomiming about all season long!

He is a Super Bowl Champion and MVP and his cool under pressure is unmatched in the game of football.

Rodgers is known for his poise, but he is also known for having somewhat of a competitive streak, so I was very surprised to not see him display much outward emotion until the final seconds ticked off the clock!

I was waiting for “The Belt” to make an appearance at least a few times, but it turns out that Rodgers had bigger things on his mind.

Rodgers had one of the best performances by a quarterback in Super Bowl history. For a guy that was playing on the game's biggest stage for the first time, it was truly impressive.

7. Bread and Butter

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ARLINGTON, TX - FEBRUARY 06: Rashard Mendenhall #34 of the Pittsburgh Steelers tries to avoid the tackle of Sam Shields #37 of the Green Bay Packers during Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium on February 6, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Doug Pensing

Even more surprising than the Packers' lack of attention to the running game was Pittsburgh’s lack of commitment to it.

The Steelers relied heavily on their rushing attack throughout the course of the season and Rashard Mendenhall looked prime to keep eating up yardage in the Super Bowl.

There was a time in the third quarter where it looked like Mendenhall was getting at least 10 yards every time he touched the ball, so why Pittsburgh would not capitalize on that is definitely a question worth asking.

They only ran a total of 23 running plays in the Super Bowl.

The Steelers went away from their bread and butter and the rest of their game plan suffered because of it.

6. Jarrett Who?

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ARLINGTON, TX - FEBRUARY 06: Jarrett Bush #24 celebrates with Matt Wilhelm #57 of the Green Bay Packers after a second quarter interception against the Pittsburgh Steelers during Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium on February 6, 2011 in Arlington, Texas.

It seemed like half of Green Bay’s secondary was out of the game and running to the locker room at one point, so CB Jarrett Bush’s play in the defensive backfield was huge.

Bush had to step up into a big role on Sunday with the loss of Charles Woodson and the temporary losses of CB Sam Shields and S Nick Collins.

Bush didn’t flinch in the big moments and came up with a huge interception.

I guarantee you there was a collective “Jarrett who?” from the Pittsburgh faithful.

Surprise!

5. Full Nelson

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ARLINGTON, TX - FEBRUARY 06: Jordy Nelson #87 of the Green Bay Packers tries to stay in bounds on a 38 yard reception in the second half against the Pittsburgh Steelers during Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium on February 6, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Ph

Now any Packer fan would probably tell you that they are not surprised that WR Jordy Nelson played the way that he did in Super Bowl XLV. But to be honest, I’m pretty sure even the biggest “Packer Backer” didn’t see this one coming.

Nelson caught nine passes for 140 yards and one touchdown.

What is more surprising to me was the fact that he seemed to be Aaron Rodgers's favorite target despite making a few very big drops during the course of the game.

At the end of the day though, Jordy Nelson was clutch more often than not and he was a huge and surprising reason that the Packers are Super Bowl champs!

4. Where Are You Heath?

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ARLINGTON, TX - FEBRUARY 06: Heath Miller #83 of the Pittsburgh Steelers is tackled after a catch by Desmond Bishop #55 of the Green Bay Packers during Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium on February 6, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Gett

The Packers have an incredible crew of linebackers and Nick Collins really holds down the middle of the field, but I don’t think anybody expected Heath Miller to have the game, or lack thereof, that he did.

Miller only caught two passes for a minuscule 12 yards.

That is called getting shut down, and being as good of a player as he is, it is very surprising.

3. Will The Real MVP Please Stand Up?

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ARLINGTON, TX - FEBRUARY 06: Clay Matthews #52 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates after winning Super Bowl XLV 31-25 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cowboys Stadium on February 6, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Did anybody see S Troy Polamalu on Sunday?

The NFL’s Defensive MVP only notched three tackles in the Super Bowl, which is a recipe for disaster if you are the Steelers.

On the other side of the ball, LB Clay Matthews was all over the field.

He still had the same amount of tackles as Polamalu, but when you factor in a nice swat and near interception of a Ben Roethlisberger pass, as well as a game-changing forced fumble, then it’s hard not to give the edge to Matthews.

Many people thought that Clay Matthews was snubbed of the Defensive MVP award.

I think he's okay with a ring instead.

2. Not a Fine Game

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FORT WORTH, TX - FEBRUARY 02: Linebacker James Harrison #92 of the Pittsburgh Steelers talks with the media on February 2, 2011 in Fort Worth, Texas. The Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011 at Cowboys

Too bad the NFL doesn’t hand out fines for not showing up in the biggest game of the season.

Steelers LB James Harrison did get one sack on Sunday, but it also happened to be the only time he made a tackle the whole game.

To be fair to Harrison, so much of his impact on the game comes from his presence on the field and not always his stats.

That being said, he had an incredibly disappointing Super Bowl XLV performance.

I don’t think anybody expected that.

1. Thanks For The Experience!

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ARLINGTON, TX - FEBRUARY 06: C.J. Wilson #98, T.J. Lang #70 and Ryan Pickett #79 of the Green Bay Packers dump Gatorade on head coach Mike McCarthy after they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31 to 25 in Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium on February 6, 2

So many people were riding the “experience train” of the Pittsburgh Steelers and it makes complete sense to believe that their previous Super Bowl experience would have them mentally prepared for the big game.

In the end though, it was the Packers who came out looking like the more poised team and the experienced Steelers shot themselves in the foot one too many times.

The Steelers committed six penalties for 55 yards and were also forced into three critical turnovers.

More surprising than the penalties and turnovers though, were the moments in which they occurred.

Pittsburgh constantly beat themselves with drive-hindering penalties, which included a key unnecessary roughness penalty on the kick return of their last drive that really backed them into a corner.

The turnovers also played a huge role in their demise.

Green Bay scored 21 points off of three Pittsburgh turnovers.