Super Bowl XLV: As Usual, Offense Gets the Glory, Defense Makes the Difference

Two years ago, a brilliant pass by Ben Roethlisberger and even better catch by Santonio Holmes in the corner of the endzone garnered the headlines, earning Holmes the Super Bowl MVP award and Roethlisberger a reputation for clutch performance.

It was a great play.

But it wasn’t the biggest play of Super Bowl XLIII.

That distinction goes to James Harrison, the game’s real MVP. With 18 seconds left in the half and the Steelers clinging to a 10-7 lead, Arizona had a first-and-goal at the Pittsburgh 1-yard line.

As the Steelers blitzed Kurt Warner from the edge, Harrison duped Warner, stepped in front of his hot read, intercepted the ball and proceeded to rumble and stumble his way 100 yards down the sideline and into the endzone at the opposite end of the field with 0:00 showing on the clock.

An epic 14-point swing at the end of the half, turning what might easily have been a 14-10 Arizona lead into a 17-7 deficit. The Steelers went on to win by four.

And here again, in Super Bowl XLV, despite a brilliant offensive performance from Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers, it was a defensive play that made the difference.

Rodgers clearly deserved game MVP award, and he certainly outplayed Roethlisberger. Nevertheless, the Steelers remained in the game to the final minute and had every chance to win their seventh Super Bowl in franchise history.

In fact, for all the focus on Rodgers, let’s not forget that Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh offense actually put up more points than Rodgers and his offense did. If the game was just about offensive scoring, Pittsburgh wins, 25-24.

In a battle between two otherwise evenly matched teams, it was a defensive play by Green Bay, seizing upon Pittsburgh’s one glaring weakness—the offensive line—that made the difference.

With 3:34 remaining in the first quarter, Pittsburgh lined up from its own 7-yard line, trailing 7-0. As Roethlisberger stepped back to pass, Green Bay defensive lineman Howard Green made a mockery of the Steeler pass protection, bullrushing his way through the soft interior of the line and planting an arm directly into the throwing shoulder of Big Ben.

It was more than enough to disrupt the throw, allowing Nick Collins to step in and make the interception as Mike Wallace, the intended receiver, streaked to daylight behind him. Things might have been different if the ball ever got to Wallace, but it never did. Instead, Collins took it back 37 yards for a Packer TD.

I’m pretty sure Howard Green didn’t get any MVP votes. I haven’t seen his name in any headlines or heard many analysts singing his praises. But, in a game that finished with a six-point margin of victory, his disruption of the Roethlisberger pass has a decisive feel to it.

So congratulations, Aaron Rodgers, on your Super Bowl MVP award; you deserve it. But maybe, at the end of the day, it’s true what they say.

Defense wins championships.