Are you all Super Bowl-ed out? Not until you read the Final Drive you’re not! After all the commercials, drama, alleged rape jokes, and seating malfunctions, there was a game on Sunday. Let’s break it down!
Super Bowl XLV
(14-6) Green Bay Packers 31
(14-5) Pittsburgh Steelers 25
It may have taken 12 minutes, but the Green Bay Packers found a way to get on the board first against the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers defense with a 29-yard throw from Rodgers to Jordy Nelson. Then sixteen seconds later, they scored again off an underthrown Roethlisberger pass right to Packer safety Nick Collins, who took it 37 yards to make it 14-0. It played right into the Packers’ hands, as Big Ben was then forced to start slinging the ball around instead of sticking to the running game, with only 23 rushing attempts for the team and only 14 for Rashard Mendenhall.
The Steelers tried to respond early in the second quarter, but they end up stalling near the endzone, forcing them to settle for a field goal. Showing his inaccurate tendencies, Roethlisberger was off target early, missing key throws to Mike Wallace and Heath Miller, often over-throwing his receivers and heaving ill-advised passes into double coverage (like his two interceptions). Pittsburgh’s offense couldn’t produce a touchdown until right before the first half ended when they were already down 21-3. The Steelers aren’t designed to come back from multiple scores, so from there it was going to be an uphill battle. A Rashard Mendenhall fumble in the late third (caused by Clay Matthews) gave the Packers an opportunity for another score, which they took 55 yards, capped off with an 8 yard pass to Greg Jennings for the score. From there the Packers just needed to hold on. Even with a depleted secondary, the Packers never lost control.
If this turned into a shoot-out, I knew the Steelers weren’t going to be able to keep up. What shocked me was how ineffective and out-of-place the Steeler defense looked for most of the night. They couldn’t press the Packer receivers at the line and were unable to re-route them at any point during the game. That left openings all across the field. Turnovers killed the Steelers for most of the night, killing drives whenever they got into scoring position. The Packers took advantage of their opportunities, getting into the end zone on an interception returned for a touchdown and scoring a TD following a fumble by Mendenhall.
Pittsburgh never got going on offense, stalling out too often or throwing the ball away. Green Bay’s defense put the Steelers in long down-and-distance situations too often, preventing the Steelers from getting any points on the board. Ben Roethlisberger looked off for most of the night, off-target with his throws and tossing it into double coverage. When he got the ball with two minutes left and failed to get a first down, I was floored. It wasn’t his night. Super Bowl XLV belonged to Aaron Rodgers, who completely dominated and whose stats would have been immaculate if it weren’t for the numerous drops his receivers committed. MVP indeed. He even took Troy Polamalu out of the game with his pre-snap reads and precise throws.
What impressed me the most was the defense the Packers managed to play in the second half, getting enough stops to hold off the Steeler comeback in spite of missing two of their top three corners. When Woodson and Shields went down with injuries in the first half, the pieces were in place for a defensive collapse. (Credit Tramon WIlliams with holding down the secondary.) Even when Donald Driver went out, Jordy Nelson and James Jones stepped up to fill the void. This one game was a microcosm of the Packers’ 2010 season, a representation of their struggles but ultimate success, ending with bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to Green Bay.
As for the rest of the night, I barely watched the commercials, aside from the nerdy movie trailers. (Yeah Captain America.) The Black Eyed Peas were just fine, and the cameos from Slash and Usher were nice touches. Beyond the seating fiasco (which is ridiculous), it was a great Super Bowl. Onto the offseason!
