The Cardinals
The team that had never been there before looked like it for a bulk of the game. Untimely penalties, miscues in pass protection, and unable to sustain drives proved to be their undoing. I’ll give credit to the defense in the red zone. They held Pittsburgh to field goals when touchdowns were very likely. They also did a good job of getting to Roethlisberger, but who hasn’t this year? Their stands to hold Pittsburgh to field goals early kept them in the game. Too bad they couldn’t make a stop when it counted most in the last two minutes.
I thought Kurt Warner needed what got John Elway a couple of Super Bowl wins late in his career – the threat of a big time running game. I was wrong; my bad. For as good as James and Hightower looked at times, the Cardinal rushing attack was largely absent in the game. Warner had only a handful of attempts for more than ten yards downfield. But with solid performances by Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston, Warner and the Cardinal offense just generated enough to win it. Larry Fitzgerald solidified his status as a very special player. That fourth quarter performance is the stuff of legend, including two touchdowns. One was a great catch in the end zone. The other was a straight out burner down the field. You don’t get many moments like that. It is a shame his performance wasn’t enough to win the game and that this will probably be his only Super Bowl (if he stays with the Cardinals for his career). Oh well, Ahmad Rashad never won the big one either.
While it didn’t a have a ton of excitement in the first 3/4 of a game, the fourth quarter was well worth the wait as both teams put on a show that will certainly be the story of Super Bowl XLIII.
Article comments
1 - Tony
Fitzgerald had 127 yards and two touchdowns. That's hardly getting taken out of a game.
2 - Jay Skipworth
It is when all but one of those catches were in the 4th quarter.
3 - El Bicho
No mention of the poor officiating makes this recap incomplete.
4 - Jay Skipworth
My thoughts on the officials, the commercials, and the halftime show is forthcoming.
This was strictly game stuff. As bad as the officiating was, they didn't change the outcome of the game.
5 - El Bicho
"As bad as the officiating was, they didn't change the outcome of the game."
That's a statement you can't prove.
6 - Jay Skipworth
I hate to even ask this, but give me your proof.
7 - El Bicho
You want me to prove you can't prove your statement? Unless you have the ability to see into alternate dimensions, I don't see how you can say with certainty how the game would have played out if the Steelers drive weren't helped with that weak "roughing the passer" call or if the 15-yard unsportsmanlike had been enforced on the final kick-off.
8 - Jay Skipworth
How about those two challenges? Those were subjective calls that went the way of the Cardinals. The refs called every chippy thing they could. Pro players should adjust to that; it happens every season. And as for the roughing call, Dansby should know by now that any hit on a QB is liable to get a flag. That's just how the league is. Pitt got called for their share of stuff too.
I'm done writing about this. Thanks for reading.
9 - Matthew T. Sussman
Oh, this again.
There were questionable calls; c'est la vie. Cardinals ran up 106 yards of penalties; Larry Fitzgerald caught and ran for 127. They roughed the goddamn holder, fer Christ sakes. I've never seen that before.
The officiating could have changed the outcome of the game; they could have incorrectly ruled that James Harrison didn't score that TD. But lots of things could've changed the outcome. Such as Arizona not committing 11 penalties or their secondary covering Santonio Holmes just a bit better.
10 - Jay Skipworth
The Cardinals lost the game because their offense slept through 3 quarters and the defense slept in the last 2 minutes.