The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Best Ever…Super Bowl Win

No. 1 – Super Bowl 43

A year after the Steelers put away “One for the Thumb” in 2006, their offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt took the job as the head coach of “Pittsburgh West,” aka Phoenix.

Whisenhunt had proven himself to be an excellent coach, and had called the play in Super Bowl 40 when ARE found Hines Ward for the touchdown that put SB40 out of reach for the Steelers. It remains the only time a wide receiver has thrown a touchdown in the Super Bowl.

As fate would have it, “Whiz” would lead his team to their first Super Bowl appearance with a chance to win their first NFL Championship since 1947 against his former team, the then-five-time Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

Most of the first three quarters was unremarkable. Arizona’s quarterback, Kurt Warner, and outstanding duo of wide receivers, Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, were held in check for the most part except for one long pass to Boldin that led to the Cardinals’ only score of the first three quarters.

The Steelers’ offense became the first 11 years to score on their first two drives of the game.

Of course, the Cardinals had another touchdown in hand when they lined up for a first and goal from the Steelers’ one-yard line. That is until James Harrison dropped into underneath coverage and stepped in front of Warner’s pass. Harrison returned the pick 100 yards for a touchdown making it the longest play in Super Bowl history.

If you need a reminder of what a great play it was, check this out, courtesy of youtube.

The Steelers took a 20-7 lead into the final frame. That was when Kurt Warner remembered that he was a two-time league MVP and once a Super Bowl MVP and Larry Fitzgerald remembered that he was the second leading receiver in the NFL that year.

Fitzgerald caught a one-yard TD pass from Warner in to open the scoring in the fourth. The Steelers’ Justin Hartwig was called for a hold in the end zone, which gave the Cards two more points on the safety.

Then, Fitzgerald caught a slant over the middle and made like a gazelle racing up the middle of the field for a 64-yard touchdown. That score put the Cards in the lead, 23-20.

(It was at this point that my son, then 11-years-old, broke down. The poor kid was crying, begging me not to let the Steelers lose. I smiled at him and told him, “Son, I have no control over that, but no matter what happens in the next few minutes, the Steelers are our team. We love them. We believe in them, and nothing that happens will change that.” My son earned his Black and Gold stripes that day. He dried his tears and watched the rest of the game with his Terrible Towel clutched in his little fists and went absolutely ballistic when, well, you know.)

When they got the ball back with 2:37 left in the game, and after giving up 10 yards on a hold, the Steelers drove down the field to the Cards’ 6-yard line.

That was when Ben Roethlisberger threw one of the finest passes and Santonio Holmes made one of the most clutch catches it has ever been my privilege to witness.

The pass barely cleared the outstretched arms of the defender and found Holmes in the back corner of the end zone, where Holmes secured the ball and tapped his toes softer than a butterfly with sore feet. The replay upheld the call on the field of a touchdown and 35 seconds later, the Steelers became the first team to ever win six Super Bowls.

Here are the final two scores of the game, courtesy youtube.

The excitement of the game and the incredible plays in the game make this the third best win of the six the Steelers have won.