YOUR TEAM IS in the Super Bowl. You’re down by six points with two minutes to play. Your quarterback has a perfect record in the big one.
The opposition has lost two key defensive players. You’d expect to win wouldn’t you? What if I told you that your team didn’t even get out of their own half.
That’s the reality facing Pittsburgh Steelers fans as a cold February dawn breaks over their heavy hearts. Regret, despair, victory slipping from their grasp like a Rashard Mendenhall fumble.
It shouldn’t have been this close of course. With just two minutes gone in the second half, James Jones dropped an easy catch at the Packers 40-yard line that would almost certainly have led to a touchdown and a 28-10 lead.
However, after a promising start that saw the Packers race into a 21-3 lead, dropped passes almost became the story of Super Bowl XLV.
After the Steelers failed to get anything done on their first two drives, Packers QB Aaron Rodgers marched his team 80-yards down the field with a series of incisive short throws before finding Jordy Nelson with a 29-yard pass.
It was to get even better for the Packers on the first possession of the Steelers next drive. Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, who had looked to establish the run on his previous drives, tried to find his go-to-guy Mike Wallace deep.
However, Big Ben’s eyes and arm betrayed him and Packers Safety Nick Collins was there to make the interception and return it for a touchdown.
Though the Steelers were able to manage a field goal on their next possession and force the Packers to punt on theirs, it wasn’t long before Roethlisberger was picked off looking for Wallace again.
Jarrett Bush was the Packers hero this time, making a great play and setting up excellent field position with less than five minutes to go in the half.
Three plays later, Rodgers found Greg Jennings with a 21-yard pass to put the Packers up 21-3.
However, just as it looked as if this game was running away from the Steelers, Roethlisberger advanced his team 70 yards in just over 90 seconds before finding the heretofore anonymous Hines Ward with an eighty-yard touchdown pass to close the gap to 11 points.
After arguably one of the worst half-time performances ever from the Black Eyed Peas – the jokes on Twitter were far more entertaining – the Steelers emerged looking like a different team in the second half.
On their first possession of the half, Pittsburgh took advantage of great field position to run at Green Bay. With 25 minutes left in the game, Running Back Rashard Mendenhall found a hole from 8 yards to reduce the gap to just four points.
However, just as people were beginning to discuss Mendenhall as a possible Most Valuable Player contender, disaster struck. On the first play of the fourth quarter, the RB was tackled by the Packers’ Clay Matthews and fumbled.
After some confusion, Packers Linebacker Des Bishop – not the comedian – recovered the ball, giving Green Bay Great field position.
The Packers took full advantage with Rodgers finding Wider Receiver Greg Jennings eight plays later to extend the Green Bay lead to 11 with just 12 minutes remaining.
However, the game wasn’t over yet. Within five minutes the Steelers had scored again, this time Roethlisberger finally finding Mike Wallace for a 25-yard touchdown.
Even better for the Steelers, Big Ben made a great play on the two point conversion to bring Pittsburgh within just three points.
After the Packers could only add a field goal to stretch their lead to a precarious six points with two minutes to go, the Steelers failed to repeat their heroics at the end of the first half, and it was just left to MVP Rodgers to take two knees to win the game 31-25.
It was, in truth, an error strewn game, not helped by a shocking catalogue of injuries, with the only difference between the teams being that the Packers were able to capitalise on the Steelers mistakes.
Rodgers was, rather predictably, voted MVP though his stats weren’t anything more than ordinary. He wasn’t helped by the amount of catchable balls his receivers dropped though.
Disappointingly for Steelers fans, the cold harsh reality this morning is that, despite being outplayed, their two-time Super Bowl winning QB squandered a golden opportunity to win the game.
This was supposed to represent redemption for Big Ben but a loss like that can break a man.
As the Packers celebrate their status as World Champions, Roethlisberger and the Steelers will wake today with the worst kind of hangover, the one painted in shades of regret at what might have been.
Steven O’Rourke is the offensive coordinator of Tullamore Phoenix American Football Club. When not obsessing with football he can be found at 4fortyfour.
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