Green Bay Packers overcome Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV (Part 4)
The Super Bowl XLV seemed one-sided through the first half as the Green Bay Packers pounded the Pittsburgh Steelers. By the end of the first quarter the Packers led with 14 points against nothing. The Steelers fought back in the
second quarter and reduced Green Bay’s lead to 10 points in the second quarter and down to just 4 points by the end of the third quarter.
The Steelers were unable to continue the momentum from the second and third quarter into the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh retained possession from the third quarter and began the fourth quarter on the offensive at Green Bay’s 33-yard
line. Rashard Mendenhall, who had been the driving force behind the Pittsburgh’s first touchdown and its rushing attack tried to rush the ball through Packers defence once again. Mendenhall powered up the middle but ran into defensive end Ryan Pickett and
linebacker Clay Mathews. The hit from Mathews knocked the ball out of Mendenhall’s hand. The fumbled ball was recovered by linebacker Desmond Bishop who carried it for seven yards to Green Bay’s 45-yard line.
The Packers leaned on the passing attack in this drive. Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers led Green Bay’s advance with a 3-yard pass to Jordy Nelson, followed by a 12-yard pass to James Jones. From Pittsburgh’s 40-yard line, Rodgers
tried to pass the ball twice but could not complete either pass. On third and 10, Rodgers finally connected with Nelson for 38 yards gain, taking the Packers inside the redzone and two yards short of touchdown.
On the two-yard line, Pittsburgh’s LaMarr Woodley broke through Rodgers offensive line and sacked Rogers for six yards. The Sack, however, proved to be less than enough to stop the Packers. On second and eight, Rodgers waited in
the pocket for Greg Jennings in the endzone. Jennings was able to deceive Troy Polamalu and the rest of Pittsburgh defence. Jennings had put distance between himself and Polamalu before the safety even realized what was going on. Jennings comfortably caught
the eight yards pass from Rodgers without any resistance from the Steelers.
This was the third turnover of the game that the Packers had produced. They were able to score touchdowns on both previous occasions and scored again on the third turnover. With the touchdown, the Packers increased their lead to
11 points again. Pittsburgh still had almost 12 minutes to close the gap.
Pittsburgh’s quarterback Ben Roethlisberger knew that time was of essence. After Jennings’ touchdown, Roethlisberger put the offence into the high gear. Roethlisberger started the offence from the 34-yard line with a 9-yard pass
to Matt Spaeth and followed it up with an 11-yard pass to Mike Wallace. A play later Roethlisberger aimed for Wallace again and passed 14 yards. The Steelers were pushed back 10 yards for an offensive holding penalty, but Roethlisberger did not let the drive
sink. On first and 20, he passed two yards to Wallace. On second and 18, he passed 15 yards to Hines Ward and on third and three he threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Wallace.
Sam Shields covered Wallace but the wide receiver was able to slip out of his coverage and receive Roethlisberger’s pass along the sidelines. Safety Nick Collins rushed in from the right but could not reach Wallace on time to stop
him from scoring the touchdown.
The Steelers attempted the two-point conversion instead of the extra point after the touchdown. Antwaan Randle El streaked left and rushed the ball into the endzone for two points. The Steelers cut Green Bay’s lead to just 3 points.
In the subsequent drive, the Packers pushed from their 25-yard line to Pittsburgh’s eight-yard line in six plays which included a 31-yard pass to Jennings, a 14-yard rush by James Starks and a 21-yard pass to James Jones. The drive
stalled at the eight-yard line and the Packers attempted the field goal from the five-yard line. The attempt was good. In the last two minutes, Pittsburgh needed a touchdown to win but they were able to advance just 20 yards from the 13-yard line before the
Packers got possession. Rodgers kneeled twice to run down the clock and Green Bay won 31 against 25.
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