Super Bowl XLV Wrap Up

What a storybook ending to Brett Favre's career. The Green Bay Packers winning the Super Bowl as he rides off into the sunse-... Oh wait... Riiiiiiiight. Scratch that.

So the Green Bay Packers are once again Super Bowl Champions, knocking off the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25. Aaron Rodgers won a well-deserved MVP award throwing for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns, and most importantly he did not turn the ball over. Perhaps the most impressive thing about the Packers though was their ability to overcome injuries. Green Bay lost arguably their best defensive player when Charles Woodson broke his collarbone in the first half. They also lost Donald Driver who was second on the team in receptions during the regular season. But just as they'd done all year when they lost players like Jermichael Finley, Ryan Grant, Nick Barnett and others, the Packers found a way.

For me, this game turned on one play. With the Packers reeling after letting a 21-3 lead get whittled down to 21-17, and the Steelers driving into Packer territory, Pittsburgh faced a 2nd and 2 from the 33. Rashard Mendenhall took the handoff, but was stacked up behind the line of scrimmage and after getting hit by Clay Matthews the ball popped out and was scooped up by Desmond Bishop. The Packers capitalized and drove 55 yards in 8 plays and got some cushion back taking the lead to 28-17. For the game, the Packers scored 21 points off of Pittsburgh's 3 turnovers.

FUMBLE!!!

In the end, turnovers were Pittsburgh's undoing, but they also missed a field goal with the score 21-17. Shaun Suisham who didn't make a kick over 48 yards all year was called on to attempt a 52 yarder in the third quarter and missed it badly. Like Mike Vanderjagt bad.

Vanderjagt

Anyhow, the Steelers had opportunities, but for the third straight game, they really only played one complete half of football, and this time it finally caught up to them. One final thought on the game, the Packers won the Super Bowl without one of their top receivers, their #1 tight end, their #1 running back and their defensive captain. Just think what they'll be capable of if they can ever get everyone healthy.