February 7th, 2011 ARLINGTON, Texas --
Yes, the Steelers had a chance to win Super Bowl XLV.
Yes, they were in almost the same exact situation as they had been in December of 2009 when Ben Roethlisberger led an 86-yard touchdown drive -- after getting the ball with 2:06 left to play -- to beat the Packers by a point.
But the truth is the Steelers didnt deserve to win Sunday night at Cowboys Stadium even though the stage had been set for Roethlisberger to conjure up more of his fourth-quarter magic with his team trailing 31-25.
Starting at their own 13-yard line with just under two minutes to play the Steelers could only manage one first down before turning the ball over on downs.
I had a feeling we were going to do it again but we should have never been in that situation. Thats the discouraging part, Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward said. You cant beat a team like the Packers turning the ball over the way that we did.
The single biggest season why the Steelers failed to win their third Super Bowl in six seasons: they committed three turnovers, all of which led to Packers touchdowns, while not coming up with any takeaways.
Here are some other thoughts, quotes and observations from the Steelers second loss in eight Super Bowl appearances.
-- Take away strong safety Troy Polamalu and the Steelers secondary is suspect. And teams seemed to take the 2010 NFL Defensive Player of the Year out of games during the postseason by simply staying away from him -- something Aaron Rodgers did Sunday night.
Polamalu had three tackles and no passes defended in the Steelers' 31-25 loss. When asked if thought Polamalu had made an impact in the game, coach Mike Tomlin said, Ill let you be the judge.
Said Polamalu, I had some opportunities to make plays, I was just off a step or here there. Toughest (loss) Ive ever had in my life.
-- Polamalus running mate in the secondary and best friend on the Steelers sure didnt take the loss lightly.
Nothing separates us from the other 30 teams that werent here, free safety Ryan Clark said. Were just like them. All the work, all the adversity we overcame, its for nothing. Id just rather not be here if Im not going to take home the trophy.
-- If there was one call that Tomlin wanted back it was his decision to try a 52-yard field goal with four-and-a-half minutes to play in the third quarter.
The Steelers had cut the Packers lead to four points, had seized the momentum and had a chance to pin Green Bay deep in its own territory.
Shaun Suisham hooked the kick left of the goal post.
There was a terrible decision by me in hindsight, said Tomlin, who had been pleased with how Suisham kicked in pre-game warm ups. I took a calculated shot at it and it failed. But no judgment on Shaun Suisham. We picked him up along the way this season and hes one of the reasons that were here.
-- It was no surprise that the Packers were successful in spreading out the Steelers and attacking their defense with Rodgers and his deep stable of wide receivers.
Rodgers was a worthy MVP, and his numbers (24 of 39 for 304 yards and three touchdowns) could have been a lot better. I counted four drops by Packers receivers in the second half, including one by James Jones that would have gone for a long touchdown in the third quarter.
The Packers look like they could be good for a long time, and it all starts with Rodgers.
He just completed his third season as a starter, and Rodgers has already delivered as many Super Bowl titles to Green Bay as Brett Favre did.
I think people are going to write stories about him 10 years from now, Packers general manager Ted Thompson said. Even though hes done so much, hes still kind of just getting started.
Pittsburgh Tribune wrote: