The regular season played out very differently for the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers boasted the league’s top overall defense, while the Cardinals possessed one of the most explosive offenses. Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner ended the year top three in touchdowns thrown (30), passer rating (96.9), and yards thrown (4583). Also, Cardinal Larry Fitzgerald arguably ended the year as the top wide receiver with 1431 reception yards and 12 touchdowns caught. The Steelers never lost a game by more than 16 points, and allowed only 13 points per game. Overall, this translated to an up and down year for the Cardinals in which they won 9 games and lost 7. After starting 7-3, they fell apart losing 3 games by more than 20 points. The Steelers, however, played very balanced the entire year winning 12 games and losing 4. The Steelers were expected by many to have a shot at winning the Superbowl, while the Cinderella story of the Cardinals surprised the entire football world.

On Sunday February 1, 2009, Superbowl XLIII aired to millions of viewers across the United States. It featured the Arizona Cardinals representing the National Football Conference (NFC) and the Pittsburgh Steelers representing the American Football Conference (AFC). The Steelers won the matchup that many are already calling one of the most exciting Superbowls in recent memory.

The first quarter saw the Steelers playing tough defense that completely stifled the Cardinals’ high-flying offense. The Steelers offense, however, could only muster one field goal after quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was stopped just inches short of the goal line. At the start of the second quarter Roethlisberger led a controlled drive for the eventual touchdown. However, the Cardinals rallied furiously, driving 83-yards for a score on the very next possession. Following an interception, Arizona then drove to the Pittsburgh 5-yard line where Warner’s pass was intercepted by linebacker James Harrison and returned 100 yards for the touchdown. This gave the Steelers a 17-7 halftime lead.

After an uneventful third quarter, Warner began the fourth by driving Arizona down the field and capping it off with a fade to Fitzgerald for the touchdown. With fewer than three minutes left, the Cardinals scored on a 64-yard touchdown pass to Fitzgerald, giving the Steelers a 23-20 lead with two minutes left to play. However, the Steelers drove down the field for the eventual win. Both of the biggest plays of the drive were passes to wide-receiver Santonio Holmes. The first was a 40-yard catch and run that put Pittsburgh on the 7-yard line of Arizona. Finally, Roethlisberger completed a pass in the back corner of the end zone to Holmes for the game winning score. The Cardinals turned the ball over on a fumble during their final possession to solidify Superbowl XLIII as a Steelers victory.