Six-burgh: Roethlisberger, Holmes and Steelers Offense Soar over Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII

On a 68-degree day (weather I, as a Midwesterner trapped in snow and six-degree temperatures, would kill for right now) at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, two teams entered Super Bowl XLIII via contrasting journeys.

The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the game as the AFC's No. 2 seed. Until that time, they were known as a team that played smash-mouth football with a strong defense and bruising running game.

Although their defense was still a force to be reckoned with (not so much this day), the offense was put on the shoulders of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Like Terry Bradshaw before him, Big Ben matured over the years since his first Super Bowl performance, and it showed this evening.

He ended the game throwing for 256 yards and a touchdown on 21-of-30 passing attempts. His 93.2 QB rating was a far cry from his 22.6 rating in Super Bowl XL.

The Arizona Cardinals were merely a team trying to establish a winning identity in 2008, having won only one playoff game in their last 51 years and entered the postseason with a 9-7 record.

With victories over the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles in the playoffs, the Cardinals entered Super Bowl XLIII hoping to include a historic final chapter to their first taste of success in the desert.

It would not get off to a good start for Arizona, as Pittsburgh took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter via an 18-yard field goal by Jeff Reed in the first quarter and a one-yard touchdown run in the second by Gary Russell.

The Cardinals answered back, however, with a one-yard TD pass from Kurt Warner to tight end Ben Patrick. Then, after Roethlisberger had a pass batted by Bryan Robinson and intercepted by Karlos Dansby, Arizona had the ball at the Steelers' 34-yard line with two minutes left in the first half.

In the half's closing seconds, the Cardinals had a first-and-goal at the Pittsburgh one-yard line. Warner planned on throwing a pass to Anquan Boldin to put his team up 14-10 at the half.

Instead, the pass fell into the hands of James Harrison, who was actually instructed by defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau to rush the quarterback. Harrison returned the interception 100 yards for the longest pick-six in Super Bowl history (in terms of yardage and, perhaps, time taken by Harrison to run to the end zone).

Harrison may now be known as a guy who complains about the NFL fining him for hitting defenders too hard. But in that situation, I'm sure he was grateful that the Cardinals mistakenly thought they were playing touch football.

Thanks to the TD return, the Steelers went into halftime leading 17-7. After a 21-yard field goal by Reed, they had a 20-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Then, once again, Arizona proved its worthiness to play in the Super Bowl. Warner threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald to cut the deficit to 20-14.

Facing a third down at their own one-yard line, the Steelers gave two more points to the Cardinals when center Justin Hartwig, who was playing with a sprained MCL, was called for a holding penalty in the end zone. The play resulted in a safety, and gave Arizona the ball back.

Warner then found Fitzgerald, who sprinted down the middle of the field 64 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Fitzgerald finished the game with seven catches for 127 yards and Warner with 377 yards and three touchdowns on 31-of-43 passing.

The good news for the Cardinals is that their air-attack duo gave them an unexpected 23-20 lead. The bad news is that 2:34 remained, enough time for another passing duo to, as Santonio Holmes said on the sidelines, "be great."

Holmes finished Super Bowl XLIII with nine receptions for 131 yards, but it was his four catches for 73 yards on the Steelers' final drive that earned him the Most Valuable Player award.

The third of those catches set up a first-and-goal for Pittsburgh at the six-yard line. He caught the pass from Roethlisberger on a curl route, then sprinted along the sideline past a slipping Aaron Francisco.

Two plays later, Roethlisberger threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Holmes, who tip-toed inbounds by the right sideline. After a booth review, the referees confirmed the touchdown.

As Holmes screamed, "That's how you be great!"

And that's how a proud franchise became the first in NFL history to win six Super Bowls.