Super Bowl XLIII was one of the most exciting games in Pittsburgh Steelers history. And the last time that the team won a championship. Ben Roethlisberger led an iconic drive near the end of the game and found Santonio Holmes for an unbelievable touchdown. However, that wasn’t the end of the game. The Arizona Cardinals got the ball back and had a chance to win the game. Luckily, the Steelers’ defense stepped up and forced a turnover. Brett Keisel recently reflected on that final drive.
“There’s still 45 second left, or something like that,” Keisel said on the Off Set with Larry and the Big Man podcast. “And we’re just going, ‘We haven’t stopped them this whole second half, really.’ Nerves were tight. We knew everyone looked at us as being a great defense. All year long, we made the plays to get the job done.
“But in that game, aside from James [Harrison’s] pick-six, in the second half, they moved the ball on us and scored and took the lead. We got the lead back and we are not letting this happen. They made a play and got to midfield. And I’m just like, ‘I can’t believe this is happening. This is crazy.’ But old [LaMarr] Woodley, he came around that corner, kept fighting, and popped that ball out. Fortunately for me, I’m just coming back on my rush lane, and it’s laying right there. Like, ‘Hey buddy, here’s a gift.'”
Roethlisberger’s touchdown to Holmes came with around 40 seconds left. There was around 30 seconds left by the time that the Cardinals got the ball. They started to move down the field quickly, too. They went almost 35 yards in just two plays. That set them up at Pittsburgh’s 44-yard line with 15 seconds left.
Therefore, it was still a longshot, but they had a chance to win the game. However, as Keisel says, Woodley made a huge play, sacking Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner and knocking the ball out. Keisel picked up the recovery, and that sealed the Steelers’ win.
That play often gets overshined by some of the other big moments from that game, but it was just as important. Keisel is correct that the Steelers’ defense struggled more in the second half compared to the first half. While it was still stout, forcing the Cardinals to punt on three of their six drives, Warner and Larry Fitzgerald had given them issues.
The Steelers’ defense was the NFL’s best that year, so it makes sense that they felt a lot of pressure on that drive. However, when needed most, that unit stepped up. Harrison’s interception gets most of the love, but the rest of defense stepped up in different ways. Woodley’s sack and Keisel’s recovery are good examples.
That was a legendary defense with a lot of stars. Troy Polamalu is the only one currently in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but many other members of that unit were accomplished. That includes Keisel. He put together a pretty nice career for himself considering that he was a seventh-round pick. He made one Pro Bowl, won two Super Bowls, and made plenty of plays, including that fumble recovery in the Super Bowl.
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