1. Packers 31, Steelers 25 (2011)

There was no other choice to be No. 1. After 14 years, the Green Bay Packers were finally back on top of the football world. The Packers were the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs and won three consecutive games away from Lambeau Field, knocking off the top three seeds in the NFC. Pittsburgh was the No. 2 seed in the AFC and benefitted from an upset loss by the top seed New England Patriots to the New York Jets in the divisional round. The Steelers would host the Jets in the AFC Championship game and won 24-19 to meet the Packers in the Super Bowl. The Packers would end the season with 15 players on injured reserve. Despite being the No. 6 seed and making the playoffs on the last week of the regular season, many people picked Green Bay to win in Texas. That feeling was shared by Vegas, as the Packers were favored by three points. The Steelers had won the Super Bowl in both 2006 and 2009 and people wondered if that experience would be a huge factor in the game. It was the opposite throughout most of the first half, as Green Bay had a 21-3 lead late in the first half. Pittsburgh would cut it to 21-17 and were on the move to take the lead or cut it further, but the Green Bay defense held. The Packers defense would hold again on the final drive of the game and the Packers would bring home their fourth Super Bowl championship.

Both teams punted on their first possession of the game, but the Packers took over on their own 20 with just over eight minutes to go in the first half. The first three plays gained a total of 26 yards and Green Bay was already knocking on Pittsburgh’s territorial door. A 14-yard completion to Brandon Jackson moved the Packers inside the Steelers 40. Three plays later, Green Bay scored the first points of the Super Bowl. Facing a 3rd-and-1, Aaron Rodgers would throw a pass into the end zone down the right sideline for Jordy Nelson. The Packers wide receiver caught it against Pittsburgh cornerback William Gay and Green Bay took the lead 7-0 with less than four minutes to play in the first half.

The Packers would not be done in the first quarter. Not by a long shot. It did not take long for the Green and Gold to take the lead by two scores. Pittsburgh returned the kickoff to the 14, but there was a penalty that knocked the Steelers back to their own 7 to start the next drive. Then, on the first play of the drive, Ben Roethlisberger went back to pass and pumped faked. That pump fake by Big Ben allowed Green Bay defensive tackle Howard Green to come in and hit the Steelers quarterback. Roethlisberger wound up to throw deep to speedy wide receiver Mike Wallace down the left sideline. But Green hit Big Ben’s arm as he was throwing and the ball was woefully short of the intended target. That is where Packers safety Nick Collins gave a 14-0 lead. Collins, who was playing center field on the play, had a beat on the Roethlisberger pass and came over and picked off the pass at the 37. He would run down the right sideline to the 20, where he cut it back to elude a Steeler and would would run inside the 5 and leap into the end zone for the score and the Packers took a 14-0 lead with three and a half minutes to play in the first quarter. It would remain 14-0 at the end of the first quarter, but Pittsburgh was on the move as the game moved to the second.

On the final play of the first quarter, the Steelers faced a huge 3rd-and-9 from midfield. Pittsburgh cold not afford to kick it back to the Packers, already trailing by 14. Roethlisberger went back to pass and stepped up and found all kinds of running room. The big quarterback would run all the way down to the Green Bay 32 for the 18-yard run to move the sticks. Pittsburgh converted a third down and long on a pass to Emmanuel Sanders, but then the Steelers would have to settle for a field goal on the drive and the Packers led 14-3 with less than 12 minutes left in the half.

Pittsburgh was gaining momentum after its defense forced a Green Bay punt on the following possession. On the third down play before the Packers punt, Donald Driver had to sit out the rest of the game with an ankle sprain. Pittsburgh followed that up with gaining a pair of first downs to move into Packers territory. However, on a 2nd-and-11 at the Green Bay 49, Roethlisberger threw it over the middle and it was intercepted by Jarrett Bush and the Packers took over on their own 47. The Green and Gold were tremendous lucky on the play, as Pittsburgh tight end Heath Miller was wide open down the left sideline and possibly would have scored. I don’t think Big Ben expected Bush to be there, which is why the ball was thrown.

Green Bay wasted little time taking advantage of the second turnover by the Steelers. The Packers needed just four plays to travel the 53 yards to give the Green and Gold a 21-3 lead. The drive would end on a Rodgers touchdown pass to Greg Jennings from 21 yards out. Rodgers threw a perfect pass to Jennings over the middle and the Packers wide receiver caught it before getting hit hard and the Packers had a 21-3 lead with two and a half minutes left in the first half.

Pittsburgh was able to get a monster score at the end of the half. After the kickoff, Roethlisberger found an open Antwaan Randel El for 37 yards down to the Green Bay 40. On the following play, the Packers lost another leader. On a deep pass down the left sideline, Green Bay’s Charles Woodson dove to break up a pass at the goal line, but he would break his collarbone in the process. Just like during the season, the Packers had key injuries, but would overcome them. Big Ben would convert another third down on a pass to Hines Ward to move Pittsburgh inside the 30. He would also connect with Ward again in the end zone on an 8-yard score in the final minute for a monster touchdown to cut the deficit to 21-10 at halftime.

The Steelers rode the momentum from the first half into the second half, as Pittsburgh forced a three-and-out on Green Bay’s first drive of the third quarter. On the third down play, Rodgers threw a strike to James Jones, but he dropped it. Jones would have been off to the races and it may have been a touchdown. But instead, the Packers had to punt. The punt was returned to the 35 and a face mask on Tom Crabtree put the ball at midfield. Pittsburgh needed just five plays to travel the 50 yards and make it a game. All five plays were runs and former Illinois standout Rashard Mendenhall was the touchdown scorer. He ran in from eight yards and the Steelers had stormed back to cut it to four.

Pittsburgh’s confidence only grew, as the Steelers forced another three-and-out by the Green Bay offense and the Steelers took over at their own 40 after the punt. Pittsburgh would drive inside the Packers 35, but the drive would stall and Shaun Suisham would miss the field goal attempt and the score remained 21-17. The score would remain 21-17 until the fourth quarter.

At the end of the third quarter, the Steelers forced a Packers punt from deep in their own territory. It was a short punt by Tim Masthay and the Steelers started with the ball at the Green Bay 41. On the last play of the quarter, Mendenhall ran for eight down to the 33.

There is always one signature play in a Super Bowl that people can say turned the tide or won the game for a team. It isn’t necessarily always a scoring play, and in this case, it was not. On the second down play on the first play of the fourth quarter, Mendenhall received the handoff. He was met in the backfield by the Packers duo of linebacker Clay Matthews and defensive end Ryan Pickett. The ball would pop out and it would be recovered by Desmond Bishop for the Packers and he would return it to the Green Bay 45.

The Packers would not let this great field position go to waste. The Packers returned to the field with more focused a re-newed swagger. Facing a 3rd-and-10 on the Steelers 40, Rodgers threw a dart over the middle to Jordy Nelson. The receiver ran from right to left on the slant and ran down the left sideline for 38 yards down to the Green Bay 2. Following a sack on first down, Rodgers found a wide open Jennings in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown to give the Packers a 28-17 lead with 12 minutes to go in the Super Bowl.

But back came the Steelers. Pittsburgh drove 66 yards in seven plays to cut the deficit to three. Roethlisberger threw on every single play on the drive and the Packers would not even make the Steelers face a third down until the touchdown play. On a 2nd-and-18, Roethlisberger would hit Ward for 15 to set up a more manageable 3rd-and-3. That would be when Big Ben connected with an open Wallace down the left sideline for the score to cut it to 28-23. The two-point conversion attempt was also successful on a run from Randel El and the Steelers fought back to make it 28-25.

With Green Bay facing a 3rd-and-10 on the following drive, Rodgers needed to make a play. They called the play that had worked so well throughout the game. The Packers quarterback took the snap and threw it over the middle to Jennings for 31 yards to the Steelers 44. The coverage was terrific by Pittsburgh, but there is no defense for a perfect throw. That would set up a field goal by Crosby and the Packers took a 31-25 lead.

Green Bay needed one final stop to win the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh had to travel 87 yards to score the touchdown. It was a similar situation to the one against Arizona in the Super Bowl two years prior. Roethlisberger found Miller open over the middle for 15 yards to move up to the 27. But three plays only got five yards, so the Steelers faced a 4th-and-5 from the 32. Roethlisberger’s pass would be knocked away by Tramon Williams, who had a monster post-season. That gave the Packers the win.

As Wayne Larrivee said, “The title is back in town.” Green Bay finally was able to break through and win the big one. It was a tremendous feeling. The road to Super Bowl LI begins tomorrow at Jacksonville!