It’s one of the greatest plays in NFL history and came at the end of a remarkable game. Yet for former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, his throw to wide receiver Santonio Holmes in the back right corner of the end zone to win Super Bowl XLIII over the Arizona Cardinals has him being overshadowed quite a bit by the catch Holmes made.
Holmes, of course, went on to win Super Bowl XLIII MVP after that catch, capping a night in which he finished with nine receptions for 131 yards and the game-winning score. He was dominant throughout the game and saved his best for last, hauling in four passes for 73 yards on the game-winning drive, including the 6-yard strike for the game’s final score. He certainly deserved the MVP award.
But Roethlisberger had a whale of a game, too, and was magical on the final drive.
When people think of Super Bowl XLIII though, they think of Holmes and the toe-tap to haul in the touchdown. The throw was perfect, the catch even better. But Roethlisberger remains overshadowed for the entire game. In a recent piece highlighting the seven best non-MVP performances in the Super Bowl, Roethlisberger’s performance against the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII didn’t even make the list.
Performances by New York Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler in Super Bowl XXV, New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree in Super Bowl XLII, Washington running back Timmy Smith in Super Bowl XXII, Oakland Raiders running back Clarence Davis in Super Bowl XI and New England running back James White in Super Bowl LI were among the performance highlighted in Super Bowl history that didn’t lead to MVP awards. Yet Roethlisberger’s showing against the Cardinals didn’t crack the list.
That night against the Cardinals, Roethlisberger was an impressive 21-of-30 passing for 256 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The one interception likely cost him the MVP as it clouds the stats line overall, but that pick came late in the first half with Pittsburgh in the lead and came off of a batted pass at the line of scrimmage.
A few plays after the turnover, Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison returned an interception of Kurt Warner 100 yards for a touchdown, setting a Super Bowl record and giving the Steelers a 17-7 lead at the half.
Outside of the one blemish, Roethlisberger was remarkable.
Roethlisberger had just four incompletions in the first half of game, one of which was the interception. After that, he had just five incompletions in the second half, three of which came on a field goal drive early in the second half.
He was as good as it gets down the stretch, especially on the final drive. Roethlisberger was 5-for-7 for 84 yards on the drive, hitting Holmes four times for 73 yards and then finding wide receiver Nate Washington for 11 yards. Roethlisberger made quite the throw to Holmes to put the Steelers in front on the 6-yard touchdown, but his throw the play prior to Holmes on the other side the field was arguably better, though it went through Holmes’ hands for a drop.
His 256 yards don’t come close to being up there in the upper echelon of performances from a passing standpoint in Super Bowl history, but his work throughout the game — including the final drive — had him very deserving of MVP honors. Having such a key hand in arguably the greatest play in NFL history should have him at the top of the list of greatest non-MVP performances in Super Bowl history, especially ahead of a performance like Tyree’s since Tyree had just three catches for 43 yards and a score, 32 yards of which came on the Helmet Catch.
