When the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals faced off in Super Bowl XLIII it was a David versus Goliath story. The Steelers had five Super Bowls entering the game and are one of the most storied franchises in NFL history, while the Cardinals had never been to a Super Bowl and were mostly known for their mediocrity. For then-Cardinals rookie DB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, he felt like Pittsburgh was on a different level at the start of that game.
“That first play, it seemed like they were giants,” said Rodgers-Cromartie in a 2023 interview on For The Athlete. “Like that’s the biggest team I’ve ever seen in my life. And the first play they run a sweep my way and two big lineman pull at me and push m out of bounds and roll me over.”
Although it was not the first play, on the first drive Max Starks pancaked Rodgers-Cromartie on a pitch to RB Willie Parker for a nice gain.
Entering Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers were only a few seasons removed from winning Super Bowl XL returning with largely the same team. Most players on Pittsburgh were relaxed and confident because they had won a Super Bowl before. The Cardinals, and particularly Rodgers-Cromartie, lacked that experience. Now, they were on the world’s biggest stage, facing a team that had recently hoisted a Lombardi.
Rodgers-Cromartie had an impressive NFL career spanning 12 years in which he tallied 30 interceptions and 146 pass breakups. But, Steelers fans will remember him as one of the defensive backs in the area when Santonio Holmes caught the game-winning touchdown in the Super Bowl.
However, Rodgers-Cromartie thinks that if he was a bit closer to Holmes he would have broken the pass up.
“Incomplete pass,” said Rodgers-Cromartie when asked what he thought would happen if he was in coverage. “Because I had the jumping ability where I could have knocked it down. But, I will say this. That tells you how much coaching and game planning [goes] into something, because they knew I was an aggressive corner, and they knew I take my chances no matter what. And they put something in front of me to allowed me to come down, for him [Holmes] to sneak into behind me and it was a great thrown ball.”
As Rodgers-Cromartie explains, his focus on WR Hines Ward’s short curl route prevented him from getting to the back of the end zone in time. As you can see in this video posted by Irishcrimson on YouTube, Rodgers-Cromartie bites on Ward’s route, leaving him flat-footed and unable to make a play on the pass to Holmes.
His comments are older but worth revisiting given the magnitude of the game. Given a do-over, perhaps NFL history would’ve changed forever.
We will never know if Rodgers-Cromartie would have been able to make a play on the pass had he been in position, but credit has to be given to then offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. The spacing on the play was well thought out, and it led to Holmes being wide open for just enough time in the back corner of the end zone for QB Ben Roethlisberger to find him.
Luckily for the Steelers, this time Holmes caught the ball, something he didn’t do leading up the game.
