Mattie T’s Preview of Super Bowl XLV

Will the Pittsburgh Steelers  win their 3rd Super Bowl in the last 6 years, or will the Green Bay Packers capture their first Lombardi Trophy since 1996?

This will be the first time that Pittsburgh will be an underdog since Super Bowl XXX, which they lost 27-17 to the Dallas Cowboys. Prior to Sunday’s game, Super Bowl XXX was the only loss that the Steelers have suffered in 7 tries.

Since winning Super Bowls I & II, Green Bay has only been back to the big stage twice as it produced mixed results. (The Packers won Super Bowl XXXI over the New England Patriots, but lost Super Bowl XXXII to the Denver Broncos in the following year.)

This game will feature a pair of quarterbacks in Aaron Rodgers & Ben Roethlisberger who both have a knack of extending plays with their feet once they’re in trouble.

We all know what they can do with their strong throwing arms, but once you realize that Rodgers & Roethlisberger have combined for 532 rushing yards & 6 touchdowns between them, we could see a lot of highlight-reel plays come Sunday.

Rodgers has had the better postseason to this point, but is coming off an NFC Championship Game where he clearly wasn’t at his best. (17-of-30 for 244 yards & 2 interceptions for a 55.4 rating.)

I don’t think either team’s running game will have much success, so it will most likely come down to which quarterback can execute better in what should be a very close Super Bowl.

Even though the postseason numbers aren’t pretty (17 touchdowns & 14 interceptions in 12 career games with a 85.4 rating), Roethlisberger knows how to win in the playoffs as evidenced by his 10-2 record.

In addition to this, Roethlisberger has 25 game-winning drives and 19 comeback wins, which are the two highest totals for an NFL quarterback through the first seven seasons of a player’s career.

Aaron Rodgers is a great quarterback, and i believe he’ll have a chance to win multiple Super Bowls as his career develops further. However, Green Bay clearly has a problem finishing games this season, as they have combined to score just ONE offensive touchdown during the 2nd half of two of their three playoff wins over Philadelphia & Chicago.

I know the Packers have been hot with 5 straight wins, but a lot of people are forgetting that the Steelers have reeled off 8 wins in their last 9 games leading up to Sunday.

Expect a very close game, but i think Pittsburgh gets it done to capture their 7th Lombardi Trophy.

Mattie T’s Prediction for Super Bowl XLV: Steelers 28, Packers 24.