The Stillers also deserve credit for running the table on the road. I had them as the pre-game favorites (as did almost everybody else), but I was nervous about the effects of so many consecutive road games. You had to figure that the tank might be near empty. Indeed, Big Ben looked like he didn't have any answers. Bettis had an ordinary game. OTOH, a guys like Randal El & Willie Parker step up on big plays -- as happens in almost every Superbowl. Anybody remember Timmy Smith?
Yes, the Steelers did very well after dropping 3 straight in the middle of the season. Big Ben was playing like a seasoned pro and helped get them to the Big Show. They defeated some superb teams at home--indeed made them look incomplete and hapless. They must have just run out of gas at the end, or the extra time off hurt their Big Mo.
I'm not a Steelers fan per se, but I do like Roethlisberger, Bettis, and Ward. I was hoping for a better game from #7 and #36 (at least a TD for the Bus, I know that he is just a role player--he had a chance to score on 1st & goal and 2nd & goal but everyone watching knew it was Bettis up the middle, so the D could just stack the line). Big Ben had a very rough game, which is too bad considering what he's capable of. He almost cost his team the game with that INT in the red zone, but had just enough plays to git 'er done. I doubt he cares about his passer rating but it would have been nice to see him put in an MVP performance (personally I thought Randle El would get the award).