Steelers Super Bowl Special
Dissecting The Drive
By Tony DeFazio

With two minutes and 47 seconds remaining in Super Bowl XLIII, Larry Fitzgerald crossed the goal line and put his Cardinals ahead of the Steelers, 23-20, after Neil Rackers' PAT split the uprights. Rackers ensuing kick-off backed Steelers kick-returner Carey Davis to his one; he returned it to the 22 yard-line. Cue Ben Roethlisberger and the offense-"7 and Company," as coach Mike Tomlin referred to them afterwards-for glory time.

The next two-and-a-half minutes earned the Steelers their sixth Super Bowl victory and earned 7 and Company a permanent place in history. Here's how it happened.

Clock: 2:30
"It's now or never, guys. You'll be remembered forever if you do this," Roethlisberger told his team in the huddle.

"Just give me the ball, give me the chance to make plays and I will do it for you," Holmes told his quarterback.

Roethlisberger took his first snap of the series, during which he would operate entirely out of the shotgun. He threw left to Mewelde Moore, who was pushed out of bounds after losing a yard - and an offensive holding call on Chris Kemoeatu backed them up even further, to their own 12.

Clock: 2:24
Roethlisberger threw short right to Santonio Holmes for a 14-yard gain, giving the offense a more manageable distance on 2nd down.

Clock: 2:00
The Steelers rushed to get a play off before the two-minute warning, and went deep down the right sideline for Nate Washington, but the pass fell harmlessly out of bounds.

Clock: 1:56
Facing a 3rd and 6 from his own 26, Roethlisberger scrambled and found Santonio Holmes on a curl route for a big 13-yard gain and the first down.

"I was watching that third-and-6 play and knew in that situation that we had better get it right then," said Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau. "That was the play that almost made my heart stop. That was the biggie. It set us up for everything else. It made us avoid a fourth-down and-everything-on-the-line play."

Clock: 1:33
Roethlisberger goes back to the same spot on the field and hits Washington for another first down as the drive reaches midfield.

Clock: 1:08
The play breaks down and Roethlisberger takes off, gaining just four yards and forcing the Steelers to use their second timeout.

Clock: 1:02
On second down from the Arizona 46, it's Ben to Holmes again, but this time No. 10 cuts it inside and breaks loose for a huge 40 yard gain, setting up a first-and-goal from the 6. Roethlisberger calls the team's final timeout with 0:49 to go.

Clock: 0:48
Roethlisberger fades back and pumps right before firing into the left corner of the end zone to Holmes, who has slipped behind Antrel Rolle and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and is open in the back of the end zone. The ball is high, but Holmes gets to it - only to have the ball sail through his outstretched hands.

"Santonio came back to the huddle and said, 'My bad,'" Roethlisberger said. "I told him it didn't matter because I'm coming back to you."

Clock: 0:42
Roethlisberger takes the snap and drops back to the 14. Running back Mewelde Moore is open in the right flat, but Roethlisberger looks him off and to Hines Ward in the middle of the field. He then progresses to his third read, Holmes in the right corner. He's not exactly open, but Roethlisberger decides to throw high and toward the boundary, so that Holmes and only Holmes will have a chance to catch the pass. In the corner of the end zone-behind Rodgers-Cromartie, Ralph Brown and Aaron Francisco-Holmes extends his body, briefly leaving the ground as he snares the missile from his quarterback. His toes return to earth and scrape the red paint in the end zone before he falls to the ground, all the while controlling the football. Touchdown. The replay assistant challenged the call, and the play was upheld. Jeff Reed hit the PAT and the Steelers led 27-23. Thirty five seconds later, the game was over and the Lombardi Trophy was in familiar hands.

"The first read was the running back in the flat, but he wasn't open," Roethlisberger said. "Then I was going to try to bang it to Hines, but someone was closing in on it and I was a little nervous about it. It wouldn't have been a touchdown. I looked back, scrambled a little bit and saw Tone in the corner. I tried to throw it high so he was going to catch it, or no one was. Luckily, he made a heck of a play."

"I knew it was a touchdown 100 percent," Holmes said, even though the play had to withstand a video review. "My feet never left the ground. All I did was stand up on my toes and extended my hands."

"When Ben Roethlisberger started scrambling, my eyes were bad, and I got taken out of my zone," said the Cardinals' Rodgers-Cromartie.

"He's a winner, first and foremost,'' Arizona defensive end Bertrand Berry said of Roethlisberger. "He did what he's always done… They're the champions because of the way he played.''