Bringing back Lombardi.

For the first time in 14 years, the Lombardi Trophy will make it's way back to Green Bay, Wisconsin, after the Packers held on to beat Pittsburgh 31-25.

Green Bay started strong, kind of faded off, but finished strong.  The offensive line held up for the most part and gave Rodgers enough time to find his receivers.  They scored 21 points off 3 Pittsburgh turnovers, and this proved to be the key to their win.

Like I had said in an earlier post, Aaron Rodgers would have to play a near perfect game with zero turnovers, if the Packers were to have any chance of winning this game.  He did exactly that, throwing for three touchdowns and winning the MVP honors for his efforts.

I also said that Pittsburgh, despite any errors on offense, were still good enough to rally from behind and even possibly win the game.  Despite the three turnovers going for touchdowns, the Steelers trailed by 6 late in the game and were in a position to win the game.  So as it turns out, I was right on both accounts.

No doubt, McCarthy would have made Lombardi proud

Green Bay now take home their 4th Super Bowl and will no longer have to worry about being in Brett Favre's shadow.  Mike McCarthy, a Pittsburgh native, will be more than happy to take up his place next to Mike Holmgren, and the very man for whom the trophy was named; Vince Lombardi.  Take a bow, Mike; you're going to Disney World.

Before Vince Lombardi's arrival, Green Bay were going through some lean years.  He managed to turn the team around, and they experienced a decade of dominance; winning NFL Championships and the first 2 Super Bowls.  It was because of this success that Packers earned the nickname "Team of the 60's" and the city became known as "Title Town, USA".

Even though Pittsburgh ended up on the losing side, their first loss since Super Bowl 30, they still managed to make a game of it.  Any other team facing a 21-3 deficit might have not been able to make the kind of comeback that they did. The Steelers showed that they are a championship pedigree team, fighting till the very end.  Big Ben made plays whenever he could, Rashard Mendenhall ran hard and the Steel Curtain managed to get stops; it just wasn't their day.

Nick Collins made the most of this interception

Steeler fans can only wonder about what could have been, had there been no turnovers.  I know I've mentioned this enough times already, but what else was the difference between these teams?  The Packers offense, without the aid of any turnovers, only managed to score 10 points. 

While Pittsburgh seemed to have put their earlier mistakes behind them, it was the mistakes late in the game that did them in.  With momentum behind them, Mendenhall's late fumble gave Green Bay some cushion, but Pittsburgh again managed to close the margin.  After holding the Packers to a field goal, and the game very much within reach, Keyaron Fox's penalty for "unnecessary roughness" sunk the final nail in the coffin.  Having to go the length of the field with only one timeout, was a hurdle too big for Pittsburgh to jump over.

I guess that pretty much sums it up for the football season.  With a possible lockout looming, I really doubt that we'll be short of drama in the days to come.  Enjoy the offseason.