The Steel Curtain

            The defense of the Steelers made Joe Flacco look like a rookie quarterback on Sunday.  The defense brought pressure and forced Flacco to make bad decisions with the football.  Flacco’s first ever AFC championship was a nightmare, being sacked three times and throwing three interceptions, one of which was returned for a 40-yard touchdown by Troy Polamalu to seal the win for the Steelers.  The Steelers’ defense proved why they are ranked number one with another spectacular performance against the Ravens.  When all is said and done, this defense may very well be considered one of the best ever in NFL history, and would not be more deserving.

            Ben Roethlisberger will be heading to his second Super Bowl in his short five year career, and much had to do with his performance on Sunday night.  It was Roethlisberger’s ability to keep plays alive after being hit or when the pocket broke down around him, which kept the Steelers’ offense moving. One example of this took place when the Ravens came on an all-out blitz and it appeared that Roethlisberger was going to be sacked, until he escaped the crowd of defenders and threw a pass to Santonio Holmes, which ended up going for a 65-yard touchdown. Willie Parker rushed for 47 yards, but that was to be expected against the powerful run-stopping defense of the Ravens.

It was a complete team effort that propelled the Steelers to victory over the Ravens, and will be sending the Pittsburgh Steelers to their seventh Super Bowl in franchise history.

Hines Ward left the game with a knee injury in the first quarter and will have an MRI on Monday.