Clay Matthew and Aaron Rodgers celebrate Packers Championship

By Craig Phelps

The stage was set for an epic battle between Green Bay and Pittsburgh on Sunday night.  Jerry Jones’ palace in Dallas, Texas was the home of Super Bowl XLV as the Packers defeated the Steelers 31-25.

Ben Roethlisberger was looking to put a fairy tale ending on a season that began with him being the villain of the NFL.  Aaron Rodgers was hoping to cast off the shadow of a football legend.  These two storied franchise have appeared in almost 27 percent of all Super Bowls and have won over 24 of the Super Bowl titles.  The Packers and Steelers have a combined winning percentage of nearly 77 percent in the Super Bowl.

The leagues two best defenses, featuring the Defensive Player of the Year in Troy Polamalu and the runner-up in Clay Matthews, did not disappoint their fans.

Ben Roethlisberger was sacked once and Aaron Rodgers was sacked three times in the Packers victory.  Clay Matthews forced a fumble and Packers safety Charlie Peprah led all tackles with 9 tackles and 1 assist.

Roethlisberger threw two interceptions in the Steelers loss, including one returned for a touchdown by Nick Collins.  He completed 25 of 40 passes for 263 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Brett Favre won Super Bowl XXXI, but Aaron Rodgers should not be hearing that name around Title Town for some time.  The Super Bowl XLV MVP connected on 24 of 39 passes for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Rashard Mendenhall ran the ball 14 times for the Steelers for 63 yards and a touchdown.  Packers’ James Starks ran the ball 11 times for 52 yards against the NFL’s best rush defense.  Mike Wallace and Hines Ward both caught touchdown passes from Big Be.  Packer’s wide receiver Jordy Nelson led all receivers with 140 yards and caught a touchdown and Greg Jennings brought in two touchdowns.

The championship marks the Green Bay Packers fourth Super Bowl championship.