Super Bowl XLIII: The Winner?

I really am not having a difficult time predicting who is going to win tonight’s Super Bowl and I will fully explain why I think the Pittsburgh Steelers will win this game…easily.

Yes, it pains me to feel the pressure of soon seeing a team have more Super Bowl victories than the Dallas Cowboys. But it is certainly the destiny of these Steelers, who I picked to make it to the Super Bowl at the beginning of the year (playing the Dallas Cowboys, and of course losing).

The Arizona Cardinals certainly have played well in the playoffs but that is going to come to a painful halt tonight. 

Many people are still in the mindframe of last year’s Super Bowl, when the New York Giants possibly had one of the biggest upsets in the history of the game, defeating an undefeated team that no one thought would lose. Somehow, people still believe that the Giants destiny will translate into a win for the Cardinals tonight. It will not. 

The Steelers have one of the best secondaries I can remember in recent history. The Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald will be covered well, and even if Anquan Boldin is open on man-to-man coverage, Kurt Warner is going to see a lot of pressure—I mean a lot. James Harrison very well may be the MVP of this game, and that does not bode well for the Cardinals, who will need to protect a quarterback who is probably one of the least mobile in the league. To say it as kindly as possible, Warner is going to get his rear blitzed all night.

Edgerrin James is unlikely to be a factor in this game, so forget the running game. All you have is Kurt, Anquan and Larry, and they Steelers got them covered. 

I expect a sloppy first quarter, where no one may even score. But the second quarter could very well turn into a 14-0 lead for the Steelers, all on defensive interceptions and easy scores. By halftime, the Cardinals will go to the locker room scared and demoralized. The coaching staff will change the schemes a bit, and we’ll probably see just pass, pass, pass. Game over, folks.

Steelers 31 Cardinals 13