Only one team has earned more trips to play on Super Sunday, but on February 1st, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have a chance to move alone into first place for Super Bowl victories. The Steelers head to Tampa to face off with the surprising Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. After a strong regular season performance, Pittsburgh entered the postseason as the #2 seed champions of the AFC North. Having knocked off both San Diego and Baltimore to claim the Lamar Hunt Trophy as AFC champs, they now find themselves matched up against a Cardinal team that essentially nobody expected to make it this far.

Coming into the season, the Steelers were expected to be amongst the best teams in the AFC, and they didn't disappoint on their way to a 12-4 record. Their 4 losses all came to teams who would go on to join Pittsburgh in the postseason, including close losses to Philadelphia, the New York Giants, and the Indianapolis Colts. After the loss to Indy in Week 10 however, the Steelers won 6 of their last 7, only dropping a game 31-14 in Tennessee in Week 16. As is customary for Pittsburgh, the team got the job done with a blue collar work ethic all season long. The focus was on defense throughout the year, invoking memories of the vaunted Steel Curtain of the 70s for many who watched them. It was defense that continued to propel them in the playoffs as well.

In the divisional round, the Steelers found themselves matched up against a red hot San Diego Charger team who had taken down heavy favorites in the Indianapolis Colts the week before. Holding the ball for 14:57 of the third quarter and only allowing San Diego one offensive play, which resulted in an interception, the Steelers would move to a 28-10 lead in the 4th quarter. After an exchange of touchdowns, the defense would relax a bit and allow one more before the game ended, making the final score 35-24 in favor of Pittsburgh. Moving on to the AFC Championship, the Steelers would host division rival Baltimore in a surefire defensive battle.

Leading 13-0 in the middle of the 2nd quarter, Pittsburgh finally surrendered a touchdown late in the half as Willis McGahee brought the Ravens within 6. After more defensive back and forth in the 2nd half, the Steelers clung to a 17-14 lead late in the game when Troy Polamalu picked off a Joe Flacco pass and took it into the endzone. This moved the Steelers to a 9 point lead at 23-14, which would prove to be the final score. A 7th trip to the Super Bowl had become a reality for the Steel City.

As I mentioned in a previous article, I'm a big believer in the theory that defense wins championships, and Pittsburgh brings the top ranked defense in the NFL with it into Tampa. However, they face an offense from Arizona that been the most prolific of any postseason team. The Cardinals have been absolutely on fire during their postseason run, most notably with the Kurt Warner to Larry Fitzgerald combination. Add in a seemingly recharged Edgerrin James, and Arizona might just have something to test the Steelers' D. While a win would give Pittsburgh their 6th Super Bowl title, the Cardinals will be making their debut in the big game despite being an original member of the NFL and they are out to prove they belong in this position after many doubted they could make it out of the first round of the playoffs.

Pittsburgh's got a decided advantage in Super Bowl experience with 20 members of it's roster having been there before. Arizona by comparison has just 5 players who have dealt with the added pressure of a Super Bowl. This could play a role early on in the game when the Cardinals might find themselves overwhelmed by their surroundings. If they can settle down quickly however, one would think a football player's instincts take over and all the hype and pressure are forgotten. If the Cards can manage an early touchdown, it will go a long way to boost their confidence and keep them in the game.

For Pittsburgh, one of the keys to victory is going to be establishing their running game early on. Their offense in flashy by no means and instead relies on a ball control system as well as the play of their defense. Ben Roethlisberger has an outstanding record, including 7-2 in the postseason, in his short career, but he is not at all known for putting up big numbers. If Willie Parker can get in a groove early on and Pittsburgh can keep the ball out of Kurt Warner's hands, it provides them with their best path to victory. Arizona's defense, while not overly impressive throughout the season, has turned it up a notch in the playoffs and only allowed around 77 yards rushing per game. Parker made a name for himself in Super Bowl XL and his performance will go a long way towards propelling his team to victory again in my opinion.

A great deal of attention has been focused on the battle between the Pittsburgh defense and Arizona offense heading into this game, and with good reason. These teams have both clearly excelled in these areas respectively, but I think the battle can be broken down further. The key matchup for me rests between the linebackers for the Steelers against the offensive line of Arizona. Kurt Warner has had a history of struggling when he faces a great deal of pressure. So far the Cardinal linemen have been up to the task, most notably against Philadelphia, a team known for it's blitz packages. The interesting thing for Pittsburgh however is they don't actually blitz in the conventional sense of the word. Generally a blitz is recognized as the defense sending more men at the quarterback then the offense has linemen to block them. The Steelers however typically only send 4, maybe 5 guys to rush the quarterback. The key to their success is their unpredictability, it's difficult to know where it's going to come from. LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison combined for 27.5 sacks during the regular season from the linebacker position.

Arizona absolutely needs Kurt Warner on top of his game and throwing the ball all over the field to Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin to have a legitimate shot to win in this game. If he doesn't get the time in the pocket to make accurate throws, the Cardinals are likely in for a very long night. The Steelers weakest point on defense is probably their cornerbacks, which could prove great for Warner, again, provided he has the time to make good throws. If he doesn't however, Troy Polamalu will be playing centerfield just waiting for the opportunity to ruin all the hopes and dreams of Cardinals fans.

Other possible notes of interest that could play a role in Sunday's game include the status of Hines Ward. Pittsburgh's do it all receiver injured his knee in the AFC Championship and hasn't practiced since. While I'd be surprised if he didn't end up playing in the game, his effectiveness could be questionable, and his versatility is going to be needed both in the passing game as well as for his effective run blocking. Additionally, it's a well known fact that the Steelers faithful travel very well, perhaps better than the fans of any other team in the league. Typically Super Bowl crowds aren't particularly loud one way or the other due to the nature of where most of the tickets end up, but all reports thus far are that Pittsburgh fans far and away outnumber Arizona fans in Tampa. Perhaps enough of them will actually make it into the game to provide a bit of a home team advantage for the designated visitors in this game.

As the two weeks leading up to the game have progressed, it seems more and more people are jumping aboard the Arizona bandwagon. I think this is a typical reaction to two weeks worth of hype and statistical bombardment, eventually the underdog doesn't seem so unlikely anymore. Personally, I'd say the 7 points that Pittsburgh is favored by are pretty close to dead on. I see this game staying close just because the Steelers offense won't have the fire power to pull away. Meanwhile, Arizona has too much talent to be held down completely and will manage a few big plays along the way. I look for the Steelers to get a score from either their defense or special teams and take the win by about a touchdown.

Prediction: Pittsburgh 26-20