Being that tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday and everyone out there has a prediction, I figured now would be the perfect time to make mine.
The matchup between the Steelers and Packers features two of the most historic franchises in football. The Packers, in addition to their three Super Bowl victories, won nine NFL championships and earned the nickname “Titletown” for their success on the field. The trophy awarded to the winner of the Super Bowl is named for Vince Lombari, the Packers hall of fame coach who won five championships in his nine seasons as head coach, including the first two Super Bowls.
The Steelers have won a record six Lombardi trophies and are making a record tying eighth appearance in the big game. The Steelers, who dominated the 1970’s winning four Super Bowls under hall of fame head coach Chuck Noll, returned to glory winning again in 2006 and 2009, to earn their fifth and sixth titles.
This year’s Packers team features one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in football, a deep receiving core, a speedy defense, and the size on both sides of the ball to match up with any team. In terms of pure speed, no Packers team in history comes even close. Only a few quarterbacks in NFL history feature the combination of arm strength and speed of Aaron Rodgers, and few linebackers in the league are as quick as defensive player of the year runner-up Clay Matthews Jr.
While the Packers offense has been dominant this postseason, the Steelers defense ranked first in the NFL this season. The defense features a dominant linebacking core anchored by former defensive player of the year James Harrison, and a ball-hawking secondary led by this seasons defensive player of the year Troy Polamalu. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be playing in his third Super Bowl at the young age of 28, and has a chance to cement his legacy as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time.
Both sides are so evenly matched that it should be a close game. The Packers speed on the notoriously fast turf of Cowboys Stadium might be too much for the Steelers to handle. If the Green Bay offensive line can handle the complex blitzes of the Steelers, which is much easier said then done, they should win the game. However, the Steelers experience in the big game, and Roethlisberger’s ability to create plays on his own, will be too much for the Packers defense to handle. Final score: Pittsburgh 24, Packers 23.
