The Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers will play the 45th Super Bowl, February 6th, in Dallas, Texas. The Packers are the 6th seed and were faced with the daunting task of slowing down Michael Vick and the Eagles, and Matt Ryan and the #1 seed Falcons. Their defense did exactly that and gained momentum heading into the NFC Championship against their nemesis, the #2 seed Bears. This game was a bit closer then expected but without a doubt the better team held strong.
Pittsburgh was fortunate to make it to the Super Bowl without having to play the ever dangerous New England Patriots or Indianapolis Colts. Escaping away with a W against the Ravens was the big game for the Steelers. Baltimore and Pittsburgh play almost identical games, and this was by far the toughest test for the Steelers. New York Jets in AFC Championships, I expected to be an easy test for Pit, and I would say it was exactly that. If I were to judge who has more momentum coming into this game it’s the Packers, because they know they are the best in the NFC by beating the #1, #2 and #4 seeds. Would Pittsburgh fans necessarily consider themselves better than New England?
Whichever quarterback, A-Rodgers or Big Ben plays better, will likely be the telling factor.
The Packers have the NFL’s 3rd best QB (Brady, Manning, Rodgers). Aaron Rodgers is one of my favorite players to watch except when he’s playing the Lions. As a Lions fan, I am in awe watching Rodgers destroys the lousy Lions secondary. Rodgers has great precision with his passing and always throws a couple of passes that will make you say ‘how did he do that?’ Rodgers’ season totals are down from last season, but are still quite good none the less: 3 ,992 yards passing, 28 touchdowns and 101.2% passer rating.
Ben Roethlisberger has been a household name for his Super Bowl during his rookie year and another one two years later. Big Ben was suspended for the first five games of the season but still accumulated 3,200 yards passing, 17 touchdowns and a passer rating of 97%. Roethlisbergers’ strength is when he breaks out of the pocket and throws on the run. He is actually quite nimble for a guy his size: 6’5- 240.
Pittsburghs’ defense will try and blitz in hopes of causing havoc on Rodgers. Rodgers will need to make the right reads and hit his open receivers. Green Bay also will try and get Big Ben out of rhythm. Outside linebacker Clay Mathews will need to wrap up and not allow Ben the extra time.
My prediction-with the previous Super Bowl and big game experience Roethlisberger should be the one with an advantage. However, I am sticking to my gut and predicting Aaron Rodgers, who is the better overall quarterback in my opinion, will have the better performance and win himself and the Packers a Super Bowl title.
