The Pittsburgh Steelers have not played in a Super Bowl since they lost Super Bowl XLV to the Green Bay Packers 31-25. The game featured the Steelers falling way behind 21-3 after playing just about as bad as they could play with a little over two minutes left in the first half.
Ben Roethlisberger threw a pick six and the defense was getting pushed all over the field. The Steelers mounted an epic comeback in the second half but fell just short of completing it. It is not a happy memory for the black and gold.
On Monday, the PM Team W/ Poni & Mueller cohost Andrew Fillipponi, who is on radio row at this year’s Super Bowl, caught up with James Jones who was one of the Green Bay Packers receivers in the game. Jones who now works for Fan Duel, spent a few minutes of his time with Fillipponi discussing the matchup between the Steelers and the Packers.
“We (Packers) would watch some of these shows, and I remember even sitting down like a team,” Jones began. “Troy Polamalu is the guy that is going to wreck this game. I’m a Troy fan, a lot of people pick Ed Reed, but Troy is my favorite safety of all time. I just love the way he played the game.”
Jones and his fellow Packers teammates got a chance to view a bunch of tape in preparation for the 2010 defensive player of the year leading up to the matchup in Super Bowl XLV. Polamalu may have been at the peak of his powers heading into that game and his freelance ability to impact games had grown to legendary status with his third appearance in five seasons by the Steelers in the big game. That isn't what Green Bay saw on film.
“Our game plan was to go at Troy,” Jones continued. "We felt like from watching film that number one he is a guesser, he sees a certain formation, he thinks it’s going to be this so we were going to switch it up on him. It felt like he was going to be a step behind all of us speed-wise. Troy was losing a step and we felt like we could take advantage of him.”
Steelers Fall Behind Early
During the first half, the Packers’ game plan worked to perfection. It seemed like they could move the ball at will and Jordy Nelson and Greg Jennings produced touchdown catches. The Steelers and Polamalu seemed like they were too old and too slow to keep up with the Packers. Polamalu and former defensive player of the year James Harrison were afterthoughts and made virtually no impact on the game with the exception of a third-quarter sack by Harrison.
“The reason we were able to take advantage is because we had so many receivers,” Jones concluded. “The antennas went up when Troy was playing man-to-man on you and he had to be on the number three receiver. Troy couldn’t stay with our receivers, especially at that time it was our All-Pro receiver Greg Jennings that we used to put at the number three to force Troy Polamalu to cover him.”
Jennings’ work in the slot was devastating to the Steelers in both halves of the football game. He only caught four balls during the game but two were touchdowns at crucial times for the Packers. His second-half touchdown after the devastating Rashard Mendenhall fumble put the game out of reach at 28-17 and killed the Steelers’ building momentum that looked like it might overwhelm the Packers.
The Packers' game plan worked to perfection exposing a weakness in the Pittsburgh defense. Polamalu would retire just three seasons later as injuries conspired to continue to rob him of his greatness. Polamalu was showing cracks in his game during that season, but his football IQ overcame a lot of them. The Packers were not a familiar opponent like the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets had been and they were not afraid of Polamalu in coverage. They forced him into and then exploited the matchup with the Green Bay wideouts.
Steelers Fumble Away The Game
Mendenhall vocally protests his part in this loss on social media often, but if he does not fumble in Green Bay territory, the Steelers will likely take the lead. Based on Aaron Rodgers' documented inability to come from behind in playoff games, it might have been for good.
Polamalu would be the first one to say it was a team loss that day and in fact, it was. Roethlisberger and the defense came up short and they couldn’t overcome the Packers that day. As fans, it’s been over a decade and we should accept that fact, but the fan base isn't likely to stop pointing the finger and blaming Mendenhall. Who can blame them?
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