Pittsburgh Steelers-NFL Super Bowl XLV 2011 Prediction-Game Start Time

The Pittsburgh Defense is a Steel Defense. Solid, hard hitting and a TKO to teams that try to run the ball. The Steel Town name fits this aggressive defense. The Steelers will attempt to use their hard hitting defense to "steel" a win in Super Bowl XLV.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been here before. The Steelers are the only NFL football team with 6 Super Bowl Championship Trophies. The Steelers are playing for their 3rd in 6 years and 7th Lombardi Trophy overall.

The Steelers are led by their in your face style of football. Their defense is one of the best in the NFL every year. The Steelers love to pound the ball with their running backs and use the passing game when necessary.

The Steelers face the Green Bay Packers on Feb. 6th, 2011 in Super Bowl XLV in the Stadium of their league rival Dallas Cowboys. Cowboy Stadium will be host to one of the best Super Bowl games in years.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Steelers Defense

Road to the Super Bowl

How Steelers Win Super Bowl

Super Bowl Prediction

The Pittsburgh Steelers went 12-4 and won the AFC North Division during the 2010-2011 NFL regular season. The Steelers earned the #2 seed in the AFC Playoffs and defeated the New York Jets for the AFC Championship. The Steelers will face the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV (45).

The Pittsburgh Steelers began the season with their star quarterback serving a league imposed suspension. The Steelers were coming off a disappointing year where they missed the NFL playoffs. Questions abound about the quarterback position and the offensive line.

Head Coach Mike Tomlin went back to the roots of Pittsburgh football. The Defense and establishing a smash mouth running game was the focus to start the season. When Ben Roethlisberger returned from his suspension the Steelers were sitting with a 3-1 record, a dominating defense and strong running game.

Rashard Mendenhall proved he was worth the starting role as the teams lead back. Wide receiver Mike Wallace has become a deep threat in the passing game and has allowed Roethlisberger to make big plays down field.

Rookie Maurkice Pouncey made an immediate impact as the starting center for the Steelers offensive line. The Steelers still gave up more sacks than desired, but was much improved over last season.

The development and play of rookie receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown has been a boost to the passing game in the playoffs. With teams double teaming Wallace and Hines Ward, the young receivers are making big plays and giving Roethlisberger more options.

Dick LeBeau is the mastermind behind the Steelers 3-4 defense, especially the zone blitz. The Steelers defense ranks at or near the top of all defensive categories. The only weak spot if the pass defense.

The defense is led by dynamic linebacker James Harrison and secondary play-maker Troy Polamalu. The Steelers rush defense in the 2010-2011 was one of the best in NFL history, bringing back memories of the Steel Curtain from the seventies.

The Steelers defense has the ability to take full control of the game by completely shutting down opponents offensively. The pass rush is one of the most feared in the game. The Steelers are known for their hard hits and aggressive play.

The Steelers just do not allow teams to run the ball on them. They force opponents to become one dimensional with the pass and then force turnovers to change the game.

The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the AFC Playoffs with a 12-4 regular season record and the Conference #2 seed. The Steelers were the AFC North Division Champions.

AFC Divisional Playoff Game

The Steelers defeated their Division Rival Baltimore Ravens 31-24 in the Divisional Playoff game. After falling behind 21-7 to the Baltimore Ravens the Steelers were able to create and capitalize on 3 consecutive turnovers for scores. The Steelers outscored the Ravens 24-3 to win the game 31-24.

AFC Championship Game

The Steelers held on to beat the New York Jets for the AFC Championship 24-19 after leading 24-0 at the half. The Jets made a fierce rally in the second half, but a pass on 3rd down by Ben Roethlisberger late in the game allowed the Steelers to run out the game clock for the win.

1. Protect Roethlisberger- Clay Matthews is a monster of a pass rusher and will come after Roethlisberger. Cullen Jenkins and B.J. Raji must be handled by the Steelers offensive line or Roethlisberger will be running for his life in the back field. Roethlisberger has had a tendency to hold on to the ball too long and this could spell bad news for the Steelers quarterback.
2. Ball Control/Game Clock- The Steelers need to remain balanced on offense by running the ball and methodically move the chains. The less time Aaron Rodgers is on the field the better. The pounding of the running game could wear down the Green bay defense by the 4th quarter.
3. Tackle-Disrupt Packers Receivers- The Steelers defense needs to be aggressive with the Packers receivers right off the line. The Packers will use 4-5 wide-outs which has been a problem for the Steelers. The linebackers will need to help the cornerbacks. Steelers must make hits and tackles on the receivers, not allowing the big plays.
4. Penalties- The Steelers defense is the 5th most team with yards per penalty with a 9.0 average. The Steelers must cut down on the illegal hits especially.

The defenses will control the first part of the game. Look for the Steelers to make the first score and lead into the halftime. The second half will have more offense as the Packers begin to exploit the Steelers secondary.

Roethlisberger will make plays to Mike Wallace and Hines Ward to give the Steelers a chance for the win. A turnover will be the difference in the end.

Prediction: Green Bay Packers-27__Pittsburgh Steelers-24

The Pittsburgh Steelers are the only NFL Football Team with 6 Super Bowl Championships. The Steelers have played in 7 Super Bowl Games with the only loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX 21-17.

IX (9) January 12, 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers [16–6] Minnesota Vikings

X (10) January 18, 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers [21–17] Dallas Cowboys

XIII (13) January 21, 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers [35–31] Dallas Cowboys

XIV (14) January 20, 1980 Pittsburgh Steelers [31–19] St. Louis Rams

XL (40) February 5, 2006 Pittsburgh Steelers [21–10] Seattle Seahawks

XLIII (43) February 1, 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers [27–23] Arizona Cardinals

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys are the only two teams to have met 3 times in a Super Bowl game.

The following Steelers players have been named Super Bowl MVP:

Super Bowl IX - Franco Harris Super Bowl X - Lynn Swann Super Bowl XIII - Terry Bradshaw Super Bowl XIV - Terry Bradshaw Super Bowl XL - Hines Ward Super Bowl XLIII - Santonio Holmes