Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers

Sunday, January 18, 2009

*Steelers take 10-point halftime lead on 100-yard interception*

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- Linebacker James Harrison returned an interception 100 yards on the final play of the first half, giving the Pittsburgh Steelers a 17-7 lead midway through Super Bowl XLIII on Sunday.

It was the longest play in Super Bowl history and provided a stunning turn of events after the underdog Cardinals appeared poised to take the lead with a 1st-and-goal at the 1-yard line with 18 seconds to play in the half.

But Pittsburgh's top-rated defense flexed its muscles when it counted most.

Harrison, the league's Defensive Player of the Year, stepped in front of a short pass by Kurt Warner at the goal line and rambled 100 yards down the sideline, tumbling over would-be tackler Larry Fitzgerald and into the end zone as time expired in the half.

The replay booth reviewed the play when it appeared Harrison was stopped inches short of the goal line, but his knee landed atop Fitzgerald and the call stood.

The Cardinals, after falling behind 10-0 in the opening minute of the second quarter, had turned the momentum with a nine-play, 83-yard scoring drive to pull within 10-7 on Warner's 1-yard touchdown pass to Ben Patrick.

Arizona was knocking on the door again when linebacker Karlos Dansby intercepted a deflected pass by Ben Roethlisberger, setting up the Cardinals at Pittsburgh's 34-yard line at the 2:00 warning.

At worst, Arizona appeared set to go into the locker room tied until Harrison's dramatic return, which marked just his second interception of the season.

Warner finished the opening half 12-of-18 for 135 yards, one TD and the crushing interception. Fitzgerald was held to just one reception for 12 yards - that coming in the final minute of the half.

Roethlisberger completed 11-of-14 passes for 130 yards and a pick - surpassing the 123 yards he amassed in the Steelers' 21-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XXXIX.

Jeff Reed's 19-yard field goal accounted for the only points of the opening quarter, but the Steelers extended the margin in the opening minute of the second quarter.

Fullback Gary Russell capped an 11-play, 69-yard drive with a 1-yard run to give Pittsburgh a 10-0 lead. Roethlisberger hit Santonio Holmes for 25 yards and hooked up with tight end Heath Miller three times for 26 yards on the drive.

Needing desperately to stem the Steelers' momentum, the Cardinals responded with a long scoring drive on the ensuing possession.

Warner hit Anquan Boldin for 45 yards to the 1-yard line before tossing a scoring pass to Patrick on the very next play to make it 10-7 with 5:27 left in the half.

Both coaches opened themselves to second-guessing during the opening minutes of the game.

After the Cardinals won the kickoff, Ken Whisenhunt deferred and opted to kick off to the Steelers, who swiftly moved downfield for an apparent 7-0 lead on a 1-yard run by Roethlisberger.

However, Whisenhunt challenged that Roethlisberger was down, and the touchdown was overturned, leaving the Steelers with a 4th-and-goal at the 1.

Tomlin decided not to gamble and sent out Reed for what amounted to an extra point, a 19-yard field goal that made it 3-0 with 9:45 remaining in the opening quarter.