It is finally here, no more talking heads, no more rampant speculation, no more twiddling thumbs — Super Sunday has arrived. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals will do battle tonight at Raymond James Stadium in what should be a highly entertaining football showcase. The 43rd clash for the Lombardi Trophy is set to kickoff at 6:00pm ET and will be broadcast live on NBC.
This Steelers vs Cardinals 2009 Super Bowl Prediction comes directly from Sportsbook.com. The prestigious online bookmaker currently has Pittsburgh listed as a -6.5 favorite to win Super Bowl XLIII.
Cardinals Breakdown: Arizona has been counted out since counting out was invented. Their strong performance through the season's first 10 games was quickly discarded when the Cardinals fell apart in four out of their last six contests. What really had naysayers crowing, though, was the team's putrid road effort against the Patriots in week 15. The 7-47 shellacking seemed to reveal a lack of heart in Ken Whisenhunt's team and sent out 'one and done' playoff vibes to anybody whose ever watched a football game.
However, the vibes were wrong, the Cardinals had a little heart after all — alot actually. It took a couple of playoff wins for people to figure it out, but Arizona has made believers out of people. However, not enough so that people see them upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers.
If Arizona is able to pull off another surprise victory, it will be because their offense continued producing at a 31.7 point per game clip and their undervalued defense maintained the same 'johnny on the spot' opportunistic play that has created 12 playoff turnovers.
Steelers Breakdown: Since the conference championships concluded, Super Bowl XLIII has been viewed as Pittsburgh's to lose. They have the better record, they have the better defense, they have the better running game, etc. What they also have now is alot more pressure than the Arizona Cardinals. Joe Bidwell is certainly not vying for a record sixth Super Bowl title, the Cardinals are not playing for a nationwide fanbase of Terrible Towel waving maniacs, no, Arizona is loose and free because they don't have a shot tonight.
Pittsburgh will have to beat two opponents this evening, a Cardinals squad that has proven to be more than a little resilient and an expectation that they, the Steelers, simply cannot lose to a franchise that is making its first Super Bowl appearance.
Are they good enough to slay two opponents at once? If their vaunted defense can attack Kurt Warner with the same ferocity that produced 51 regular season sacks than, yes, they probably are. But the 'if' is why they play the games.
Sportsbook.com's Steelers vs Cardinals 2009 Super Bowl Prediction:
Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -230 (Moneyline)
Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +190 (Moneyline)
Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays this past weekend and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, Point-Spreads.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.
