Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
2008

Pittsburgh Steelers

"I don't know that you're going to see a Defense that dominant again. They were nasty!" - Joe Maganiello

The strength of the 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers team, which won Super Bowl XLIII, was its defense. Under head coach Mike Tomlin and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, the Steelers ranked first in scoring defense and allowed fewer than 300 total yards in 15 of 16 regular season games. Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison had 16 sacks while Troy Polamalu's 7 interceptions tied for 2nd most in the NFL. After finishing the regular season 12-4, the Steelers beat the Chargers 35-24 in the AFC Divisional Round. Pittsburgh then defeated Baltimore for a third time in the 2008 season, 23-14, to win the AFC Championship. In Super Bowl XLIII against the Kurt Warner-led Cardinals, Holmes caught nine passes for 131 yards, including a 6-yard TD reception from Ben Roethlisberger with under a minute left to win, 27-23. Pittsburgh became the first franchise to win six Super Bowls.