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The Green Bay Packers never trailed in Super Bowl XLV, but the outcome was in doubt for most of the second half as the Pittsburgh Steelers rallied from 18 points down to make a pretty thrilling game. Ultimately, the Steelers made too many turnovers and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers made enough big plays, and Green Bay won 31-25.

Rodgers was named Super Bowl MVP for a generally stellar effort: 24/39 for 304 yards passing, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 111.5 quarterback rating. Still, 21 of Green Bay’s 31 points came off Pittsburgh turnovers. Rodgers got the scoring started on Green Bay’s second drive of the game, capping an 80-yard drive with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson.

On Pittsburgh’s first play from scrimmage after Green Bay’s first touchdown, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger put his team in a 14-0 hole by throwing a pass that was intercepted by Nick Collins and returned 37 yards for a touchdown. Considering no team in Super Bowl history had ever come back from a deficit of more than 10 points, things were looking dark for the black and gold. Two drives later, Roethlisberger threw another pick near midfield, and it only took Rodgers four plays to move his team 47 yards and take a 21-3 lead with 2:24 left in the first half.

At that point, Roethlisberger, who only threw five picks in 12 regular season games after being suspended for his team’s first four games for probably raping a 20-year-old during the offseason, had two picks and a quarterback rating near 30. The Steelers got a score before halftime, and added another touchdown in the third quarter. But on the opening play of the fourth quarter, with the Steelers just 33 yards away from taking their first lead, Packers linebacker Clay Matthews forced a fumble. Rodgers again cashed in the third Pittsburgh turnover and Green Bay was again up by 11.

On the following drive, the Steelers got a touchdown and two-point conversion to cut the lead back to three with 7:29 left in the game. Rodgers and the Packers took more than five minutes off the clock before adding a field goal.  A penalty on the ensuing kickoff, left Roethlisberger with 1:59 seconds and one timeout to move the Steelers 87 yards for the winning touchdown. Roethlisberger managed only one first down, and when his third straight pass fell incomplete on 4th & 5, all Rodgers had to do was kneel it twice and the Packers were champions.

The NFC has now won consecutive Super Bowls for the first time since Brett Favre won his only Super Bowl with the Packers fourteen years ago. And Ben Roethlisberger joins Neil O’Donnell as the only Steelers quarterbacks to lose Super Bowls.