Trailing 20–7 at the start of the fourth quarter, Arizona scored 16 consecutive points, including a safety that led to wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald's 64-yard touchdown reception, to take their first lead of the game with 2:37 remaining.

It was also the last time a Phoenix-based team reached the championship round of the four major North American sports leagues until the Phoenix Suns made the NBA Finals in 2021.

Of historical note the game matched up two franchises previously merged into a single team, "Card-Pitt", for the 1944 season in response to the depleted rosters during World War II.

The Steelers ground game was led by two-time Pro Bowl running back Willie Parker, who had rushed for over 1,200 yards in each of his previous three seasons.

[34] The Steelers rolled into the post-season as the AFC's second seed, behind only the Tennessee Titans, who would finish 13–3 but lose in their divisional playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens.

After going undrafted and spending a few years in the Arena Football League, Warner became the St. Louis Rams starting quarterback in 1999 due to a pre-season injury of starter Trent Green.

[41] Up front their line was anchored by defensive lineman Bertrand Berry, who recorded five sacks and forced two fumbles, along with tackle Darnell Dockett, known for his ability to blow up running plays.

The AFC champion Steelers stayed at the InterContinental Tampa and held their pre-game practices at the training facility of the University of South Florida Bulls.

[53] The Steelers promptly signed McHugh after the team traded center Sean Mahan back to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for a draft pick before the start of the season.

[59] Ford, Chrysler and General Motors, the Big Three automobile makers, decided not to purchase television advertisements following the three companies' business struggles in 2008 and early 2009.

[63] Play-by-play announcer Al Michaels and color commentator John Madden were in the booth, with Andrea Kremer and Alex Flanagan serving as sideline reporters.

Also, Michaels (who, like Madden, had moved from ABC to NBC in 2006) was the second person to serve as a Super Bowl play-by-play announcer for two major U.S. television networks (following Pat Summerall of CBS and Fox).

[67] On February 4, 2011, Tucson Police and the FBI arrested Frank Tanori Gonzalez on suspicion of fraud and computer tampering in connection with the porn incident.

None of the "Big Three" U.S. automakers (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler) ran advertisements during the game; coupled with Cash4Gold.com's third-quarter ad, this was seen as a sign of how deep the recession that began in fall 2008 had become.

A short trailer for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen premiered during the Super Bowl, a debut which director Michael Bay first revealed would occur in January.

The middle three featured E-Trade's Singing Baby ad, CareerBuilder.com's "The Official 2009 Super Bowl Commercial" and Pepsi Max's "I'm Good" finish second through fourth respectively.

Adbowl results reflected the following ranking: An international feed featured Bob Papa and Sterling Sharpe announcing, and was seen in 230 countries (including Antarctica) over 61 networks and 34 languages.

Journey and the Bethune-Cookman University Marching Wildcats performed during the pre-game show, while Jennifer Hudson sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" (arranged by Chris Walden) in her first public appearance since the murder of her nephew, brother and mother.

Arizona deferred their choice to the second half, and the Steelers chose to receive, making it the first time in Super Bowl history that the coin toss winner kicked off to start the game.

The Super Bowl XLIII halftime show, which was sponsored by Bridgestone for the second consecutive year, featured Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, with the Miami Horns and a gospel choir.

[88][non-primary source needed] The Steelers took the opening kickoff and moved down the field on a 71-yard scoring drive, with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completing a 38-yard pass to wide receiver Hines Ward and a 21-yard strike to tight end Heath Miller, putting the ball on the Arizona 1-yard line.

However, a replay challenge by Arizona determined that his knee hit the ground as he was being tackled by defensive lineman Darnell Dockett before he could stretch the ball over the goal line.

On the next play, Warner nearly fell over after taking the snap, but he quickly regained his balance and threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ben Patrick, cutting Arizona's deficit to 10–7.

After an exchange of punts, Roethlisberger threw a pass that was deflected by defensive tackle Bryan Robinson and intercepted by linebacker Karlos Dansby at the Steelers' 34-yard line just before the two-minute warning.

A booth review was called to verify that Harrison had broken the plane, as he was tackled at the goal line by Breaston and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, and the ruling stood.

Aided by two 15-yard gains by Holmes and running back Willie Parker, as well as three personal foul penalties against the Arizona defense, including one during a field goal attempt, Pittsburgh moved the ball 79 yards in 15 plays and took 8:39 off the clock.

After the teams traded punts again going into the fourth quarter, Warner led the Cardinals down the field on an eight-play, 87-yard scoring drive that took 3:57 off the clock, utilizing a no huddle offense.

Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin later stated that giving up the safety didn't faze him, as it did not change how his team called plays for the rest of the game on either defense or offense.

Fitzgerald caught the ball without breaking stride and took off down the middle of the field past the Steelers' secondary for a 64-yard touchdown reception, giving Arizona their first lead of the game, 23–20.

Warner became the fifth quarterback in Super Bowl history to throw three touchdown passes in defeat (the others being Roger Staubach, Brett Favre, Jake Delhomme, and Donovan McNabb).