(Feb. 9, 2011) — Aaron Rodgers, the game’s MVP, led the Packers to their first NFL championship in 14 years Sunday, 31-25 over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite being favored by the odds maker, they had to overcome a mighty foe, a team that had been twice to the Superbowl in recent years and won both. No small task! Rodgers threw for 304 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown to Jordy Nelson, who had nine catches for 140 yards to make up for three big drops. Rodgers found Greg Jennings, normally his favorite target, for 21- and 8-yard scores. The game was a tale of two halves, with Green Bay totally in control in the first half, until the last minutes that is. Green Bay scored three times, capitalizing on interceptions to score early and often. The second half was definitely Pittsburgh’s who found itself in a deep hole. The Steelers had a gut check reaction, scoring first on a field goal and then a touchdown in the last minute of the second quarter. It was not easy and it took a severe injury to Charles Woodson, star of the Green Bay defense, to make it possible. Woodson had to leave the game and was in so much pain from a broken left collarbone that he could barely address the team at halftime in the locker room. Woodson was a key part of Green Bay’s defense all year and the Packers fared badly without him, barely surviving a sensational rally by the Steelers, who scored often in the second half. Historically, Pittsburgh owns the most Super Bowl rings — six in eight tries, with two in the last five years. But Pittsburgh failed to get its third championship in six years, despite several valiant efforts by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger’s season had a rough start with a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. It ended with Roethlisberger standing on the sideline, his head down, hands on his hips, feeling something he never experienced: defeat in a Super Bowl. Not even a decidedly black-and-gold crowd, with Terrible Towels swirling throughout the $1.2 billion stadium, could make a difference for the mistake-prone Steelers, who had three turnovers to none for Green Bay. Their two biggest defensive stars — Defensive Player of the Year safety Troy Polamalu and outside linebacker James Harrison — were virtually invisible. The offense didn’t seem to miss outstanding rookie center Maurice Pouncey, who was out with an ankle injury. Roethlisberger only occasionally made key plays until the second half. The biggest plays were left to Rodgers, Nick Collins (who had a 37-yard interception return for a TD), Jennings, Nelson and the rest of the guys in green and gold. At the end, they gave coach Mike McCarthy his first Super Bowl victory against the team he rooted for while growing up in Pittsburgh. Woodson saw the Steelers, who rallied from a 21-7 halftime hole against Baltimore three weeks ago, show the same resilience. A 37-yard catch and run by Antwaan Randle El — an almost forgotten figure during his return season with just 22 receptions — sparked a quick 77-yard drive. Hines Ward, the 2006 Super Bowl MVP, had 39 yards on three catches during the series, including an 8-yard TD when he completely fooled Jarrett Bush. A quick defensive stop and a 50-yard drive to Rashard Mendenhall’s 8-yard touchdown run made it 21-17. But with coach Mike Tomlin’s Steelers driving for perhaps their first lead of the game, Mendenhall was stripped at the Green Bay 33 by Clay Matthews, one of the few plays the All-Pro linebacker made. The Packers recovered and Rodgers hit Jennings for eight yards and the winning points. Pittsburgh’s last score was on a 25-yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace and a brilliant pitch-out by Roethlisberger to Randle El for a 2-point conversion, making it 28-25 with 7:34 left. Mason Crosby added a 23-yard field goal for the Packers and the Steelers had no more comebacks in them like the one Roethlisberger staged to win the Super Bowl two years ago. He missed on his last three passes in the final moments. The Green Bay delivered in a closely fought game, and were rewarded with the trophy named after their very own legendary coach, Vince Lombardi! How much sweeter can it get?