Feb 6, 2011 By Herald Standard Staff 2 min read

In horse racing, everybody loves the closer that comes off the pace and down the stretch and pulls out the win. The problem with closers, though, is that sometimes they don’t get there. That’s my concern with Ben Roethlisberger in this Super Bowl. He’s the finisher, the closer, the adrenaline junky who’s done it time and again. But you worry that one of these times he won’t get there and the other team will dance off the field because, say, a penalty wiped out a touchdown and Roethlisberger couldn’t convert the ensuing 4th-and-25.

I have to go with him, though. The Steelers are the experienced team, the unified team, and the underdog. That’s quite a lethal mix. But, because the Packers should be able to throw the ball against a Steelers secondary that hasn’t shut down a great offense yet, I see another white-knuckler coming. I see a repeat of last year’s game when these two teams took it to the wire.

Will Roethlisberger complete the pass on the last play this time? Or will he be stymied by something or someone that’s not within his control? That’s the big question I have. But I’ll go with my heart here and call it +

Steelers 27, Packers 26.