ARLINGTON, Texas — Ben Roethlisberger almost came through with the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history.

He was down 21-3 late in the first half and brought his Pittsburgh Steelers within 21-17 by early in the third quarter. The Steelers were trailing the Green Bay Packers 28-17 early in the fourth quarter, yet it became 28-25 a few minutes later.

And for a few seconds there at the end, it appeared Roethlisberger would have his second two-minute, Super Bowl-winning drive and repeat his heroics from Super Bowl XLIII against the Arizona Cardinals in Tampa, Fla.

Despite Roethlisberger's remarkable resiliency, he took complete blame for his Steelers falling short in the end, 31-25.

"I feel like I let a lot of people down," Roethlisberger said. "This is a tough game, and there are probably a lot of what-ifs. There's a lot of throws I'd like to have back."

Having won two of the previous five Super Bowls, Roethlisberger could have joined an elite group that includes only Troy Aikman (three), Tom Brady (three), Terry Bradshaw (four) and Joe Montana (four) as quarterbacks who have won at least three Super Bowls.

Roethlisberger was hit as he threw in the first quarter, and his pass floated until it was intercepted by Packers safety Nick Collins, who returned it 37 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

Roethlisberger forced another throw across the middle that was intercepted near midfield and helped the Packers go up 21-3.

But from there, Big Ben nearly led the Steelers all the way back. Pittsburgh abandoned its running game after a crucial fumble by Rashard Mendenhall. Its No. 1-ranked defense couldn't stop Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

It was all up to Roethlisberger, and he almost pulled off a miraculous comeback. But after a first-down completion to Heath Miller to start the final drive and a 5-yarder to Hines Ward, it ended with three straight incompletions.

"I feel like I let the city of Pittsburgh down, the fans, my coaches, my teammates," Roethlisberger said. "It's not a good feeling."

Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or

Quarterback comparison

How they fared in Super Bowl XLV:

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay 24 39 304 3 0 111.5
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh 25 40 263 2 2 77.4