Santonio!

It was sometime in the NFC Championship game that I realized Larry Fitzgerald is the best receiver in football. He may not necessarily be the most physically gifted – Terrell Owens and Randy Moss probably have better raw talents – but he is the real deal. The combination of his immense talents and his incredible work ethic set him to another level, and he’s proven it in each game this postseason.

Everyone knew he was the player to watch heading into Super Bowl XLIII. The Steelers knew that if they were going to win, they were going to have to shut down Arizona’s passing attack, which meant they had to shut down Larry Fitzgerald. They did a good job of it in the first half, limiting him to one catch and 12 yards.

Then the second half started.

On the Cards’ second drive of the half, he caught passes for six, 18, and one yard, with the last coming for a touchdown on a catch where there was really no doubt he was coming down with it. Then, in the biggest situation of the season for the Cardinals, he turns a 10 yard slant route into a 64 yard gamebreaker.

Who would have thought he wasn’t going to be the game’s biggest receiver?

Santonio Holmes rightfully won the MVP by having four of the game’s biggest catches in a span of three minutes. First and 20, he picks up 14. Third and six, he gives the Steelers a first down and brings them within 25 yards or so of field goal range. Then he puts them at first and goal after an incredible 40 yard reception, and then seals the deal with a catch near Tyree’s level.

If that’s not what an MVP is, I don’t know how better to describe it.