by Alex Marvez

Super Bowl Central

Steelers 27, Cardinals 23 Recap | Box | Play-by-play

Inside the game:

• Kriegel: Holmes steals show from Fitz
• Marvez: Harrison cited for going 100
• Behrendt: Loss wins Cards respect
• Video: Online OT reviews SB XLIII
• Steelers celebrate 6th Super Bowl
• Big Ben rises to occasion
• Fitz breaks out too late
• Polamalu beaming after Super win
• Respected Rooneys bask in No. 6
• Kurt Warner mum on future

Outside the game:

• Vote on 10 best, worst ads
• Polls: Was this best SB ever?
• Boards: Tell us what you think
• Steeler fans rush to the streets
• President Obama 1-for-1 on SB picks
• Porn clip interrupts local broadcast
• Springsteen rocks Super halftime show

Super Bowl history:

• NFL on FOX Super Bowl reflections
• Best teams | Games | Performances
• Worst teams | Games | Performances
• Chokes | Scandals | Media day moments
• SUPER BOWL CENTRAL | VIDEO

Shopping:

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It may ultimately be remembered as the watershed event that fueled Philadelphia to Super Bowl XLIII.

The Eagles wouldn't be in Sunday's first-round playoff game at Minnesota if the franchise hadn't hit rock bottom in late November. The lowest point in the 10 seasons that Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb had spent together actually triggered a rebirth.

Call it "The Benching."

Reid — who had always stuck with McNabb through thick and thin — pulled his struggling quarterback at halftime of a 36-7 loss at Baltimore. Actually, Reid didn't do the literal pulling. He sent an assistant coach to give McNabb the news, making a touchy situation even more volatile.

The Eagles were at a crossroads. With a 5-5-1 record, the playoffs were considered a long shot. McNabb, who has a 2009 salary-cap number of $10.3 million, was considered a goner after three seasons of inconsistent play.

Reid could have used the final five games to determine whether 2007 second-round draft pick Kevin Kolb was ready to replace McNabb for the long haul. Maybe that would have happened if Reid had more confidence in his long-term job security or Kolb hadn't fared even worse than McNabb against the Ravens. Reid instead opted to stick with McNabb as his starter for a Thanksgiving night home game against Arizona.

Not even a hot turkey plate with all the trimmings was better than Reid's decision.

McNabb rebounded with a four-touchdown performance in Philadelphia's 48-20 rout of the Cardinals. He hasn't slowed down since. In the past five games, McNabb has completed 64.3 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and one interception. That's far better than in his first 11 contests when McNabb threw 10 interceptions and had a 58.8 completion percentage.

"He's a very focused individual right now," Philadelphia safety Brian Dawkins told Eagles media on Wednesday. "Donovan has obviously been through some tough things this season and through his career. But time and time again, the cat stands up and stands tall."

Reid redeemed himself as well, guiding Philadelphia to a 4-1 record to end the regular season. With the exception of a 10-3 loss at Washington in Week 16, the pass-happy Reid has tweaked his play-calling to feature more rushes — welcome back, Brian Westbrook — and take some of the offensive burden off McNabb. The defense also did its part, surging to a No. 3 NFL ranking to end the regular season.

"Everybody stepped their game up — the (assistants), players and head coach," Reid said.

Such efforts would have gone for naught if the Eagles (9-6-1) didn't receive some outside help before helping themselves. Reid said he was told Philadelphia entered last Sunday with only a 17-percent chance of reaching the playoffs. Losses by Chicago and Tampa Bay opened the door, which the Eagles barreled through with a 44-6 rout of visiting Dallas.

Had the Eagles fallen short, last Sunday's game could very well have been the Philadelphia swan song for Reid and McNabb. Until this late-season run, it seemed both had plateaued after the 2004 Eagles reached Super Bowl XXXIX. An injury-plagued McNabb hadn't appeared in the postseason since then. Reid, who has final say on Philadelphia's personnel moves, wasn't assembling the same quality of talent as earlier this decade when the Eagles reached the playoffs for five straight years.

While their spots for 2009 now seem safe, Reid and McNabb will come under fire once again if Philadelphia loses to the Vikings. That's life in the NFL, especially considering the high pressure inherent with coaching and playing in such a demanding sports city.

Oddsmakers, though, have installed Philadelphia as a three-point favorite Sunday. Should the Eagles win, a trip to face the New York Giants awaits. Philadelphia would enter the Meadowlands with confidence, having posted a 20-14 road victory over New York in early December.

After that, who knows? A fourth-, fifth- or sixth-seeded team has won each of the past three Super Bowls. All three championship runs were marked by definitive season-changing events.

The 2007 Giants gained playoff confidence from a strong performance against then-undefeated New England in the regular-season finale. The 2006 Indianapolis Colts received a huge boost when injured strong safety Bob Sanders returned for the postseason. And for the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers, it took hitting rock bottom with three consecutive losses to trigger an eight-game winning streak that stretched through Super Bowl XL.

The Eagles can relate after "The Benching."

"In our minds, we could not afford to lose one game," Dawkins said of his team's late-season rally. "It was playoff game after playoff game every week. We don't have to wait until now to 'flip a switch.' We've been playing playoff ball."

All thanks to a dark moment that — amazingly enough, in retrospect — can be credited with saving Philadelphia's season as well as probably keeping the Reid-McNabb pairing intact for at least one more year.