Larry Fitzgerald was like a ticking time bomb that finally went off in the fourth quarter Sunday.

Limited to one catch for 12 yards through the first 45 minutes of the game while facing numerous double teams, and with his team trailing by 13 points, the Arizona Cardinals receiver lived up to his pregame billing as one of the NFL's pre-eminent stars.

He nearly willed his team to victory late.

Fitzgerald had four catches, capped by a leaping, two-handed 1-yard scoring reception to pull the Cards close. He then helped put Arizona ahead 23-20 by splitting Pittsburgh's cover-2 defense and sprinting down the vacated middle of the field for a 64-yard touchdown.

"In the second half, we put Larry more on the intermediate routes in the middle of the field because they were trying to push everything to the sideline," Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley said. "Once we had an in- breaker, then that was the problem for them."

But Fitzgerald's heroics were followed by the Steelers' drive in the final 21/2 minutes. And while Fitzgerald exits the postseason with 30 receptions, 546 yards and seven touchdowns, all records, he's also left with a resounding sense of disappointment.

"It was like getting a chair pulled out from under you," Fitzgerald said, adding, "It hurts so bad to be so close to being a champion and to have it snatched away from you."

Flag day

In the end, the Cardinals walked the fine line between criticism and disappointment, but it was clear they weren't happy with the penalty situation in the game.

The Cardinals were flagged 11 times for 106 yards. It was the second-highest total in Super Bowl history. Dallas was flagged 12 times in Super Bowl XII and Carolina had 12 penalties in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

The combined 18 penalties for the two teams also were the second most in Super Bowl history, behind the 20 called in Super Bowl XII, a game in which the Broncos had eight penalties to the Cowboys' 12, and Super Bowl XXXVIII.

"I'm already sad with the defeat," Fitzgerald said. "I'm not going to touch that."

In one particularly difficult stretch, the Cardinals defense was penalized three times on one Steelers drive in the third quarter.

During that drive, the Cardinals were flagged for a face-mask penalty, a roughing-the-passer penalty and an unnecessary-roughness penalty when officials said Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson had run into Steelers holder Mitch Berger on a field-goal attempt.

All three penalties gave the Steelers first downs on the 17-play drive that used up 8:39 in the third quarter.

The Cardinals disputed Wilson's penalty as well as the roughing-the- passer penalty.

"It's disappointing so many penalties were called," Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said.

Whisenhunt said he was hoping the replay officials would elect to take a look at the Cardinals' last offensive play of the game.

LaMarr Woodley sacked quarterback Kurt Warner, knocking the ball free.

The Steelers recovered and were awarded the ball. But Warner and others on the Cardinals sideline said his arm was in motion.

That would have meant an incomplete pass, and the Cardinals would have had one more play.

"I was hoping they'd take a look at it," Whisenhunt said.

Cardinals kicker Neil Rackers was screaming at the officials as he left the field at the end of the game.

"I don't comment on officiating," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "I haven't done it all year. I'm not going to start today. Officials don't determine the outcome of games."

History repeats

In an ironic twist, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was denied a 1-yard TD run off Pittsburgh's opening drive.

Whisenhunt challenged, claiming that Roethlisberger was short of the goal line on a third-down run, and replays showed that the QB's left knee hit the ground before the ball crossed the plane.

Three years ago, in Super Bowl XL, Whisenhunt was the Steelers offensive coordinator when Roethlisber- ger scored on a similar, controversial play late in the second quarter against Seattle.

Officials initiated a challenge, and it was ruled that the Steelers quarterback did score, even though replays seemed to indicate otherwise.

Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren commented after that game, won 21-10 by Pittsburgh, that he believed Roethlisberger was down with the ball short of the goal line.

The Cardinals won another key challenge on the first drive of the second half, when Warner was hit by James Farrior, fumbled, and Steelers linebacker James Harrison recovered.

Warner was ruled to have had his arm in motion when he lost control on the hit.

Etc.

* Warner had 1,147 passing yards and 11 touchdown passes in the postseason. The yardage was an NFL postseason record, and the TD passes tied Joe Montana's 1989 league standard.

* Cardinals tight end Ben Patrick didn't have a touchdown reception in the regular season, but he caught a 1-yard pass for Arizona's first score Sunday night.

* Tomlin, at 36, is the youngest head coach to have now coached in, as well as won, a Super Bowl.

* For the Steelers, safety Anthony Smith, cornerback Fernando Bryant, linebacker Bruce Davis, tackle Tony Hills, tackle Jason Capizzi, defensive lineman Scott Paxson and defensive end Orpheus Roye were game-day inactives. Dennis Dixon was the team's No. 3 quarterback.

* For the Cardinals, cornerback Eric Green, fullback Tim Castille, linebacker Victor Hobson, tackle Elliott Vallejo, tackle Brandon Keith, defensive tackle Alan Branch and tight end Jerame Tuman were the inactives. Brian St. Pierre, a former Steelers backup, was the team's No. 3 quarterback.

* The flight crew of US Airways flight 1549 was honored before the game Sunday. Pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, co-pilot Jeffrey B. Skiles and flight attendants Doreen Walsh, Sheila Dail and Donna Dent were recognized before the game.

Sullenberger landed flight 1549 on the Hudson River in New York on Jan. 15 when the plane's engines were disabled by a flock of birds. All passengers and crew members were rescued from the plane.

* Former Broncos quarterback John Elway participated in the pregame coin flip.

Numbers game

3 300-yard passing games, including Sunday, for Warner in the Super Bowl. He is the first quarterback in league history to have three 300-yard games in the Super Bowl. He had 414 and 365 yards passing in his two previous appearances with the Rams.

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