Superbowl Picks: If history has taught us anything, whenever the NFL’s best defense takes on the league's best offense, is that "defense wins championships". This is the case in this year’s Superbowl Picks, when the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday night beginning at 6 PM ET (3 PM PT) on NBC.
If you look at the odds, they tell the exact same story: Pittsburgh Steelers [-7] favorites by a touchdown over the underdog, Arizona Cardinals [+7]. But what if the Arizona Cardinals aren’t one of these ordinary, top-ranked offensive minded teams we’ve seen over the past few years? Can they actually beat the Sports Odds and change that old cliché forever? 
One thing that is certain, if the Cardinals are going to be successful against Pittsburgh’s hard-hitting defense, Larry Fitzgerald needs to have a big day. It’s going to be great to see a guy as physically gifted as Fitzgerald goes up against the Steelers secondary of Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark.
"Every week, we play teams that say they are going to pound us physically," Fitzgerald said. "That's the norm in this league. When you have a good group of guys, people are going to try to take advantage of you physically. There is nothing unusual about that… “We are looking forward to the test."
Indeed there lies one of the keys for this Superbowl Picks game: how will the Pittsburgh Steelers defense stop a train going full speed? In this year’s playoffs, Fitzgerald has had his way, torching secondaries en rote to a record-setting postseason. In Arizona's three playoff games, Fitzgerald has caught 23 passes for an NFL-record 419 yards and 5 touchdowns. The OVER/UNDER for this Super Bowl Picks: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals has been settled at a combined total of 46½ points.
"I've seen a variety of defenses during the playoffs," Fitzgerald said Thursday. "Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau is who he is. He has been in this league a long, long time. He has coached some outstanding defensive players and defenses. I don't think he's going to change what he is doing too much. I'm not the first good receiver the Steelers have faced, and I won't be the last."
