Green Bay Packers win Super Bowl

The Green Bay Packers are back at the top of the NFL mountain after surviving a furious comeback attempt by the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 31-25 victory in Super Bowl XLV before one of the largest crowds in NFL history — 103,219 , at Cowboys Stadium on Sunday.

Led by Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers, who completed 24 of 39 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, the Packers converted three Pittsburgh turnovers into touchdowns and slammed the door when Ben Roethlisberger's fourth-down throw over the middle to Mike Wallace fell incomplete with just under a minute to play.

The Packers, who never trailed, are the just the second sixth seed to win a Super Bowl.

And Rodgers now has won as many Super Bowls as the man he replaced in 2008 — the iconic Brett Favre.

"I told Ted (Thompson, general manager) back in 2005, he wouldn't be sorry with this (draft) pick," said Rodgers, picked No. 24 overall that year. " I told him in '08 (after replacing Favre), that I was going to repay their trust and get us this opportunity.

"This a great group of men we've put together here," Rodgers said as confetti rained during the postgame celebration at midfield. "Lot of character, been through a lot together. It's just great to be able to share it with them.

Somewhere, Vince Lombardi — the legendary former coach who guided the Packers to victories in the first two Super Bowls and for whom the NFL's championship hardware is named for — is smiling.

In their biggest game yet, the Packers showed the type of resilience they have all season. Three starters — receiver Donald Driver and cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Sam Shields — were lost to injuries. How fitting. The Packers came to Texas with 15 players on injured reserve.

"It was the great resolve of this football team," coach Mike McCarthy said. "We had some practice of guys going down with other guys stepping up. Just a tremendous effort."

The Steelers wouldn't quit, either. Down by 18 in the second quarter and 11 in the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh cut the margin to 28-25 with 7:34 remaining as Roethlisberger found Mike Wallace for a 25-yard TD and then flipped a pitch to Antwaan Randle El for the two-point conversion.

That set the stage for a make-or-break finish.

Green Bay knocked 5 minutes, 27 seconds off the clock but had to settle for Mason Crosby's 23-yard field goal when Jordy Nelson — whose career-high nine catches for 140 receiving yards was peppered with several drops — couldn't hang onto Rodgers' 5-yard throw to the end zone.

It left the Steelers with one final shot to extend the franchise's record with a seventh Super Bowl crown.