Warner mum on future after ‘near-miss’ comeback

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Kurt Warner and his ageless arm painted a fourth-quarter masterpiece. It just wasn't quite enough.

The Arizona Cardinals' improbable playoff run ended with Santonio Holmes' tiptoe catch in the end zone with 35 seconds to play and a 27-23 Super Bowl triumph for Pittsburgh.

Warner went down flinging, though, completing 14 of 19 passes in the frenzied final 15 minutes for 224 yards.

"I am just really disappointed for him that we didn't get this win," coach Ken Whisenhunt said.

Warner was deprived of one last heave to the end zone. He went back to throw from the Steelers 44 and was hit. The ball came loose for what officials said was a fumble that Pittsburgh recovered with 5 seconds remaining. Officials did not review the play.

"I was surprised they didn't," Warner said. "I really felt like my arm was moving forward. ... I would have thought they would have at least taken a look at it."

Warner has been in three Super Bowls, and all of them went down to the wire, the first with a victory for St. Louis over Tennessee in the 1999 season, the second with a last-second loss for the Rams against New England in 2001.

And now this one.

"I have been fortunate to be a part of three great Super Bowls," Warner said. "I am definitely proud of it. Would I have liked to win more than one? Of course, but I am proud that I have been able to come to these games and be part of some of the greatest Super Bowls ever."

He knew that just putting up this kind of fight was a moment to be savored for a franchise long the cellar-dwelling laughingstock of the NFL.

"I'm so proud of this football team. I think that's probably one of the reasons it doesn't hurt as much as it could have," he said, "because these guys exceeded expectations, they were so fun to play with. I can't say enough about the season that we had."

Now he is a free agent. The 37-year-old quarterback's contract with the Cardinals expired when the season ended. The Cardinals say they want him back and say he wants to be back.

But in the aftermath of his third Super Bowl, Warner was noncommittal.

"I don't know if I'm going to play next year," he said. "I haven't thought about that. I'm going to enjoy what we just accomplished as a football team. I'm going to enjoy this year. I'm going to enjoy this great game that we just played in. And I'm going to take some time away from the game and then I'll make that decision."

Warner completed 31 of 43 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns, with one historically costly interception.

Picked as NFL man of the year before the kickoff for his good work off the field, he left the game with statistics that stand with anyone who has ever thrown a Super Bowl pass.

The 31 completions were one shy of New England quarterback Tom Brady's Super Bowl record and tied Buffalo's Jim Kelly for second.

Warner now holds the top three marks for yards passing in a Super Bowl, previously throwing for 414 yards in 2000 against Tennessee and 365 yards against New England in 2002.

He set an NFL record with 1,147 yards passing in this postseason, and his 11 touchdown passes tied the mark set by Joe Montana in 1989.

Down 20-7, the Cardinals scored 16 consecutive points in the fourth quarter to take a 23-20 lead with 2:37 to play.

Arizona went to a no-huddle offense on the first touchdown drive, capped by a 1-yard pass to Fitzgerald.

The next score came less than five minutes later when Warner connected with Fitzgerald on a 64-yard play.

Fitzgerald had seven catches for 127 yards. The Steelers shut him down until the fourth quarter, when he caught six for 115 yards.

"When I was younger, I would probably have lost my cool and got a little upset," he said. "But in a game of this magnitude, I knew we were going to call my number and eventually there were going to be some balls thrown my way. I just wanted to make sure I was in the right frame of mind so when I got my opportunity I was going to take advantage of it."

The spectacular 6-foot-3 receiver had a postseason like no other.

He finished with 30 catches for 546 yards in four playoff games, shattering Jerry Rice's NFL record of 409 yards receiving in 1988. The numbers were no consolation, though.

"It hurts so bad to be so close to being a champion and have it snatched away from you," Fitzgerald said.

The Cardinals were undone by mistakes, committing 11 penalties for 106 yards.

"It's unfortunate that we didn't play our best game, our cleanest game," Warner said, "and we hurt ourselves some in that regard. But again, guys kept fighting, guys kept battling and we gave ourselves a chance to win the world championship. And I'm going to hang onto that."

The Cardinals have gone a long way toward burying the loser image the franchise has carried for so long. This was just their second winning season since 1984.

The makeover came in playoff victories over Atlanta, Carolina and Philadelphia, then this loss to Pittsburgh in a Super Bowl that was as thrilling as any other.

"This is a group of men I'm really proud of," Whisenhunt said. "They played very hard in circumstances where nobody believed in them but themselves. I think it's a great message that if you believe together as a group you can accomplish things and be successful. We learned a lot about our team and it's unfortunate that it had to come out this way."