With a huge red lei around his neck and a wide grin that could have stretched across Oahu, Larry Fitzgerald held up the gleaming, silver MVP trophy. It sparkled in the sunshine as much as his game. Fitzgerald caught five passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns, 44-year-old John Carney kicked two fourth-quarter field goals, and the NFC rallied to a 30-21 victory over the AFC. The Arizona Cardinals’ All-Pro receiver, coming off a record-breaking postseason and a spectacular Super Bowl in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, earned MVP honors.

The winning play in Super Bowl XLIII was right out of a schoolyard. Scamble right, scramble left, find someone open. The perfect unscripted ending to a game of improbable swings. Their Steel Curtain shredded, Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes improvised the 6-yard touchdown pass with 35 seconds left to give the Pittsburgh Steelers a record-setting sixth Super Bowl victory, 27-23 over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night. Holmes grabbed the ball with both arms stretched fully above his head in the back right corner of the end zone, his toes barely dragging inbounds. He fell, sat up and cradled the ball like the prize it was.

Tough and mean, like the original Steel Curtain. These Pittsburgh Steelers delivered too many hard hits and their quarterback was steady enough to outplay the kid and the rest of the Baltimore Ravens. With Troy Polamalu ending any chance Baltimore had for a comeback with a 40-yard interception return, the Steelers bullied their rivals 23-14 on Sunday to reach their seventh Super Bowl.

Down and out for decades, the Arizona Cardinals have turned a bad joke into a Super Bowl-bound team. Yes, the Cardinals, founding members of the NFL but historically among the most dysfunctional, are heading to Tampa for the championship game. Capitalizing on Larry Fitzgerald’s three first-half touchdown receptions, then coolly marching downfield to Kurt Warner’s 8-yard scoring pass to rookie Tim Hightower with 2:53 left, the Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Eagles 32-25 on Sunday for the NFC championship.

Baltimore survived 13-10 on Saturday against the Tennessee There is a home-field advantage in the NFL playoffs after all, and it belongs to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now they’ve got to prove it means something against the team they despise like no other, and in the game they lose at home like no one else. The Steelers, owners of the NFL’s best home-field record since the 1970 NFL merger, shook off a 7-0 deficit barely two minutes into the game, controlled pint-sized playmaker Darren Sproles and returned some normalcy to the postseason by beating the San Diego Chargers 35-24 in an AFC divisional game Sunday.

Donovan McNabb will get another chance to chase that elusive Super Bowl title. Eli Manning threw away his opportunity to defend it. McNabb made all the big plays that Manning did not, and the Eagles eliminated the New York Giants 23-11 Sunday to reach the NFC title game for the fifth time in eight seasons. Manning, meanwhile, never resembled the poised quarterback who won last year’s Super Bowl MVP award with that one perfect spiral to Plaxico Burress. Five times New York got inside the Eagles 20. The result? A mere three field goals.

The Arizona Cardinals were considered the softest team in the playoffs, unable to win far from home and carrying the scars of years of ineptitude. But behind their cagey quarterback, dynamic receiver, improved defense — and a big assist from Jake Delhomme’s horrible night — the Cardinals are a win away from the unthinkable: a berth in the Super Bowl. Kurt Warner threw two touchdown passes, Larry Fitzgerald had 166 yards receiving and the Cardinals pounced on Delhomme’s six turnovers Saturday night in a 33-13 win over the bumbling Panthers.

A not-so-raw rookie and a trustworthy veteran lifted the Baltimore Ravens to the brink of the Super Bowl. With the help of a brutal defense that knocks opponents silly, of course. After all, these are the Ravens, who love nothing more than to win grudge matches. And, this one was worthy of the WWE. Baltimore survived 13-10 on Saturday against the Tennessee Titans thanks to Matt Stover’s 43-yard field goal with 57 seconds remaining. The unflappable Flacco was certain the 40-year-old kicker would get his team into next weekend’s AFC title game at either Pittsburgh or San Diego.

All but forgotten as playoff contenders, Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles have a playoff win. Brian Westbrook caught a short pass out of the backfield and zigzagged through the Minnesota defense for a devastating 71-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, and the Eagles spoiled the Vikings’ first home playoff game in eight years with a 26-14 victory Sunday.

The Baltimore Ravens had Chad Pennington spinning, ducking, on his heels and on his back. When he did manage to get a pass away, they were often there to snatch it. The Ravens came up with four interceptions, including one returned 64 yards for a touchdown by Ed Reed, and won 27-9 Sunday to spoil the Miami Dolphins’ first playoff game in seven seasons. Baltimore stuffed Miami’s ground attack and negated the Wildcat, but most of all the Ravens harried Pennington into uncharacteristic mistakes. After throwing only seven interceptions during the regular season, he had four during a 22-minute flurry midway through the game.