100-yard mark, including two games eclipsing the 150-yard barrier. In addition, he had three games where the caught two touchdown passes. Fitzgerald finished the regular season with 96 receptions for 1,431 yards and a league-leading 12 touchdowns. For the first time in his career, the Cardinals finished with a winning record at 9–7 and made the playoffs. In his playoff debut, Fitzgerald had six receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown in a 30–24 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in the Wild Card Round. In the Divisional Round against the Carolina Panthers, he had eight receptions for 166 yards in the 33–13 victory. During the NFC Championship for the 2008 NFL season, Fitzgerald tied an NFL record with three touchdown receptions in a playoff game. His three touchdown catches occurred in the first half; he became the first player in NFL history to accomplish that feat in a conference championship game. As a result of the 32–25 victory over the Eagles, Fitzgerald and the Cardinals represented the NFC in Super Bowl XLIII. During Super Bowl XLIII, Fitzgerald caught two touchdown passes in the game. Late in the fourth quarter, Fitzgerald had a 64-yard touchdown reception from Kurt Warner to go ahead 23–20, but the score did not hold as the Pittsburgh Steelers scored a touchdown with only 35 seconds remaining to go ahead 27–23, which was the game's final score. Fitzgerald set a single postseason record with 546 receiving yards, 30 receptions, and seven touchdown receptions, surpassing Jerry Rice's records of the 1988–89 NFL playoffs. Fitzgerald followed up his great 2008 season by catching two more touchdown passes in the 2009 Pro Bowl, earning him MVP honors. After the Pro Bowl was over, it was revealed that Fitzgerald had been playing at least the whole postseason with a broken left thumb as well as torn cartilage in the same hand. It is speculated that Fitzgerald has had this injury since November 5, 2008, when he showed up on the injury report with an injured thumb. After his record-breaking postseason, capped by his Pro Bowl MVP award, many analysts, including NFL Network's Jamie Dukes, regarded Fitzgerald as one of the best receivers in the NFL. He was named as a First-team All Pro for the 2008 season. 2009 season In the fourth game of the season, Fitzgerald had five receptions for 79 yards and two touchdowns in a 28–21 victory over