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 . In the against the Carolina Panthers, he had eight receptions for 166 yards in the 33–13 victory. During the 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.