For The first half of this game it looked like a certainty that the Pittsburgh Steelers would be representing the AFC on February 6th in Dallas. The Steelers came out on the first drive and really set a tone for this football game. They pounded at the Jets Defense with Rashard Mendenhall and then used their effective running game to setup play-action with Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers capped off their opening drive with a 1 touchdown run by Mendenhall. After another Jets drive stalled the Steelers drove down the field and ended a 8 play 60 yard drive with a Sean Suisham field goal. The entire first half the Jets offense could not get anything going on the ground or through the air. Meanwhile the Steelers were using a balanced attack to put together long, sustained scoring drives. After a 2 yard run by Roethlisberger put the Steelers up 17 to 0, the Jets got the ball back only to turn it over on a Mark Sanchez fumble which was returned by William Gay for a touchdown. While it looked like the Steelers would go into the locker room with a 24-0 lead, Mark Sanchez started to get into a little bit of rhythm and the jets ended the half with a 42 yard field goal from Nick Folk. After a miserable first half performance by the Jets, they came out in the second half ready to play. On the first drive of the second half Mark Sanchez hit ex-Steeler Santonio Holmes on 45 yard touchdown pass. The 4th quarter is where this game really started to get interesting, down 24-10 on 4th and goal with the ball on the Steelers 1 yard line, LT was stuffed by Pittsburgh’s big defensive line, this gave the Steelers the football inside their own one yard line. On first down, backup center Doug Lagursky rushed a snap to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger which resulted in a safety and the ball for the Jets. A nice return by Jericho Cotchery gave the Jets good field position, and then Mark Sanchez turned into Tom Brady and started making great throws all over the field. The final play of the drive was a 4 yard touchdown pass from Sanchez to Cotchery. After the score the Jets decided to kickoff instead of opt for the onside kick, a decision which maybe questioned by some analysts later tonight and tomorrow. The key play of the game was a 3rd and 6 at the Jets 40 yard line with 2 minutes left in the game. Ben doing what he always does got outside of the pocket and hit rookie wideout Antonio Brown right on the numbers to clinch the game and a spot in Superbowl XLV in Dallas.
Key stat: The key stat of this game was that the Steelers were 6 for 11 on third downs in this game. The biggest third down conversion was on the final drive by the Steelers when Big Ben hit Antonio Brown for a 6 yard gain to clinch a Steeler victory.
MVP of the game: The MVP of this football game to me was Rashard Mendenhall. Mendenhall set the tone for the Steelers on the first couple of drives with big runs on a tough Jet rush defense. Although Mendenhall did not have a great second half he did finish the game with 121 rush yards and 1 touchdown.
Goat of the game: The goat of the game was without a doubt LaDainian Tomlinson. Tomlinson could never get anything going in either half vs this stout Steeler defense. Also in maybe the biggest play of the game on a 4th and goal from inside the 1 yard line Tomlinson was kept out of the endzone. LT finished the game with 9 carries for just 16 yards, and no receptions.
Where do they go from here: From Pittsburgh the Steelers will enjoy this victory and probably get back to work on Tuesday. After that they will face the Green Bay Packers in Superbowl XLV in what should be a great matchup. After a tough loss but a pretty successful season the Jets will go into the offseason disappointed but confident as ever. If you think that this loss will shut-up or humble the Jets, then you are wrong, before you know it training camp will be here and Rex and his boys will be talking just as much as ever. Say what you will about the Jets but they are a great football team, and if Mark Sanchez continues to improve they will be a force in the AFC for years to come.
Written by: Brandon Batt
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