Steelers To Face The Jets At Home
PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) -- The Steelers are headed to the AFC Championship game this weekend as they face the New York Jets on the Gridiron.
After rallying to defeat the Ravens by a score of 31 to 24 on Saturday, the Steelers made it one step closer to playing in their eighth Super Bowl.
Since the Jets stopped Tom Brady and the Patriots last night 28-21, the road to the Super Bowl will indeed run through Pittsburgh again. Had the Pats won, the Steelers would have had to travel to New England; but the team has home field advantage against the Jets.
The Steelers will host the Jets this Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at Heinz Field. The game, will of course, decide one half of the Super Bowl.
As for the other side: the NFC Championship game is set for Sunday afternoon between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers.
The Steelers' last hurdle before advancing to the Super Bowl is sure to be a big one.
The last time the two teams met, the Jets beat the Steelers at Heinz Field by a score of 22-17.
Steelers star safety Troy Polamalu missed that and he's a huge playmaker.
New York has been efficient on the ground, but no one rushes very well against the Steelers. Baltimore managed only 35 yards rushing on Saturday.
So the game could wind up in the hands and on the arms of the quarterbacks. Mark Sanchez, the Jets' second-year pro who is 4-1 in the postseason, just might match up well with Ben Roethlisberger, who has won two Super Bowls and showed against the Ravens how clutch he can be.
"Big Ben, he's next on our list," said Jets receiver Braylon Edwards, who caught a TD pass against New England.
Still, the Jets never had won in Pittsburgh before that December game, and the Steelers are well-versed in AFC title matchups, making their fifth trip since 2001.
"You like to play teams that you lose to," Roethlisberger said.
