January 24, 2011

Steelers Tie Record with Eighth Super Bowl Trip: The Pittsburgh Steelers took a 24-0 lead and held off a second-half rally to defeat the New York Jets 24-19 in the AFC Championship Game, sealing the game with a 14-yard third down completion to wide receiver Antonio Brown with 1:48 remaining. "They're a good team and the momentum shifted and we couldn't get anything going," said Steelers offensive lineman Trai Essex. The Steelers have tied the Dallas Cowboys with their eighth trip to the Super Bowl.

posted by rcade to football at 07:56 AM - 17 comments

My hat is off to the Jets. They showed a lot of character battling back from 24-0 to come within one play of getting a chance to win. They will be back.

Steelers suffered a bunch of injuries; the biggest being a high ankle sprain to Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey which will make winning Super Bowl XVL very difficult.

posted by scully at 09:40 AM on January 24, 2011

Messy, messy game.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:00 AM on January 24, 2011

With the Steelers having spent years in the NFL before moving over to the AFC, a Steelers - Packers SB will have a bit of a pre-merger feel to it. For us old farts anyway.

At some point, the Jets should get to experience going back to the SB -- what an entertaining two weeks of media coverage that would be.

posted by beaverboard at 10:05 AM on January 24, 2011

Did anyone else catch Mendenhall humping Ben Roethlisberger in the pile after the first kneel down?!? Straight-up weird.

I really thought at the end somehow Sexy Rexy was going to find a way to pull it out. I'm fast becoming a Jets fan.

posted by wfrazerjr at 10:12 AM on January 24, 2011

I saw that too frazer and laughed!

Hines Ward jumped into the crowd afterwards and said this: "I was hugging everybody, kissing grandmas and everything. I hope I didn't kiss anyone's girlfriends. I think a couple of dudes kissed me on the cheek."

posted by scully at 10:25 AM on January 24, 2011

I know the Steelers have a stout run defense, but I do not understand running two passing plays from the 1 yard line prior to the stuff on Tomlinson on 4th down. The ensuing safety was nice, but considering how much time that drive took, you really need to get the TD there.

posted by holden at 11:25 AM on January 24, 2011

Evidently, there was a problem with getting the plays in from the sidelines during that sequence. Congrats to the Steelers from this Jets fan.

posted by ajaffe at 11:56 AM on January 24, 2011

Oops.

posted by rcade at 12:05 PM on January 24, 2011

What you did to Brunell was dirty, Sanchez.

posted by rcade at 12:11 PM on January 24, 2011

I saw that booger wipe too in real time and laughed.

posted by scully at 12:20 PM on January 24, 2011

but I do not understand running two passing plays from the 1 yard line prior to the stuff on Tomlinson on 4th down. The ensuing safety was nice, but considering how much time that drive took, you really need to get the TD there.

It was terrible, terrible play calling, and at the end of the day, the key sequence in the game.

Congrats to the Steelers.

posted by cjets at 12:32 PM on January 24, 2011

That booger wipe... wow. Thanks for the laugh; I hadn't been watching closely enough to catch that.

posted by evixir at 12:39 PM on January 24, 2011

It was a crazy game. The loudest I have ever heard it in the stadium.

The safety may have actually worked in the Steelers favor. If you assume that the jets get a 3 and out, the Steelers punt from their endzone with the rush coming. The safety left the Jets in a situation where the still needed 2 touchdowns, and had worse field position.

posted by Debo270 at 01:24 PM on January 24, 2011

What you did to Brunell was dirty, Sanchez.

The wife and I caught that in real time. Just goes to show, you can pick your friends and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your back-up quarterback's nose.

Maybe I should get a customized Brunell Jets jersey with KLEENEX on the back.

posted by wfrazerjr at 03:55 PM on January 24, 2011

With the Steelers having spent years in the NFL before moving over to the AFC, a Steelers - Packers SB will have a bit of a pre-merger feel to it. For us old farts anyway.

Agreed. The Jets were the last AFL team in it. What a heartbreak that is.

posted by afl-aba at 07:12 PM on January 24, 2011

What you did to Brunell was dirty, Sanchez.

At least it wasn't a dirty Sanchez.

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 08:12 PM on January 24, 2011

YYM, I believe the subtlety of rcade's wordplay was lost on you.

posted by tron7 at 10:41 AM on January 25, 2011

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