Did anyone else get a sense of deja vu when watching the late game yesterday? As the favored Steelers received the opening kickoff and marched down to field to put the underdog Jets in a quick 7-0 hole, I thought "I've seen this before...exactly 3 hours ago." Yes, everyone expected to see two strong defensive struggles, but the similarities between the NFC Championship and AFC Championship games went beyond that.
Most pre-game analysis (mine included) focused on the quarterbacks, but both the Packers and Steelers rode their running games to a quick lead. The Bears and Jets came into the game ranked 2nd and 3rd in the league in rushing defense, respectively, but neither of them could stop the run early. James Starks rushed through some big holes for 55 yards and Aaron Rodgers escaped the pocket for another 40. Similarly, Rashard Mendenhall broke some sloppy Jets tackling en route to 95 yards and 1 touchdown in the first half of the late game. The Bears and the Jets gave up an average of less than 91 rushing yards per game during the regular season, yet both Green Bay and Pittsburgh had eclipsed that mark by halftime.
To their credit, Chicago and New York's defenses both settled down after rocky starts. In fact, neither
of the two squads surrendered a single offensive point in the second half. But the hole they dug themselves proved too deep for their low-flying offenses to climb out of. Mark Sanchez and surprise fill-in Caleb Hanie did an admirable job of rallying their teams for a comeback, but it was a costly mistake by each of them that ultimately gave their opponents the nail for their coffins. Early in the 4th quarter, Dom Capers shrewdly sent a zone blitz at the Hanie and the inexperienced quarterback failed to see Boston College grad B.J. Raji covering the zone undernearth his hot route. Raji's crucial pick-six proved to be the game winning score. Only a couple of hours later, Mark Sanchez was facing his own double-digit deficit when he failed to see a blitz coming from the Steelers defense. He held on to the ball a second too late and the ensuing fumble and touchdown by William Gay gave Pittsburgh a 24-0 lead that they would not relinquish.
And so we have the Packers and the Steelers for all the marbles (or all the Tostitos, if Brent Musburger is reading this). In the nearly two decades of Super Bowls that I've witnessed in my lifetime, this might be the first without a clear favorite (early odds have the Steelers as 2.5-point underdogs, but I expect that line to move closer to 1.5 as the game approaches). The matchup pits two marquee quarterbacks with respectable running games going against two 3-4 defenses that rely on the blitz and creating turnovers. It's still early and I haven't made my pick yet, but at first glance I think Rashard Mendenhall and the Steelers historic run defense might make the difference.
I'm going to try to rewatch the championship games and have some more tidbits for you, including my take on Jay Cutler, in the next couple of days.
Image found here.
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