AFC Championship Game 2011 NFL Football Playoffs| New York Jets-Pittsburgh Steelers

The NFL Football Season 2011 AFC Championship Game will be played between two of the best football defensive teams in the league. The New York Jets will travel to play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on January 23rd, Sunday at 6:30 pm ET on the CBS network.

The Pittsburgh Steelers won the AFC North Division with a 12-4 record. The Steelers were the #2 seed in the AFC Playoffs. The Steelers are the only NFL team with 6 Super Bowl Championship trophies and rings.

The New York Jets return to the AFC Championship Game for the second year in the row. The Jets entered the 2011 playoffs as the 6th seed and has to play all of their games on the road. The Jets have defeated the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots to get to the AFC title game.

The New York Jets won 22-17 in the game at the Pittsburgh Steelers in the regular season. Turnovers were key in that game and the Troy Polamalu was not active for the Steelers. The winner of the AFC Championship Game will advance to play in the Super Bowl XLV (45) in Cowboy Stadium on February 6th, 2011.

The AFC Championship Game

Pittsburgh Steelers

New York Jets

Jets-Steelers Match-up

AFC championship Game Prediction

The Pittsburgh Steelers began the 2010 NFL Football season with their star Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on a 6-game suspension, which was later reduced to 4-games. The Steelers missed the playoffs in 2009 for only the third time since 2001.

The Pittsburgh Steelers of 2010 made a shift back to more emphasis on the tough defense and running game the Steelers were known for. With Roethlisberger out to begin the season, the defense and Rashard Mendenhall were relied on to carry the load.

The 2010 Steelers began with Dennis Dixon as the starting quarterback, but went down to injury in game 2 and Charlie Batch stepped in and filled the position until the bye week after week 4. The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the Bye week with a 3-1 record.

Ben Roethlisberger returned to the starting line-up in game 5.The Steelers won 6 of their 7 last games to finish with a 12-4 record, win the AFC North division and the AFC playoffs #2 seed. The loss in that stretch was a home game against the New York Jets.

The Steelers defense finished the season with the second ranked defense. The Steelers rush defense was the best in the league allowing just 1,004 rushing yards on the season for a 62.8 average rush per game. The defense recorded 48 sacks, 21 interceptions and forced 24 fumbles.The Steelers defense is led by Troy Polamalu and James Harrison who were selected to the AFC Pro Bowl.

The Steelers offense was more balanced in the 2010 season. Rashard Mendenhall rushed for over 1200 yards his first season as the starting running back. Mike Wallace has become a major threat down field as wide receiver. The development of rookies Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown has added more weapons in the later part of the season.

The New York Jets entered the 2010 NFL Football season with hopes of a Super Bowl Championship. The Jets lost to the Indianapolis Colts last year in the AFC Championship Game and were determined to make another run this year.

Head Coach Rex Ryan is the leader of this team. His brass words and coaching style has this team confident and ready to face any opponent.

The Jets lost their opening game to the Baltimore Ravens 9-10 and then rolled to a 5-1 record to start the season. The highlight was the 28-14 win over their AFC East biggest rival, the New England Patriots in week 2. The Jets offense was efficient and many believed the Jets were on a path to the Super Bowl.

The Jets were sitting with a 9-2 record when the struggles began. The Green Bay Packers came into the Meadowlands Stadium and shut out the Jets 9-0. The team went 2-3 entering the playoffs.

The Jets acquired wide receiver Santonio Holmes from the Pittsburgh Steelers in the off season to help with the passing game. The Jets traded team’s leading rusher Thomas Jones and acquired LaDanian Tomlinson.

QB Mark Sanchez has a good group of receivers in Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes, Jericho Cotchery and TE Dustin Keller. LaDanian Tomlinson adds another weapon for Sanchez with his ability to catch a pass out of the backfield.

The Jets defense is the focal point of this team. The Jets finished the 2010 season with the 3rd overall defense in the league. The rush defense was 3rd and the pass defense was 6th. The addition of cornerback Antonio Cromartie with CB Derrelle Revis has given the Jets the best set of corners in the game.

The Jets enter the 2011 NFL Playoffs with an 11-5 record and the #6 wild card seed. The Jets faced the Indianapolis Colts in the wild card game and held Peyton Manning in check to defeat the Colts 17-16 on the road.

The Jets next had to travel to Foxboro to face the #1 seed Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Trash talking swirled all around before and leading into the game. The Patriots has embarrassed the Jets 45-3 in week 13. The Jets wanted to avenge that loss as well as knock the Patriots out of the playoffs.

The Jets designed a brilliant game plan to defend against Tom Brady and the passing game. The Jets used pass coverage instead of the blitz to shut down the Patriots and win the game 28-21. The Jets will once again go on the road for the AFC Championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Defense is the theme in this AFC Championship Game. These two teams lean on their defenses to set the tone of the game and make plays.

The offenses will need to protect the ball and not make mistakes or these defenses can put point on the scoreboard.Expect to see a lot of hard vicious hits in the game.

The AFC Championship Game will be a real battle and the best defense will emerge as the AFC Champions.

• Mark Sanchez vs Steelers Pass Rush-The play of Mark Sanchez may be the determining factor in this game. The Steelers will come after Sanchez and force him to make quick decisions and throws. TE Dustin Keller may be kept on the line to help pass protect. Sanchez has been erratic at times with wild throws. Sanchez will need to be patient and precise in his passes. L.T out of the backfield on screens can help to move the ball and give Sanchez a chance to find a rhythm.
• Jets Receivers vs Steelers Secondary- Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes and Jericho Cotchery will need to be physical and make catches when thrown to. The Steelers will challenge every throw and try to block the receivers coming off the line. The Jets receivers can make plays on the Steelers defense and will need to make each one count.
• Jets Defense-Steelers Offensive Line- The weakest part of the Steelers team is their offensive line to pass protect Ben Roethlisberger. His mobility allows him to extend plays, but the Jets will look to make hard hits on the Steelers QB to disrupt his rhythm. The Jets will need to bottle up Roethlisberger and not allow to run around in the backfield to make plays.
• Steelers Rashard Mendenhall-Jets Rush Defense- Mendenhall had 99 yards and a TD in the game versus the Jets in December. Mendenhall will pound the Jets defensive line. The Jets need to him inside and not allow him to burst into the second level where he can make plays.
• Steelers Receivers-Derrelle Revis/Antonio Cromartie- “Revis Island” will look to take Mike Wallace out of the game. Cromartie is a big and strong corner back who will be challenge by Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward. The Jets secondary will need a supporting cast from linebackers with the emergence of rookies Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown in the Steelers passing game.
• Troy Polamau Factor- Polamalu missed the regular season matchup between the Steelers and the Jets. Polamalu can wreck havoc in a game and is an emotional leader for the team.
• Emotions- The NY Jets have been playing with a high amount of emotion in the two playoff games. Can the Jets avoid the emotional drain and let down for a third week in a row?
• Special Teams- The Jets scored a touchdown off a kickoff return and a safety by their defense in their first meeting. Heinz Field has not always been kind to visiting field goal kickers. The game could come down to which team is able to handle the field conditions and make field goals.

The first half of the game will see very aggressive defensive play from both teams. Look to see the yellow penalty flag a few times from the vicious hits.

Both teams will focus on the running game to control the game and could see a scoreless or 3-3 halftime score.

The second half the teams will look to push the ball downfield more and the Steelers behind Ben Roethlisberger and his ability to extend plays and run with the ball will be the difference in the game.

In a close game, The Pittsburgh Steelers will win the AFC Championship.

Prediction: Pittsburgh Steelers- 17___New York Jets- 13