National Football League

Packers, Jets ride momentum in playoffs

Published Jan. 17, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

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I have never been a big fan of parity, preferring to watch dominating teams like the Steelers, 49ers and Patriots of old. But in this new NFL, anything goes. Seven of the last 12 No. 1 seeds have lost their opening playoff game. Home field and best records simply mean nothing anymore.

Still, when you examine the playoffs two No. 6 seeds, the Packers and the Jets, there should be no surprise in their success.

A lot of people picked the Packers to go to the Super Bowl back in August because of Aaron Rodgers and their abundance of good, young players. And, I believe, Rex Ryan told the tabloid world that his Jets would be going to Dallas, too. His players have followed his boasts to perfection, beating Peyton Manning and Tom Brady on consecutive weekends.

The Packers and Jets had some minor hiccups during the regular season, but both were built for a championship run. Like the cliché goes, every team starts the playoffs 0-0.

Both of these teams have a chance to duplicate what the 2005 Steelers and 2007 Giants did -- win three road playoff games and then a championship. Bill Cowher’s team was the first No. 6 seed to win it all while the Giants were a No. 5 seed when they abruptly ended the Patriots shot at perfection. Unbelievably, Brady has now lost three straight playoff games.

The Jets beat the Steelers 22-17 in Pittsburgh on Dec. 19, a win that helped guarantee New York a playoff berth. Ryan told Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin afterward that the two teams would meet again. The key to New York’s win was a 97-yard opening kickoff return by Brad Smith -- the Steelers do have bad special teams -- and a 4th-and-goal Mark Sanchez bootleg for a touchdown. All-Pro linebacker James Harrison got caught out of position on that play.

But if you want to pick winners this weekend, wouldn’t it be wise to go with the best play-making quarterbacks? In that case, Ben Roethlisberger and Rodgers look like winners.

Unlike Rodgers, Big Ben has been taking a beating. Baltimore sacked him six times, once causing a fumble that was returned by Cory Redding for a 13-yard touchdown. No Steeler made an attempt to chase Redding, believing Ben’s arm was going forward and the play was an incompletion.

But with the game on the line, Roethlisberger hit rookie receiver Antonio Brown with a 58-yarder on 3rd-and-19 to set up Rashard Mendenhall’s winning touchdown as Pittsburgh rallied from a two-touchdown deficit.

The Jets beat up on Brady too, reducing him to regular-guy status. He never got into his MVP-like rhythm, nor did he look comfortable in the pocket. New York’s pass rush should be a prescription for them again, considering Pittsburgh offensive tackles Jonathan Scott and Flozell Adams left the Baltimore game with injuries. But it has been simply amazing how many passes Roethlisberger completes with defenders hanging onto him or bouncing off of him.

On the other hand, Rodgers has learned from his past mistakes of holding on to the ball too long. For a quarterback who was sacked 50 times during the 2009 season, Rodgers has become more decisive while under pressure, plus he is very nimble in the pocket and has the arm to stop and throw on the run. Rodgers has been literally perfect in the playoffs and there’s no reason to believe he’s going to get a case of nerves now and blow his opportunity to match Brett Favre in Super Bowl wins.

Of the remaining quarterbacks, the Jets’ Mark Sanchez might be considered the weak link. But the kid was superb in New England, throwing for three touchdowns without an interception. His game-winning fade throw to Santonio Holmes, who made a super leaping catch to remain in-bounds, was a thing of beauty. Too many quarterbacks either throw that pass too soon or too late, failing to give the receiver an opportunity to make a play, but Sanchez has become pretty adept on that throw.

Also, Sanchez is showing no ill effects of his sprained right shoulder injury. He also made up for two horrible performances in New England, where he had seven interceptions and only one touchdown pass.

The difference in the Pittsburgh game should be safety Troy Polamalu. He didn’t play against the Jets in December because of his ankle injury, but he’s ready to go now. It’s a huge addition for the Steelers because Polamalu and Baltimore’s Ed Reed may be the best all-around play-making safeties in the game over the last six seasons.

The Steelers pretty much rooted for the Jets to win on Sunday because they wanted the AFC Championship Game at home and also to give themselves a chance to right that loss.

This is the Steelers’ fifth AFC championship game in the past 10 seasons and 15th overall since the 1970 NFL merger, the most by any team. They won in Heinz Field two seasons ago when they beat Baltimore on their way to winning their sixth Super Bowl, but they lost their first two championship games at Heinz Field, losing to the Patriots after the 2001 and 2004 seasons.

The Bears have already beaten the Packers at Soldier Field this season, but that was back in September when nobody really knew what to expect from these two teams. The Bears have developed a consistent running game since that game, a critical feature that has helped Jay Cutler persevere in the pocket and make down-field throws.

Next Sunday’s championship game will be the 182nd meeting between the NFL’s oldest rivals, but only their second meeting in the playoffs in 69 seasons.

“It just doesn’t get any better than this,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “The Packers and Bears to finish it up, that’s how it should be.”