The Steelers were down 20-6 at the half in this game and things weren’t looking good.  The Steelers played well in the second half to tie the game and send it to O.T.  The Broncos won the coin toss and Tim Tebow threw an 80 yard bomb for a TD to Demaryius Thomas on the first play of O.T. to end this game.  Thomas absolutely burned Ike Taylor to a crisp on the pass in O.T.

Ben Roethlisberger battled hard yesterday as he completed 22 of 40 passes for 289 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 15 yards (5.0 ypc) in this game.  Isaac Redman led the way on the ground for the Steelers in this game with 121 yards rushing on 17 carries (7.1 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 21 yards (10.5 avg).  WR Emmanuel Sanders (6 rec, 81 yards), WR Antonio Brown (5 rec, 70 yards and 1 carry for 18 yards) and TE Heath Miller (5 rec, 60 yards) led the way for the Steelers in the passing game yesterday.  Jerricho Cotchery (1 rec, 31 yards, TD) and Mike Wallace (3 rec, 26 yards and 1 carry for a 1-yard TD) also pitched in for the Steelers in this game.  The Steelers rushed for 156 yards on 23 carries (6.8 ypc) and they completed 22 of 40 passes (55%) for 244 yards as they had possession of the ball for 31:06.

The defense was pretty awful for the Steelers yesterday.  CB Ike Taylor had 7 tackles to lead the Steelers, but he was burned to a crisp in coverage repeatedly in this game.  LB Lawrence Timmons (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), safety Ryan Mundy (5 tackles and 2 forced fumbles) and LB LaMarr Woodley (fumble recovery) also pitched in for the Steelers who amazingly had 0 sacks.  The Broncos finished up with 131 yards rushing on 34 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 10 of 21 passes (47.6%) for 316 yards.  The Steelers’ season ends with a gigantic thud!

The Steelers have won 6 of their last seven games and 10 of their last 12 games, so they are coming into the playoffs hot.  The Broncos have lost three games in a row by a combined score of 88-40!  These two teams didn’t play in the regular season, so they don’t know each other too well.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Steelers are likely going to try to get back to being a pass first team this weekend against the Broncos.  It won’t be easy though as OLB Von Miller (11.5 sacks), DE Elvis Dumervil (9.5 sacks) and the rest of the Broncos’ D is going to be coming after Ben Roethlisberger all day long.  The O-Line is going to have to hold up, because the Steelers won’t beat the Broncos with Charlie Batch at QB.  Roethlisberger’s injuries have sapped him of his mobility, which has caused him to be ineffective lately.  Big Ben is still going to try to get the ball down the field to WRs Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace as the Broncos gave up 231.5 yards passing per game this year.  TE Heath Miller might have a big role in this game if he O-Line can’t keep Dumervil and Miller away from Big Ben.  The Steelers will likely turn to the running game if they get a nice lead in this game with Isaac Redman getting a full workload.

When the Broncos have the ball:  One thing about Tim Tebow…..he played big in big games in college.  Still, it’s not going to be Tebow’s arm that beats the Steelers this weekend.  He will likely take off running the ball as many times as he drops back to pass.  Tebow and Willis McGahee are the motors behind a Broncos’ running game that averaged 164.5 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry this year.  The Steelers gave up only 99.8 yards rushing per game this year, but they gave up 4.0 yards per carry in this game.  The Broncos are notorious for cut blocking so the Steelers’ D-line and LBs will have to protect their knees in this game.  If the Broncos are effective running the ball, it will set up Tebow for some shots down the field to his favorite WR Demaryius Thomas.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 16, BRONCOS 13

The Steelers never led in this game as they kept making huge mistakes on offense while their defense couldn’t stop the Packers offense!  Ben Roethlisberger had another sub par Super Bowl making that 2 out of 3 for him in his career.  He completed 25 of 40 passes for 263 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs (one of his INTs was returned 37 yards for a TD by Packers’ safety Nick Collins).  He also carried the ball 4 times for 31 yards (7.8 ypc) tonight.  Rashard Mendenhall led the way on the ground for the Steelers in this game with 63 yards rushing on 14 carries (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also lost a key fumble in the second half which the Packers wound up eventually scoring on.  Isaac Redman (2 carries for 19 yards) and Mewelde Moore (3 carries for 13 yards) also helped out for the Steelers on the ground tonight.  WRs Mike Wallace (9 rec, 89 yards, TD) and Hines Ward (7 rec, 78 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Steelers tonight.  The Steelers finished up with 126 yards rushing on 23 carries (5.5 ypc) and they completed 25 of 40 passes for 261 yards.

Safety Ryan Clark (8 tackles) and CBs Ike Taylor (5 tackles) & Bryant McFadden (4 tackles) led a very, very poor effort by the Steelers’ defense.  They couldn’t get to Aaron Rodgers who carved up their secondary.  The Packers finished up with 50 yards rushing on 13 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 39 passes for 288 yards!  The Steelers’ season ended with a thud in Dallas as they were beaten by a better team.

29-year old strong safety Troy Polamalu has been named the A.P. NFL Defensive Player of the Year.  He played in 14 games for the Steelers this year and he had 63 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 11 passes defensed, 7 interceptions (101 return yards, TD), 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.  The Steelers need him to step up in the Super Bowl though as he hasn’t done much in the playoffs so far as he has 7 tackles in 2 games.   Polamalu has now played in 107 games in his 8 years with the Steelers and he has 516 tackles, 81 passes defensed, 8 sacks, 8 forced fumbles and 27 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  Polamalu is likely on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he retires.

21-year old rookie center Maurkice Pouncey has a fracture in his ankle and he’s not likely to play in the Super Bowl.  This could really hurt the Steelers this weekend.  Pouncey made it to the Pro Bowl as a rookie as he started all 16 games for the Steelers and the first two playoff games.  Replacing Pouncey will be 24-year old Doug Legursky.  Legursky played in 16 games (4 starts) for the Steelers this year.  He has played in 24 games (4 starts) in his first two years in the NFL.  The Steelers need Legursky to step up because he’s going to be lined up against the mammoth 6’2″, 337 pound B.J. Raji who is one of the best NTs in the NFL.  If Raji is getting into the backfield a lot in this game, the Steelers are in deep trouble.  They need Legursky to step up this Sunday.

32-year old outside linebacker James Harrison is going to be a HUGE key for the Steelers’ D this weekend in Dallas.  The Steelers can’t win this game unless they are getting good pressure on Aaron Rodgers and Harrison is the key to that.  He has 14 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 3 sacks and 1 pass defensed in his first two playoff games.  With the Packers likely to spread out with a lot of 4 WR sets, it’s imperative that the Steelers get to Rodgers fast because if he has time to throw the ball, he’s going to have success.  James Harrison finished third in the voting for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award behind Troy Polamalu and Clay Matthews.  Harrison played in 16 games for the Steelers during the regular season and he had 100 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 10.5 sacks, 5 passes defensed, 2 interceptions, 6 forced  fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.  If Harrison didn’t get fined so much I think he would have been the Defensive Player of the Year, in my opinion.

Terry Bradshaw was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989.  Football was a little different when Bradshaw was playing as most teams tried to run the ball and throw bombs.  He played in 168 games (158 starts) in his 14 years with the Steelers and he completed 2,025 of 3,901 passes (51.9%) for 27,989 yards with 212 TD passes and 210 INTs (70.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 444 times for 2,257 yards (5.1 ypc) with 32 TD runs for the Steelers.  Judging by today’s standards those are some piss poor numbers.  But, Bradshaw was a big game player as he led the Steelers to 4 Super Bowl Wins and they were 14-5 (73.7%) in post season games that he started.  In Bradshaw’s four Super Bowls, he completed 49 of 84 passes (58.3%) for 932 yards with 9 TD passes and 4 INTs.  He also carried the ball 14 times for 53 yards (3.8 ypc) in the Super Bowls.  Bradshaw was the MVP of both Super Bowl XIV and XIII. 

Ben Roethlisberger has played in 99 games (98 starts) in his first 7 years with the Steelers and he has completed 1,766 of 2,800 passes (63.1%) for 22,502 yards with 144 TD passes and 86 INTs (92.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 261 times for 874 yards (3.3 ypc) with 14 TD grabs in his career.  The Steelers are 10-2 (83.3%) in post season games started by Roethlisberger which is pretty darn impressive.  But, despite being 2-0 in the Super Bowl, he has not played a dominant game.  Roethlisberger has completed 30 of 51 passes (58.8%) for 379 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 INTs in the Super Bowl.  He has also carried the ball 11 times for 27 yards (2.5 ypc) with 1 TD run in the Super Bowl. 

VERDICT:  Despite the fact that Roethlisberger is often a bonehead off the field, I think he’s the better QB.  I am old enough to have seen them both play and I think Big Ben is just better.  He will need a good game this weekend though to really step out of the shadow of  Terry Bradshaw who is an icon in Pittsburgh.

If the Steelers are going to win the Super Bowl this weekend, they are going to need their starting WRs to step up.  Hines Ward (5 rec, 39 yards, TD) and Mike Wallace (4 rec, 26 yards) have been almost invisible in the Steelers’ first two playoffs games.  The Steelers need them to step up.  Lucky for the Steelers, rookies Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders have stepped up.  Brown made the game sealing catches in both of the Steelers’ wins in the playoffs so far.  He has caught 4 passes for 89 yards (22.3 avg) so far this post season and he could be the secret weapon for the Steelers in this game.  Emmanuel Sanders has also played pretty well for the Steelers in the playoffs as he has caught 5 passes for 74 yards (14.8 avg).  The Packers have an outstanding set of CBs (Charles Woodson, Tramon Williams and Sam Shields) so Hines Ward and Mike Wallace could be in for another long day this Sunday in Dallas.

The Steelers rushed out to a 24-0 lead in the first half before having to hold on for dear life to win this game!  Ben Roethlisberger was pathetic last night as he completed 10 of 19 passes for 133 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 11 times for 21 yards (1.9 ypc) with a TD run.  Rashard Mendenhall’s running is the big reason for the Steelers win yesterday.  He carried the ball 27 times for 121 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 2 passes for 32 yards.  Isaac Redman pitched in with 27 yards rushing on 4 carries (6.8 ypc) last night.  TE Heath Miller (2 rec, 38 yards) led the way for the Steelers in the passing game.  For the second week in a row, rookie WR Antonio Brown caught the game winning pass.  He only caught 1 pass for 14 yards in this game but it was the biggest one.  The Steelers finished up with 166 yards rushing on 43 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 10 of 19 passes for 121 yards as they had possession of the football for 34:41.

The Steelers’ D was outstanding in the first half and pretty awful in the second half of this game.  LBs Lawrence Timmons (10 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and James Farrior (8 tackles) led the way for the Steelers’ D in this game.  CBs Ike Taylor and William Gay combined for the biggest play on the D yesterday.  Taylor sacked Mark Sanchez which forced a fumble that William Gay picked up and returned 19 yards for a TD to put the Steelers up 24-0 at the time.  The Jets finished up with 70 yards rushing on 22 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 33 passes for 219 yards. 

The Steelers will meet the Green Bay Packers in Dallas in two weeks in the Super Bowl!

This is going to be a good ole fashioned slobber knocker on Heinz Field tomorrow.  The Steelers are going to have to jump on the Jets quick in this game because they have confidence going into tomorrow.  They already beat the Steelers on Heinz Field (22-17) just five weeks ago.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Steelers will likely try to be more balanced on offense than usual.  That means that Rashard Mendenhall is going to have to attack the front seven of the Jets.  That will be easier said than down as Jets’ ILBs  Bart Scott & David Harris are two of the best in the league.  The Steelers’ O-Line is going to have to keep Ben Roethlisberger clean so that he can make good decisions.  Because, if Roethlisberger is rushed…..he’s going to make some big mistakes as there is little room for error against the outstanding secondary of the Jets.  Don’t be surprised if Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders and Heath Miller are the Steelers’ top receivers tomorrow as Mike Wallace and Hines Ward are going to have to deal with Darrelle Revis & Antonio Cromartie all night long.

When the Jets have the ball:  The Steelers are going to have to stop LaDainian Tomlinson & Shonn Greene’s running better than they did in the first matchup just five weeks ago.  If the Jets have success running the ball it’s going to make things much easier for Mark Sanchez.  LaMarr Woodley & James Harrison can rush Sanchez into mistakes if the Jets’ O-Line can’t keep them out of the backfield.  But, if Sanchez has time to throw the ball he’s going to make plays down the field against the overrated corners of the Steelers.

PREDICTION:  JETS 17, STEELERS 16