Jets hope to tackle Steelers and play in 1st Super Bowl since 1969

The New York Jets are gearing up to play the second biggest game in franchise history… again.  After dispatching Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts and Tom Brady’s New England Patriots from the NFL playoffs in back-to-back weeks, Gang Green looks to add Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers to their postseason hit list.

Sunday marks the fourth time the Jets will play in the AFC Championship Game since winning Super Bowl III back in 1969. Each time they’ve had golden opportunities to claim victory and return to the big dance, unfortunately the team has consistently come up short. 

• 1982 – Quarterback Richard Todd threw five interceptions en route to a 14-0 loss to the Miami Dolphins. New York’s offense was held to 139 total yards in a game that was scoreless heading into the second half.

• 1999 – Terrell Davis and the Denver Broncos erased a 10-0 deficit and scored 23 unanswered points to finish off the Bill Parcells-led Jets. Once again, turnovers cost the team big time (two interceptions and four lost fumbles). 

• 2010 – The Jets held a 17-6 lead over Peyton Manning’s Colts with under two minutes remaining in the first half. The four-time NFL MVP proceeded to drive up and down the field for the remainder of the game and helped his team score 24 unanswered points.

No one knows for sure what this year’s game will bring, but the key figures to be how the Jets handle two-time Super Bowl champion Ben Roethlisberger. Two weeks ago, Rex Ryan opted to take a passive approach against Manning and drop players back into coverage in an attempt to clog the passing lanes. It worked. Ryan changed his game plan last week and dialed up confusing blitz packages to put pressure on Brady and his offensive line. It worked. Will it be one or the other on Sunday? A combination of both? Only time will tell.

A big topic of debate this week has been which Pittsburgh wide receiver(s) will see Darrelle Revis? Will the NFL’s top cornerback shadow one player, or see a combination of the Steelers two biggest targets (Mike Wallace and Hines Ward)? Ward was the unlucky beneficiary of matching up against Revis in the Jets 22-17 victory in week 15, catching only 2 balls for 34 yards. Wallace, on the other hand, drew Antonio Cromartie and reeled in 7 catches for 102 yards.

The Jets beat writer for the Daily News, Manish Mehta, reported that Ward would once again find himself on Revis Island while Cromartie will have a chance for redemption against Wallace. The matchups make sense, as Wallace is a true deep threat and Cromartie is more adept of getting beaten in short routes as opposed to plays downfield.

The underlying key to the game is how the secondary will handle Pittsburgh’s two rookie receivers, Emmanuel Sanders (7 catches for 78 yards in week 15) and Antonio Brown (3 catches for 75 yards last week against Baltimore). Dwight Lowery and Drew Coleman may be called upon early and often to neutralize the talented youngsters in three and four wide receiver sets.

Regardless of matchups and game plans, the most important thing remains the same: hold onto the football for as long as possible. Oh, and not to repeat the mistakes of AFC Championship Games past by limiting turnovers at all costs.