A look back at the championship games as the Packers and Steelers punched their Super Bowl tickets.
Packers 21, Bears 14
Great football teams find a way to win. Sometimes the offence leads the way, other times it is the defence. On Sunday at Soldier Field, the Packers defence led the way as Green Bay beat their division rivals in the NFC Championship game.
What makes the Packers' victory even more impressive is the amount of injuries they were forced to overcome throughout the season to even get to the Super Bowl. The Packers placed 15 players on injured reserve this year and no-names like James Starks and Sam Shields came out of nowhere to play a vital role in the team's success. Plus any team that has a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers will always have a chance to win.
Star of the game
Aaron Rodgers was solid early on but he did not have a great game by his standards. Greg Jennings had a big day with eight catches for 130 yards. Since the defence led the way for the Packers it is only fitting we pick a defensive player for this award, rookie cornerback Sam Shields. An undrafted free agent out of the University of Miami, Shields ended up with two interceptions, a sack, he knocked down two passes and added four tackles. Shields is the first rookie ever to have two interceptions and a sack in a playoff game. The Packers scouting staff deserve a raise for finding this kid.
Stiff of the game
Already a lighting rod for talk show debate and fan unrest in Chicago, Jay Cutler created a firestorm of controversy when he left the game with a knee injury. Looking at him on the sidelines, Cutler did not appear to be all that seriously injured. This created an avalanche of criticism from current and retired players as to whether or not Cutler should still be in the game. The perception from a lot of fans, media and other players is that Cutler tapped out. Now until a detailed MRI is undertaken and we discover the true extent of his injury, Cutler deserves a little slack. But the optics of what happened did further damage to Cutler's already tarnished reputation. I e-mailed a current NFL player after the game about Cutler's injury and he said that in a championship game, if you can walk, you can play.
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Unsung hero
The mother of all unsung heroes was the Bears third string quarterback Caleb Hanie. Forced into duty because of Cutler's injury and Todd Collins's ineffectiveness, Hanie darn near pulled off a miracle comeback. Facing the best defence in the NFC, Hanie went 13 of 20 for 153 yards and threw a touchdown to Earl Bennett. Before Sunday, Hanie had attempted a grand total of 14 passes in his three-year NFL career. The only problem for the Bears is that Hanie also threw two interceptions. But since he was a third stringer and thrown into the fire in a near impossible situation, he is still deserving of the unsung hero award. The bottom line is that Hanie led the Bears on two touchdown drives to give his team a chance to win in the biggest game of the year.
The play of the game
Hanie's first interception ended up being the play of the game. With just over six minutes to play in the fourth quarter the Bears were in a third and five at their own 15-yard line. This is where Hanie's inexperience hurt him. Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers had called a zone blitz. Instead of rushing the quarterback, 338-pound nose tackle B.J. Raji had dropped back into coverage and Hanie never saw him. The ball hit Raji in the numbers and the big man danced and pranced his way into the end zone then did his own version of the Aaron Rodgers championship belt touchdown celebration. Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said it wasn't a shock to him to see Raji make a play like that. "He is a special athlete. He has a unique body type, and the quickness that he has. His instincts too. That was a huge play of the game for us, and could definitely be classified as a game-winner."
What we learned
We learned that the Packers won three road games and beat Michael Vick, Matt Ryan and Jay Cutler to advance to the Super Bowl. We learned that when Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offence were not having their best day, their defence is more than capable of picking up the slack. We learned that Rodgers can tackle after taking down Brian Urlacher with a touchdown-saving open field hit after he threw a pick. We learned the Packers are the 10th different NFC champion in the last 10 years. We also learned that Cutler is a lot less popular in Chicago now than he was before the start of the game.
Steelers 24, Jets 19
There's a good reason why there are so many Steelers fans all across North America -- all they do is win big games. With their victory over the Jets the Steelers organization is going to their eighth Super Bowl since 1974. This is the same Steelers team that managed to go 3-1 while Ben Roethlisberger was serving a four-game suspension. This is the same Steelers team that lost both of its starting offensive tackles, Max Starks and Willie Colon, to season-ending injuries. Yet the Steelers somehow manage to find a way to get the job done. Even more impressive is the job that was done this year by the Steelers 38-year-old head coach Mike Tomlin. Tomlin kept this team together and never let them stop believing they could overcome all of their obstacles and get to the Super Bowl for the second time in three years. When you hear Tomlin's humble words after the game, you can clearly see why the Rooney family hired the man. "Thirty-two teams that start this journey and there's only two left and we're fortunate enough to be one of them. It's awesome."
Star of the game
Running back Rashard Mendenhall had an outstanding game as the Steelers shredded the Jets defence. Mendenhall ran 27 times for 121 time-consuming yards and one touchdown. He also added another 32 yards receiving on two catches. Mendenhall's success running the football helped set the tone for the Steelers on their first-quarter scoring drive that took a remarkable 9:06 off the clock. Thanks to Mendenhall, it was the Steelers who had the ground and pound on Sunday, not the Jets. In the first half, Mendenhall ran for 95 yards; the Jets had five carries for a total of one yard.
Stiff of the game
The entire New York Jets team played like stiffs in the first half. A combination of bad tackling, a complete lack of a running game and a costly turnover in the first half put the Jets in a hole that was ultimately impossible to get out of. The Jets are a good team, but a 24-3 deficit on the road against a team like the Steelers is next to impossible to overcome. Then when the Jets were trying to mount a huge comeback, their defence let them down. The Steelers were in a third and six at the Jets 40-yard line with exactly two minutes left to play. If the Jets defence holds, they would get the ball back and at least have a shot. Instead Big Ben scrambled to his right and was able to hit rookie Antonio Brown with a huge 14-yard pass for the first down. From there, the Steelers were able to run out the clock and Rex Ryan was left to pile-drive his headset to the sideline.
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Unsung hero
The entire Steelers offensive line deserves this award. Already riddled with injuries, the Steelers lost their starting centre Maurkice Pouncey early in the game with a serious ankle injury. Despite all of this, the Steelers were still able to control the line of scrimmage and run the ball at will against a very tough Jets defence. Not one member of the Steelers offensive line was voted to the Pro Bowl. Despite that and despite all of their injuries, offensive line coach Sean Kugler has held them together and molded them into a tight and effective unit.
The play of the game
Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau is 73 years old, yet the much younger players that he coaches idolize the man. LeBeau is the genius behind the zone blitz defence that has played a major role in the Steelers success. LeBeau and his blitz packages helped seal the victory in the second quarter. Cornerback Ike Taylor came in on a blitz and knocked the ball loose as he pounded Sanchez with a bone-rattling sack. The loose ball was picked up by a player nearly a third the age of LeBeau, defensive back William Gay, and he ran it back for a 19-yard touchdown. That would prove to be the last points the Steelers would score in the game and that play held up as the game-winning touchdown.
What we learned
We learned that Mike Tomlin is a far better head coach than he is given credit for. He doesn't create headlines with bold pronouncements like Rex Ryan. All Tomlin does is win big games as the Steelers are off to the Super Bowl for the second time in the last three years. The Steelers have hired three head coaches since 1969, Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Tomlin. I think it is safe to say that Tomlin will be a member of the Steelers family for a long time. We learned that the Jets didn't live up to their preseason promise of winning the Super Bowl. In his post-game media conference, an emotional Rex Ryan laid down the gauntlet for next year. "Our goal for next year -- I got news for you -- it won't change and it will never change. We're going to chase that Super Bowl and we're going to chase it until we get it"
Up next it is Super Bowl XLV in North Texas. This will be the third time I have covered the Steelers in a Super Bowl and the first time I have covered the Packers in the big game. I can tell you from experience that Steelers fans travel as well as any sports fans on the planet. I am quite certain Packers fans are just as fanatical.
