Green Bay Packers, 21 Chicago Bears, 14
QB Aaron Rodgers was hot to start and put up a beautiful 14 points early. However those veteran Monsters of the Midway, they buckled down. The Bears matched those 14 but ultimately fell pray to two interceptions by Hanie. In the 2nd half, Rodgers was finally stifled long enough to let the spotlight shine on D-Co Dom Capers' excellent 3-4 D, riding it to the Super Bowl.
In one of the strangest injury situations of NFCC history, QB Jay Cutler left with a knee injury in the second half of the most important game of his career. It's unclear on what play he was hurt but it was sometime in the 2nd quarter. He stood on the sidelines with a miserable look on his face. The cameras panned to him dozens of times, at no point was he assisting the backup Bears QBs who had been thrown to the sharks.
Baffled as TV viewers about Cutler's status, LB Lance Briggs, CB Charles Tillman and the Bears defense were dominating the game. 6/7 Packer drives ended in punts, the only time Rodgers was able to move the ball, a 77-yard drive to the Bears' 6, he was intercepted by King Bear LB Brian Urlacher. Meanwhile, Bears 2nd string QB Todd Collins came in for two series, was 0/4 and intercepted. So the Bears turned to 3rd string QB Caleb Hanie. The game was still very much within Chicago's grasp.
KEY PLAY: QB Caleb Hanie was poised to play the role of the improbable hero before he threw a 3rd down pass right to DT B.J Raji (usurping the improbable hero title) who bumbled it back for an 18 yard TD. As great as the Bears' D was playing, and with the Bears offense waking up, Hanie not seeing a DT dropping into coverage was the true undoing.
MVP: WR Greg Jennings had 8 receptions for 130 yards. Much of it was on the first drive of the game. Jennings quick, efficient 20 yard gains had to be disconcerting for a Chicago fan. Though Jennings was quiet for the 2nd half, the damage was done. In a powerhouse slugfest, Jennings sliced directly into the Bears' worst fears.
Pittsburgh Steelers, 24 New York Jets, 19
The self-anointed 2010 Super Bowl Champion Jets are no more. QB Mark Sanchez again padded his stats with some nice numbers but overall missed many, many makeable throws. The Jets D looked sluggish to the ball in the first half as Pittsburgh piled up 17, then added a defensive TD within 2 minutes. QB Ben Rothlisberger was hobbled but somehow managed to limp for first downs and a TD. It was a stark contrast to Jay Cutler's strange situation in the early game.
In the 2nd half, the Steelers appeared content to just hang on. The Jets managed a few big plays, WR Santonio Holmes ad-libbed a deep bomb for TD, and Rothlisberger fumbled a snap on his own 1 yard line for a safety. the Jets added a touchdown drive and suddenly they were within 5. Alas, the wear and tear of Manning and Brady finally caught up to the Jets' D, They simply rolled over in the final four minutes. Rothlisberger and RB Rashard Mendenhall waltzed down the field, squeezed the remaining time out of the clock, and moved on to the Super Bowl.
KEY PLAY: 4th and 1, the Jets brought in RB LaDanian Tomlinson from the Chargers specifically for this purpose. The Steelers D line just won the battle. Things crunched up quickly as the Hall-Of-Famer shifted away from his stuffed fullback to a slight hole to the left. He was quickly enveloped by the Steelers LBs, free to roam after such push. Despite the safety one play later, the lack of a TD to cap off the 7 minute drive proved to be disheartening.
MVP: RB Rashard Mendenhall took the ball for the Steelers 27 times for 121 yards. He fought tooth and nail for the game's first TD, and had a back-breaking 35 yard sprint in the first half. Impressive as his 100 first half yards were, more impressive was his hard running in the final minutes. The Jets had no answer, they were gassed and stacked the box for him. Rothlisberger made them pay with two game-clinching first downs over the top.
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