2010–11 NFL playoffs
Encyclopedia
The National Football League playoffs for the 2010 season
began on January 8, 2011 and led up to Super Bowl XLV
on February 6, 2011 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas
.
This was the first time that the new postseason overtime rules were in effect, although none of the playoff games this season ended up going into the extra session. Under the new changes, instead of a straight sudden death, the game will not immediately end if the team that wins the coin toss only scores a field goal on its first possession (the game will end if they score a touchdown). Instead, the other team gets a possession. If the coin toss loser then scores a touchdown, it is declared the winner. If the score is tied after both teams had a possession, then it goes back to sudden death.
Unless otherwise noted, all times listed are Eastern Standard Time
(UTC-05)
finished 7–9 (for a win percentage of .438), but this was still enough to win the NFC West
division championship, and the Seahawks advanced to the playoffs. The only other time any team with a losing record ever qualified for the playoffs was during the Super Bowl tournament following the strike-shortened 1982 NFL season
, when two losing teams (one from each conference) qualified for the tournament. That tournament had an expanded field in which 16 out of the 28 teams qualified for the playoffs, as opposed to the 12 out of 32 teams eligible since 2002. Furthermore, the two teams that qualified that year both had records of 4–5 (.444), resulting in a higher win percentage than the 2010 Seahawks. Six days after winning the division, the Seahawks defeated the New Orleans Saints
to become the first playoff team with a losing record to win in the postseason.
late in the fourth quarter. This marked the fifth consecutive year a Super Bowl champion failed to win a playoff game in the next season.
Two early Seahawk miscues enabled the Saints to build a 10-point lead. First Olindo Mare
kicked the opening kickoff out of bounds, giving New Orleans the ball at their 40-yard line. New Orleans then drove to the Seahawks' 8-yard line, but had to settle for a Garrett Hartley
field goal after Reggie Bush
dropped a pass on third down that could have kept the drive going. Then three plays into the Seahawks' drive, Matt Hasselbeck
's pass went through the hands of receiver Benjamin Obomanu and into the arms of defensive back Jabari Greer
, who returned the interception 10 yards to the Seattle 35. New Orleans subsequently drove 35 yards in nine plays, aided by a third down pass interference penalty on Walter Thurmond
in the end zone, and scored with Drew Brees
' 1-yard touchdown pass to fullback Heath Evans
, giving them a 10–0 lead.
Seattle fullback Michael Robinson returned Hartley's short kickoff 18 yards to the 43-yard line, and the Seahawks struck back with a 57-yard drive that ended with Hasslebeck's 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end John Carlson. The Saints countered as Brees completed 4 of 5 passes for 53 yards on an 83-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard touchdown run by Julius Jones
, who had been cut by Seattle early in the season. But Hasselbeck led the Seahwaks right back on a 70-yard scoring drive, featuring a 39-yard reception by tight end Cameron Morrah
. On the next play, Hasslebeck threw his second touchdown pass to Carlson, cutting the score to 17–14. After an exchange of punts, Jones lost a fumble while being tackled by Raheem Brock
that Seattle linebacker David Hawthorne
recovered on the Saints' 18-yard line, setting up a 29-yard field goal by Mare to tie the game.
With 1:15 left in the second quarter, Hasslebeck launched a 45-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley
, giving Seattle their first lead of the game at 24–17. But a 40-yard reception by Devery Henderson
helped the Saints drive to the Seattle 3-yard line where Hartley made his second field goal to cut the score to 24–20 as time expired in the half. This was only the second playoff game in which both teams scored at least 20 points in the first two quarters.
The Seahawks increased their lead to 31–20 on their opening drive of the second half, as Hasslebeck threw an 18-yard completion to Obomanu and finished the drive with a 38-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams. Then after forcing a punt, Mare kicked a 39-yard field goal to make the score 34–20 with 9:54 left in the quarter. The Seahawks got a chance to build a three-score lead after stopping Jones for no gain on fourth down and 1 on the Saints' 37-yard line, but they could only gain a few yards with their next drive, and a delay of game penalty on fourth down pushed them out of field goal range.
New Orleans got the ball back at their 13-yard line following Jon Ryan
's punt, and mounted an 83-yard drive that ended with Jones' second touchdown run of the game, making the score 34–27 with 13:11 left in regulation. Then they forced a three-and-out and got the ball back with good field position on their 44-yard line with Lance Moore
's 8-yard punt return. On the second play of their ensuing drive, Brees threw a short pass to Jones, who took it 33 yards to the Seattle 23. But several plays later, Seattle's defense halted the drive at the 3-yard line, where the Saints settled for Hartley's third field goal to cut the score to 34–30.
After an exchange of punts, Seattle got the ball with 4:20 left in the game. On the first play of the drive, Lynch was stuffed for no gain. But on the next play, he took off for a 67-yard touchdown run in which he broke seven tackles en route to the end zone. The crowd in Seattle was so loud during the run that local seismographs
recorded it as a small earthquake. With 1:52 left, Brees struck back with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Henderson, but the 2-point conversion failed, keeping the score at 41–36. Then Carlson sealed the victory by recovering Hartley's onside kick attempt, enabling Seattle to run out the rest of the clock.
Brees finished with 39 of 60 completions for 404 yards and two touchdowns. His 39 completions set a postseason record. Jones, who became the first player ever to score a touchdown in the postseason against a team that had cut him in the regular season, rushed for 59 yards and two touchdowns while also catching 6 passes for 61 yards. Hasselbeck completed 22 of 35 passes for 271 yards and 4 touchdowns with 1 interception. Lynch added 131 rushing yards and a touchdown for Seattle, who had not had a 100-yard rusher in any of their regular season games.
gave his team a fourth quarter lead with less than a minute remaining by making a clutch field goal. But this time it was not enough, as New York managed to avenge their previous season loss to Indianapolis in the AFC title game by winning on a Nick Folk
field goal as time expired in the game.
The first quarter was scoreless as every drive in it by both teams ended with a punt. The game remained scoreless until just over 5 minutes remained in the half, when Colts quarterback Peyton Manning
threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garçon
. New York responded with a long drive to the Colts' 19-yard line, but with less than a minute left, defensive back Justin Tryon
intercepted a pass from Mark Sanchez
in the end zone to keep them scoreless going into halftime.
New York managed to tie the game on their opening drive, starting with Antonio Cromartie
's 41-yard kickoff return to the 37-yard line. The Jets subsequently drove 63 yards in 10 plays, featuring a 20-yard reception by tight end Dustin Keller
, on the way to a 1-yard touchdown run by LaDainian Tomlinson
. Indianapolis countered with a 9-play drive to the New York 29-yard line, with Manning completing a 23-yard pass to Blair White
and Joseph Addai
rushing for 14 yards. Vinatieri finished the drive with a 47-yard field goal to give them a 3-point lead. But the Jets responded with a 17-play, 87-yard drive that consumed almost 10 minutes and featured three third down conversions. Tomlinson capped off the drive with his second 1-yard touchdown run to make the score 14–10.
With 5:22 left in the game, Vinatieri's 32-yard field goal cut the Colts' deficit to one point. Indianapolis' defense subsequently forced a punt after three plays, but a running into the punter penalty against them kept the drive going, allowing New York to take more time off the clock and forcing the Colts to use two timeouts. Indianapolis got the ball back with 2:36 left in the game, and retook the lead with a 48-yard drive as Manning completed two passes to tight end Jacob Tamme
for gains of 15 and 11 yards, along with a 12-yard completion to White. At the end of the drive, Vinatieri made a 50-yard field goal to give the Colts a 2-point lead with 53 seconds left in regulation.
However the Jets stormed back to drive for the winning score, as Cromartie returned the ensuing kickoff 47 yards to the 46-yard line. After that, Sanchez completed passes to Braylon Edwards
and Santonio Holmes
for gains of 9 and 11 yards. Then after a 2-yard run by Tomlinson, he completed an 18-yard pass to Edwards, who made a leaping catch near the sidelines and managed to keep both feet in bounds at the Colts' 14-yard line with 29 seconds left on the clock. After letting the clock run down to three seconds, New York called their final timeout and sent Folk out to kick a 32-yard field goal, which sailed through the uprights as time expired to win the game for the Jets.
Manning finished 18 of 26 for 221 yards and a touchdown. His top target was Garçon, who caught five passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. Reggie Wayne
, the Colts' leading receiver in the regular season, was completely shut down while being covered by Darrelle Revis
, held to just one reception for one yard. Tomlinson rushed for 82 yards and two touchdowns while also catching 4 passes for 17 yards, while running back Shonn Greene
added another 70 yards on the ground.
Baltimore took the opening kickoff and drove 64 yards to a first down at the Chiefs 1-yard line, with Joe Flacco
completing a 27-yard pass to Anquan Boldin
and three passes to tight end Todd Heap
for 32 yards. But they were stuffed twice for no gain and then Flacco's incomplete pass forced them to settle for a field goal from Billy Cundiff
. The Ravens quickly forced a punt, but several plays into their next drive Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali
sacked Flacco and forced a fumble, which he recovered on the Baltimore 46. Following a 5-yard scramble by Matt Cassel
, Jamaal Charles
' 41-yard touchdown romp gave his team a 7–3 lead. It was the longest touchdown run ever allowed by the Ravens in the postseason. Later in the second quarter, the Ravens retook the lead with an 80-yard scoring drive. Ray Rice
finished it with a 9-yard touchdown catch to give the Ravens a 10–7 lead with 19 seconds left before halftime.
In the second half, Baltimore completely took over the game, adding 20 more unanswered points and holding Charles, who rushed for over 80 yards in the first half, to negative yardage in the last two quarters. Kansas City gained just 25 total yards in the entire half.
On the fourth play of the opening second half drive, Cassel threw an interception to safety Haruki Nakamura
. Kansas City managed to get the ball back when Charles forced and recovered a fumble from Nakamura during the return, but their second attempt at a drive fared no better and ended with a turnover on downs at the Ravens 38-yard line. Baltimore then drove to the Kansas City 11-yard line where Cundiff made his second field goal of the game. Then Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis
forced a fumble while tackling Dexter McCluster
that cornerback Chris Carr recovered on the Chiefs 17-yard line, setting up Cundiff's third field goal to increase their lead to 16–7. Just two plays into their next drive, Kansas City lost another turnover when Cassel threw an interception to Dawan Landry
, which led to Flacco's 4-yard touchdown pass to Boldin. Then after a three and out, the Ravens put the game away by mounting a 10 minute scoring drive that ended with Willis McGahee
's 25-yard touchdown burst with 4:26 left in the game, making the final score 30–7
Flacco finished with 25 of 34 completions for 265 yards and two touchdowns. He became the first Raven ever to throw multiple touchdown passes in a playoff game. Heap had a career high 10 receptions for 106 yards, setting the franchise record for receptions in a postseason game. Linebacker Terrell Suggs
led the Ravens defense with four tackles and two sacks. Cassel was held to just 9 of 18 completions for 70 yards with 3 interceptions, and Dwayne Bowe
, the team's top receiver with 1,162 yards and an NFL-leading 15 touchdown catches during the season, did not have any receptions in the game.
' interception in the end zone sealed the Packers victory with 33 seconds left in the game. Green Bay never trailed during the entire game, and got big performances from Aaron Rodgers
, who threw for 180 yards and three touchdowns, and James Starks
, who rushed for 123 yards, which was more than his entire regular season total.
Philadelphia got an early scoring opportunity when they recovered a muffed punt at the Packers 41-yard line. But their drive was halted at the 23 and ended with no points when David Akers
missed a 41-yard field goal attempt. Later on, the Packers drive 68 yards in 10 plays, featuring a 27-yard run by Starks. With 8 seconds left in the quarter, Rodgers threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to reserve tight end Tom Crabtree
. In the second quarter, Williams' 8-yard punt return gave his team the ball at their 43-yard line, and they drove for another touchdown, scoring with Rodgers' 9-yard pass to James Jones
. Getting the ball back with just over 5 minutes left, Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick
completed a 44-yard pass to Jeremy Maclin
and rushed for 14 yards to set up a 29-yard field goal by Akers with 1:15 left in the half, making the score 14–3.
The Eagles scored quickly in the second half, taking advantage of Darryl Tapp
's fumble recovery while sacking Rogers on the Packers 24-yard line. One play later, Vick cut the score to 14–10 with a touchdown pass to Jason Avant
. But Rodgers led his team back, completing two passes to Donald Driver
for 26 yards and a 16-yarder to fullback John Kuhn
before finishing the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Jackson. Near the end of the quarter, the Eagles mounted a drive to the Packers 16-yard line, but came up empty when Akers missed another field goal, this one from 34 yards.
With 8:50 left in the game, Vick completed 5 of 8 passes for 68 yards on a 75-yard touchdown drive, scoring on a fourth down 1-yard run. On a two point conversion attempt, Vick completed a pass to tight end Brent Celek
, but it was negated by a penalty against him for putting a foot out of bounds before he came back to catch the ball and their second attempt was incomplete, keeping the score at 21–16. Philadelphia had to use up all their timeouts on the Packers ensuring drive, but got the ball back with 1:45 left in the game. Receptions by DeSean Jackson
and Riley Cooper for gains of 28 and 11 yards moved the ball to the Green Bay 24-yard line. But with 33 seconds left, Williams intercepted a pass intended for Cooper in the end zone to put the game away.
Vick finished with 290 passing yards and a touchdown, with one interception, and added 33 yards and another score on the ground.
's 58-yard completion to Antonio Brown set up Rashard Mendenhall
's game winning 2-yard touchdown run with 1:33 left in the game. Despite the game's high score, it was actually a defensive battle, with both teams combining for just 389 yards and scoring most of their points off turnovers. Roethlisberger was sacked 6 times, and Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco
was sacked 5. Meanwhile, the Ravens were held to just 126 yards and were buried under a mountain of turnovers, penalties, and dropped passes.
After forcing the Ravens to punt on the opening drive, Pittsburgh drove 80 yards on the way to Mendenhall's 1-yard touchdown run, assisted by a 37-yard pass interference penalty on Baltimore defensive back Josh Wilson
. But the Ravens countered with a 68-yard scoring drive, aided by a 33-yard pass interference penalty on Pittsburgh's Anthony Madison
. Ray Rice
finished the drive with a 14-yard touchdown run to tie the game. Then two plays into the Steelers next drive, Roethlisberger was hit by Terrell Suggs
as he pulled his arm back to throw a pass, resulting in a fumble. Nearly all the players on both teams thought it was an incomplete pass since the ball went forward and headed back to their huddles, but Ravens lineman Cory Redding
realized the play was still ongoing and returned the ball 13 yards for a touchdown.
In the second quarter, Ravens safety Ed Reed
recovered a fumble from Mendenhall at the Steelers 16-yard line, setting up Flacco's 4-yard touchdown pass to Todd Heap
that gave them a 21–7 lead. Pittsburgh responded with a drive to the Baltimore 25-yard line, but came up empty when Shaun Suisham
missed a 43-yard field goal attempt with 25 seconds left in the half.
However, the Steelers dominated the third quarter, forcing three turnovers and holding the Ravens to negative yardage. Less than five minutes into the quarter, Rice lost a fumble while being tackled by Ryan Clark
, and linebacker LaMarr Woodley recovered it on the Baltimore 23-yard line. After a 14-yard run by Mendenhall, Roethlisberger threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Heath Miller
. Then after an exchange of punts, Clark intercepted a pass from Flacco and returned it 17 yards to the Ravens 25-yard line. Mendenhall started the drive with a 13-yard run, and Reothlisberger finished it with a 8-yard third down touchdown pass to Hines Ward
, tying the game at 21. Just two plays after the ensuing kickoff, Flacco fumble a snap and Steelers lineman Brett Keisel
recovered it at the Baltimore 23. This time the Steelers were unable to get a touchdown, as Roethlisberger was sacked by Suggs on third down and six after driving inside the 10-yard line, but Suisham kicked a 35-yard field goal to give Pittsburgh their first lead of the game with 12:15 left in regulation.
Later on, Baltimore's Lardarius Webb returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown, only to have it called back by a holding penalty on Marcus Smith
. Still, his return gave them good field position on the Steelers 29-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Flacco completed a 21-yard pass to Heap. But over the next three plays, Baltimore rushers were stuffed twice and then receiver Anquan Boldin
dropped a pass in the end zone, forcing them to settle for Billy Cundiff
's field goal to tie the score with 3:54 remaining in the game.
David Johnson
returned the ensuing kickoff 16 yards to the 35-yard line, and Pittsburgh retook the lead with a 65-yard drive featuring three key third down conversions. After starting out with two incompletions, Roethleberger threw a 12-yard pass to Ward on third down and ten. Then Roethlisberger was sacked for a 9-yard loss by Redding and Paul Kruger
and threw another incompletion, bringing up third down and 19 with 2:07 to go. On the next play, Roethlisberger dropped back and launched a 58-yard bomb to Brown at the 4-yard line. After a defensive holding penalty moved the ball to the 1, the Ravens defense kept Mendenhall out of the end zone for two more plays. But on third down, he scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to give the Steelers a 31–24 lead with 1:33 remaining in regulation.
Le'Ron McClain
returned Suisham's squib kick
12 yards to the Steelers 48-yard line, giving Baltimore a chance to drive the tying touchdown. But their offense was unable to move the ball. After two incompletions and an 8-yard sack by Ziggy Hood, receiver T. J. Houshmandzadeh
dropped a potential first down catch, ending any chance of a comeback.
Roethlisberger completed 19 of 32 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Steelers linebacker James Harrison recorded 5 tackles, two assists, and three sacks. Suggs finished with five tackles, three sacks, and a forced fumble. With this win, Pittsburgh advanced to their fourth AFC championship game since 2004.
was nearly perfect, completing 31 of 36 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns, while adding another score on the ground. Green Bay never punted the ball, and got a big performance from defensive back Tramon Williams
, who picked off two passes from Matt Ryan
and returned one of them 70 yards for a touchdown.
But early in the game, it seemed things would go in Atlanta's favor. After Michael Koenen
's 33-yard punt pinned the Packers back at their own 8-yard line, Rodgers threw a short pass to Greg Jennings
, who took off for a 30-yard gain. But he fumbled the ball after being hit from behind by Stephen Nicholas
and defensive back Brent Grimes
recovered the ball at the Green Bay 48-yard line. On the Falcons ensuing drive, a 22-yard reception by Michael Jenkins and a fourth down conversion run by Ovie Mughelli
set up a 12-yard touchdown run by Michael Turner. Green Bay responded with an 81-yard scoring drive that took nearly 8 minutes. Rodgers completed 7 of 7 passes for 48 yards on the drive, the last one a 6-yard touchdown toss to Jordy Nelson
, who caught the ball near the sidelines and just managed to stretch the ball into the pylon while being shoved out of bounds. However, Atlanta quickly retook the lead when Eric Weems
returned Mason Crosby
's kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown, the longest scoring play in NFL playoff history.
But the Packers suddenly stormed back with 35 unanswered points. Rodgers quickly completed two passes to Jennings for 22 yards and then hit James Jones
for a 34-yard gain to the Falcons 16-yard line. Two plays later, fullback John Kuhn
scored a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game. Atlanta responded with a drive to the Packers 19-yard line. But on the next play, Charles Woodson
sacked Ryan for a 7-yard loss. Then on third down, Williams stepped in front of a pass intended for Jenkins and made a leaping interception in the end zone. Rodgers took over and went back to work, completing 6 consecutive passes on an 80-yard scoring drive that ended with his 20-yard touchdown completion to Jones, giving the Packers a 21–14 lead with 42 seconds left before halftime. Aided by two pass interference penalties against Green Bay, Atlanta drove to the Packers 26-yard line. But once again the defense prevented a score. First linebacker Clay Matthews
sacked Ryan for a 9-yard loss. Rather than attempt a 50-yard field goal, the Falcons tried one last play to move the ball closer. But Williams intercepted Ryan's pass and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown as time expired in the half.
In the second half the Packers picked up right where they left off. Rodgers was sacked by John Abraham for a 10-yard loss on the first play. But it didn't stop Rodgers from completing 5 of 6 passes for 56 yards on an 80-yard scoring drive that ended with his 7-yard touchdown run, making the score 35–14. Atlanta was forced to a three-and-out on their next drive after a Green Bay replay challenge overruled a first down catch by Jenkins, and Koenen's punt went just 21 yards to midfield. Green Bay subsequently drove 50 yards and scored with a Rodgers' 7-yard pass to Kuhn.
This time, the Falcons finally managed to respond. Ryan completed seven consecutive passes on their next drive, the last one a 6-yard touchdown throw to Roddy White
. But Green Bay dominated the rest of the game, forcing two more turnovers that were both converted into field goals by Crosby, making the final score 48–21.
Jennings finished with 8 receptions for 101 yards, while Nelson added 8 receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown. This game gave Rodgers ten touchdown passes in his first three playoff games, setting an NFL postseason record. Matthews had three tackles and two sacks. Weems had six kickoff returns for 195 yards. Turner, who rushed for over 1,300 yards during the season, was held to just 39 yards on 10 carries.
After forcing Seattle to a three-and-out on the opening drive, Chicago scored on their third play of the game when tight end Greg Olsen
ran past safety Lawyer Milloy
, caught a pass from Jay Cutler
, and took it 58 yards to the end zone. Later in the quarter, Bears receiver Devin Hester
returned a punt 26 yards to midfield. Following a 33-yard reception by Olsen and a fourth down conversion run by Cutler, Chester Taylor
scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. After forcing a punt, Chicago got the ball back on their own 37-yard line early in the second quarter. Cutler started the drive with a 22-yard completion to Olsen, and later finished it with a 6-yard touchdown run to give the Bears a 21–0 lead.
In the second half, Chicago increased their lead to 28–0 with Cutler's second touchdown run at the end of a 14-play, 70-yard drive. After being completely dominated up to this point, Seattle managed to mount a comeback. First, Leon Washington
's 62-yard kickoff return set up a 30-yard field goal by Olindo Mare
. Then Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry
intercepted a pass from Bears running back Matt Forte
and returned it 23 yards to the Bears 33-yard line. Aided by a defensive holding penalty on Tim Jennings
that nullified his interception, Seattle cut the score to 28–10 with Matt Hasselbeck
's 2-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams.
But after forcing a punt, Tommie Harris
sacked Hasselbeck on third down at his own 13-yard line, and Jon Ryan
's punt went just 35 yards to the Seattle 48. Two plays later, Cutler threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kellen Davis
, putting Chicago up 35–10.
With less than five minutes remaining in the game, Seattle refused to give up. Hasselbeck completed six consecutive passes on the next drive, the last a 17-yard touchdown strike to Williams. After forcing a punt, Hasslebeck completed a 46-yarder to Benjamin Obomanu and followed it up with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley
, bringing the score to 35–24. But Chicago put the game away by recovering Mare's onside kick with 1:25 left in the game.
Cutler finished his first career playoff game 15 of 28 for 274 yards and 2 touchdowns, with no interceptions. He also rushed for 43 yards and two scores. His 43 rushing yards were the most by a Bears quarterback in the postseason since Sid Luckman
in 1943. He also joined Otto Graham
as one of two players ever to run and throw for multiple touchdowns in a playoff game. Olsen had three receptions for 113 yards, all in the first half. Chicago running back Matt Forté
rushed for 80 yards, caught three passes for 54, and threw one pass which was intercepted. Harris had two sacks, which were his only tackles of the game. Hasselbeck threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns. Stokley had eight catches for 85 yards and a score.
completed 16 of 25 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Jets to victory, avenging a 45–3 loss to New England in December.
On the Patriots first drive, Tom Brady
threw his first interception since Week 6 of the regular season, which linebacker David Harris
picked off and returned 58 yards before tight end Alge Crumpler
made a touchdown-saving tackle at the 12-yard line. But New York could not get any points off the turnover, as they were unable to get a first down and Nick Folk
missed a 30-yard field goal attempt. Several plays into New England's next drive, Brady completed a 28-yard pass to Crumpler at the Jets' 12-yard line. But after a 5-yard run by Danny Woodhead
, Crumpler dropped a pass in the end zone and then Brady was sacked by Shaun Ellis
, forcing them to settle for Shayne Graham
's 34-yard field goal to give them a 3–0 lead.
In the second quarter, a third down sack of Brady by Drew Coleman
forced New England to punt from their own 16, and Jerricho Cotchery
returned the ball to the Patriots 49-yard line. A few plays later, Sanchez' 37-yard completion to Braylon Edwards
set up his 7-yard touchdown pass to LaDainian Tomlinson
. Later on, New England attempted a fake punt with a direct snap to safety Patrick Chung
on fourth down and four. But Chung fumbled the snap and was tackled on his own 25-yard line, and the Jets converted the turnover with Sanchez' 15-yard touchdown pass to Edwards with 33 seconds left in the half, making the score 14–3.
Late in the third quarter, New England drove 80 yards in 11 plays, with Brady completing a 37-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski
and two passes to Deion Branch
for 28 yards on the way to a 2-yard touchdown pass to Crumpler. Then Sammy Morris
scored a 2-point conversion run, cutting their deficit to 14–11. But the Jets quickly countered, with Sanchez throwing a short pass to Cotchery, who took it 58 yards to the Patriots 13-yard line. Two plays later, Sanchez threw a high pass for Santonio Holmes
, who managed to catch the ball and land in the end zone while falling out of bounds, giving New York a 10-point lead two minutes into the fourth quarter.
After the kickoff, New England drove to the Jets 34-yard line with an eight-minute drive, but then faced fourth down and 13. Rather than risk a 52-yard field goal attempt, they attempted to get the first down, but Branch dropped a pass from Brady and the Patriots turned the ball over. New England's defense then made a key defensive stand, forcing a quick three-and-out, and Julian Edelman
returned Steve Weatherford
's punt 41 yards to the New York 43-yard line before being tackled by Weatherford himself. Brady then led New England to the 17-yard line where Graham made his second field goal to cut their deficit to 7 points. However, Jets defensive back Antonio Cromartie
recovered Graham's onside kick attempt and returned it 23 yards to the Patriots 20-yard line. Shonn Greene
then scored with a 16-yard run, making the score 28–14 with 1:41 left in the game.
Brandon Tate
returned the ensuing kickoff 23 yards to the 41-yard line, sparking a 59-yard scoring drive that ended with Brady's 13-yard touchdown pass to Branch with 24 seconds left. But Graham's second attempt at an onside kick also failed, ending any chance of a miracle comeback.
Brady finished the game 29 of 45 for 299 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. His one pick ended his NFL record of consecutive passes without an interception at 340. Cotchery had five receptions for 96 yards; Harris had nine tackles, three assists, and an interception; while Ellis added 5 tackles and two sacks. With this win, the Jets advanced to their second consecutive AFC championship game in Sanchez' first two years as a starter.
was the first game played on January 23 at 3:00 p.m. EST, followed by the AFC Championship Game
at 6:30 p.m. EST.
out of the game and intercepted three passes, one of which was returned for a score, and another which ended a last minute drive for a potential tying touchdown. With this win, the Packers became the first NFC #6 seed to advance the Super Bowl by defeating the top three seeded teams on the road.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers
opened up the game with two completions to Greg Jennings
for gains of 26 and 22 yards. A few plays later, he threw a 22-yard completion to Jordy Nelson
at the Bears 2-yard line, setting up his 1-yard touchdown run give the Packers an early 7–0 lead. Later on, Tim Masthay
32-yard punt pinned Chicago back on their own 2-yard line. The Bears were unable to move the ball, and Tramon Williams
returned Brad Maynard
's punt 6 yards to the 44. Rodgers then completed passes to Brandon Jackson and Nelson for gains of 16 and 15 yards on the way to a 4-yard touchdown run by James Starks
.
With time running out in the half, Rodgers threw a pass that was intercepted by Lance Briggs
and returned to the Chicago 43. But Cutler returned the favor with an interception to Sam Shields
and the score remained 14–0 going into halftime. Cutler was injured on the play and although he returned for a few plays in the third quarter, he ended up having to sit the rest of the second half out.
After forcing Chicago to punt on the opening second half drive, Green Bay drove to the Bears 6-yard line. But linebacker Brian Urlacher
ended the drive by intercepting Rodgers and returning the ball 39 yards before Rodgers made a touchdown saving tackle on the 45. However, Chicago could not take advantage of the turnover and had to punt. Cutler's replacement, Todd Collins, ended up being ineffective, throwing four consecutive incompletions before being benched in favor of Caleb Hanie
with less than a minute left in the third quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, Hanie's 32-yard completion to Johnny Knox
moved the ball to the Packers 1-yard line, setting up a touchdown run by Chester Taylor
that cut the score to 14–7. But three drives later, Hanie threw a short pass over the middle that was intercepted by 338-pound defensive tackle B.J. Raji and returned 18 yards for a touchdown. Hanie responded with four consecutive completions on the Bears next drive and finished it with a 35-yard touchdown throw to Earl Bennett
, making the score 21–14. Then after forcing a punt, Chicago got the ball back with 2:53 remaining in the game and managed to drive to the Packers 29-yard line. But Green Bay's defense managed to hang on for the win, ending the drive with Shields' second interception with 37 seconds left in regulation.
Jennings caught 8 passes for 130 yards. Bears running back Matt Forte
rushed for 70 yards and caught 10 passes for 90. Shields had 4 tackles, 2 interceptions, a sack, and a forced fumble. Urlacher had 9 tackles, a sack, and an interception.
In possibly the NFL’s first player-on-player social media
attack, Cutler was being criticized for not returning within seconds after leaving the game instead of waiting for explanations in postgame media sessions. Bears coach Lovie Smith
later stated that the choice was not Cutler's decision. Smith made the decision to bench Cutler after consulting the medical and training staff. An MRI revealed the following day that he had sprained his MCL
.
Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall
rushed 8 times for 28 yards on their opening drive, which took over 9 minutes off the clock and ended with his 1-yard touchdown run. Then he rushed four times for 22 yards and caught an 18-yard pass on a drive to the Jets 32-yard line. Linebacker Bryan Thomas ended the drive with an interception, but the Steelers forced a punt and drove for another score, aided by Mendenhall's 35-yard burst. Shaun Suisham
finished the drive with a 20-yard field goal to make the score 10–0. Following another punt, Ben Roethlisberger
completed a 24-yard pass to tight end Heath Miller
, a 20-yarder to Emmanuel Sanders
, and a 14-yard throw to Mendenhall on the way to a 2-yard touchdown run. Two plays after the ensuing kickoff, Ike Taylor
sacked Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez
on a defensive back blitz and forced a fumble, which cornerback William Gay
returned 19 yards for a touchdown, increasing their lead to 24–0 with just over a minute left in the half. This time New York managed to respond, with Sanchez completing 4 passes for 39 yards on a drive that ended with a 42-yard field goal by Nick Folk
, cutting the score to 24–3 going into halftime.
New York took the second half kickoff and scored with just five plays. Shonn Greene
started off the drive with a 23-yard run, while Sanchez finished it with a pair of the completions to Santonio Holmes
, the first for 16 yards, and the second a 45-yard touchdown completion. Pittsburgh responded with a drive to the Jets 37-yard line, but turned the ball over when safety Brodney Pool
intercepted a pass from Roethlisberger inside the 10. After an exchange of punts, the Jets converted two fourth downs on a 17-play drive to a first down on the Steelers 2-yard line. But Pittsburgh's defense made a key goal line stand. First Green tried to run up the middle, but was stuffed at the 1-yard line. Then Sanchez threw an incomplete pass and another that was batted down by linebacker LaMarr Woodley. On fourth down, LaDanian Tomlinson tried to run through the middle, but Brett Keisel
and Casey Hampton
tackled him for no gain, turning the ball over.
On the next play, Roethlisberger fumbled a snap and was downed in the end zone for a safety. New York then drove 58 yards following the free kick and scored with Sanchez' 4-yard touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery
, cutting their deficit to 24–19 with 3:06 left in the game. But the Steelers managed to pick up two key first downs on their next drive with a 14-yard reception by Miller and a 14-yard catch by Antonio Brown
on third down and six with less than two minutes left, enabling them to run out the rest of the clock.
Mendenhall rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown, while also catching two passes for 32. Sanchez threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns. Pool had six tackles and an interception.
2010 NFL season
The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League.The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV champions, defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14–9.Tom Brady,...
began on January 8, 2011 and led up to Super Bowl XLV
Super Bowl XLV
Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League champion for the 2010 season. The game was held at Cowboys Stadium in...
on February 6, 2011 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas
Arlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. According to the 2010 census results, the city had a population of 365,438, making it the third largest municipality in the Metroplex...
.
This was the first time that the new postseason overtime rules were in effect, although none of the playoff games this season ended up going into the extra session. Under the new changes, instead of a straight sudden death, the game will not immediately end if the team that wins the coin toss only scores a field goal on its first possession (the game will end if they score a touchdown). Instead, the other team gets a possession. If the coin toss loser then scores a touchdown, it is declared the winner. If the score is tied after both teams had a possession, then it goes back to sudden death.
Unless otherwise noted, all times listed are Eastern Standard Time
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
(UTC-05)
Participants
This marks the first time in league history that a team with a losing record has advanced to the playoffs in a full season; the Seattle Seahawks2010 Seattle Seahawks season
The 2010 Seattle Seahawks season was the 35th season for the team in the National Football League. Jim Mora was fired on January 8, 2010, leading the Seahawks to come to an agreement with Pete Carroll, instating him as head coach the following day. This marks the 9th season that the Seahawks will...
finished 7–9 (for a win percentage of .438), but this was still enough to win the NFC West
NFC West
The NFC West is a division of the National Football League's National Football Conference. It currently has four members: Arizona Cardinals, St...
division championship, and the Seahawks advanced to the playoffs. The only other time any team with a losing record ever qualified for the playoffs was during the Super Bowl tournament following the strike-shortened 1982 NFL season
1982 NFL season
The 1982 NFL season was the 63rd regular season of the National Football League. A 57-day long players' strike reduced the 1982 season from a 16-game schedule per team to an abbreviated nine game schedule...
, when two losing teams (one from each conference) qualified for the tournament. That tournament had an expanded field in which 16 out of the 28 teams qualified for the playoffs, as opposed to the 12 out of 32 teams eligible since 2002. Furthermore, the two teams that qualified that year both had records of 4–5 (.444), resulting in a higher win percentage than the 2010 Seahawks. Six days after winning the division, the Seahawks defeated the New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
to become the first playoff team with a losing record to win in the postseason.
- In the opening wild-card round of the playoffs, three of the four home teams had fewer wins than the away team. The exception was the Packers-Eagles match, where both were 10–6. The Packers had defeated the Eagles in Week 1 of the season.
- Away teams were 6–4 this playoff season for wins.
- This is the first Super Bowl in which the NFC representative is a #6 seed, and only the second time one has made the Super bowl (The previous being in the 2005–06 NFL playoffs). Had the Jets also won their conference Championship game it would have been the first #6 vs #6 seed in Super Bowl history.
NFC: Seattle Seahawks 41, New Orleans Saints 36
The Seahawks made history by becoming the first 7–9 team ever to make the playoffs and then did it again by becoming the first to win a playoff game, racking up 31 first downs and 474 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown run by Marshawn LynchMarshawn Lynch
Marshawn Terrell Lynch is an American football running back for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. In his rookie year, Lynch became the Bills' first 1,000-yard rookie rusher since Greg Bell in 1984...
late in the fourth quarter. This marked the fifth consecutive year a Super Bowl champion failed to win a playoff game in the next season.
Two early Seahawk miscues enabled the Saints to build a 10-point lead. First Olindo Mare
Olindo Mare
Olindo Franco Mare is an American football placekicker for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 1996...
kicked the opening kickoff out of bounds, giving New Orleans the ball at their 40-yard line. New Orleans then drove to the Seahawks' 8-yard line, but had to settle for a Garrett Hartley
Garrett Hartley
Garrett Hartley is an American football placekicker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2008...
field goal after Reggie Bush
Reggie Bush
Reginald Alfred "Reggie" Bush II is an American football running back for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
dropped a pass on third down that could have kept the drive going. Then three plays into the Seahawks' drive, Matt Hasselbeck
Matt Hasselbeck
Matthew Michael Hasselbeck is a National Football League quarterback for the Tennessee Titans. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round of the 1998 NFL Draft, and traded to Seattle in 2001. After becoming the starter in 2003, Hasselbeck led Seattle to six playoff appearances and...
's pass went through the hands of receiver Benjamin Obomanu and into the arms of defensive back Jabari Greer
Jabari Greer
Jabari Amin Greer is an American football cornerback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at Tennessee....
, who returned the interception 10 yards to the Seattle 35. New Orleans subsequently drove 35 yards in nine plays, aided by a third down pass interference penalty on Walter Thurmond
Walter Thurmond
Walter Riley Thurmond III is an American football cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Seahawks in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oregon....
in the end zone, and scored with Drew Brees
Drew Brees
Drew Christopher Brees is a quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue....
' 1-yard touchdown pass to fullback Heath Evans
Heath Evans
Bryan Heath Evans is a former American football fullback. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round of the 2001 NFL Draft...
, giving them a 10–0 lead.
Seattle fullback Michael Robinson returned Hartley's short kickoff 18 yards to the 43-yard line, and the Seahawks struck back with a 57-yard drive that ended with Hasslebeck's 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end John Carlson. The Saints countered as Brees completed 4 of 5 passes for 53 yards on an 83-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard touchdown run by Julius Jones
Julius Jones
Julius Andre Maurice Jones is an American football running back who played college football at the University of Notre Dame and is currently a member of the Free Agent Class of the National Football League. Before signing with the Saints on October 12, 2010, Julius had stints with the Dallas...
, who had been cut by Seattle early in the season. But Hasselbeck led the Seahwaks right back on a 70-yard scoring drive, featuring a 39-yard reception by tight end Cameron Morrah
Cameron Morrah
Cameron Morrah is a tight end for the Seattle Seahawks. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft, by the Seattle Seahawks. He played collegiately at California, where he led the Golden Bears in touchdown receptions in the 2008-2009 season with 8...
. On the next play, Hasslebeck threw his second touchdown pass to Carlson, cutting the score to 17–14. After an exchange of punts, Jones lost a fumble while being tackled by Raheem Brock
Raheem Brock
Raheem Fukwan Brock is an American football defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the seventh round of the 2002 NFL Draft...
that Seattle linebacker David Hawthorne
David Hawthorne
David Hawthorne is an American football linebacker who is currently with the Seattle Seahawks. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seattle Seahawks. He played college football at TCU...
recovered on the Saints' 18-yard line, setting up a 29-yard field goal by Mare to tie the game.
With 1:15 left in the second quarter, Hasslebeck launched a 45-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley
Brandon Stokley
Brandon Stokley is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft...
, giving Seattle their first lead of the game at 24–17. But a 40-yard reception by Devery Henderson
Devery Henderson
-New Orleans Saints:On November 5, 2006, Devery had his best day as a professional in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he caught 3 passes for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns. Henderson had 158 receiving yards on 5 catches, including a 76 yard touchdown, against the Atlanta Falcons on November...
helped the Saints drive to the Seattle 3-yard line where Hartley made his second field goal to cut the score to 24–20 as time expired in the half. This was only the second playoff game in which both teams scored at least 20 points in the first two quarters.
The Seahawks increased their lead to 31–20 on their opening drive of the second half, as Hasslebeck threw an 18-yard completion to Obomanu and finished the drive with a 38-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams. Then after forcing a punt, Mare kicked a 39-yard field goal to make the score 34–20 with 9:54 left in the quarter. The Seahawks got a chance to build a three-score lead after stopping Jones for no gain on fourth down and 1 on the Saints' 37-yard line, but they could only gain a few yards with their next drive, and a delay of game penalty on fourth down pushed them out of field goal range.
New Orleans got the ball back at their 13-yard line following Jon Ryan
Jon Ryan
Jonathan Robert Ryan is a Canadian professional gridiron football player who is currently the punter for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League...
's punt, and mounted an 83-yard drive that ended with Jones' second touchdown run of the game, making the score 34–27 with 13:11 left in regulation. Then they forced a three-and-out and got the ball back with good field position on their 44-yard line with Lance Moore
Lance Moore
Lance Andrew Moore is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2005...
's 8-yard punt return. On the second play of their ensuing drive, Brees threw a short pass to Jones, who took it 33 yards to the Seattle 23. But several plays later, Seattle's defense halted the drive at the 3-yard line, where the Saints settled for Hartley's third field goal to cut the score to 34–30.
After an exchange of punts, Seattle got the ball with 4:20 left in the game. On the first play of the drive, Lynch was stuffed for no gain. But on the next play, he took off for a 67-yard touchdown run in which he broke seven tackles en route to the end zone. The crowd in Seattle was so loud during the run that local seismographs
Seismometer
Seismometers are instruments that measure motions of the ground, including those of seismic waves generated by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other seismic sources...
recorded it as a small earthquake. With 1:52 left, Brees struck back with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Henderson, but the 2-point conversion failed, keeping the score at 41–36. Then Carlson sealed the victory by recovering Hartley's onside kick attempt, enabling Seattle to run out the rest of the clock.
Brees finished with 39 of 60 completions for 404 yards and two touchdowns. His 39 completions set a postseason record. Jones, who became the first player ever to score a touchdown in the postseason against a team that had cut him in the regular season, rushed for 59 yards and two touchdowns while also catching 6 passes for 61 yards. Hasselbeck completed 22 of 35 passes for 271 yards and 4 touchdowns with 1 interception. Lynch added 131 rushing yards and a touchdown for Seattle, who had not had a 100-yard rusher in any of their regular season games.
AFC: New York Jets 17, Indianapolis Colts 16
As he had done several times before, Colts kicker Adam VinatieriAdam Vinatieri
Adam Matthew Vinatieri is an American football placekicker currently playing for the Indianapolis Colts. He has played in six Super Bowls, four with the New England Patriots and two with the Colts, winning four. Vinatieri won a Super Bowl in 2006 with Indianapolis and won Super Bowls in 2001,...
gave his team a fourth quarter lead with less than a minute remaining by making a clutch field goal. But this time it was not enough, as New York managed to avenge their previous season loss to Indianapolis in the AFC title game by winning on a Nick Folk
Nick Folk
Nicholas "Nick" Alexander Folk is an American football kicker who currently plays for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
field goal as time expired in the game.
The first quarter was scoreless as every drive in it by both teams ended with a punt. The game remained scoreless until just over 5 minutes remained in the half, when Colts quarterback Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the...
threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garçon
Pierre Garcon
Pierre Garçon is an American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Colts in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio. Garcon is of Haitian descent.- High school career...
. New York responded with a long drive to the Colts' 19-yard line, but with less than a minute left, defensive back Justin Tryon
Justin Tryon
Justin Deaon Tryon is an American football cornerback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
intercepted a pass from Mark Sanchez
Mark Sanchez
Mark Travis John Sanchez is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League . He was drafted in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft as the fifth overall selection by the Jets and the second quarterback taken overall...
in the end zone to keep them scoreless going into halftime.
New York managed to tie the game on their opening drive, starting with Antonio Cromartie
Antonio Cromartie
Antonio Cromartie is an American football cornerback for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers 19th overall in the 2006 NFL Draft...
's 41-yard kickoff return to the 37-yard line. The Jets subsequently drove 63 yards in 10 plays, featuring a 20-yard reception by tight end Dustin Keller
Dustin Keller
-New York Jets:Keller was drafted by the New York Jets 30th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. Keller was slowly phased into the offense and eventually finished with productive numbers in part of the presence of the veteran Brett Favre. Keller finished a strong rookie season with 48 receptions, 535...
, on the way to a 1-yard touchdown run by LaDainian Tomlinson
LaDainian Tomlinson
LaDainian Tramayne Tomlinson is an American football running back for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers fifth overall in the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas Christian.Tomlinson, often referred to by his initials, L...
. Indianapolis countered with a 9-play drive to the New York 29-yard line, with Manning completing a 23-yard pass to Blair White
Blair White
Blair White is an American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts. He was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at Michigan State.-Early years:...
and Joseph Addai
Joseph Addai
Joseph Addai, Jr. is an American football running back for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was selected in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Louisiana State University.-Early years:Addai's family hails from Ghana in West Africa...
rushing for 14 yards. Vinatieri finished the drive with a 47-yard field goal to give them a 3-point lead. But the Jets responded with a 17-play, 87-yard drive that consumed almost 10 minutes and featured three third down conversions. Tomlinson capped off the drive with his second 1-yard touchdown run to make the score 14–10.
With 5:22 left in the game, Vinatieri's 32-yard field goal cut the Colts' deficit to one point. Indianapolis' defense subsequently forced a punt after three plays, but a running into the punter penalty against them kept the drive going, allowing New York to take more time off the clock and forcing the Colts to use two timeouts. Indianapolis got the ball back with 2:36 left in the game, and retook the lead with a 48-yard drive as Manning completed two passes to tight end Jacob Tamme
Jacob Tamme
Jacob Tamme is an American football tight end for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He played collegiately for the University of Kentucky Wildcats.-High school:...
for gains of 15 and 11 yards, along with a 12-yard completion to White. At the end of the drive, Vinatieri made a 50-yard field goal to give the Colts a 2-point lead with 53 seconds left in regulation.
However the Jets stormed back to drive for the winning score, as Cromartie returned the ensuing kickoff 47 yards to the 46-yard line. After that, Sanchez completed passes to Braylon Edwards
Braylon Edwards
-Cleveland Browns:-2005:Edwards began his rookie season as Cleveland's third wide receiver – he would have started higher, but a hold-out caused him to miss the beginning of training camp. Early in the season Edwards revealed that he had a staph infection, and missed a few weeks as a result of it....
and Santonio Holmes
Santonio Holmes
Santonio Holmes Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft after playing college football at Ohio State...
for gains of 9 and 11 yards. Then after a 2-yard run by Tomlinson, he completed an 18-yard pass to Edwards, who made a leaping catch near the sidelines and managed to keep both feet in bounds at the Colts' 14-yard line with 29 seconds left on the clock. After letting the clock run down to three seconds, New York called their final timeout and sent Folk out to kick a 32-yard field goal, which sailed through the uprights as time expired to win the game for the Jets.
Manning finished 18 of 26 for 221 yards and a touchdown. His top target was Garçon, who caught five passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. Reggie Wayne
Reggie Wayne
Reginald "Reggie" Wayne is a professional American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. Wayne was selected in the 1st round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Colts...
, the Colts' leading receiver in the regular season, was completely shut down while being covered by Darrelle Revis
Darrelle Revis
Though Revis was not the first defensive back drafted in the 2007 NFL Draft , he was the first cornerback taken that year...
, held to just one reception for one yard. Tomlinson rushed for 82 yards and two touchdowns while also catching 4 passes for 17 yards, while running back Shonn Greene
Shonn Greene
-New York Jets:On April 26, 2009 the New York Jets traded up 12 spots to select Greene in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. On August 30 Greene made an appearance in the Jets preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. He rushed twice for six yards as well as catching an 85-yard pass...
added another 70 yards on the ground.
AFC: Baltimore Ravens 30, Kansas City Chiefs 7
Baltimore dominated the game on both sides of the ball, massively outgaining Kansas City in total yards (390 to 161), first downs (26 to 8), and time of possession (44:44 to 18:16) The Chiefs, who only lost 14 turnovers all year, turned the ball over five times and went home with their seventh consecutive playoff loss. Their losing steak has covered 17 years, four different coaches, and two different owners.Baltimore took the opening kickoff and drove 64 yards to a first down at the Chiefs 1-yard line, with Joe Flacco
Joe Flacco
Flacco was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens 18th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft, becoming the highest drafted player ever from the University of Delaware...
completing a 27-yard pass to Anquan Boldin
Anquan Boldin
-Arizona Cardinals:As a rookie Boldin set an NFL record for most receiving yards by a rookie in his first game , tied Billy Sims for most yards from scrimmage by a rookie in his first game , and holds the NFL record for most receptions in the first 26 games of an NFL career...
and three passes to tight end Todd Heap
Todd Heap
Todd Benjamin Heap is an American football tight end for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arizona State-Early years:At Mountain View High School, in Mesa, Arizona,...
for 32 yards. But they were stuffed twice for no gain and then Flacco's incomplete pass forced them to settle for a field goal from Billy Cundiff
Billy Cundiff
William A. "Billy" Cundiff is an American football placekicker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2002...
. The Ravens quickly forced a punt, but several plays into their next drive Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali
Tamba Hali
Tamba Boimah Hali is an American football outside linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs in the National Football League. He was the 20th overall pick out of Penn State in the 2006 NFL Draft...
sacked Flacco and forced a fumble, which he recovered on the Baltimore 46. Following a 5-yard scramble by Matt Cassel
Matt Cassel
Matthew Brennan "Matt" Cassel is a quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft...
, Jamaal Charles
Jamaal Charles
Jamaal RaShaad Jones Charles is an American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
' 41-yard touchdown romp gave his team a 7–3 lead. It was the longest touchdown run ever allowed by the Ravens in the postseason. Later in the second quarter, the Ravens retook the lead with an 80-yard scoring drive. Ray Rice
Ray Rice
Raymell Maurice Rice is an American football running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Rutgers. He is currently ranked as the Baltimore Ravens third all-time rusher in...
finished it with a 9-yard touchdown catch to give the Ravens a 10–7 lead with 19 seconds left before halftime.
In the second half, Baltimore completely took over the game, adding 20 more unanswered points and holding Charles, who rushed for over 80 yards in the first half, to negative yardage in the last two quarters. Kansas City gained just 25 total yards in the entire half.
On the fourth play of the opening second half drive, Cassel threw an interception to safety Haruki Nakamura
Haruki Nakamura
Haruki Robert Nakamura is an American football safety for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League.-Early life:...
. Kansas City managed to get the ball back when Charles forced and recovered a fumble from Nakamura during the return, but their second attempt at a drive fared no better and ended with a turnover on downs at the Ravens 38-yard line. Baltimore then drove to the Kansas City 11-yard line where Cundiff made his second field goal of the game. Then Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis
Ray Lewis
Ray Lewis is a professional American football player.Ray Lewis may also refer to:* Ray Lewis , former English association football referee* Ray Lewis , Canadian track-and-field athlete...
forced a fumble while tackling Dexter McCluster
Dexter McCluster
Dexter Marquise McCluster is an American football wide receiver and running back for the Kansas City Chiefs, formerly of the Ole Miss Rebels. He was considered one of the top athlete prospects for the 2010 NFL Draft...
that cornerback Chris Carr recovered on the Chiefs 17-yard line, setting up Cundiff's third field goal to increase their lead to 16–7. Just two plays into their next drive, Kansas City lost another turnover when Cassel threw an interception to Dawan Landry
Dawan Landry
Dawan Frank Landry is an American football safety of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Landry was a successful college safety for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets from 2002 to 2005, and was drafted in the 5th round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Ravens.-College:While at Georgia Tech, he majored in Management...
, which led to Flacco's 4-yard touchdown pass to Boldin. Then after a three and out, the Ravens put the game away by mounting a 10 minute scoring drive that ended with Willis McGahee
Willis McGahee
Willis Andrew McGahee III is an American football running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft...
's 25-yard touchdown burst with 4:26 left in the game, making the final score 30–7
Flacco finished with 25 of 34 completions for 265 yards and two touchdowns. He became the first Raven ever to throw multiple touchdown passes in a playoff game. Heap had a career high 10 receptions for 106 yards, setting the franchise record for receptions in a postseason game. Linebacker Terrell Suggs
Terrell Suggs
Terrell Raymonn Suggs is an American football linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens tenth overall in the 2003 NFL Draft after playing his college football at Arizona State....
led the Ravens defense with four tackles and two sacks. Cassel was held to just 9 of 18 completions for 70 yards with 3 interceptions, and Dwayne Bowe
Dwayne Bowe
-2007:On August 5, 2007, Bowe signed a five-year contract with the Chiefs, after holding out the first week of practice at training camp.Bowe scored his first NFL touchdown on a pass from Damon Huard in the first half of the Chiefs' game against the Chicago Bears on September 16, 2007.In his rookie...
, the team's top receiver with 1,162 yards and an NFL-leading 15 touchdown catches during the season, did not have any receptions in the game.
NFC: Green Bay Packers 21, Philadelphia Eagles 16
Green Bay defensive back Tramon WilliamsTramon Williams
Tramon Vernell Williams is an American football cornerback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League...
' interception in the end zone sealed the Packers victory with 33 seconds left in the game. Green Bay never trailed during the entire game, and got big performances from Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Charles Rodgers is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . Rodgers was selected in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Packers...
, who threw for 180 yards and three touchdowns, and James Starks
James Starks
James Darell Starks is an American football running back for the Green Bay Packers. He was selected in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, .-High school:James attended high school in Niagara Falls, New York...
, who rushed for 123 yards, which was more than his entire regular season total.
Philadelphia got an early scoring opportunity when they recovered a muffed punt at the Packers 41-yard line. But their drive was halted at the 23 and ended with no points when David Akers
David Akers
David Roy Akers is a left footed American football placekicker for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Atlanta Falcons in 1997. He played college football at Louisville....
missed a 41-yard field goal attempt. Later on, the Packers drive 68 yards in 10 plays, featuring a 27-yard run by Starks. With 8 seconds left in the quarter, Rodgers threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to reserve tight end Tom Crabtree
Tom Crabtree (American football)
Thomas Lewis Crabtree is an American football tight end for the Green Bay Packers.-Family:Married June 28th, 2009 to Chelsea Crabtree. Has a son Bryce Thomas Crabtree born October 14th, 2010...
. In the second quarter, Williams' 8-yard punt return gave his team the ball at their 43-yard line, and they drove for another touchdown, scoring with Rodgers' 9-yard pass to James Jones
James Jones (wide receiver)
James Deandre Jones is an American football wide receiver with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Packers in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
. Getting the ball back with just over 5 minutes left, Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick
Michael Vick
Michael Dwayne Vick is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League...
completed a 44-yard pass to Jeremy Maclin
Jeremy Maclin
-2009 NFL Draft:Maclin was considered a top National Football League prospect following his second season, and roommate Sean Weatherspoon hoped to convince Maclin to return for his junior year instead of leaving Missouri for the 2009 NFL Draft. Weatherspoon’s efforts were unsuccessful, and on...
and rushed for 14 yards to set up a 29-yard field goal by Akers with 1:15 left in the half, making the score 14–3.
The Eagles scored quickly in the second half, taking advantage of Darryl Tapp
Darryl Tapp
-Seattle Seahawks:Tapp was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. As a rookie, Tapp was a special teamer and part of the Seahawks' DE rotation. He recorded 33 tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble, one interception, and one defensive touchdown...
's fumble recovery while sacking Rogers on the Packers 24-yard line. One play later, Vick cut the score to 14–10 with a touchdown pass to Jason Avant
Jason Avant
Jason Raye Avant is an American football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Eagles in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan....
. But Rodgers led his team back, completing two passes to Donald Driver
Donald Driver
Donald Jerome Driver is an American football wide receiver and children's author. He plays for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League...
for 26 yards and a 16-yarder to fullback John Kuhn
John Kuhn
John Allen Kuhn is an American football fullback, currently playing for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2005. John attended Dover Area High School in Dover, Pennsylvania...
before finishing the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Jackson. Near the end of the quarter, the Eagles mounted a drive to the Packers 16-yard line, but came up empty when Akers missed another field goal, this one from 34 yards.
With 8:50 left in the game, Vick completed 5 of 8 passes for 68 yards on a 75-yard touchdown drive, scoring on a fourth down 1-yard run. On a two point conversion attempt, Vick completed a pass to tight end Brent Celek
Brent Celek
Brent Steven Celek is an American football tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Eagles in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Cincinnati.-Early years:...
, but it was negated by a penalty against him for putting a foot out of bounds before he came back to catch the ball and their second attempt was incomplete, keeping the score at 21–16. Philadelphia had to use up all their timeouts on the Packers ensuring drive, but got the ball back with 1:45 left in the game. Receptions by DeSean Jackson
DeSean Jackson
Going to the 2008 NFL Draft Jackson was considered one of the top ten wide receivers available in a draft class littered with talented wide outs. The only knock on Jackson was his small frame, being measured at 5'9¾ " and just over 170 pounds. During the pre-draft period, Hall of Fame wide receiver...
and Riley Cooper for gains of 28 and 11 yards moved the ball to the Green Bay 24-yard line. But with 33 seconds left, Williams intercepted a pass intended for Cooper in the end zone to put the game away.
Vick finished with 290 passing yards and a touchdown, with one interception, and added 33 yards and another score on the ground.
AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Baltimore Ravens 24
Steelers quarterback Ben RoethlisbergerBen Roethlisberger
Benjamin Todd "Ben" Roethlisberger , nicknamed Big Ben, is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Steelers in the first round in the 2004 NFL Draft...
's 58-yard completion to Antonio Brown set up Rashard Mendenhall
Rashard Mendenhall
Rashard Jamal Mendenhall is an American football running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Steelers 23rd overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Illinois....
's game winning 2-yard touchdown run with 1:33 left in the game. Despite the game's high score, it was actually a defensive battle, with both teams combining for just 389 yards and scoring most of their points off turnovers. Roethlisberger was sacked 6 times, and Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco
Joe Flacco
Flacco was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens 18th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft, becoming the highest drafted player ever from the University of Delaware...
was sacked 5. Meanwhile, the Ravens were held to just 126 yards and were buried under a mountain of turnovers, penalties, and dropped passes.
After forcing the Ravens to punt on the opening drive, Pittsburgh drove 80 yards on the way to Mendenhall's 1-yard touchdown run, assisted by a 37-yard pass interference penalty on Baltimore defensive back Josh Wilson
Josh Wilson (American football)
Joshua Wilson is a professional American football cornerback for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2nd round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
. But the Ravens countered with a 68-yard scoring drive, aided by a 33-yard pass interference penalty on Pittsburgh's Anthony Madison
Anthony Madison
Anthony David Madison is an American football defensive back and is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2006...
. Ray Rice
Ray Rice
Raymell Maurice Rice is an American football running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Rutgers. He is currently ranked as the Baltimore Ravens third all-time rusher in...
finished the drive with a 14-yard touchdown run to tie the game. Then two plays into the Steelers next drive, Roethlisberger was hit by Terrell Suggs
Terrell Suggs
Terrell Raymonn Suggs is an American football linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens tenth overall in the 2003 NFL Draft after playing his college football at Arizona State....
as he pulled his arm back to throw a pass, resulting in a fumble. Nearly all the players on both teams thought it was an incomplete pass since the ball went forward and headed back to their huddles, but Ravens lineman Cory Redding
Cory Redding
Cory Bartholomew Redding is an American football defensive end for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft...
realized the play was still ongoing and returned the ball 13 yards for a touchdown.
In the second quarter, Ravens safety Ed Reed
Ed Reed
Edward Earl Reed Jr. is an American football free safety for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens 24th overall in the 2002 NFL Draft...
recovered a fumble from Mendenhall at the Steelers 16-yard line, setting up Flacco's 4-yard touchdown pass to Todd Heap
Todd Heap
Todd Benjamin Heap is an American football tight end for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arizona State-Early years:At Mountain View High School, in Mesa, Arizona,...
that gave them a 21–7 lead. Pittsburgh responded with a drive to the Baltimore 25-yard line, but came up empty when Shaun Suisham
Shaun Suisham
Shaun Christopher Suisham is a Canadian placekicker of American football for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League . He was signed by the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2005...
missed a 43-yard field goal attempt with 25 seconds left in the half.
However, the Steelers dominated the third quarter, forcing three turnovers and holding the Ravens to negative yardage. Less than five minutes into the quarter, Rice lost a fumble while being tackled by Ryan Clark
Ryan Clark (American football)
Ryan Terry Clark is an American football safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2002...
, and linebacker LaMarr Woodley recovered it on the Baltimore 23-yard line. After a 14-yard run by Mendenhall, Roethlisberger threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Heath Miller
Heath Miller
Earl Heath Miller, Jr. is an American football tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. He was selected as the 30th overall pick of the 2005 NFL Draft out of the University of Virginia.-Early years:...
. Then after an exchange of punts, Clark intercepted a pass from Flacco and returned it 17 yards to the Ravens 25-yard line. Mendenhall started the drive with a 13-yard run, and Reothlisberger finished it with a 8-yard third down touchdown pass to Hines Ward
Hines Ward
Hines E. Ward, Jr. is an American football player who currently plays the wide receiver position for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, where he is the longest-tenured current player on the team. He was voted MVP of Super Bowl XL. He played college football at the University of Georgia...
, tying the game at 21. Just two plays after the ensuing kickoff, Flacco fumble a snap and Steelers lineman Brett Keisel
Brett Keisel
Brett "The Diesel" Keisel is an American Football player who starts at defensive end for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Brett hails from Greybull, Wyoming.-College career:...
recovered it at the Baltimore 23. This time the Steelers were unable to get a touchdown, as Roethlisberger was sacked by Suggs on third down and six after driving inside the 10-yard line, but Suisham kicked a 35-yard field goal to give Pittsburgh their first lead of the game with 12:15 left in regulation.
Later on, Baltimore's Lardarius Webb returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown, only to have it called back by a holding penalty on Marcus Smith
Marcus Smith (wide receiver)
Marcus Anthony Smith is an American football wide receiver of the National Football League who is currently a free agent.. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Smith was released by Baltimore during final cuts on September 3, 2011...
. Still, his return gave them good field position on the Steelers 29-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Flacco completed a 21-yard pass to Heap. But over the next three plays, Baltimore rushers were stuffed twice and then receiver Anquan Boldin
Anquan Boldin
-Arizona Cardinals:As a rookie Boldin set an NFL record for most receiving yards by a rookie in his first game , tied Billy Sims for most yards from scrimmage by a rookie in his first game , and holds the NFL record for most receptions in the first 26 games of an NFL career...
dropped a pass in the end zone, forcing them to settle for Billy Cundiff
Billy Cundiff
William A. "Billy" Cundiff is an American football placekicker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2002...
's field goal to tie the score with 3:54 remaining in the game.
David Johnson
David Johnson (tight end)
David Johnson is an American football Fullback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League...
returned the ensuing kickoff 16 yards to the 35-yard line, and Pittsburgh retook the lead with a 65-yard drive featuring three key third down conversions. After starting out with two incompletions, Roethleberger threw a 12-yard pass to Ward on third down and ten. Then Roethlisberger was sacked for a 9-yard loss by Redding and Paul Kruger
Paul Kruger
Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger , better known as Paul Kruger and affectionately known as Uncle Paul was State President of the South African Republic...
and threw another incompletion, bringing up third down and 19 with 2:07 to go. On the next play, Roethlisberger dropped back and launched a 58-yard bomb to Brown at the 4-yard line. After a defensive holding penalty moved the ball to the 1, the Ravens defense kept Mendenhall out of the end zone for two more plays. But on third down, he scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to give the Steelers a 31–24 lead with 1:33 remaining in regulation.
Le'Ron McClain
Le'Ron McClain
- Baltimore Ravens :McClain signed with the Ravens on July 27, 2007. He scored his first career touchdown on a Kyle Boller pass against the San Diego Chargers on November 25, 2007...
returned Suisham's squib kick
Squib kick
A squib kick is a term used in American football meaning a short, low, line drive kickoff that usually bounces around on the ground before it can be picked up by a member of the receiving team. The ball is kicked so short that it forces the receiving team's slower players to recover the ball first...
12 yards to the Steelers 48-yard line, giving Baltimore a chance to drive the tying touchdown. But their offense was unable to move the ball. After two incompletions and an 8-yard sack by Ziggy Hood, receiver T. J. Houshmandzadeh
T. J. Houshmandzadeh
T. J. Houshmandzadeh, Jr. is an American football wide receiver who currently plays for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oregon State. Houshmandzadeh is of mixed...
dropped a potential first down catch, ending any chance of a comeback.
Roethlisberger completed 19 of 32 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Steelers linebacker James Harrison recorded 5 tackles, two assists, and three sacks. Suggs finished with five tackles, three sacks, and a forced fumble. With this win, Pittsburgh advanced to their fourth AFC championship game since 2004.
NFC: Green Bay Packers 48, Atlanta Falcons 21
The Packers blew out Atlanta by racking up 442 total yards, 28 first downs, and a franchise playoff record 48 points. Aaron RodgersAaron Rodgers
Aaron Charles Rodgers is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . Rodgers was selected in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Packers...
was nearly perfect, completing 31 of 36 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns, while adding another score on the ground. Green Bay never punted the ball, and got a big performance from defensive back Tramon Williams
Tramon Williams
Tramon Vernell Williams is an American football cornerback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League...
, who picked off two passes from Matt Ryan
Matt Ryan
Matt Ryan is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for Villacher SV of the Austrian Hockey League .-Playing career:...
and returned one of them 70 yards for a touchdown.
But early in the game, it seemed things would go in Atlanta's favor. After Michael Koenen
Michael Koenen
Michael J. Koenen is an American football punter for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. He was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Western Washington....
's 33-yard punt pinned the Packers back at their own 8-yard line, Rodgers threw a short pass to Greg Jennings
Greg Jennings
Gregory Jennings, Jr. is a professional American football wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League...
, who took off for a 30-yard gain. But he fumbled the ball after being hit from behind by Stephen Nicholas
Stephen Nicholas
Stephen Leron Nicholas is an American football linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Falcons in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL draft. He played college football at South Florida.-Early years:Nicholas played high school football at...
and defensive back Brent Grimes
Brent Grimes
Brent Omar Grimes is an American football cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2006...
recovered the ball at the Green Bay 48-yard line. On the Falcons ensuing drive, a 22-yard reception by Michael Jenkins and a fourth down conversion run by Ovie Mughelli
Ovie Mughelli
Ovie Phillip Mughelli is an American football fullback for the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL. He signed a 6-year, $18 million contract with a $5 million signing bonus on March 2, 2007 with the Falcons...
set up a 12-yard touchdown run by Michael Turner. Green Bay responded with an 81-yard scoring drive that took nearly 8 minutes. Rodgers completed 7 of 7 passes for 48 yards on the drive, the last one a 6-yard touchdown toss to Jordy Nelson
Jordy Nelson
Jordy Ray Nelson is an American football wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Packers in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Kansas State....
, who caught the ball near the sidelines and just managed to stretch the ball into the pylon while being shoved out of bounds. However, Atlanta quickly retook the lead when Eric Weems
Eric Weems
Eric Weems is an American football wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He was signed by the Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Bethune-Cookman.-Early years:Weems attended Seabreeze High School in Daytona Beach, Florida and...
returned Mason Crosby
Mason Crosby
Mason Walker Crosby , is a professional American football placekicker for the Green Bay Packers in the National Football League. During his playing days at the University of Colorado, Crosby was widely considered the best kicker in college football, as evidenced by ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr.'s...
's kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown, the longest scoring play in NFL playoff history.
But the Packers suddenly stormed back with 35 unanswered points. Rodgers quickly completed two passes to Jennings for 22 yards and then hit James Jones
James Jones (wide receiver)
James Deandre Jones is an American football wide receiver with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Packers in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
for a 34-yard gain to the Falcons 16-yard line. Two plays later, fullback John Kuhn
John Kuhn
John Allen Kuhn is an American football fullback, currently playing for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2005. John attended Dover Area High School in Dover, Pennsylvania...
scored a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game. Atlanta responded with a drive to the Packers 19-yard line. But on the next play, Charles Woodson
Charles Woodson
Charles C. Woodson is an American football cornerback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He played college football at the University of Michigan for the Michigan Wolverines. In 1997, Woodson led the Wolverines to a national championship...
sacked Ryan for a 7-yard loss. Then on third down, Williams stepped in front of a pass intended for Jenkins and made a leaping interception in the end zone. Rodgers took over and went back to work, completing 6 consecutive passes on an 80-yard scoring drive that ended with his 20-yard touchdown completion to Jones, giving the Packers a 21–14 lead with 42 seconds left before halftime. Aided by two pass interference penalties against Green Bay, Atlanta drove to the Packers 26-yard line. But once again the defense prevented a score. First linebacker Clay Matthews
Clay Matthews III
William Clay Matthews III is an American football linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Packers 26th overall in the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Southern California.-Early years:Matthews was born in the Los...
sacked Ryan for a 9-yard loss. Rather than attempt a 50-yard field goal, the Falcons tried one last play to move the ball closer. But Williams intercepted Ryan's pass and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown as time expired in the half.
In the second half the Packers picked up right where they left off. Rodgers was sacked by John Abraham for a 10-yard loss on the first play. But it didn't stop Rodgers from completing 5 of 6 passes for 56 yards on an 80-yard scoring drive that ended with his 7-yard touchdown run, making the score 35–14. Atlanta was forced to a three-and-out on their next drive after a Green Bay replay challenge overruled a first down catch by Jenkins, and Koenen's punt went just 21 yards to midfield. Green Bay subsequently drove 50 yards and scored with a Rodgers' 7-yard pass to Kuhn.
This time, the Falcons finally managed to respond. Ryan completed seven consecutive passes on their next drive, the last one a 6-yard touchdown throw to Roddy White
Roddy White
Sharod Lamor White is an American football wide receiver playing for the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League...
. But Green Bay dominated the rest of the game, forcing two more turnovers that were both converted into field goals by Crosby, making the final score 48–21.
Jennings finished with 8 receptions for 101 yards, while Nelson added 8 receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown. This game gave Rodgers ten touchdown passes in his first three playoff games, setting an NFL postseason record. Matthews had three tackles and two sacks. Weems had six kickoff returns for 195 yards. Turner, who rushed for over 1,300 yards during the season, was held to just 39 yards on 10 carries.
NFC: Chicago Bears 35, Seattle Seahawks 24
Chicago dominated the game from start to finish, outgaining Seattle in total yards 437 to 276 and scoring 28 unanswered points over the first three quarters.After forcing Seattle to a three-and-out on the opening drive, Chicago scored on their third play of the game when tight end Greg Olsen
Greg Olsen (American football)
Gregory Olsen is an American football tight end for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
ran past safety Lawyer Milloy
Lawyer Milloy
Lawyer Marzell Milloy is an American football safety. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Washington....
, caught a pass from Jay Cutler
Jay Cutler (American football)
Jay Christopher Cutler is a quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He played football at Vanderbilt University. Cutler began his professional football career with the Denver Broncos, who selected him as the 11th overall pick of the 2006 NFL Draft...
, and took it 58 yards to the end zone. Later in the quarter, Bears receiver Devin Hester
Devin Hester
Devin Hester is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League . He played college football at the University of Miami, where he became the first person in the university’s recent history to play in all three phases of American football...
returned a punt 26 yards to midfield. Following a 33-yard reception by Olsen and a fourth down conversion run by Cutler, Chester Taylor
Chester Taylor
Chester Lamar Taylor also known as "Che Tay" is an American football running back of the National Football League who is currently on the Arizona Cardinals. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL Draft...
scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. After forcing a punt, Chicago got the ball back on their own 37-yard line early in the second quarter. Cutler started the drive with a 22-yard completion to Olsen, and later finished it with a 6-yard touchdown run to give the Bears a 21–0 lead.
In the second half, Chicago increased their lead to 28–0 with Cutler's second touchdown run at the end of a 14-play, 70-yard drive. After being completely dominated up to this point, Seattle managed to mount a comeback. First, Leon Washington
Leon Washington
Leon Washington is an American football running back for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State. He is married to Charity Washington with whom he has a son...
's 62-yard kickoff return set up a 30-yard field goal by Olindo Mare
Olindo Mare
Olindo Franco Mare is an American football placekicker for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 1996...
. Then Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry
Aaron Curry (American football)
-Seattle Seahawks:On August 8, 2009, Curry signed a six-year, $60 million contract including $34 million guaranteed, the most money ever guaranteed to a non-quarterback rookie in NFL history....
intercepted a pass from Bears running back Matt Forte
Matt Forté
Matthew Garrett Forté is an American football running back for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Bears in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
and returned it 23 yards to the Bears 33-yard line. Aided by a defensive holding penalty on Tim Jennings
Tim Jennings
Tim Jennings is an American football cornerback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Georgia....
that nullified his interception, Seattle cut the score to 28–10 with Matt Hasselbeck
Matt Hasselbeck
Matthew Michael Hasselbeck is a National Football League quarterback for the Tennessee Titans. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round of the 1998 NFL Draft, and traded to Seattle in 2001. After becoming the starter in 2003, Hasselbeck led Seattle to six playoff appearances and...
's 2-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams.
But after forcing a punt, Tommie Harris
Tommie Harris
Tommie Harris, Jr. is an American football defensive tackle for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oklahoma.Harris has also been a member of the Indianapolis Colts...
sacked Hasselbeck on third down at his own 13-yard line, and Jon Ryan
Jon Ryan
Jonathan Robert Ryan is a Canadian professional gridiron football player who is currently the punter for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League...
's punt went just 35 yards to the Seattle 48. Two plays later, Cutler threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kellen Davis
Kellen Davis
Kellen Davis is an American football tight end for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Bears in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan State...
, putting Chicago up 35–10.
With less than five minutes remaining in the game, Seattle refused to give up. Hasselbeck completed six consecutive passes on the next drive, the last a 17-yard touchdown strike to Williams. After forcing a punt, Hasslebeck completed a 46-yarder to Benjamin Obomanu and followed it up with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley
Brandon Stokley
Brandon Stokley is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft...
, bringing the score to 35–24. But Chicago put the game away by recovering Mare's onside kick with 1:25 left in the game.
Cutler finished his first career playoff game 15 of 28 for 274 yards and 2 touchdowns, with no interceptions. He also rushed for 43 yards and two scores. His 43 rushing yards were the most by a Bears quarterback in the postseason since Sid Luckman
Sid Luckman
Sidney Luckman, known as Sid Luckman, was an American football quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League from 1939 to 1950...
in 1943. He also joined Otto Graham
Otto Graham
Otto Everett Graham, Jr. was a professional American football and basketball player who played for the Cleveland Browns in both the All-America Football Conference and National Football League, as well as the Rochester Royals in the National Basketball League.-Early life:Born in Waukegan,...
as one of two players ever to run and throw for multiple touchdowns in a playoff game. Olsen had three receptions for 113 yards, all in the first half. Chicago running back Matt Forté
Matt Forté
Matthew Garrett Forté is an American football running back for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Bears in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
rushed for 80 yards, caught three passes for 54, and threw one pass which was intercepted. Harris had two sacks, which were his only tackles of the game. Hasselbeck threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns. Stokley had eight catches for 85 yards and a score.
AFC: New York Jets 28, New England Patriots 21
Mark SanchezMark Sanchez
Mark Travis John Sanchez is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League . He was drafted in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft as the fifth overall selection by the Jets and the second quarterback taken overall...
completed 16 of 25 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Jets to victory, avenging a 45–3 loss to New England in December.
On the Patriots first drive, Tom Brady
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.He has played in four Super Bowls,...
threw his first interception since Week 6 of the regular season, which linebacker David Harris
David Harris (American football)
-2007 NFL Draft:Harris was projected to go anywhere from the late-second round to the fourth round prior to the 2007 NFL Draft. However, he impressed scouts when he ran a 4.59 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine...
picked off and returned 58 yards before tight end Alge Crumpler
Alge Crumpler
-Atlanta Falcons:Crumpler was drafted by the Falcons in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. Crumpler made the first start of his NFL career against the Carolina Panthers on September 23, 2001. He caught his first two passes for a total of 13 yards. His first touchdown was scored against the...
made a touchdown-saving tackle at the 12-yard line. But New York could not get any points off the turnover, as they were unable to get a first down and Nick Folk
Nick Folk
Nicholas "Nick" Alexander Folk is an American football kicker who currently plays for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
missed a 30-yard field goal attempt. Several plays into New England's next drive, Brady completed a 28-yard pass to Crumpler at the Jets' 12-yard line. But after a 5-yard run by Danny Woodhead
Danny Woodhead
Danny Woodhead is an American football running back for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Chadron State....
, Crumpler dropped a pass in the end zone and then Brady was sacked by Shaun Ellis
Shaun Ellis
MeShaunda "Shaun" Pizarrur Ellis is an American football defensive end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . Ellis was drafted by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft out of the University of Tennessee...
, forcing them to settle for Shayne Graham
Shayne Graham
Michael Shayne Graham is an American football placekicker. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2000, and most recently played with the New England Patriots...
's 34-yard field goal to give them a 3–0 lead.
In the second quarter, a third down sack of Brady by Drew Coleman
Drew Coleman
Drew A. Coleman is an American football cornerback who currently plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. Coleman was selected by the New York Jets in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
forced New England to punt from their own 16, and Jerricho Cotchery
Jerricho Cotchery
Cotchery was selected by the New York Jets in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL draft.-New York Jets:In 2004, Cotchery caught 6 passes for 60 yards in 12 games as the team's 5th receiver...
returned the ball to the Patriots 49-yard line. A few plays later, Sanchez' 37-yard completion to Braylon Edwards
Braylon Edwards
-Cleveland Browns:-2005:Edwards began his rookie season as Cleveland's third wide receiver – he would have started higher, but a hold-out caused him to miss the beginning of training camp. Early in the season Edwards revealed that he had a staph infection, and missed a few weeks as a result of it....
set up his 7-yard touchdown pass to LaDainian Tomlinson
LaDainian Tomlinson
LaDainian Tramayne Tomlinson is an American football running back for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers fifth overall in the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas Christian.Tomlinson, often referred to by his initials, L...
. Later on, New England attempted a fake punt with a direct snap to safety Patrick Chung
Patrick Chung
-New England Patriots:Chung was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He signed with the Patriots on July 27, 2009. In Week 6 against the Tennessee Titans on October 18, Chung was credited with his first career interception...
on fourth down and four. But Chung fumbled the snap and was tackled on his own 25-yard line, and the Jets converted the turnover with Sanchez' 15-yard touchdown pass to Edwards with 33 seconds left in the half, making the score 14–3.
Late in the third quarter, New England drove 80 yards in 11 plays, with Brady completing a 37-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski
Rob Gronkowski
Rob Gronkowski is an American football tight end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Patriots in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft...
and two passes to Deion Branch
Deion Branch
Anthony Deion Branch, Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Patriots in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisville.He has also played for the Seattle Seahawks...
for 28 yards on the way to a 2-yard touchdown pass to Crumpler. Then Sammy Morris
Sammy Morris
Samuel "Sammy" Morris III is an American football running back who is a free agent in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL Draft...
scored a 2-point conversion run, cutting their deficit to 14–11. But the Jets quickly countered, with Sanchez throwing a short pass to Cotchery, who took it 58 yards to the Patriots 13-yard line. Two plays later, Sanchez threw a high pass for Santonio Holmes
Santonio Holmes
Santonio Holmes Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft after playing college football at Ohio State...
, who managed to catch the ball and land in the end zone while falling out of bounds, giving New York a 10-point lead two minutes into the fourth quarter.
After the kickoff, New England drove to the Jets 34-yard line with an eight-minute drive, but then faced fourth down and 13. Rather than risk a 52-yard field goal attempt, they attempted to get the first down, but Branch dropped a pass from Brady and the Patriots turned the ball over. New England's defense then made a key defensive stand, forcing a quick three-and-out, and Julian Edelman
Julian Edelman
Julian Francis Edelman is a wide receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Patriots in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football for Kent State as a quarterback.-Early years:Edelman was born in Redwood City, California...
returned Steve Weatherford
Steve Weatherford
Steven "Steve" Thomas Weatherford is an American football punter for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2006...
's punt 41 yards to the New York 43-yard line before being tackled by Weatherford himself. Brady then led New England to the 17-yard line where Graham made his second field goal to cut their deficit to 7 points. However, Jets defensive back Antonio Cromartie
Antonio Cromartie
Antonio Cromartie is an American football cornerback for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers 19th overall in the 2006 NFL Draft...
recovered Graham's onside kick attempt and returned it 23 yards to the Patriots 20-yard line. Shonn Greene
Shonn Greene
-New York Jets:On April 26, 2009 the New York Jets traded up 12 spots to select Greene in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. On August 30 Greene made an appearance in the Jets preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. He rushed twice for six yards as well as catching an 85-yard pass...
then scored with a 16-yard run, making the score 28–14 with 1:41 left in the game.
Brandon Tate
Brandon Tate
-2009 season:Tate was drafted by the Patriots in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. On July 16, he was signed to a four-year contract with a $755,000 signing bonus. He began the 2009 season on the non-football injury list, still recovering from his knee injury from the prior season. He was...
returned the ensuing kickoff 23 yards to the 41-yard line, sparking a 59-yard scoring drive that ended with Brady's 13-yard touchdown pass to Branch with 24 seconds left. But Graham's second attempt at an onside kick also failed, ending any chance of a miracle comeback.
Brady finished the game 29 of 45 for 299 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. His one pick ended his NFL record of consecutive passes without an interception at 340. Cotchery had five receptions for 96 yards; Harris had nine tackles, three assists, and an interception; while Ellis added 5 tackles and two sacks. With this win, the Jets advanced to their second consecutive AFC championship game in Sanchez' first two years as a starter.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
As per an annual rotation used by the NFL since 1997 and made official in 2002, the NFC Championship GameNFC Championship Game
The National Football Conference Championship Game is one of the two semi-final playoff matches of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the...
was the first game played on January 23 at 3:00 p.m. EST, followed by the AFC Championship Game
AFC Championship Game
The American Football Conference Championship Game is one of the two final playoff matches of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the American...
at 6:30 p.m. EST.
NFC Championship Game: Green Bay Packers 21, Chicago Bears 14
Green Bay's defense knocked Chicago starting quarterback Jay CutlerJay Cutler (American football)
Jay Christopher Cutler is a quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He played football at Vanderbilt University. Cutler began his professional football career with the Denver Broncos, who selected him as the 11th overall pick of the 2006 NFL Draft...
out of the game and intercepted three passes, one of which was returned for a score, and another which ended a last minute drive for a potential tying touchdown. With this win, the Packers became the first NFC #6 seed to advance the Super Bowl by defeating the top three seeded teams on the road.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Charles Rodgers is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . Rodgers was selected in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Packers...
opened up the game with two completions to Greg Jennings
Greg Jennings
Gregory Jennings, Jr. is a professional American football wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League...
for gains of 26 and 22 yards. A few plays later, he threw a 22-yard completion to Jordy Nelson
Jordy Nelson
Jordy Ray Nelson is an American football wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Packers in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Kansas State....
at the Bears 2-yard line, setting up his 1-yard touchdown run give the Packers an early 7–0 lead. Later on, Tim Masthay
Tim Masthay
Timothy James Masthay is an American football punter for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2009, but released before the first 2009 pre-season game. He played college football at Kentucky.-Early years:Tim...
32-yard punt pinned Chicago back on their own 2-yard line. The Bears were unable to move the ball, and Tramon Williams
Tramon Williams
Tramon Vernell Williams is an American football cornerback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League...
returned Brad Maynard
Brad Maynard
Bradley "Brad" Alan Maynard is an American football punter for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft...
's punt 6 yards to the 44. Rodgers then completed passes to Brandon Jackson and Nelson for gains of 16 and 15 yards on the way to a 4-yard touchdown run by James Starks
James Starks
James Darell Starks is an American football running back for the Green Bay Packers. He was selected in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, .-High school:James attended high school in Niagara Falls, New York...
.
With time running out in the half, Rodgers threw a pass that was intercepted by Lance Briggs
Lance Briggs
Lance Marell Briggs is an American football linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Bears in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arizona.-Early years:A Sacramento native, Briggs attended Elk Grove High...
and returned to the Chicago 43. But Cutler returned the favor with an interception to Sam Shields
Sam Shields
Samuel George Shields III is an American football cornerback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was signed by the Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2010...
and the score remained 14–0 going into halftime. Cutler was injured on the play and although he returned for a few plays in the third quarter, he ended up having to sit the rest of the second half out.
After forcing Chicago to punt on the opening second half drive, Green Bay drove to the Bears 6-yard line. But linebacker Brian Urlacher
Brian Urlacher
Brian Keith Urlacher is an American football player for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League . He attended the University of New Mexico, where he was one of the school's most decorated athletes. In addition to setting multiple university records, Urlacher earned consideration for the...
ended the drive by intercepting Rodgers and returning the ball 39 yards before Rodgers made a touchdown saving tackle on the 45. However, Chicago could not take advantage of the turnover and had to punt. Cutler's replacement, Todd Collins, ended up being ineffective, throwing four consecutive incompletions before being benched in favor of Caleb Hanie
Caleb Hanie
Caleb Jeffrey Hanie is an American football quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was signed by the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played high school football for Forney High School in Forney, Texas and led his team to consecutive top 3 finishes in...
with less than a minute left in the third quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, Hanie's 32-yard completion to Johnny Knox
Johnny Knox
Johnny Knox is an American football wide receiver for the Chicago Bears. He was selected by the Bears as the 140th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, through a they acquired in the Kyle Orton-Jay Cutler trade....
moved the ball to the Packers 1-yard line, setting up a touchdown run by Chester Taylor
Chester Taylor
Chester Lamar Taylor also known as "Che Tay" is an American football running back of the National Football League who is currently on the Arizona Cardinals. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL Draft...
that cut the score to 14–7. But three drives later, Hanie threw a short pass over the middle that was intercepted by 338-pound defensive tackle B.J. Raji and returned 18 yards for a touchdown. Hanie responded with four consecutive completions on the Bears next drive and finished it with a 35-yard touchdown throw to Earl Bennett
Earl Bennett
Earl Bennett is an American football wide receiver for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Bears in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
, making the score 21–14. Then after forcing a punt, Chicago got the ball back with 2:53 remaining in the game and managed to drive to the Packers 29-yard line. But Green Bay's defense managed to hang on for the win, ending the drive with Shields' second interception with 37 seconds left in regulation.
Jennings caught 8 passes for 130 yards. Bears running back Matt Forte
Matt Forté
Matthew Garrett Forté is an American football running back for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Bears in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
rushed for 70 yards and caught 10 passes for 90. Shields had 4 tackles, 2 interceptions, a sack, and a forced fumble. Urlacher had 9 tackles, a sack, and an interception.
In possibly the NFL’s first player-on-player social media
Social media
The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
attack, Cutler was being criticized for not returning within seconds after leaving the game instead of waiting for explanations in postgame media sessions. Bears coach Lovie Smith
Lovie Smith
Lovie Lee Smith is the head coach of the Chicago Bears professional football team of the NFL. Smith has been to the Super Bowl twice, as the defensive coordinator for the 2001 Saint Louis Rams and as the head coach for the Chicago Bears in 2006....
later stated that the choice was not Cutler's decision. Smith made the decision to bench Cutler after consulting the medical and training staff. An MRI revealed the following day that he had sprained his MCL
Medial collateral ligament
The medial collateral ligament of the knee is one of the four major ligaments of the knee. It is on the medial side of the knee joint in humans and other primates. It is also known as the tibial collateral ligament, or abbreviated as the MCL.- Structure :It is a broad, flat, membranous band,...
.
AFC Championship Game: Pittsburgh Steelers 24, New York Jets 19
Pittsburgh jumped to an early 24–0 lead and held off a desperate comeback rally to earn their third Super Bowl bid in the last six years.Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall
Rashard Mendenhall
Rashard Jamal Mendenhall is an American football running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Steelers 23rd overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Illinois....
rushed 8 times for 28 yards on their opening drive, which took over 9 minutes off the clock and ended with his 1-yard touchdown run. Then he rushed four times for 22 yards and caught an 18-yard pass on a drive to the Jets 32-yard line. Linebacker Bryan Thomas ended the drive with an interception, but the Steelers forced a punt and drove for another score, aided by Mendenhall's 35-yard burst. Shaun Suisham
Shaun Suisham
Shaun Christopher Suisham is a Canadian placekicker of American football for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League . He was signed by the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2005...
finished the drive with a 20-yard field goal to make the score 10–0. Following another punt, Ben Roethlisberger
Ben Roethlisberger
Benjamin Todd "Ben" Roethlisberger , nicknamed Big Ben, is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Steelers in the first round in the 2004 NFL Draft...
completed a 24-yard pass to tight end Heath Miller
Heath Miller
Earl Heath Miller, Jr. is an American football tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. He was selected as the 30th overall pick of the 2005 NFL Draft out of the University of Virginia.-Early years:...
, a 20-yarder to Emmanuel Sanders
Emmanuel Sanders
Emmanuel Sanders is an American football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Steelers in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft...
, and a 14-yard throw to Mendenhall on the way to a 2-yard touchdown run. Two plays after the ensuing kickoff, Ike Taylor
Ike Taylor
Ivan "Ike" Taylor is an American football defensive back for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League...
sacked Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez
Mark Sanchez
Mark Travis John Sanchez is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League . He was drafted in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft as the fifth overall selection by the Jets and the second quarterback taken overall...
on a defensive back blitz and forced a fumble, which cornerback William Gay
William Gay (cornerback)
William Gay is an American football cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, formerly of the University of Louisville football team. He was chosen by the Steelers with the 170th pick of the 2007 NFL Draft.-College career:...
returned 19 yards for a touchdown, increasing their lead to 24–0 with just over a minute left in the half. This time New York managed to respond, with Sanchez completing 4 passes for 39 yards on a drive that ended with a 42-yard field goal by Nick Folk
Nick Folk
Nicholas "Nick" Alexander Folk is an American football kicker who currently plays for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
, cutting the score to 24–3 going into halftime.
New York took the second half kickoff and scored with just five plays. Shonn Greene
Shonn Greene
-New York Jets:On April 26, 2009 the New York Jets traded up 12 spots to select Greene in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. On August 30 Greene made an appearance in the Jets preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. He rushed twice for six yards as well as catching an 85-yard pass...
started off the drive with a 23-yard run, while Sanchez finished it with a pair of the completions to Santonio Holmes
Santonio Holmes
Santonio Holmes Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft after playing college football at Ohio State...
, the first for 16 yards, and the second a 45-yard touchdown completion. Pittsburgh responded with a drive to the Jets 37-yard line, but turned the ball over when safety Brodney Pool
Brodney Pool
Brodney Depaul Pool is an American football safety for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oklahoma....
intercepted a pass from Roethlisberger inside the 10. After an exchange of punts, the Jets converted two fourth downs on a 17-play drive to a first down on the Steelers 2-yard line. But Pittsburgh's defense made a key goal line stand. First Green tried to run up the middle, but was stuffed at the 1-yard line. Then Sanchez threw an incomplete pass and another that was batted down by linebacker LaMarr Woodley. On fourth down, LaDanian Tomlinson tried to run through the middle, but Brett Keisel
Brett Keisel
Brett "The Diesel" Keisel is an American Football player who starts at defensive end for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Brett hails from Greybull, Wyoming.-College career:...
and Casey Hampton
Casey Hampton
Casey "Big Snack" Hampton, Jr. is an American football nose tackle who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League.-Early years:...
tackled him for no gain, turning the ball over.
On the next play, Roethlisberger fumbled a snap and was downed in the end zone for a safety. New York then drove 58 yards following the free kick and scored with Sanchez' 4-yard touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery
Jerricho Cotchery
Cotchery was selected by the New York Jets in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL draft.-New York Jets:In 2004, Cotchery caught 6 passes for 60 yards in 12 games as the team's 5th receiver...
, cutting their deficit to 24–19 with 3:06 left in the game. But the Steelers managed to pick up two key first downs on their next drive with a 14-yard reception by Miller and a 14-yard catch by Antonio Brown
Antonio Brown (wide receiver b. 1988)
Antonio Brown is an American football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played collegiate football for the Central Michigan Chippewas. While at Central Michigan, he was named a first-team All-American by The Sporting News as a punt returner in 2008 and 2009...
on third down and six with less than two minutes left, enabling them to run out the rest of the clock.
Mendenhall rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown, while also catching two passes for 32. Sanchez threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns. Pool had six tackles and an interception.