Pittsburgh Steelers prepare to host the New York Jets at Heinz Field
The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated their division rivals, the Baltimore Ravens this Saturday in the American Football Conference (AFC) Divisional Playoff game to move ahead into the Conference Championship.
Before Sunday the Steelers thought they would be travelling to the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Steelers expected the top-seeded New England Patriots to win their playoff game against the New York Jets and host the Conference Championship,
but the Patriots lost that game.
The New York Jets won and they are seeded below the Pittsburgh Steelers, which means the Steelers now get to host the Conference Championship game. The Jets have been on the road and have been winning. They first travelled to Indianapolis to face the Colts
and won that nail biter 17-16 in the final seconds with a field goal.
A week later the Jets were at the Gillette Stadium showing the Patriots that they aren’t all hype and no substance. They won that game 28-21 with an excellent performance from quarterback Mark Sanchez. Now for the third consecutive week the Jets are going
to be on the road. On Sunday they will play the Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC Title at Heinz Field. The Steelers couldn’t be more pleased with how things have turned out.
“It's better to play at home,” safety Ryan Clark said. “It's huge. Going on the road, and having to pack up? Fly? That's the part of home-field advantage that I don't think people understand.”
The Steelers played at home against the Ravens in the divisional round of the playoffs and won.
The Steelers have hosted more AFC Championship Games at home than any other team. The Jets haven’t hosted the Championship game ever in their history. The Jets, though, won’t be deterred. They have proven that they are as comfortable on the road as they
are at home. In the regular season they had a 6-2 record on the road. They were defeated by the New England Patriots at the Gillette Stadium, and by the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Their road victories include a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz
Field in week 15. New York won that game 22-17.
The Steelers believe that they would have felt at home at the Gillette Stadium or even the New Meadowlands Stadium. Steelers Safety Ryan Clark said, “It would have felt like a home game anyway, because (Steelers fans) travel so well. But we'd rather have
it here with the black-and-gold seats.”
The last time the Steelers hosted the Conference Championship; they won and didn’t stop there either. They went on the win the Super Bowl too.
“We're here with our great fans and have another exciting game on Sunday,” Ravens centre Maurkice Pouncey said. This will be the 11th AFC Championship game that the Steelers would host and the first one for the rookie centre. Pouncey said that
the Steelers will go about their business and prepare the right way for the game. They have to prepare because they know the Jets can beat them even at home, and after their string of playoff victories, the Jets would be more confident than ever.
They will also be more talkative than ever. The Jets launched an onslaught of words against their division rivals before they played the New England Patriots. They haven’t yet tried to drag the Steelers into it. Knowing Rex Ryan and keeping in mind the fact
that the Jets have won their previous confrontation, the trash talking is expected to begin soon. However, the Steelers say they can’t be bothered. “We don't pay attention,” Pouncey said. “It don't bother us at all. Let them talk.”
The last two opponents the Jets faced were offensively strong teams. In contrast, the Steelers are the best defensive team in the league and that is what they depend on. The focus for the Jets would be to keep the Steelers off Sanchez. Pittsburgh didn’t
allow Sanchez a passing touchdown in their last game, and stopped the Jets for 170 yards passing and 106 yards rushing (more than they allow most teams to rush). The game changer for the Jets was the 97-yard kickoff return by Brad Smith. New York can’t place
their bets on something like that happening again.
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