AFC Championship Game- Pittsburgh Steelers Vs. New York Jets

When the AFC Championship Game begins at 6:30pm Eastern Time on Sunday, the second and third best defenses in the league will be slugging it out for a trip and a chance at football supremacy. The two teams met in week 15 at Heinz Field, battling down to the waning seconds before Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger threw two incomplete passes to end the game with a loss.

The NFL Results for Round 1- New York Jets 22 Pittsburgh Steelers 17

Even though Pittsburgh won almost every statistical category including over 100 yards more offense, the game still ended in defeat. Should we expect the same result in the AFC Championship Game? It's possible, but not likely.

The Jets were 0-7 at Heinz Field before "eeking" out a win on December 19, 2010. They will be playing their third road game in the playoffs, and in the history of the NFL Wild-Cards only two teams have ever reached the Super Bowl by winning 3 road games. The Pittsburgh Steelers were the first to do it in 2005, and the New York Giants completed the mark in 2007.

We can all agree this year's AFC Championship Game is going to be a defensive battle, which means New York Jets QB Mark Sanchez and Ben Roethlisberger could make the difference in the game. Who has the edge? You decide.

Sanchez finished the regular season with 3,291 yards passing, 17 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. Eight of his thirteen interceptions were on the road, but the Jets team as a whole was able to go 4-2 in those games. However, Sanchez was only 4-4 when he threw more than 30 passes in a game. Over the first two playoffs games he attempted 31 against the Indianapolis Colts and 25 against the New England Patriots.

It might not sound like a huge issue considering the Jets still won both games, but when they faced Pittsburgh in week 15 the running game could only provide 89 yards between RBs LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene. Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall rushed for 99 yards. So the Jets are either going to have to control the clock by completing 3rd and shorts or air it out a bit more if these stats hold.

Roethlisberger missed 4 games at the beginning of the season due to his off the field issues, but he still finished the season with 3,200 yards passing, 17 touchdowns, and only 5 interceptions. He also only had 389 passing attempts to Sanchez's 507. In the 12 games the Steelers QB played he threw over 250 yards 9 times three of those over 300. Sanchez has only passed over 250 yards 6 times this year; including the playoffs. Eight of his 18 games were less than 200 yards.

The Steelers biggest problem this year was being able to win at home. They were 5-3 overall and 4-2 when Big Ben played. However, there home wins outside of the Atlanta Falcons the first week of the season were against: Carolina, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Oakland. Their losses were dealt by 3 of the 5 AFC playoff teams: Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, and the New York Jets.

Sunday's game time forecast will be around 20 degrees and a chance of snow showers.

What are your NFL results for the AFC Championship Game?