What’s the key to winning the AFC Championship this Sunday? Some say it will be the team with the better passing game, while others might say the team with the best defense.  But the key to winning the AFC Championship could very well come down to which team has the best rushing game.

With the Jets and Steelers having plenty of game changing players in the secondary, running could very well be the key to winning even though the Steelers and Jets finished first and third, respectively, in rush defense. In their last regular season match up, the Jets ran for 106 yards and the Steelers 146.

The rushing game is key to winning the AFC Championship because the team that successfully runs the ball can control the play clock, setup the play action pass, and minimize turnovers.

Here are some facts about the Jets and Steelers:

Averages Per Game

Jets offensive average: 351 total yards, 202 yards passing and 148 yards rushing per game
Steelers offensive average: 345 total yards, 225 yards passing, 120 yards rushing per game

Jets defense average: 291 total yards, 200 passing and 91 rushing
Steelers defense ave: 276 total yards, 214 passing and 62 rushing

Post Season Trends

The Jets are 2-0 against the spread (ATS), 2-0 ATS away, 2-0 ATS as the underdog and 2-0 as an away underdog.
The Steelers are 1-0 against the spread (ATS), 1-0 ATS at home, 1-0 ATS as the favorite and 1-0 as a home favorite.

Jets and Steelers Regular Season

Matchup	JETS	STEELERS
Wins-Losses	11-5	12-4
Avg Points	22.9	23.4
Avg Points Allowed	19.0	14.5
Home Record	5-3	5-3
Road Record	6-2	7-1
Division Record	4-2	5-1
Conference Record	9-3	9-3

Look for both the Jets and Steelers to dominate the play clock with a game plan that emphasizes the running game.

source: espn.com

As any NFL football fan knows, Peyton Manning’s Colts will play Drew Brees’ Saints in Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday, 2/7/2010. The Colts vs Saints Super Bowl 2010 will be a high flying aerial assault. With Peyton Manning able to pick away at even the highest rated defense against the pass, our Saints-Colts Super Bowl prediction is the Saints don’t stand a chance.

Last week in the AFC Championship playoff, the Colts beat the #1 ranked defense in the New York Jets 30 – 17. Peyton Manning’s completed 26 of 39 passes for 377 yards and 3 TDs.

Defensively the Colts gave up 388 total yards and 2 passing TDs but were able to control the Jets offense in the final three quarters of the AFC Championship game.

While in the NFC Championship playoff game, the Saints defeated the Minnesota Vikings 31 – 28 in OT. It wasn’t pretty and the Vikings were very lucky to win. If it weren’t for 5 Viking turnovers capped off by a late 4th quarter unexplicable Brett Favre interception, the Saints would be back in the French Quarter drowning their sorrows.

Offensively, the Saints could muster only 257 total yards. QB Brees completed 17 of 31 for 197 yards and 3 TDs but the Saints porous defense gave up a total of 475 yards with 310 of them in the air. The Vikings also dominated time of possession with 36 minutes to the Saints 28.

The 2010 Super Bowl will be aired on CBS with kickoff time of 6:25 pm ET. The Colts are favored by 6 points and the under/over is 576 1/2.

The Bottom Line
The New Orleans Saints defense will be overwhelmed by 4 time NFL MVP Peyton Manning and the Colts. It seems that the Saints had their goals set at reaching the Super Bowl while the Colts goal is to WIN the 2010 Super Bowl.

The New Orleans Saints are America’s sentimental favorite due to what the whole of Louisiana endured with Hurricane Katrina. President Barack Obama has publicly stated he is rooting for the Saints – and that’s the kiss of death.

TheNFLthisweek Colts-Saints Super Bowl Prediction

Colts 45 Saints 21

Are you amazed that the New York Jets have made it all the way to the AFC Championship game? Do you think the Jets have no chance at all at beating Peyton Manning and the Colts? Consider this…

Jets disbelievers said that the Colts and Bengals “rested” against the Jets in the final two weeks of the NFL regular season – MAYBE.

They said the Jets would get booted in the AFC wild card game against the Bengals – WRONG!

They said there was absolutely no chance that the Jets could beat the 13-3 Chargers – WRONG!

And now they’re saying the Jets have no chance whatsoever to beat the Colts – WRONG AGAIN!

I have just one thing to say to the disbelievers – remember the 2007 New York Giants? The Giants limped into the playoffs with a 10-6 regular season record. They defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC wild card game, the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Championship game and the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game – all on the road.

And the icing on the cake? The Giants were 12.5 point underdog to the undefeated Belichick-Brady Patriots (16-0) in Super Bowl XLII. No body game the Giants any chance of winning. We all know the outcome of that game – the Giants became Super Bowl XLII Champions – remember?

You can draw a lot of parallels between the 2009 Jets and the 2007 Giants.

Here are 10 reasons why the Jets will beat the Colts in the AFC Championship game:

1. Jets have the best overall defense in the NFL
2. Jets have the best against the pass in the NFL
3. Jets have the best rushing offense in the NFL
4. Jets beat a team (the Chargers) that had won 11 games in a row in a game. A game the “experts” said the Jets had no chance to winning
5. The Jets believe in their coach Rex Ryan and themselves
6. The Colts are last in the NFL when rushing the ball
7. The Colts only beat the Ravens last week because of the Ravens mistakes: Two lost fumbles, two interceptions and seven penalties for 65 yards.
8. The Colts offense only scored 20 points against the Ravens in the AFC Divisional Championship even though the Ravens turned the ball over 4 times.
9. Jets have nothing to lose and there is no pressure on them
10. Jets are on a roll and cannot be stopped. The Jets have the momentum.

The AFC Championship Game prediction by the odds makers hve the Colts favored by 7.5 points with the under/over set at 40.5 points.

Thenlfthisweek.com AFC Championship Game prediction:

Jets 24 Colts 21