Superbowl 45 Set

Superbowl 45 is now set as it will be the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers. First up is Packers-Bears. Green Bay's defense knocked Chicago starting quarterback Jay Cutler 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 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 then 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 consective 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.

Now on to the AFC Championship between the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers. 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 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 quaterback 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 then 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. Stay tuned here to Solly on Sports for a Super Bowl Preview as we get closer to game time. But the next few posts will be a first half recap in the NHL for the New York Islanders and a preview of teh NHL All Star Game