There’s only one game left for all of the marbles in the AFC this year, as the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets will be vying for the last spot in Super Bowl XLV on Sunday night. These two teams play some brutal football, and they are sure to put on a real defensive showcase when they collide in the Steel City. The oddsmakers have given the host Steelers the 3.5 point nod in this one, but is it justified? These three keys to the game should be used to sort out your AFC Championship Game picks for 2011.

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Key #1: Pressuring Big Ben
Here’s the interesting thing about this game and this key in particular. The Jets absolutely cannot beat the Steelers if they don’t figure out how to get in the face of QB Ben Roethlisberger. This doesn’t mean that they need to really get their stats like they did against QB Tom Brady when they brought him down five times on Sunday, but they do need to at least get in Big Ben’s throwing lanes and cause him to take some extra hits and spend some more time in the pocket. For Pittsburgh, it probably isn’t vital that the O-Line keeps men away from Roethlisberger due to the fact that he is a huge man and can shake some tackles. However, no one wants to see their quarterback take a dozen or more shots on the day like the Jets are planning for Pittsburgh’s signal caller in this one. The depth problem for Pittsburgh at offensive tackle has been well documented, as this team is already three deep right now into its depth chart from the start of the year at that position, and there are absolutely no more injuries that can be afforded. The interior line is in fine shape, and this is where New York brings the majority of its pressure, but the whole unit of five, six, or even seven blockers on some plays, really has to be broken down by the Jets if they hope to survive in the Steel City.

Current AFC Championship Game Odds at JustBet
New York Jets +3.5
Pittsburgh Steelers -3.5
Over/Under 38
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Key #2: Sanchez and company have to take care of the football
It really seems like the “Duh” statement of the year to think that the Jets have to keep a hold of the football in order to beat the Steelers, but this is exactly what the problem was for the Baltimore Ravens last week. If RB Ray Rice doesn’t fumble that screen pass or if QB Joe Flacco doesn’t fumble that snap or make that ill advised throw… if any of those things don’t happen, this game is likely being played in Baltimore and not in Pittsburgh. The Jets have just as much firepower on offense as Baltimore does, but they don’t have nearly as much confidence in QB Mark Sanchez as the Ravens do in QB Joe Flacco. However, on Sunday against the New England Patriots, “The Sanchise” was on fire, as he threw three TD passes and was not picked off. In fact, the Jets didn’t turn the ball over once on the day, something that is amazing against a defense that led the league in picks on the campaign. It seems awfully fundamental to think about, but it really is this simple. If the Jets turn the ball over more than once in this one, they’re in a lot of trouble. The Steelers need to make sure that they get the job done and get the ball back in the hands of their offense, where the real damage can be done. Remember when these two teams met the first time that S Troy Polamalu didn’t play. He’s a real difference maker in the center of this defense, and he could be a turnover forcing machine come Sunday.

Key #3: Rashard Mendenhall has to be big
If there’s one player for the Steelers that really has to have an impact game on Sunday, it is RB Rashard Mendenhall. He is the man that is going to keep the pressure off of Big Ben and the passing game, and he is also the one that can frustrate this defense to no end if he can keep the ball moving on the ground and keep that clock going. Mendenhall rushed for 100 yards on 19 carries the first time around when these teams met, proving that New York indeed had a beatable defense this year on the ground. This was still a unit that ranked No. 2 in the AFC and No. 3 in the league at just 90.1 yards per game this year, and the Jets did a fantastic job holding down the Pats, as neither RB Danny Woodhead nor RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis reached the 50 yard barrier on the day on Sunday. When Mendenhall reaches the 100+ yard barrier, the Steelers generally win, though obviously this was a huge exception this year. Pittsburgh was 5-0 when Mendenhall reached 100+ yards in his career prior to this point. You can bet that he is going to get his carries like he did last week against Baltimore, and when push comes to shove, having him make a big impact on this game might be the difference between going to the Super Bowl and watching it on TV for the men from the Steel City.

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The first spot in Super Bowl XLV will be handed out on Sunday, January 23rd at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL, as the Chicago Bears will take on the Green Bay Packers. These two teams know all about each other, having already played two games this season, with the home team winning both duels. The Bears covered both sets of NFL odds in these divisional clashes, and the oddsmakers still have them as three point underdogs on Sunday. Which team will beat the NFC Championship odds? Check out these three keys to the game that should be the deciding factors.

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Key #1: The Bears need to play defense like they did in the first half against Seattle and not in the second half
We know that the NFC Divisional Round duel against the Seattle Seahawks was really a tale of two halves for the Bears, as they were completing dominating for about two and a half quarters before pulling up lame down the stretch and nearly blowing the cover. However, this is a unit that has just been downright nasty all season long, allowing just 90.1 yards per game on the ground in the regular season. Chicago only allowed 34 yards on 12 carries in its first postseason tussle as well. The Bears did allow 331.5 yards per game in the regular season to these Packers, but we really know better. A lot of the yards for QB Aaron Rodgers were created from just a few big plays, but they ultimately were not parlayed into all that many points. Keeping this team to just 27 points in two games is definitely a feat to be proud of. There were also two turnovers forced by the men from the Windy City in this one, which is a problem that the Packers have had at times over the course of this season. They’ve done a great job of protecting the pigskin thus far in the second season, especially against the Falcons when they had just one blown fumble, and the three turnovers that they have had haven’t really come back to bite them.

Current NFC Championship Odds at BetUS Sportsbook
Green Bay Packers -3
Chicago Bears +3
Over/Under 44
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Key #2: Alright Jay Cutler… What’ve you got?
This isn’t necessarily a key that will cause Chicago to win this game, but it certainly could be a key to losing it. Cutler has been much maligned since coming to the Windy City, as he has thrown 42 picks in two years after throwing for just 37 picks in two and a half years with the Denver Broncos. The media in the Midway has been all over his case about not protecting the football and not coming up big in big games, and there are certainly still some reasons to believe that this is the case after winning his first playoff game on Sunday. Cutler did only go 15-of-28 on the day, a completion percent of just 53.6 percent, and this came against a defense that was dreadful against the pass all year long. The former Vanderbilt Commodore did toss three picks in two games against Green Bay in the regular season, and he ended the season with 16 boo boos. Enter the Packers ‘D’. This unit had 24 picks in the regular season, the most in the NFC and just one behind the New England Patriots for the league lead. We always thought that you wouldn’t find a better ball hawk in the game than DB Charles Woodson, but we were wrong. DB Tramon Williams has developed a tremendous nose for the ball, and he had the amazing pick six that sunk the Atlanta Falcons last Saturday. If Cutler gets careless with the football, he will throw picks to this team, and if he does that, the Bears don’t stand a chance.

Key #3: The battle at the line of scrimmage
You can bet that line play is going to be preached on both sides of the football this week. The Packers probably think they can get away with a little more leniency on this facet of the game because they are so talented elsewhere, but the team that wins this battle is most likely going to be the one that wins this game. Neither offensive line was that sharp all year, as neither opened up that many holes for the running game. Even in the divisional round games, the Bears averaged just 3.91 yards per carry (and that includes a 21 yard scamper by Cutler), while the Packers only averaged 3.10 yards per carry. Chicago’s OL is going to have to find a way to stop a Green Bay front that had five sacks of QB Matt Ryan on Saturday night, two of which came from one of the biggest sack masters in the league, LB Clay Matthews. The Packers are going to have to contend with a front seven that just has a mean streak in it, and though the Bears did really have the individual stats this year that some of the players on Green Bay’s ‘D’ did, they had the second best defensive front in terms of rushing this year in the league at just 90.1 yards per game.