The Pittsburgh Steelers played an almost flawless first half against the Jets in the AFC Championship game. The Steelers jumped out to a commanding 24-0 lead in the second quarter on a defensive touchdown forced by Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor. Taylor blind sided Jets quarterback Sanchez and William Gay picked up the fumble and ran it in to put the Steelers ahead 24-0 late in the second quarter. The Jets drove for a late field goal to make the score 24-3 at halftime.

Rashard Mendenhall rushed for 95 of his 121 total yards in the first half. He consistently found a way to make positive gains on every run even though the Jets defensive line played strong at the point of attack. Mendenhall's 35 yard scamper was the longest rush of the season given up by the Jets defense.

“We played a good second half. We never played a good game, and that was the difference,” The Jets Ryan said in a post game interview with CBS. “You get to this point, you’ve got to play a great game against a great opponent and we played a good half and that was it.”

The Steelers snapped New York’s hopes of making the Super Bowl a sixth-seed spectacular; the Packers are the NFC’s No. 6 seed. Coach Mike Tomlin’s team was eager for the fight from the outset, while Ryan’s guys were flat until it was too late. The Jets did get a 45-yard TD pass from Mark Sanchez to Santonio Holmes—the hero of Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl victory two years ago—and a safety after Pittsburgh’s goal-line stand.

The early 24 point lead proved to be too deep for the Jets, even after a 4-yard TD pass to Jerricho Cotchery made it 24-19 with 3:06 remaining. The Jets would never get the ball back.

Jets head coach Ryan slammed down his headset when Antonio Brown caught a pass for a first down that allowed Pittsburgh to hang on to the ball and run out the clock.

“It’s not always pretty with us,” Roethlisberger said, “but we do the job.”

At game’s end, Roethlisberger knelt on the field, his face buried in an AFC championship T-shirt.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” he said. No one had to ask what he meant.

“God is good and this one was for Steelers fans,” Roethlisberger said. “I’m really proud of the way you came out and supported us tonight.”

The outspoken Jets seemed to have left everything they had in New England last Sunday. There was no trash talking all week and even less fire early in their biggest game since winning the championship 42 years ago. They haven’t been back to the Super Bowl. The Steelers are regulars, including Super Bowl titles for the 2005 and 2008 teams, both led by Roethlisberger and a fierce defense sparked by playmaking safety Troy Polamalu.

Polamalu, his long hair flowing from under his helmet, didn’t have to do a whole lot this time. Not with the way his teammates whipped the Jets at the line of scrimmage before a spirited New York surge in the second half.

“We overcame a lot more obstacles this year than we have in the past,” Polamalu said. “But we still got one more to go. “

And too often, New York’s defense was like a swinging gate that Roethlisberger and Mendenhall ran through with ease.

Asked if he would change anything about this season, Ryan said, “I would change the outcome of this game and that’s the only thing I would change. We don’t need to apologize to anybody. We’ll be back, you’ll see.”

Mike Tomlin, only the third coach in Pittsburgh since 1969—Chuck Noll won four Super Bowls and Bill Cowher one—led the Steelers to their last title in 2008. He could become the second coach to win two titles in his first four seasons. Joe Gibbs is the other.

For the third time in six seasons, The Terrible Towels will wave at the Super Bowl in Texas, where the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet the Green Bay Pay Packers.The Steelers (14-4) also will challenge the Packers, who are 2 1/2 -point favorites, with a versatile attack led by their quarterback and running back Rashard Mendenhall.

Pittsburgh Steelers Rally to Defeat Ravens in AFC Divisional Playoffs