NFC and AFC Championship games

This weekend, two games were played, with the winners headed to (puke) Dallas, Texas to play in Super Bowl XLV in two weeks. The loser were sent home. The first game was the NFC game, with...

The Chicago Bears hosting the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay struck first on Aaron Rodgers' touchdown run of 1 yard, followed by a Mason Crosby extra point. Making it 14-0 was James Starks' 4 yard touchdown run, with Crosby supplying the extra point again, which was the score into halftime. In the fourth quarter, Chicago got on the board with a Chester Taylor run of 1 yard for the score, with Robbie Gould adding the extra point. B.J. Raji gave the Packers the next touchdown, an 18 yard interception return of Caleb Hanie's throw, with Crosby adding the extra point for a 21-7 score. The Bears tried to overcome the Packers' lucky break, with a Hanie pass to Earl Bennett for 35 yards and the score plus an extra point by Gould, but it would be too little too late as Green Bay defeated Chicago and earned a Super Bowl ticket.

The next game had the Pittsburgh Steelers hosting the New York Jets. Rashard Mendenhall put Pittsburgh up early with a 1 yard touchdown run followed by a Shaun Suisham extra point. Suisham added a 20 yard field goal to make it 10-0 for the Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger took to the ground to score a touchdown for Pittsburgh on his 1 yard run, with Suisham adding the extra point. Making it 24-0 was Suisham with the extra point on the William Gay fumble recovery from Mark Sanchez of 19 yards. To avoid a fruitless first half, the score going into the locker rooms was 24-3 after Nick Folk booted in a 42 yard field goal. New York rolled along in the second half, with Sanchez finding Santonio Holmes for 45 yards, allowing Folk to add an extra point to bring the score to 24-10. The Jets added on 2 to their score when they pinned Roethlisberger in his own end zone. Sanchez also connected with Jerricho Cotchery for a 4 yard touchdown pass, with Folk making it 24-19. The Steelers managed to weather the rest of the storm, and punched their ticket to play against the Packers in Dallas two weeks from now.