First Super Bowl Meeting Between Steelers and Packers

With their win over the Jets, the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to face the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl. As a Packer fan, I wasn't rooting for one team over the other. The Packers beat the Jets 9-0 earlier this season, while the Packers recently lost to the Steelers 37-36 back in 2009. I don't look at meaningless historical stats, but that lost to the Steelers in 2009 featured nearly the same players for both teams. The Steelers are going to be the best team the Packers have faced in the playoffs.

The Steelers played almost the exact same game as the Packers played hours earlier. The Steelers dominated in the first half, and led 24-0 late in the second quarter. Just as the Packers offense stalled and gave the Bears offense a chance to recover, the Steelers offense vanished in the second half, only managing 75 yards of total offense. The Jets offense couldn't do anything until their final drive of the first half, but they gained 230 yards in the second half. And for both the Packers and Steelers, a defensive touchdown was the difference.

The Steelers are likely to be the favorite due to their better regular season record, and higher playoff seeding. Both teams deserve this trip. In the Packers case, they won three tough road games against the top three teams in the NFC to earn it. The Steelers had an easier two game, home schedule, in the playoffs, but they earned that home field advantage due to their outstanding regular season. Football Outsiders had these two teams ranked as the No. 2 (Steelers) and No. 3 teams (Packers) in the NFL this regular season. The Packers deserve to be the underdog, but they deserve this trip and the Super Bowl is going to be a great game.

Read about the Steelers at Behind The Steel Curtain.