Tonight one lucky team will advance to the Super Bowl, as the Indianapolis Colts host the New York Jets in the AFC Championship Game. Indianapolis is no stranger to this stage, as they are set to appear in their third conference title game of this decade, owning a 1-1 record in such a contest. The Jets on the other hand, are appearing in their first conference title game since 1998, back when Bill Parcells was heir coach and Vinny Testaverde was their quarterback. These Jets however full of new faces, including larger than life head coach Rex Ryan and rookie sensation Mark Sanchez at quarterback. Not to be forgotten is a dominating defense that ranks at the top of the league in half a dozen categories. The Colts’ offense is no slouch either, as reigning MVP Peyton Manning directs an attack that is arguably the most difficult to stop in the league. So what happens when the unstoppable force meets the immovable object? We will know soon enough.
Is it lost on anyone that the Indianapolis Colts are responsible for the New York Jets making the playoffs? A month ago from this day, the Colts pulled their starters with a 15-10 lead at the half against the Jets, in an attempt to rest their players for the postseason. At that point, the Colts really had nothing to play for outside of a perfect season, which they went on record proclaiming that they didn’t care about. Because of their generosity, the Jets picked up the ball and haven’t dropped it since, winning their final tow games of the regular season, and proceeded to upset both the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Diego Chargers in the previous two rounds of the payoffs to get to this point. Despite having both a rookie quarterback and head coach, New York has proven that they are not to be taken lightly, sporting the league’s top defense and running game. There’s also the matter of their swagger,which has matriculated down from Ryan throughout their roster, morphing them into what some would call a supremely overconfident team. Inside linebacker Bart Scott went so far as to even all his team “grimy”, which actually suits them quite well. New York has held the opposition to a meager 9.4 points per game over their last eight outings, including the Chargers to just 14 points, the first all season that they have been held under 20 points. On the season the Jets were tops in the league in points allowed (14.8 points), total defense (252.3 yards), and passing defense (153.7 yards) among other categories. In typical Rex Ryan fashion, this unit blitzes virtually snap, from a variety of different places, allowing their secondary to make play after play. It will be that secondary of course that will be the key in stopping Manning and the vaunted Colts’ passing game. Cornerback Darrelle Revis has blossomed into one of the top cornerbacks in the league this season, and was spectacular in the win over San Diego last weekend, intercepting Chargers’ quarterback Philip Rivers twice on the day, the second of which was a remarkable, juggling pick that he made while on his back. Revis will likely be matched with Colts’ receiver Reggie Wayne all game, but it will be teammates such as Lito Sheppard and Jim Leonhard to keep the other receivers covered. Offensively, the gameplan is really quite simple; run the ball, minimize your mistakes, and keep Manning off the field. The Jets led the league in rushing offense in 2009, averaging 172.2 yards per game on the ground, behind an offensive line that sent three players to the Pro Bowl. In the postseason New York has rushed for 340 yards in two games, 263 of which have come fro rookie tailback Shonn Greene. Along with Thomas Jones, Greene led an attack that racked up 200 yards against Indianapolis back in Week 16. With such a strong ground game, quarterback Mark Sanchez has been able to simply “manage” the game in his rookie season. In two games, Sanchez has posted a quarterback rating of 92.3 and has turned the ball over just once; compared to the 20 interceptions he threw in the regular season. Sanchez is now the second rookie quarterback in the history of the game to win two playoff games, joining the ravens’ Joe Flacco.
The Indianapolis Colts may have been responsible for jumpstarting the Jets’ run to the AFC Championship Game, but they hope they will be the ones to end the upstart’s season as well. At the forefront as always is Peyton Manning, who took home his fourth MVP award, making him the first player in the history of the league to ever do so. Interestingly, Manning faced a very similar defense last week in the form of the Ravens, of which Ryan used to be defensive coordinator for.
Manning shredded Baltimore’s defense, completing 30-of-44 passes for 246 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the 20-3 Colts victory. Six different players caught multiple passes on the day, as the Colts had led the time of possession by nearly eight minutes. This is one of the most unique offenses in the league, in the fact that they can kill you with the big play, or just chip away while the clock continues to run. Indianapolis has long since had one of the least productive ground games in the league, but that has been by design more than anything. They picked up only 44 yards via the run against the Ravens, but it was just enough to make the play-action game effective. Perhaps the most overlooked facet of this team has been it’s defense, which completely shut down Baltimore last weekend. Indianapolis allowed just a dozen first downs and three points last weekend, and forced four turnovers in the win. The often-underestimated run defense held Baltimore tailback Ray Rice to just 67 yards, a week after the Pro Bowler torched the Patriots for over 150 yards. Defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis did not register a sack last weekend, but harassed Flacco all night. Perhaps it is time to finally stop overlooking this unit, which gave up just 19.2 points per game (eighth overall), and ranked in the top half of the league in sacks (34), interceptions (16), and passing defense (212.7). They are particularly tough at home, where their speed can be overwhelming. It should also be noted that before head coach Jim Caldwell pulled his starters, the Colts held the Jets to only seven first downs in their Week 16 outing.
