Steelers head to record 8th Super Bowl

Photo by: Gene J. Puskar

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall (34) surges for a 1-yard touchdown in the grasp of New York Jets linebacker Bart Scott (57) during the first half of the AFC Championship NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2011.

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers found a fitting way to shut down the New York Jets’ season.

What started with “Hard Knocks,” ended with hard knocks.

For the third time in six seasons, Terrible Towels will twirl at the Super Bowl, where the Steelers will meet Green Bay after silencing Rex Ryan’s wild bunch in a 24-19 victory for the AFC championship.

Look out Big D, here comes another Big D — in black and gold, and with an unmatched history of carrying off the Lombardi Trophy.

The Steelers (14-4) also will challenge the Packers, who are 21/2-point favorites, with a versatile attack led by their quarterback and running back Rashard Mendenhall.

The defense, led by James Harrison, had a fumble return for a touchdown and a goal-line stand that shut down the Jets’ comeback in the fourth quarter. It will certainly test Aaron Rodgers in the title game in Dallas on Feb. 6.

That smothering defense set the tone for most of a frigid night at Heinz Field to end the Jets’ stunning postseason run. Ryan slammed down his headset when Antonio Brown caught a pass for a first down that allowed Pittsburgh to hang on and run out the clock.

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

The Steelers ended the Jets’ season with a dominant first half for a 24-3 lead. Mendenhall had 95 of his 121 yards and a touchdown.

“We played a good half. We never played a good game, and that was the difference,” Ryan said.

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.

Now he will lead the Steelers into their eighth Super Bowl, a game they handle pretty well — and have a record six titles to show for it.

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.

New York (13-6) failed for the fourth time in the AFC title game since 1969, when the Jets won perhaps the most significant of all Super Bowls. It was a devastating finish, particularly after the Jets beat Peyton Manning and the Colts, then Tom Brady and the Patriots on the road to get to Pittsburgh.

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.”

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.

But the early hole was too deep, even after a 4-yard TD pass to Jerricho Cotchery made it 24-19 with 3:06 remaining. The Jets never got the ball back.

Pittsburgh set the early tone with a 66-yard march that took up the first nine minutes, with Roethlisberger displaying his scrambling skills on several plays, including a key 12-yard run on third-and-12. Mendenhall reached the ball over the goal line from the 1, the final of a 15-play drive in which the Steelers pushed around Ryan’s pride and joy.

But Pittsburgh also lost outstanding rookie center Maurkice Pouncey with a sprained left ankle, leaving it with just one backup offensive lineman.

It was the Jets who were struggling to block, though. And catch, with the usually sure-handed Cotchery making a key third-down drop.

Or tackle. Mendenhall found seams to the left, right or up the middle. His 35-yard sprint in the second quarter led to Shaun Suisham’s 20-yard field goal and a 10-0 lead that was insurmountable the way the Jets were whiffing.

It became 17-0 as Roethlisberger scooted into the end zone from the 2. Just 47 seconds later, Ike Taylor sacked Sanchez, forcing a fumble that William Gay ran 22 yards for a 24-0 lead.

Then the Jets began their comeback.

Tomlin could become the second coach to win two titles in his first four seasons. Joe Gibbs is the other.