Jets, Colts to Battle in AFC Championship Game on Sunday
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 | Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, NFL, Sports
The New York Jets will battle the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game at 3PM EST on Sunday, January 24th.
The Jets have pulled off 2 road upset wins in Cincinnati and San Diego to make it to the AFC Championship Game. Can they make it 3 in a row? The Jets will use a heavy dose of Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene in order to eat some clock and keep the ball out of the hands of the Colts’ MVP Quarterback Peyton Manning. If the Jets can establish a good rushing attack and then open up a safe passing attack for rookie Quarterback Mark Sanchez on friendly 1st and 2nd downs, they could keep it close. And then anything is possible.
For the Colts, playing on their home turf with Manning leading a potent aerial attack, they have to like their odds of advancing to the Super Bowl. The Jets will try to blitz the hell out of Manning to disrupt the Colts passing game, but it will be a tough road to hoe. Reggie Wayne is a legitimate NFL superstar wide receiver and young wide-outs Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon have also emerged as reliable threats. When you throw in all-Pro tight end Dallas Clark, it makes it almost impossible to defend the Colts on every play. Jets All-Pro cornerback will try to contain Wayne on a consistent basis, so it will be up to the rest of the Jets secondary to limit big plays elsewhere. It should be a fun chess match to watch.
My mind tells me that Peyton Manning and the tough Colts defense will propel the Colts into Super Bowl XVIV. But my heart would love to see the young, up-and-coming Jets make New York proud with a surprise berth in the Championship Game.
