New York Jets: Facing 2 "Quarterbacks" in Pittsburgh

Mark Sanchez has come a long way in his sophomore year, and if the Jets win today, it will be because of him.  But the odds are that they won't.

Sanchez's pattern is somewhat similar to that of the Steelers Ben Roethlisberger, who won a Super Bowl in HIS sophomore year.  But the Steelers still have him, with seven years experience under his belt.  At such an early stage of development, those five years represent a big difference, which wouldn't be true 10 or even five years from now.

Sanchez can go something like 16 for 25 for about 200 yards on a good day.  Those are Roethlisberger-type numbers, but Roethlisberger has a few skills that Sanchez doesn't, such as the ability to call a big play and to scramble out of the "pocket."  These skills served the Steelers well in avoiding a loss to the Baltimore Ravens last week.

Yes, the Steelers lost to the Ravens in the regular season (as did the Jets), but that was because "Big Ben" was serving a four game suspension for, uh, personal issues.  The Steelers won two games against the Ravens, one in the regular season and one in the postseason, when he started.

Roethlisberger is a cat with nine lives.  He used up one of them a week ago.  He will, if necessary, use up one more today, but he probably isn't out of them.

Even so, with their strong defense, the Jets might be favorites today except for the Steelers' second "quarterback," defender Troy Polamalu.  He is a free safety who has the run of the backfield and occasionally comes forward for the blitz. He is particularly effective because of  his ability to "read" offensive plays in their embryonic form, and break them up before they fully mature.

Yes, the Jets managed to beat the Steelers in the regular season—because Polamalu was out with injuries.  In the past two years, Pittsburgh has a losing record in games that he has not played.  But he is playing today, and the Steelers have been 15-4 over the same time frame in such games.

The New York Jets allowed just over 300 points during the season, making them number six on defense in the National Football League.  But the "Steel curtain" and teammates are number one in this category, allowing only 232. The point differences in the season were 63 for the Jets and 143—more than twice as many—for the Steelers.

Mark Sanchez and the Jets have already exorcised some demons, finally beating Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts two weeks ago, then Tom Brady and the New England Patriots last week.  But today, they face a very similar team that is more seasoned in postseason play.  As such, Gang Green has an uphill fight.

Perhaps they can win the conference and make it to the Super Bowl.  But if they don't, "two out three ain't bad."