NFC CHAMPIONSHIP
CHICAGO (AP) — It was the 182nd meeting in the league’s most historic rivalry, and the stakes had never been bigger.
Now the Green Bay Packers (13-6) are headed to Dallas.
And no matter what happens in the Super Bowl, the Packers and their fans hold ultimate bragging rights over their rivals to the South. The Packers will play the winner of Sunday night’s AFC title game between the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Aaron Rodgers ran for a touchdown. He made a touchdown-saving tackle. And he was better than three Bears quarterbacks in leading Green Bay to the Super Bowl with an ugly-but-beautiful 21-14 victory Sunday against Chicago.
“It’s a dream come true,” Rodgers said. “It’s an incredible feeling. I’m at a loss for words.”
Rodgers kept the Bears’ defense off balance all afternoon, Green Bay punter Tim Masthay kept Devin Hester under wraps and the Packers’ superb defense took care of the rest in knocking the rival Bears out of the playoffs.
All Jay Cutler could do was watch, having left the game with a knee injury early in the third quarter. And with Cutler sitting, little-known backup Caleb Hanie actually made it a game.
Chicago’s third-string quarterback rallied the Bears for a touchdown drive to cut the lead to 14-7 after Chester Taylor’s 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
Hanie and the Bears had a chance to tie the game after the Bears’ defense finally got a few stops, but Hanie threw a ball straight to Packers defensive lineman B.J. Raji, who lumbered 18 yards into the end zone for a touchdown to give the Packers a 21-7 lead.
Rodgers threw for 244 yards with two interceptions, but his play in the first half put the Bears in a hole as their defense seemed to fall for every play-action fake.
The Bears couldn’t make anything happen with primary backup Todd Collins in for Cutler, and appeared to be headed for a blowout until Hanie took over.
But the Bears were in a hole, and even Hanie’s unlikely rallies couldn’t bring them back.
“Just disappointment,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “We got into a hole but the guys fought back.”
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP
PITTSBURGH — For the third time in six seasons, Terrible Towels will twirl at the Super Bowl.
The Steelers silenced Rex Ryan’s wild bunch with a fumble return for a touchdown and a goal-line stand in a 24-19 victory for the AFC championship Sunday.
Look out Big D, here comes another Big D — in black and gold, and with an unmatched history of carrying off the Lombardi Trophy.
You can bet that the unit led by James Harrison, which shut down the Jets’ comeback in the fourth quarter, will test Aaron Rodgers. That overwhelming defense set the tone for most of a frigid night at Heinz Field to end the Jets’ stunning postseason run.
The Steelers ended the Jets’ season with a dominant first half for a 24-3 edge. Mendenhall had 95 of his 121 yards and a touchdown.
Roethlisberger has moved on from a four-game suspension at the beginning of the season to take Pittsburgh to its eighth Super Bowl. The Steelers own the most titles at six.
The Steelers are regulars, including titles for the 2005 and 2008 teams, both led by Roethlisberger and a fierce defense sparked by playmaking safety Troy Polamalu.
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 Indianapolis Colts, then Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on the road to get to Pittsburgh.
 
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