AFC Championship, 2010: Pittsburgh 24 New York Jets 19

Game information
Pittsburgh jumped to an early 24–0 lead and held off a desperate comeback rally to earn their third Super Bowl bid in the last six years.

Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall rushed eight times for 28 yards on their opening drive, which took over nine minutes off the clock and ended with his 1-yard touchdown run. Then he rushed four times for 22 yards and caught an 18-yard pass on a drive to the Jets 32-yard line. Linebacker Bryan Thomas ended the drive with an interception, but the Steelers forced a punt and drove for another score, aided by Mendenhall's 35-yard burst. Shaun Suisham finished the drive with a 20-yard field goal to make the score 10–0. Following another punt, Ben Roethlisberger completed a 24-yard pass to tight end Heath Miller, a 20-yarder to Emmanuel Sanders, and a 14-yard throw to Mendenhall on the way to a 2-yard touchdown run. Two plays after the ensuing kickoff, Ike Taylor sacked Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez on a defensive back blitz and forced a fumble, which cornerback William Gay returned 19 yards for a touchdown, increasing their lead to 24–0 with just over a minute left in the half. This time New York managed to respond, with Sanchez completing four passes for 39 yards on a drive that ended with a 42-yard field goal by Nick Folk, cutting the score to 24–3 going into halftime.

New York took the second half kickoff and scored with just five plays. Shonn Greene started off the drive with a 23-yard run, while Sanchez finished it with a pair of completions to Santonio Holmes, the first for 16 yards, and the second a 45-yard touchdown completion. Pittsburgh responded with a drive to the Jets 37-yard line, but turned the ball over when safety Brodney Pool intercepted a pass from Roethlisberger inside the 10. After an exchange of punts, the Jets converted two fourth downs on a 17-play drive to a first down on the Steelers 2-yard line. But Pittsburgh's defense made a key goal line stand. First Greene tried to run up the middle, but was stuffed at the 1-yard line. Then Sanchez threw an incomplete pass and another that was batted down by linebacker LaMarr Woodley. On fourth down, LaDainian Tomlinson tried to run through the middle, but Brett Keisel and Casey Hampton tackled him for no gain, turning the ball over.

On the next play, Roethlisberger fumbled a snap and was downed in the end zone for a safety. New York then drove 58 yards following the free kick and scored with Sanchez's 4-yard touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery, cutting their deficit to 24–19 with 3:06 left in the game. But the Steelers managed to pick up two key first downs on their next drive with a 14-yard reception by Miller and a 14-yard catch by Antonio Brown on third down and six with less than two minutes left, enabling them to run out the rest of the clock.

Mendenhall rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown, while also catching two passes for 32. Sanchez threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns. Pool had six tackles and an interception.

As of 2023, this is the Jets' most recent playoff appearance.

This was the second postseason meeting between the Jets and Steelers, with Pittsburgh winning the only prior meeting 20–17 in overtime in the 2004 AFC Divisional playoffs.

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