Steelers, Packers to Meet in Super Bowl XLV

PITTSBURGH (TheStreet) -- The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers will meet in Super Bowl XLV on Feb. 6, the first time the two storied franchises will face each other for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The Steelers narrowly defeated the New York Jets 24-19 late Sunday to win the Lamar Hunt Trophy and advance to the Super Bowl. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger passed for 133 yards and two interceptions and rushed for 21 yards and a touchdown. Running back Rashard Mendenhall powered the offense with 121 rushing yards. Pittsburgh dominated in time of possession in the first half of play, and held onto the football for nearly 35 minutes in the game.

For the Jets, quarterback Mark Sanchez passed for 233 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also fumbled the ball late in the first half, which lead to a Pittsburgh score.

The Steelers, who rank first in Super Bowl Championships with six, will be making their eighth appearance in the NFL Championship game, having last won Super Bowl XLIII in February 2009 over the Arizona Cardinals. Only the Dallas Cowboys have played in as many Super Bowl games.

Earlier in the day, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago by a score of 21-14 for the NFC Championship. The Packers held the lead during the entire game, surrendering two touchdowns to the Bears in the fourth quarter.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers passed for 244 yards and two interceptions. Rodgers also rushed for 39 yards and a touchdown. Bears starting quarterback Jay Cutler passed for 80 yards with one interception before he left the game with a knee injury in the third quarter. Todd Collins came off the bench to throw four incomplete passes before third-string quarterback Caleb Hanie took over.

Hanie passed for 153 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, including one with less than 40 seconds to play in the game.

In winning the George Halas Trophy, the Packers become the first sixth seed in the NFC to reach the Super Bowl. It will be the fifth Super Bowl appearance for the Packers, who lost to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII in 1998.

Both the Packers and the Steelers were favored in their respective games by 3.5 points and easily covered the spread. Early lines from Vegas bookmakers have the Packers as 2-point favorites in the Super Bowl.

-- Written by Robert Holmes in Boston.



>To contact the writer of this article, click here: Robert Holmes.

>To follow Robert Holmes on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/RobTheStreet.

>To submit a news tip, send an email to: [e-mail].

Disclosure: TheStreet's editorial policy prohibits staff editors, reporters and analysts from holding positions in any individual stocks.