Today, 2 teams stand alone. They represent the best of their conference. They took on all comers, and came away at the top of the pile. In 13 days, they'll meet in the 40th edition of the Super Bowl. AFC What can you say that hasn't been said about Pittsburgh? They weren't supposed to beat Cincinnati. The Bengals had the better offense, and a ball-hawking defense. Ben Roethlisberger played so badly in the 2004 playoffs, and it seemed he was doomed to do the same. Bill Cowher's coaching abilities are always called into question in the playoffs - it seems to most people that he goes ultra-conservative, and often dooms his teams to failure because of it. They whipped Cincinnati. Maybe the doubters were wrong? Nah...Indy was next. No way the Steelers can beat Peyton's boys. The stars and planets were aligned for Peyton - every potential post-season game played in a dome, on a carpet, where their fast defense could utilize their speed to its fullest, and their precision offense wouldn't have to deal with the elements. Despite a crazy last 5 minutes (aided a great deal by the ref's), the Steelers beat Indy. Denver was immediately installed as favorites in the AFC Championship game. After all, Denver went 13-3 during the regular season, riding a resurgent Jake Plummer and a brutal running attack along with a punishing defense into the playoffs. Denver had karma on their side as they dispatched with the New England Patriots rather easily. Denver was 4-0 in AFC Championship games played at home, and they were 9-0 including the post-season at home. There was simply no possible way that Pittsburgh could come into their house and beat them. Right? Pittsburgh used the same basic philosophy against Denver that they used in their previous two wins. First, keep the opponent's defense off-balance. People expected Pittsburgh to run the ball; they came out passing. By the time that the oppoent figured out that Pittsburgh wasn't going to stop passing until they absolutely had to, it was too late. You have to jump out on top of Pittsburgh - that's what everyone says, right? Denver managed a first down on their first drive, and then the Steelers defense tightened. And then Denver was losing - only by a field goal - but it was enough. Pittsburgh's defense just *knew* it was enough. The Steelers defense basically went ballistic at that point, knowing that they had Denver exactly where they wanted them. You all know what happened next - a fumble here, and its 10-0. A good drive there, and its 17-3. A horrible Plummer pass was turned into a late 2nd quarter touchdown, and going into halftime it was 24-3, and that was the ballgame. In 2004, when the Steelers were on the losing side of a 24-3 deficit, Steeler faithful knew the game was over and done with. Despite a game attempt to get back into the game, the Patriots did to the Steelers last year what the Steelers did to Denver this year: take out their knees. Denver faithful are saying it was a "lost" season. That's a bit harsh - yes, the ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl, but there's only 1 team that can do that. Denver took some strides this year I think - they were beaten soundly, that's true, but they were beaten by the better team. In the past two years, they were exposed in certain areas by an Indy offense that took advantage of weaknesses, but couldn't play a solid, total football game. That's what Pittsburgh did - they played an all-around solid football game. Denver has nothing to feel sorry about in my opinion. They played as hard as they could, and they did what they could. But in the end, the better team won, and that's the bottom line in the NFL. In the playoffs, its almost always the better team that wins in the end. NFC Oh, there were doubters, weren't there? After watching Carolina absolutely dismantle the New York Giants powerful, high-scoring offense. Then, the hyped Chicago Bears defense found it impossible to cover Steve Smith, and he beat them almost single-handedly. Well, Seattle looked at that, and said "no." "Steve Smith will not beat us." And you know what? He didn't. Frankly, what happened to road teams playing their 3rd playoff game in a row did happen - the better, more-rested home team won in dominating fashion. Seattle's performance was so good that is has immediately vaulted this Super Bowl into the best ever "potential" one yet. Seattle has a terrific offense, led by NFL MVP Shaun Alexander, an incredibly effective Matt Hasselbeck and a young, fast defense that is terrorizing opposing offenses. They have good special teams. They have excellent coaching. They have few weaknesses and no outright flaws. They match up well against other teams, including the Steelers. They have a football team that is capable of winning it all. Like Philadephia last year, this team basically went out and took care of business. The best team in the NFC was supposed to go to the Super Bowl, and they did. Many observers of the NFC believed it to be up in the air at the start of the playoffs. Observers thought that any of the teams were capable of winning the NFC crown. But in the end, the only team that played its best ball consistently was Seattle. Washington's offense was horrible, and Seattle took advantage of that. Carolina upset both New York and Chicago, but both of those teams had some weaknesses in key areas - certainly a 2nd year QB making his first playoff appearance is cause for concern (New York) and a team with a year-long anemic offense cannot often win in the playoffs (Chicago). The funny thing about the NFC Championship Game is that Carolina didn't have one single "moment" where they could point at to say "if only...". Seattle denied them that chance by playing a superb all-around game. Denver could point at the Champ Bailey whiffed interception, and say "if only...". Not so in the NFC game. Carolina had a "great" defense. Didn't look it, did it? Seattle is so well-balanced and strong in so many areas that Carolina found themselves unable to defend anything. They were beaten from the opening gun, and have a very long off-season to ponder the "what ifs." Just like 10 other teams, Carolina goes home to ponder this past season, and to look forward to next year. Super Bowl XL The NFL gets probably its second or third best overall choice here. Number one - from a media standpoint - would have been the Indianapolis Colts facing the New York Giants. The Manning Brothers would have dominated headlines from A to Z. Second would have been the New England Patriots against anyone - but perhaps Chicago as the best choice. New England's magnificent QB going against Chicago's great defense - a 3-peat versus a renewed "85 Bears". The third choice for NFL execs would have been the two best overall teams facing off in a tight, evenly matched game. That's what they get. They should be pleased...