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NFL Playoff Odds: Steelers Favored Over Jets

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The Steelers are moving on to the AFC Championship Game to take on the New York Jets at 6:30 on Sunday, and the oddsmakers have the Steelers favored by three points. Maybe it's just homerism on my part, but I wonder if that might be a little generous to New York. Yes, the Steelers (without Troy Polamalu) lost to the Jets at home in December, and yes, the Jets beat the Patriots twice this year. But the Steelers are the better team, even if not by much, so they should get more than the three-point edge that typically comes with home-field advantage.

The Jets finished the regular season losing three of their last five, including an embarrassing loss to the Pats, and they just snuck by the Colts in the first round of the playoffs. They played very well against the Pats on Sunday, but the line between the good Mark Sanchez and the bad Mark Sanchez seems to be easily crossed, and I'm not sure the Jets are better team even if Sanchez stays on the right side of it.

In the 3:00 game, the Packers are favored by three against the Bears, which seems reasonable. It's interesting to see a sixth seed be the favorite in the conference championship, but the Packers, who beat the top-seeded Falcons this week, are probably the better team.

Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.