I happened to be in Colorado over the weekend as the Denver Broncos and their fans prepared to host the AFC Championship game against Pittsburgh. They were pumped up to say the least, getting the chance to host the game was a surprise to begin with. They fully expected to be playing in Indianapolis for the title, but a chance to host it at their own stadium against the Steelers was a gift they didn’t expect. So not only were they pumped up, but also their fans were a bit cocky and making plans to go to Detroit for Super Bowl XL.

The Steelers on the other hand were decidedly low-key, showing up on Friday and not saying much as they stayed under the radar as much as possible. Pittsburgh was trying to do something no team has ever done before, beat the first, second and third seeds on their way to the conference title and the Super Bowl. They came in as an underdog, same situation they faced in Cincinnati and the same situation they faced in Indy. Denver was a favorite, but it was funny because they were a little skittish going up against a hot team coming into their own stadium.

Can Jake Do It? Screamed the headlines in every Denver newspaper. Jake Plummer has an inconsistent past as a starter in the NFL, but seemed to overcome those demons during this regular season, tripling the number of touchdowns vs. interceptions he threw through 17 games. But he was carrying a lot of baggage each day, being asked the same question and being openly questioned about his ability to perform in the clutch.

Plummer, like any quarterback in Denver, lives in the shadow of John Elway and his soon-to-be Hall of Fame career. Elway isn’t a shrinking violet in his home town of Denver, owning at least 20 car dealerships with ads blaring all over the media. So, come game time, the hype and the expectations hung over Invesco Field at Mile High like a ceiling waiting to collapse.

And collapse it did.

Plummer fumbled the ball twice and threw two interceptions, helping the Steelers to a 37-14 win and another trip to the big game. The game wasn’t 5 seconds over when the Denver media started piling on Plummer and his inability to carry a team in the games that count. And it was vicious.

To his credit, Plummer did a post-game press conference (unlike Jimmy Smith who skipped out after the Jaguars loss to the Titans in ’99) and took the blame, saying he “didn’t get it done, and that’s my job.”

Head Coach Mike Shanahan didn’t point the finger at Plummer, but did say, “When you turn it over four times, it’s tough to win that game.”

So we’ll see what happens as they go forward in Denver. The expectations are high, and Elway looms like a Macy’s Parade balloon.

I thought the Seattle/Carolina game was easy to dissect. Without Deshaun Foster, the Panthers were without a running game. Steve Smith had a huge performance against Chicago, but the Bears never adjusted to what he was up to. You wouldn’t expect the Seahawks to make the same mistake, and they didn’t, putting double, triple and quadruple coverage on Smith and taking him out of the game. Nobody else stepped up and it was only a question as to whether Seattle could handle the role as favorite on the big stage of a conference championship game. That was answered in the first quarter when the Seahawks defense played fast and quick, intercepting two Jake Delhomme passes. The offense turned the turnovers into points and the rout was on.

Pittsburgh opened as a 4-point favorite in the Super Bowl with that number expected to go up as early money comes in on the Steelers. Strange things can happen in the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, but I like Pittsburgh.

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